Down Home and Deadly

me, which made me sound tougher than I felt. “You came in the back door. Did you break the lock?”
    “No.” Marco sounded shocked at the idea. “I did not break it. That would be wrong.”
    “Then how did you get in?”
    “I used the key.” He dangled a key in front of my face. I snatched it from his hand.
    “ Where did you get this key?” I demanded.
    “W – well,” he backed up as if he still believed I had a gun. “I — I will tell you.”
    “Yes. You certainly will tell me.”
    “Promise not to get her into trouble,” he said.
    “I can’t make any promises until I know the whole story.”
    He gave it serious consideration then sent me a tentative smile. “I trust you.”
    I was pretty sure I knew by now who had given him the key. “Sorry I was so sharp with you, but you scared me to death.”
    “I did not know you were here. I would have been quiet er .”
    “ Don’t worry about it . Just tell me why you’re here.”
    “I live here.”
    I’d thought the shock of him walking in on me had been the biggest shock of the night, but I was obviously wrong.
    “ Marco , you can’t live here. This isn’t a house. It’s not even an apartment.”
    “Believe me, it is only temporary,” he insisted. “The people I lived with — they got transferred and had to move. I had no place to sleep. I could not stay at the college because I did not sign up for a dormitory room. Besides , the dormitory costs more than I can afford.”
    “So Gail gave you a key and said you could stay here for a while?”
    “Yes. You guessed it.” He nodded. “She has been very kind to me. She would let me stay at her apartment. But it would not look good.”
    “So you’ve been living here for a while?”
    “I was sleeping in my van and taking showers here when I worked here. But after I got fired, Gail said I could stay if I didn’t tell anyone.” His forehead wrinkled. “I hope she is not mad at me. She told me to only come in the back door when the club is empty.” He gave me a reproachful look. “No car is out there tonight. So I thought it was empty. You scared me.”
    “ Marco , you can’t stay here anymore.”
    His shoulders slumped in defeat. “Are you going to tell on Gail?”
    Bob had enough on his mind. And Marco staying here hadn’t hurt anything , really. “I’m not sure. Not right now.”
    “So I will move my things back out to my van.” He turned and walked away.
    When he was gone, I picked up my cell phone and made a quick call. “Mama, I know it’s late, but I need to rent a cabin for the night.” I quickly explained the situation to her.
    “We have a couple of empty cabins he can choose from, but you won’t be paying,” she said firmly.
    “Just for tonight,” I agreed. “Then we’ll figure something out.”
    *****
    The next morning, I hurried over to Stafford Cabins as soon as I knew Mama and Daddy would have the office opened.
    The front office was deserted when I walked in.
    “Good morning,” Daddy called. “We’re in the back.”
    I stepped down the tiny hall to the little break area Mama had fixed up. They were sitting at the table drinking coffee. And holding hands.
    I blushed. Would Alex and I still be that much in love after that many years? I had a feeling we would. He was due back from the conference on Saturday. I made a mental no te to call him later and tell him how much I looked forward to growing old with him . That done, I turned my attention back to my parents. “You really shouldn’t just call out for anyone to come on back,” I scolded. “I could have been an ax murderer.”
    “I suppose you could have,” Daddy said thoughtfully , looking at Mama . “But I thought we raised her better than that, didn’t you, Elizabeth ?”
    Mama nodded, never missing a beat. “Of course, if you were an ax murderer, dear . . . it really wouldn’t matter whether we invited you in or not, would it?”
    I sighed. “Never mind.”
    “Tell us about Marco .”
    “Yes. He was up at dawn, sweeping the office porch and straightening the deck chairs,” Daddy said.
    I smiled, because I could see him doing that. “Well, you know, he came here as an exchange student in high school then managed to get his paperwork to stay on for college. With a limited work visa, he’s living on very little money. He was living with a sponsor family, but the husband was transferred to Little Rock , which left Marco homeless.”
    “Oh my. Bless his heart,” Mama said.
    I nodded.