Thirty-Three and a Half Shenanigans (18 page)

“I’d love to discuss the current status of your relationship, but I’ll look it up later on Facebook and see if your relationship status says ‘it’s complicated.’ Right now I need you to get your baby momma to call Officer Ernie off Neely Kate.”

“What happened?” I heard the alarm in his voice.

I told him everything . . . well, everything except for the fact that she’d insinuated she knew J.R.’s secret.

“You girls lie low for a bit, and I’ll take care of it.”

“Thank you.”

I parked in the lot next to the Burger Shack and let Neely Kate run in for her ice cream, and then I took her to Maeve’s and texted Joe to let him know where we were. I knocked on her front door, wondering how she’d feel about the two of us showing up on her doorstep, but Mason’s mother was thrilled.

“I thought we’d drop by and check on you,” I said, feeling a tiny bit guilty that I hadn’t done so sooner. “I hope we’re not interrupting anything.”

She ushered us inside. “Don’t be silly. You’re always welcome here!”

Maeve gave Neely Kate a quick tour, and I was impressed by how put together everything already looked. “I can’t believe you’ve practically finished unpacking,” I said.

“It’s a small house, and I’m not one to sit idle.”

I knew that from all the time she’d spent cooking and cleaning at my house.

“I was about to make a cake if you girls want to come sit with me.”

We helped her make a red velvet cake and dinner too. I texted Mason to tell him we were eating at his mother’s house. I worried about leaving Muffy all alone, but I didn’t want to venture out onto the Henryetta streets until Joe gave us the all-clear. The last thing Neely Kate and I needed was another almost-arrest.

We were in the middle of frosting the cake when there was a knock at the front door. Maeve excused herself to answer it, and I was surprised to hear Joe’s voice.

“I’m sorry to bother you, Mrs. Deveraux, but Rose told me that she and Neely Kate were hiding from the law here.”

My breath stuck in my throat. I hadn’t considered that Joe and Maeve had only met for the first time a few weeks ago. Since I knew the encounter had been painful for both of them, I had no idea what to expect.

I breathed a sigh of relief when Maeve laughed. “They’re both here, but I didn’t realize I was harboring fugitives. Come on in.”

Maeve entered the kitchen with an ornery grin, Joe trailing behind her.

“Did you arrest your girlfriend, Joe?” Neely Kate asked, pointing her cake spatula at him.

“Nobody’s getting arrested,” he grumbled, “but everything’s taken care of.”

“When’s she goin’ back to Little Rock where she belongs?” Neely Kate asked with a frown.

“You know very well that she’s not goin’ anywhere,” I said, trying to take the pressure off Joe.

Neely Kate put her hand on her hip. “Can’t you evict her from the county or something?”

A tiny grin lifted his mouth. “Don’t you think I would have done it already if I could?”

“Hmm,” she grunted.

Joe took a step toward the door. “Well, I just wanted to let you girls know that you’re safe to roam the streets of Fenton County . . . or as safe as you two are capable of being.”

“Thanks.” I gave him a soft smile.

“Joe,” Maeve piped up. “Would you like a piece of cake before you go?”

He shook his head, eyeing the cake on the stand. “Thanks, but I need to get back to work.”

“Well, how about one for the road?” she asked. “You can take it with you and eat it later.”

He grinned at her. “It’s hard to turn down a piece of homemade cake.”

“You wait right there,” Maeve said, pulling a small white plate from the cabinet. She cut a generous slice of the red velvet cake and put in on the plate, covering it with plastic wrap before handing it to him. “You enjoy that now.”

“Thank you.” He nodded, his eyes glistening.

I couldn’t help but wonder if I was missing something.

“I’m gonna get out of you girls’ hair,” he said, heading for the front door.

“Let me walk you out.” I cast a quick glance toward Maeve, hoping she wasn’t upset with me, but she and Neely Kate had already started to wash the dishes.

I went out the front door and stopped on the front step, Joe following behind me. He swung the squeaky front door back and forth before shutting it and turning to me.

“If this is about Neely Kate’s cousin or Hilary—”

“Does Hilary know about J.R.’s blackmail information?”

His eyebrows lifted. “What?” He shook his head. “No. I never told her. I swear.”

“I think she knows.”

“Why do you say that?”

I told him about our encounter, and he took a deep breath, rubbing his hand across his forehead. “She may not know anything.”

“But there’s a chance J.R. told her, right?” I asked.

“Yes.”

I already knew, but his acknowledgment stole my breath away. “Will she tell anyone else?”

His face paled. “I don’t know.”

“Do you think she’s going to use this to try to get you to marry her?”

“Maybe.”

I stepped off the porch and began to pace in the yard.

“I’ll talk to her and see what she knows.”

“What if she’s bluffing?” I stopped and looked up at him. “I don’t think I reacted to her statement, so at least I didn’t confirm anything. She knows your father wanted to split us up, and she knows how much you wanted to be with me. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out your father threatened you with something. Maybe she’s fishing for information.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” He paused. “Does Neely Kate know?”

I wrapped my arms around my chest, the cold wind biting through my sweater. “No. The fewer people who know, the better. But Mason does.”

He nodded, then gave me a soft smile. “That explains why she’s still so mad at me.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No. It’s for the best. I’m glad you have her for a friend.”

“Me too.” We stared at each other for several seconds. “I’m going inside. I just wanted you to know.” I walked past him toward the front porch, but he reached out and grabbed my arm.

“Rose, don’t tell Mason.”

My mouth fell open. “What?”

“Don’t tell him that Hilary might know.”

I shook my head. “No, I’m not keeping this from him.”

“Then just give me a few days, okay? Let me figure out what she knows.” He swallowed and leveled his gaze on mine. “No sense worrying him if it’s nothing.”

I squinted up at him. “Since when did you care about Mason?”

He hesitated. “He’s under a lot of stress at work right now. There’s some fallout from his boss over that Black Friday bust.”

I scrutinized him to see if I could catch him in a lie. “He hasn’t mentioned it to me.”

“He probably doesn’t want to worry you.”

“Is his job in trouble?”

“Honestly? I don’t know.”

Anger burned in my chest. “You’re just trying to stir up trouble between us.”

“I’m not, Rose. I swear. And while there’s no love lost between Mason and me, I’d rather work with
him
than the actual DA.”

“I don’t want to keep this from him. It’s too important.”

“I know. Just give me until next week.”

“No.” I steeled my back. “I’ll give you until the weekend.”

He started to protest, then stopped. “Okay.”

I turned around and started up the porch steps.

“Rose.”

I looked over my shoulder at him.

“Tread carefully around Hilary. I’d truly kick her out of town if I had the authority, but I don’t. Try not to rile her up.”

His words rekindled my anger. “I’m done hiding from the world, Joe Simmons.”

“And I wouldn’t have it any other way. But until this is sorted out, try to avoid her if you can.”

“That shouldn’t be too hard,” I said sarcastically. “Why don’t you tell her the same thing?”

I walked back into the house, worried that Maeve would be upset that I’d stayed outside for so long with Joe. But she seemed more concerned about the leak under her kitchen sink.

“The inspection showed some issues, but I got the house for such a steal we didn’t make the owner fix them.” She put a large plastic bowl under the pipes. “This should take care of it for now.”

“That won’t work for long,” I said.

She sighed, and I reached down to help her up. “But it’ll keep the floor dry for the time being. I’ll just have to remember to keep emptying the bowl.”

“I thought the realtor said he was going to give you the names of some repairmen.”

“He did, but none of them seem to be in a hurry to run over for nickel-and-dime repairs.”

We finished putting the meatloaf together, making a double batch so Neely Kate could take one home to bake for her and Ronnie. I was impressed, though not surprised, that Maeve had already gone grocery shopping and picked up all the essentials.

Neely Kate looked beat, so I offered to drop her and her meatloaf off at her car so she could get home to put it in the oven. Maeve cut another couple of generous slices of cake and put them on a plate for my friend to take with her.

“I’m gonna get as huge as a whale if I keep hanging out with you, Maeve,” Neely Kate joked as she put her coat on. Then she winked. “I’m sure Ronnie won’t mind.”

“You’re welcome here anytime,” the older woman said with a warm smile, looking pleased as punch. She’d only been in her house for a couple of days, but it was already obvious the move had been a good decision.

As soon as we got in my car, Neely Kate started grilling me. “I hope you gave Joe an earful about Hilary.”

“Neely Kate, he doesn’t want her here any more than we do. He says he’s really done with her, and I think he means it this time.”

“Hmm.” She pressed her lips together.

I cast a glance at her, wondering if I should come clean about J.R.’s fabricated evidence, but there was no telling what she’d do. I couldn’t risk it.

I pulled into an empty space several spots from her car. “Are you worried about telling Ronnie that you got fired?”

She shook her head with a grin. “Nope. I’ve decided it’s a blessing in disguise. You’re right, I’ve hated that place all along.”

“Then do you want to go to Sugar Branch tomorrow and look for Nikko?”

She threw her arms around me. “Thank you. I wasn’t sure if you’d still want to help me after what happened today.”

“Hey.” I gave her a squeeze and leaned back to look at her. “We have to find Dolly Parton, don’t we? It’s the next place to look.”

“Do you want me to come by your office? If you’d like, I can get an accounting program set up on your computers before we go.”

“Really?”

She shrugged and opened her door. “Sure. Turns out I have loads of time now.”

“See you in the morning, Neely Kate. Take it easy tonight, okay?”

“I’ll give it a try.” She shut the door and waved. I watched her walk to her car, deciding I had just enough time to run home and get Muffy before Mason showed up for dinner.

My phone rang as I pulled out of the parking space, and I cringed when I saw who was calling.

“Skeeter, you haven’t bothered me for two weeks, so why do you keep calling me now?”

“I need you to come read someone.”

“Skeeter!”

“It’ll just take a minute, and he’ll never know it’s you. We’ll put a hood on him.”

A hood?
“Who is it?”

“You don’t need to know that.”

“Are you holding him hostage?”

“No.”

“Then how are you gonna explain the hood to him?”

“He thinks it’s something kinky.”

I gritted my teeth. “I am not—”

He laughed. “Relax, Lady. I’ve got it covered.”

What was gonna be uncovered was what had me worried, but I didn’t say anything. If I continued down this path, it was going to end badly. There was no doubt about it.

“I think this guy has information about who’s after Deveraux.”

For all I knew, he was making it up just to push my buttons. And damnation and hellfire if it wasn’t working. “I am not looking at naked people. I’ve seen enough topless women today to last me a lifetime.”

“What’s that supposed mean?”

“Never you mind. The fact is, I’m about to have dinner with Mason and his mother.”

“You and your damn dinners.”

I lifted my chin. “I wouldn’t expect someone like you to understand.”

“Well, your dinner’s postponed. Mr. Assistant DA’s about to go into a meeting, so he’ll be late. You have time.”

My shoulders knotted with tension. “How do you know that?”

“Lady, I make it my business to know things. But if you want to make sure he doesn’t notice, you need to come now.”

I grunted my frustration. “Where?”

He laughed. “Go north on 82 and turn onto County Road 36. Go two miles and turn off into the lot of the old feed store. Jed will meet you there.”

“Fine,” I huffed. “I’ll head there now. But I can’t be seen.”

“Don’t worry. It’s like I said,
I
don’t want you to be seen.”

I hung up on his laughter and called Maeve. “I’m gonna be a little late. I have an errand to run.”

“Take your time, dear,” she said. “Mason called right after you left and said he was going to be late himself. An unplanned meeting with his boss came up.”

Well, crappy doodles. Skeeter was right. Mason was meeting with the DA. That rarely happened. I couldn’t help wondering if there was some truth to what Joe had told me too.

I pulled into the empty parking lot of the feed store, wondering once again how I’d gotten into this predicament. To be safe, I drove around the back of the building and found Skeeter’s sedan idling there.

I parked as Jed got out of the car and walked over, opening my door. “Skeeter wants me to take you to the place we’re going.”

“I can’t drive there?”

He shook his head. “He doesn’t want your truck there. I’ll drive you.”

That made sense, and I was grateful for the secrecy, but I didn’t like the idea of being at their mercy.

Jed sensed my hesitation. “You’re perfectly safe, Lady. I guarantee it.” He looked me in the eyes as he said it, with an earnestness I wouldn’t have expected from one of Skeeter’s men.

I got out of the truck. “Okay.”

He opened the back door to the sedan, and I started to get in, but he stopped me. “I have to blindfold you first.”