Thirty-One and a Half Regrets (8 page)

“Is that what this is about?” I shouted. “Joe destroys my heart and you’re waiting for me to tell you that
you’re
right
?”

The crowd outside the windows had grown larger and several onlookers dared to come inside and gather around the front door.

“Congratulations, Violet. You were right.” I took a step toward her, lifting my eyebrows. “I’m too white trash for the high-and-mighty Simmons family of El Dorado, Arkansas. But if I’m white trash because of my roots, stop and think about what that makes you.”

Her smile fell.

I leaned into her ear and whispered, “And the reason Joe and I broke up was to save you, Violet. His father has photos of you and Brody coming out of a motel room and was using them to blackmail Joe into running for office.” I took a step back, my heart dark with anger and bitterness. “But I don’t expect a thank you. You’ll just twist it around somehow so you won’t have to accept responsibility. Because that’s what you do.” I turned around and headed into the back room. “And for the record,” I said as I walked. “I’m not hiding in the back room. I’m trying to stay away from
you
.”

I left her standing in the middle of the shop, pale-faced and in obvious shock, but for once I didn’t care. And if that didn’t make me wicked, I wasn’t sure what would.

Neely Kate was sitting at my potting table, her eyes as big as quarters. “Did that just happen?” she whispered.

I had invited her the night before, but with all the commotion, I hadn’t seen her sneak in. My legs started to quiver as I nodded.

She hopped off the stool and grabbed my arm. “Let’s go out and get some fresh air.”

I let her pull me out the back door and Muffy followed us. I leaned against the brick wall, reminded of the night of Momma’s visitation when Joe and I had ducked out to escape the stares of the people who were certain that I’d bashed in my mother’s head and then hid the rolling pin in the folds of my skirt.

“Thanks for coming early, Neely Kate. You didn’t have to.”

“And miss that confrontation? That was the best thing I’ve seen in…well,
ever
.”

Muffy lay on the concrete next to my feet, looking up at me in confusion.

“It was horrible.” I squeezed my eyes, hoping all the mean, vile things I’d just said would somehow disappear. “I’ve never talked to anyone that way.”

She grabbed my arm. “Well, then that was a long time coming, wasn’t it? Besides, what about all the ugly things she said to you? She was much more hateful than you would ever even consider being. How can you work with her every day?”

“I’m not with her every day. I’m usually out at the job sites.”

“Well, there you have it. You can just stay away from the shop,” she teased, but my heart ached.

Spewing my anger had made me feel good temporarily, but now I felt hollow and sick to my stomach. “What am I going to do?” I turned to Neely Kate, her bright blue eyes gazing at me while her long blonde curls blew in the wind behind her. “I should apologize.”

Her eyes flew open. “No, you will not! Are you
really
sorry you told her how you felt?”

“Well, no. But I
am
sorry I was so hateful. I regret that part.”

“I suspect that’s the only language Violet Beauregard understands.”

I sighed. “It still doesn’t make it right.”

“I suppose.” She was silent for several seconds. “I heard about Daniel Crocker getting out.”

“Yeah, I’m surprised so many people are out front waiting for this press conference with a hardened criminal on the loose.”

She stepped away from the wall. “You don’t know, do you?”

“Know what?”

She turned to look at me, studying my face. “A good portion of Henryetta supports Daniel Crocker. He provided a lot of jobs that disappeared after he was arrested. Some people are happy he escaped. They think he’s innocent and that it was all a setup. You may have seen his evil side, but he was an excellent schmoozer and an even better liar. Heck, people loved him so much that I suspect he would have been the next mayor if he’d decided to run.”

“You’re kidding.” But I wasn’t too surprised when I stopped to think about it. Thomas had pretty much told me the same thing, only he’d added that a lot of people blamed his arrest on me.

“I wish I was.” She sighed and pressed her back to the wall again. “Aren’t you worried?”

“It makes me nervous knowing he’s on the loose, but Mason says the state police think he’s in Louisiana.” I paused. “Mason is taking this afternoon off from work to come to the press conference and spend the rest of the day with me.”

“Aww…”

I shook my head, but I couldn’t stop my grin.

“Will you just date the guy already?”

“I can’t, Neely Kate. Not yet.”

“I’m an old married woman now. I need to live vicariously though you.”

I laughed and bumped into her arm. “Yeah, you’re about to hit your four-month anniversary. That’s like
forever
.”

“When time does Joe show up?”

“I don’t know.” My chest tightened and my heart sped up. “I think right before one.”

“How are you doing? Really?”

I took a deep breath. “Honestly, I’m scared to see Joe. I don’t know what he’s going to say or do. He might ignore me for all I know.”

“The way you look? There’s no way that man could ignore you. I’m glad you’re showing him what he walked away from.”

“That’s not why I wore this.”

“I know. You don’t have a manipulative bone in your body. I think Violet got all the bitchy genes.”

“Neely Kate!” I chastised, but I couldn’t hold back my laughter.

“So what are you supposed to do at this thing anyway?”

“I have no idea how this works. I think I’ll hide back here until someone comes looking for me.”

“Good idea. Better steer clear of Violet right now, though. She’ll be on a war path.” Neely Kate moaned and leaned her head against the building, closing her eyes. “Something is
not
agreeing with me.”

“Still not feeling well?” I asked, worried about her. Neely Kate rarely complained of physical ailments.

“It’s probably those dog-gone hot wings. My grandmother made me take her to Big Bill’s Barbeque for buffalo hot wings last night and then to the VFW for bingo night.” She shot me a pretend glare. “Since it was Halloween and you were with your niece and nephew, I couldn’t use you as an excuse to get out of it.”

“Surely it’s not that bad.”

“Fine. Next week you go with her and help her set out all her good luck charms just so. Then every time she gets any kind of bingo, she tells everyone she’s a psychic and she knew she was gonna win. By the end of the night, she has several new clients for her psychic readings.”

“Do you think she’s really psychic?”

“I used to kinda believe. Until I met you.” She laughed. “In any case, those damn hot wings are my curse. Not only do they send my guts into a panic whenever they’re within ten feet of my mouth, but they seem to do the same to my grandma. Yet she still won’t give ’em up. Not even after the time she took them to the Maryville Southern Baptist Church Valentine’s Sweetheart Potluck and tried to pass ’em off as her own.” She shook her head with a laugh. “Oh, my word! The uproar! The church board had to call an emergency meeting to see about getting her kicked off the ladies auxiliary.”

We giggled over her grandmother’s antics for another twenty minutes before the back door opened and Mason poked his head around the corner.

“So this is where you two are hiding? Is it just me, or does Violet seem even more tense than usual?”

“It’s not just you.” Neely Kate laughed. “You missed the fireworks.”

Mason’s gaze shifted to the back room to see what he might have missed.

I walked toward him. “I’ll tell you about it later. Is Jonah out front?”

“I didn’t see him, but I wasn’t looking for him, either. I was more worried about finding you.”

“I take it that means they haven’t captured Daniel Crocker yet?”

“No, but they’re still pretty confident that they’ve tracked him to Shreveport.”

“That’s what you said this morning.”

“I’m sorry.” He grimaced apologetically. “I wish I had better news. Just get through this press conference, and then how about I take you to Magnolia for the rest of the day? We can see a movie and eat dinner. It’ll take your mind off of everything.”

I smiled up at him, my stomach fluttering. “I’d like that.”

Neely Kate moved behind Mason and waggled her eyebrows at me with a lascivious smirk. I shot her a glare.

Keeping his eyes on mine, Mason grinned. “You’re not helping, Neely Kate.”

She laughed and disappeared through the open back door.

Mason let it close behind her, hesitating. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

I nodded. Part of me didn’t want to, but I needed to for so many more reasons.

Too bad that didn’t make me any less nervous.

He stared into my eyes, his smile fading. “I hope you find what you’re looking for, Rose.”

“Me too.”

When we went back inside, Muffy found her bed in the corner of the back room and hunkered down. I wondered if my little dog could see the future too, but it didn’t take a psychic reading to know things were about to get even tenser. I found Violet in a huddle of several people I didn’t recognize, all wearing suits and business attire. Her head swiveled as I emerged from the back room, and she shot me a glare. All the customers had vanished.

A woman with graying hair straightened and took several steps toward me. “You must be Rose,” she said with a smile.

“Yes, ma’am.” I extended my hand, glad that Mason was standing behind me. My nerves were about to overtake me.

She shook with a firm grasp. “I’m Thelma Peterman and I’m with the Arkansas Small Business Association. When J.R. Simmons brought your business to our attention, we were excited to process your grant.”

My stomach tightened and I felt Mason place a hand on the small of my back for support. I wasn’t sure why I was shocked. I had already guessed that Joe’s father was behind this set-up, but suspecting something and having it confirmed were two different things.

“We don’t usually spotlight businesses as new as yours, but Mr. Simmons insisted we feature you as part of Joe Simmons’s political campaign, which, of course, will provide great exposure for both of you.”

“We’re just so honored to be considered,” Violet gushed, clutching her hands in front of her.

Thelma cleared her throat, speaking loud enough to get everyone’s attention. “Here’s what’s going to happen: Joe’s running behind schedule, so we’ll film some footage of you and Violet puttering around the shop and ask some informal questions while we wait. Then we’ll stand outside when he shows up, and Joe will give a speech about Arkansas’ entrepreneurial spirit. He’ll hand you an envelope, saying that he’s giving you the check, but in reality it will be empty. Instead, we’ll deposit the money directly into your account. Then Joe will take questions from the press and be on his way. If we need more footage of you two, we’ll stick around after he leaves. This should take no more than two hours max.”

“Okay,” I said, looking out the window at the growing crowd. “Why are there so many people showing up for this? I didn’t know Joe was so popular in Henryetta.”

“It’s probably because there are going to be news crews from Little Rock here filming the press conference,” Violet said with a snip in her voice. “They want to be on TV. If you’d been in here ten minutes ago, you would know that.”

“Excuse me, Ms. Peterman.” Mason stepped around me. “You say that the money will deposited into the Gardner Sisters Nursery’s bank account. I’d like to know exactly when that transaction will be processed.”

Thelma’s bushy eyebrows shot up, and her mouth pursed into the shape of a heart. “And you are…?”

Mason extended his hand, assuming his official countenance. The one that had intimidated me when we first met on Bruce Wayne Decker’s trial. “Mason Deveraux III. Fenton County Assistant District Attorney.”

Her eyes widened in alarm. “I assure you that there is nothing to worry about, Mr. Deveraux. We’re a state-run department and all the paperwork has been processed. The money will be deposited by the end of the week.”

“I was told that there were conditions placed on awarding the grant. One of them was that Rose has to be present for the press conference, is that correct?”

“Well…yes…”

“May I ask who placed those conditions?”

The blood drained from Violet’s face. “Mason, I’m sure you’re getting all worked up over nothing.”

Thelma had recovered enough to become indignant. “It was a decision of the board, Mr. Deveraux. The business does include the name
sisters
. We needed both sisters.”

Mason shifted his weight, lifting his eyebrows but maintaining his death stare. “How curious that you would think it necessary to make that stipulation. I would presume that both sisters would be thrilled with such an honor and that neither would consider missing the opportunity to show off their business.”

“Well…”

“I want assurance—in writing—that if Ms. Gardner participates in this presentation, the money will be deposited into the business’s account.”

Thelma’s face reddened. “Mr. Deveraux—”

“Mason!” Violet protested. “That really isn’t necessary.”

Mason stared her down. “Violet, I’m positive you can appreciate that I’m looking out for your best interest.”

Her eyes glittered with suppressed anger. “You mean Rose’s.” She turned to me. “Rose, tell Mason that you don’t need his intervention.”

I looked up into Mason’s determined face then turned back to Violet. “No. He’s right. If I’m gonna do this, I want to know that they won’t change their minds.”

Thelma turned and talked to the people behind her in hushed tones before addressing Mason. “This is highly unusual, Mr. Deveraux.”

“Nevertheless, we’ll need that agreement in writing.”

Her back stiffened. “I’m not authorized to create such a document.”

“Then find someone who is.”