Thirty-Four and a Half Predicaments
Page 19

“It’s the appetizer,” I teased. “The main course is ice cream.”
“Then count me in.” He pulled a plate out of the cabinet and sat beside us.
It was unusual for Bruce Wayne to visit the farm at all, let alone at this time of day. I decided to take the offensive on the whole running-off-the-road incident. “Cake is Bruce Wayne’s payment for helping me get unstuck.”
“Unstuck?” Mason turned to me. “Is that why the car is all coated in mud?”
“Yeah.”
He stiffened as he put things together. “Are those tire ruts a couple miles back from you?”
My eyebrows rose. “It wasn’t as bad as it looked, Mason. I promise your car’s okay.”
“I don’t care about the car, sweetheart. I care about you. You damn near hit the trees. You could have been killed, Rose.”
“But I wasn’t.” I patted his arm in dismissal. “Muffy and I are just fine.”
“What happened?”
I took a breath, casting a glance to Bruce Wayne before I gave my attention to Mason. “I was on my way home when a car came up behind me goin’ too fast and passed me. But it was too close and I veered toward the shoulder. You saw the rest.”
Anger and worry filled his eyes. “Someone tried to run you off the road?”
I had to handle this just right or I’d freak him out. “No,” I said. “I think they were tryin’ to run you off the road.”
“What? Why?”
I told him about the note and his entire body tensed. “Why didn’t you call me?”
“I hardly had time to do anything before Deputy Miller happened to pull up. He called it in so the deputies could be on the lookout for the car. And then he filed a report.”
“Why didn’t you call me?” he asked again, sounding hurt and a tad bit angry.
“Because of how you’re reacting right now.” I waved at him. “Mason, I can’t call you about every little incident that happens. There’s just too doggone many of them, and I keep interrupting your work.”
“Someone tried to kill you! You’re more important than my damn job.”
“For all we know, it was an accident and the note was entirely unrelated.” I took a breath. “I filed a report. The deputies are looking for the car. There wasn’t anything you could do. Besides, if my hunch is right, you’re the one in danger. Not me. You’re the one who needs to take precautions.” When he scowled, I leaned over and gave him a quick kiss. “I promise to call if I’m ever in real trouble. Like almost getting arrested,” I teased, trying to ease my own fear for his safety, but his arm was still tense. “Look, I’m a grown woman, Mason. And if I can handle a situation without you, I’m gonna do it and tell you about it later.”
His anger faded, fear creeping in behind it. “Do you realize how close you came to hitting those trees, Rose?”
“Seeing as how I was the one driving the car, I do.”
“I don’t want to lose you.”
“I’m not goin’ anywhere. I’m fine.”
Bruce Wayne’s chair scraped against the floor. “I think I need to get goin’.” They were the first words he’d said since Mason got home, and I suddenly realized we were making him feel awkward.
I turned toward him. Bruce Wayne was lonely and I wasn’t about to send him home to his empty house with only cake in his belly. “You keep your booty in that chair. Like I told Mason, this cake is the appetizer, and it would be rude of you to leave in the middle of dinner.”
Bruce Wayne cast a glance at Mason.
Mason grinned, but I could see the anxiety in his eyes. “You heard her. You and I both know there’s no arguing with her once she’s set her mind on something.”
I stood, nodding my head. “Good. That’s settled. Now I’m gonna figure out what the main course is.”
I made buttered noodles and frozen broccoli while Mason disappeared into his office to call Joe. When he returned about ten minutes later, he and Bruce Wayne talked about our plans and preparations for RBW Landscaping. I was dying to know what he’d found out, but the worry lines around Mason’s eyes kept me from asking. Bruce Wayne seemed to sense the tension, so he left as soon as dinner was over, but he seemed to be in better spirits.
As soon as I shut the door, I spun around to confront Mason. “What did Joe say?”
“Not much. While the accident seems suspicious and the note is threatening, there’s not a whole lot he can do.”
I put my hands on my hips. “So he’s gonna do nothing?”
“No. They’re looking for the car and he’s going to question the driver. He’s determined to get to the bottom of it.”
I nodded. Joe and Mason might be adversaries, but I had to trust that Joe would keep Mason safe. I gave him a hug and then headed into the kitchen, Mason on my heels.
“How was your afternoon with Neely Kate?” Mason asked while we started to clean up the kitchen.
I decided there was no better time than the present to bring up one of my two pressing issues. And while I really wanted to know what he was doing with that file on Dora, the Hilary issue burned my gut more. I just needed him to verify it was nonsense before turning the conversation to Dora.
“It was interesting…”
“Why do I think there’s a lot more to that interesting?”