Thirty and a Half Excuses (24 page)

“You could leave,” I whispered. “If you hate it here so bad, you can get enough experience to put on a resume and leave this stupid town.”

His smile wobbled. “I know, but I’m not ready to leave yet.”

We sat in silence for several seconds.

“How’s your mother handling all of this?”

“Better than I am, strangely enough.”

“I like her. She seems very sweet.”

“She is.”

I twisted my hands. “Joe’s parents are insisting they meet me. Joe says he can’t put them off anymore. We’re going to have dinner with them after his assignment is finished. I hope they’re as nice as your mother.”

Mason laughed. “No one is as nice as my mother.”

“That’s probably true.”

“But don’t get your hopes up. I don’t know them personally, but after I figured out how I ended up here, I did a bit of investigating. Joe’s from a powerful family, and they expect big things from him.”

I sighed. “Joe says his father is upset because he wants him to join his family’s business, the law firm.”

Mason’s eyebrows rose. “Is that what he told you? Sure, they’re attorneys, but they’re really grooming him to run for political office. They have big plans for him. They expect Joe to be the JFK of southern Arkansas.”

My head felt fuzzy. “They want him to run for president?”

“Not at first, but that’s their end goal. They’ll settle for the state senate position that’s about to become available.”

Joe’s father’s big favor. “And they expect him to run. Even if he doesn’t want to.”

“They own him, Rose. Especially after what happened to Savannah. There was an internal investigation with both the Little Rock P. D. and the state police. Not to mention Joe was drunk when the police showed up at the scene.” He took a deep breath. “They found his car a couple of blocks away and were going to file DUI charges. Those were dropped and buried too.”

I felt like I was going to be sick. “They’ll never approve of me,” I whispered.

Mason remained silent for several seconds. “I’m sure they have certain…expectations.”

I stood, suddenly feeling claustrophobic. “Violet was right.”

“Right about what?”

“She told me his family would never accept me. That I wouldn’t be good enough for them. Joe was so furious, I almost thought he was going to hit her.” I started to pace.

Mason stood and grabbed my shoulders, staring me in the eye. “There is no doubt in my mind that he loves you. It’s obvious to everyone. But you have to admit, he’s caught between a rock and a hard place. He’s going to have to ultimately choose—you or his family. And his family is hard to say no to.”

My knees buckled, and I felt like I was going to pass out. Mason must have realized it because he helped me sit down. I gulped big breaths, irritated at myself. I thought I had grown past the almost-fainting stage of my life.

“What am I going to do, Mason?” I whispered.

Determination steeled his jaw. “You’re going to go meet his parents.”

My eyes widened in exasperation. “They’re going to hate me.”

“Maybe. Probably. But don’t you dare let them intimidate you. They’re bullies—rich and powerful ones—but definitely bullies. If I recall correctly, you don’t back down to bullies.” He smiled softly as he quoted my words when I told him off outside his office during Bruce Wayne’s trial.

I shook my head. “I’m not sure I can stand up to them. They’re too powerful.”

“You can and you will. Say what you want, but you are not a coward, Rose Gardner.”

I stared at him in amazement. “Why are you helping Joe?”

A frown pulled down the corners of his lips. “I’m not helping Joe. I’m helping
you
.”

I covered my mouth with my hand. What had I gotten myself into?

“People only have the ability to make you feel badly about yourself if you let them. Remember that.” He stood up. “I should probably go. I think I’ve said too much.”

I tilted my head to look at him. “No. I need to know what I’m facing. Thank you for preparing me.”

“If you need me for anything, don’t hesitate to call. Okay?”

I nodded, then followed him to the front door. “Thanks.”

He pulled me into a timid hug, kissing my forehead. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

I offered a weak smile. “I’m fine. Quit worrying about me.”

“Maybe we can meet for lunch again one day this week.”

“I’d really like that,” I said, surprised by how much I meant it.

At least someone was telling me the unvarnished truth.

Chapter Nineteen

I woke up to strange sounds in the middle of the night, but Muffy was sleeping soundly next to me. I laid in the dark, my ears straining to make out the noise, but I only heard silence, broken by Muffy passing gas. I buried my face in my pillow. “Muffy!” I really needed to change her dog food. Again.

When the air cleared, I listened to the still night. When I didn’t hear anything else, I fell back asleep.

I let Muffy out the side door the next morning and looked around, not finding anything amiss. I decided that it was probably just the wind blowing the tree branches against the house. I really needed to get the limbs on the back trees cut.

Only I was sure whatever I’d heard came from the front.

So I slipped my robe on and walked around the house, fully expecting to find nothing. And I did, except for a big rock in the middle of my front porch, sitting on top of a piece of paper.

I tiptoed over to it, although I wasn’t sure why. It was a rock, not a snake, so it wasn’t going to jump up and bite me. I was more worried about that piece of paper flapping underneath it.

Muffy ran around my feet, wanting me to pet her. Keeping my eye on the rock, I squatted and absently rubbed her head, wondering what I should do.

“I’m scared of a rock, Muffy. Have you ever heard of such foolishness?”

She wagged her tail.

My curiosity won out. It was a piece of paper, for heaven’s sake.

The rock was almost too big to pick up with one hand. I pulled the paper out from underneath and dropped it on the porch.

The paper was white and had been pasted with letters cut out of a magazine that spelled
Stay Away.

Stay away? Stay away from what?

Since I had no idea who or what I was supposed to stay away from, I had no idea who could have left the note on my porch. It could have been worse. At least they weren’t destructive about it. They could very well have tossed the rock through my window.

The person who left the note had done it in the middle of the night, so I was sure there weren’t any witnesses.

Or were there?

Muffy followed me as I crossed the street, and I rapped on Miss Mildred’s front door.

The door cracked open and disapproval covered her face as she pushed her screen door open. “Has Henryetta turned to Sodom and Gomorrah overnight?” Her eyes narrowed as she stared at the hem on my robe.

I self-consciously tugged at it. How could I have forgotten I was still in a robe that barely covered my butt? “Speaking of overnight, did you happen to notice any strange goings-on in my front yard last night?”

“You mean other than the parade of cars coming and going from your house?”

I suppressed a groan. “Someone left a note on my front porch in the middle of the night.”

“Probably some man tryin’ to schedule time in your brothel.”

“
Miss Mildred
, someone left me a note saying
Stay Away
.” I shoved the paper at her.

She grabbed it and held it in front of her as she read it. “Stay away from what?”

“I have no earthly idea. That’s why I was hoping you saw something.”

She held the paper out to me, some of her feistiness fading. “I didn’t see or hear anything.”

I snatched back the note and started down the stairs. “Thank you.”

“You’re on to something,” she called after me.

I turned back to face her. “On to what?”

“Dorothy’s murder. You’ve made someone nervous.”

I shook my head. “I don’t know
anything
. How could I make someone nervous?”

She pointed at my hand. “You must know something, otherwise why would someone come to your house in the middle of the night and leave you a note?”

I exhaled, my shoulders sagging. “I wish I knew what that something was.” I started across the street. “I have to get ready for work.”

Leaving the note on my kitchen table, I made a cup of coffee then took a shower. The thought of going to Jonah Pruitt’s house made me nervous. I told myself that Bruce Wayne would be there too. I’d just make sure not to end up alone with the reverend.

At least I knew one person who
hadn’t
left the note. Jonah Pruitt. Why would he rope me into working on his yard, then send me a note telling me to stay away?

So who could it have been? Thomas? Christy? Maybe I was looking in the wrong direction. What if the note didn’t have anything to do with Miss Dorothy and Miss Laura’s deaths?

What if it had to do with Joe’s secret?

As I drove across town, Neely Kate called. “Rose, I only have a second, but I wanted to let you know that Miss Laura’s inheritance and house went to her family. Not to Jonah Pruitt.”

“Are you
sure
?”

“Yeah, my grandmother saw one of Miss Laura’s daughters at Sunday evening service. They’ve already filed probate. She said the police had questioned her earlier that day.”

“So that means that Jonah’s not a suspect?”

“Well… Miss Laura had been going to his church. But that doesn’t mean anything. Half the town’s going there now. And besides, he didn’t inherit a dime, so why would he kill her?” Her voice lowered. “I’ve got to go.”

“Thanks, Neely Kate.”

This whole situation just kept getting stranger and stranger.

When I turned down the street toward the parsonage, I suddenly wondered if Bruce Wayne would even be at Jonah’s when I got there. Jonah had humiliated both of us with his video. Bruce Wayne might decide the job wasn’t worth the embarrassment.

I was a few minutes late, but when I saw Bruce Wayne sitting on the front porch, I heaved a sigh of relief. He stood when he saw my truck pull up and walked toward me.

“Good morning, Miss Rose.”

“Thanks for coming, Bruce Wayne. I was worried you might not show after yesterday.”

“I told you I’d be here. I wouldn’t let you down.”

I wanted to hug him, but I was worried it would spook him. He didn’t seem like a touchy-feely kind of guy. But I was certain of one thing: The next person who besmirched Bruce Wayne’s character was going to get an earful from me. “Have you seen Jonah yet?”

He shook his head. “No.”

I took a deep breath and let it out. “Let’s get this over with.”

Bruce Wayne stayed at the bottom of the front steps while I knocked on the door. Jonah answered before I could knock the second time. He must have been watching us.

“Lovely to see you, Rose,” Jonah drawled then nodded to Bruce Wayne. “And you too, Bruce Wayne. It was wonderful to have you both in church yesterday.”

I was so busy cringing, standing within three feet of him, that it took me several seconds to realize he wasn’t wearing his usual business attire. He had on a T-shirt and a pair of shorts.

He noticed me staring. “Monday’s typically my day off. Most people get the Lord’s day off, but that’s when I’m my busiest.”

Crappy doodles. Jonah was going to be there all day.

“But the revival starts tonight, so I’ll be going to the church later this afternoon.”

I smiled at him. Thankfully, he didn’t seem to realize it was in relief. “Why don’t you tell us what you have in mind, and we can get started?”

Jonah took a step backward into his house. “You want to come in and have a cup of coffee first? It’s always hard to jump back into work on a Monday morning.”

“No, thank you. It’s gonna be another scorcher today, so the sooner Bruce Wayne gets started, the better.”

Jonah paused, his smile falling a bit. “Oh. I guess that’s true.”

We walked into the middle of the yard and turned to face the house, Jonah and I standing next to each other and Bruce Wayne behind us. The parsonage was a modest ranch house built back in the 1960s. The red brick exterior was in good shape, but the landscape looked like it hadn’t been touched in years. Overgrown evergreen bushes blocked the lower half of the big picture windows. The trees in the yard were in desperate need of trimming, and the yard was full of weeds.

“What do you have in mind?” I asked.

“Well,” he raised his hands palms up as if to present the house to me. “It’s obviously a mess.”

I tilted my head to the side as I studied it, trying to get some ideas. “It could use a little work.”

Jonah laughed. “It could use a lot of work. That’s where you and Bruce Wayne come in.” He looked around. “Say, where’s David?”

“He couldn’t make it,” Bruce Wayne said.

“I’m sure you’ll be fine on your own.” Jonah turned back to me. “So what do you suggest?”

“Well…” I took several steps closer to the house. “These bushes need to be pruned.” I poked around the branches, then looked over my shoulder at him. “But they’re so overgrown that there’s no growth on what will be left of the inside branches. See?”

Jonah leaned next to me, his shoulder touching mine as he examined the branch I’d exposed. “Yes, you’re right.”

I dropped the plant and stood, taking a step backward. “I think all the bushes need to be replaced.”

“Sure,” Jonah nodded, studying the bushes as though they held the secret of life. “That’s good. What should I replace them with?”

I quickly spouted off some ideas to put some lower height shrubs with several shade-loving perennials since the trees’ foliage was so dense. I came up with a quick sketch, and he watched over my shoulder, standing too close for my comfort, but not close enough for me to push him away without being rude.

Jonah headed toward the porch steps. “That looks great, Rose. Why don’t you have Bruce Wayne get started digging up the bushes, and you can come inside and give me an estimate?”

“Uh…” Wide eyed, I glanced back at Bruce Wayne, panic squeezing my chest. I didn’t want to go inside and be alone with him.