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Bangor?”
    I avoided answering, leaning forward instead and blocking his hands with the bags so he couldn’t use them to hug me. “I’ll stop by again real soon so we can catch up.” Then I planted the quickest kiss possible on his cheek. His scruff was so sharp, it practically bit me.
    “Good to see you, Rae,” he said as I walked out the door. “You be careful.” I raised one of the bags to wave without bothering to turn around.
    Once inside Brady’s apartment, I dropped everything on the kitchen table. My stomach was growling, but I knew it wasn’t from hunger. Still, I needed to put something in me. It had been hours—no, it had been a full day since I’d last eaten.
    Rather than fiddling with the wire tie, I ripped a hole in the plastic bag that held the loaf of bread and shoved a corner into my mouth. I washed it down by sticking my face under the faucet. I rolled the rest of the slice into balls and slowly popped them in one at a time. They were just a little smaller than the penny gum from Uncle Irving’s store. They didn’t taste nearly as good, and they definitely didn’t make me smile.
    And they hadn’t come from Darren’s sweet, innocent hand.
    Still, I was grateful for my uncle’s gesture.
    I plowed through several more pieces, and was full by the time I’d devoured the last bite—full and exhausted. There wasn’t time for a nap…I might have lied to my uncle about having an opportunity in Bangor, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t one waiting for me. I had enough gas to get me there and back, and maybe even enough to stop at several places along the way if the first one didn’t hire me. Someone would give me a chance. They had to.
    Time was working against me, as it usually did.
    Thirty days …
     

CHAPTER FOUR
    “CAN YOU START right now?”
    The casino was my first stop once I’d arrived in Bangor. Rumor was that I’d make more here in a night as a cocktail waitress than I’d make if I did two double shifts at the Trap House. This was really the only place I wanted to work, but I never expected there to be an opening.
    I kept my unscarred cheek pointed toward him and leaned forward to make sure I’d heard Kevin, the beverage manager, correctly. “You mean you want to hire me now? Like, this second?”
    “It’s short notice, I know.” He pulled out a pile of papers from one of his desk drawers. “One of my waitresses just up and quit, so I’m understaffed for a poker tournament starting in an hour. Consider it a tryout. If you do well, I’ll hire you full-time.”
    I watched his hands as he placed the sheets in front of me. His nails needed to be cut. There were thick, curly black hairs on both sides of his knuckles. Masculine, but harmless.
    “So what do you say, Ms. Ryan?”
    I continued to stare at him, keeping my neck turned to hide my scar. That was how I always spoke to people—never straight on. They didn’t need to see my marred skin, and I didn’t need to witness them gawking at it. That only led to questions…questions I’d never answer. But Kevin needed to know exactly who he was hiring and what his customers would be viewing whenever I approached their table. So I held my breath and slowly turned my face. He didn’t flinch; his eyes didn’t move from mine. I waited several more seconds before I said, “Yes, of course I can start right now.”
    He placed a pen on top of the stack of papers. “Excellent.” He leaned back into his seat, his fingers gripping the armrests. “I don’t have time to check out your references. I’m assuming they’ll be good?”
    I nodded and wiped my palms on the side of the chair. They were slick and clammy. Who could I use as a reference? Saint wasn’t an option, or the other servers I’d worked with. They’d kept their distance because I’d been dating their boss. Shane and Uncle Irving would have to do.
    “Then if you don’t have any questions, take those sheets into the HR office and fill them out there.” He