Yet now he could not buy his own crew a sandwich.
That was when Liam Foster arrived.
He had stopped at the gas station to put air in his bicycle tire.
The pump was free.
It was one of the few things in Cedar Hollow that did not require money.
Liam heard the conversation from outside.
He looked at Tommy.
Then at his backpack.
He knew what was inside.
He also knew what the twenty-dollar bill meant.
His mother had given it to him.
It might be needed for groceries.
For medicine.
For an unexpected bill.
For the next emergency at home.
Liam stood still for several seconds.
Then he opened his backpack.
He took out the twenty-dollar bill.
He walked inside.
"Here. Take Mine."
Phil looked up.
Liam placed four bottles of water on the counter.
Then he added four packages of peanut butter crackers.
"How much?"
"Fourteen eighteen."
Liam put the twenty-dollar bill on the counter.
The piece of masking tape remained attached to one corner.
Phil's eyes passed over the handwritten words.
Only if you really need it.
He gave Liam the change.
The coins landed on the counter.
Liam gathered them.
Then he carried the food outside.
Duke stood when he saw him approaching.
Liam placed the water and crackers beside Tommy.
"Here."
Tommy stared at him.
Liam shrugged.
"Take mine."
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Tommy grabbed a bottle.
His hands were shaking so badly he struggled to open it.
Duke helped him.
Tommy drank half the bottle in one breath.
Then he opened the crackers.
Ray followed.
Sal ate slowly, saving half for later.
Duke waited until the others had eaten.
Then he looked at Liam.
"What's your name?"
"Liam Foster."
"I'm Duke Callaway."
They shook hands.
Duke's eyes moved over Liam.
The taped bicycle.
The damaged backpack.
The worn shoes.
The thin frame.
Then he looked back toward the gas station.
"You bought all of this?"
Liam nodded.
"With your money?"
"With my mom's."
"Emergency money?"
Liam hesitated.
"Yeah."
Duke stared at him.
"You gave us your emergency money?"
Liam looked at Tommy.
"He needed it."
Duke shook his head slowly.
"Son, I don't think you understand what you just did."
Liam gave him a faint smile.
"It's okay."
"No," Duke said quietly. "It isn't."
Liam picked up his bicycle.
He was already late.
"I have to go to work."
Duke watched him.
"Where?"
"Quick Mart."
Duke wanted to ask more.
Instead, he said:
"Thank you."
Liam climbed onto the bicycle.
He looked back once.
Tommy was eating.
His hands had stopped shaking.
Liam nodded.
Then he rode away.
Duke watched until the bicycle disappeared around the corner.
He looked down at the remaining crackers.
Then at the gas station.
Then at his crew.
He had spent six years helping strangers.
But he had never forgotten the moment someone helped him.
That night, Duke wrote down one thing before his phone died.
Liam Foster. Maple Street. Cedar Hollow.
The House That Was Almost Lost
The support van arrived that night.
By then, Tommy was stable.
The riders had food, water, medicine, and a place to sleep.
But Duke could not forget Liam.
The next morning, he drove back to Cedar Hollow.
He found Quick Mart first.
Then Maple Street.
The Foster house was easy to recognize.
It looked tired.
But it did not look abandoned.
The porch was clean.
The curtains were washed.
A narrow path had been cleared through the grass.
Someone was still trying.
Duke knocked on a neighbor's door.
An elderly woman named Mrs. Patterson answered.
"Can I help you?"
"I'm looking for the Foster family."
Her expression changed.
"Are you collecting a debt?"
"No, ma'am."
Duke explained what had happened.
Mrs. Patterson listened.
Then she told him everything she knew.
Greg Foster had died in a construction accident.
Ellen worked nights at the hospital.
Liam attended college and worked at Quick Mart.
He mowed lawns for extra money.
He walked home after eleven at night.
He secretly placed money in his mother's purse.
Mrs. Patterson lowered her voice.
"They're about to lose the house."
Duke looked toward the Foster bungalow.
"How bad?"
"Three months behind."
"How much?"
"Twelve thousand four hundred dollars."