Thirty-Two and a Half Complications
Page 73

“I brought Muffy out, but I brought a blanket with me because it was cooling off. I was so tired I must have dozed off.”
“Come on, let’s get you inside. It’s not safe for you to be out here like this.” He opened the front door and followed me inside.
“Mason, where were you all day?” I asked as I turned on a lamp. “I kept trying to call you.” I couldn’t hide the panic in my voice. “I was really worried when I couldn’t reach you.”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart. I had to go to my office and then on to a crime scene. I didn’t realize my phone was dead until I got a call about the robbery on the office phone. Then I tried calling you back, but you didn’t answer your phone. I almost had a sheriff’s deputy come out to check on you.”
“Except you were worried which one would come.”
He paused and stared into my face. “Rose, I’d call Joe Simmons myself if I thought you were in danger. I’d never put you in harm’s way to save my pride. It’s important you know that.”
I reached for him and pulled him into a hug. “I know. And I love you for it.”
“I love you too. Are you hungry? Have you eaten?”
“Not since Neely Kate stopped for ice cream.”
“Judging from all your calls, I take it you had an eventful day.”
“You could say that.”
We went into the kitchen and I pulled the container from the fridge. “I brought you my leftover hot wings from Big Bill’s Barbeque. Neely Kate and I went there for lunch.”
His quirked his brow at me. “You were at Big Bill’s today?”
“Yeah, Neely Kate said Ronnie Junior had a craving.” When he gave me a blank stare, I added. “Don’t ask.”
“Rose, Big Bill’s Barbeque was robbed right after closing time today.”
“What?” I turned to face him, my jaw dropping.
“It was robbed late this afternoon. We’re guessing it was the same guys who robbed the bank. They had those masks you described. But there were three of them this time. The third one had a Spiderman mask.”
“I have some information that might help.”
His eyes lit up. “Did you go see Samantha Jo?”
“Among other things.” I put the container in the microwave and turned it on. “Let me start at the beginning.” I fixed a plate for each of us and spent the next ten minutes telling him everything about my day—except for the forced vision—while he listened. I also gave him the chart I’d found, which seemed to confuse him as much as it had perplexed Neely Kate and me.
He was silent for a long moment after I finished, then said, “You did have an eventful day.” He looked at my plate and the barely touched food. “Are you still feeling ill?”
I shrugged. “It comes and goes.”
He watched me push my half-eaten wing to the side of the plate. “You’re still not ready to take the test?” he asked, his face expressionless.
“No.”
He didn’t say anything for several unnerving seconds. “Okay, I’ll let you take the lead on this for now.”
I got up to put our plates in the sink. “Thank you.”
He followed behind me. “Let’s clean this up and go sit in the living room. I need to talk to you about something, and I’d rather not do it while we’re hanging over the kitchen sink.”
My chest constricted. “This sounds serious.” A lump burned my throat. “Are you breaking up with me?”
He grabbed my arms and turned me to face him, his eyes flying open. “What? No! Why would you think that?”
“After the Joe situation yesterday and you sleeping in the spare room last night and not going to church with me this morning…well, my imagination ran wild.”
He pulled me into a hug. “Rose, please don’t worry about something like that happening. I love you, and I told you that I don’t take that lightly. When I make a commitment, I stick to it.” He laughed softly, his chest rumbling against mine. “You can’t get rid of me that easily.”
I pulled back and wiped a tear. “I’m glad to hear it.”
He kissed my forehead, his expression turning serious again. “Come on. Let’s go into the living room.”
We sat on the sofa and he wrapped an arm around my back and pulled me close.
“You got a lot of helpful information today, but I’m most worried that Lars Jenkins thinks you have information about him doing something illegal. He is not a man to be trifled with.”
“I didn’t think I was doing anything dangerous, Mason. I swear. I was only goin’ over to talk to Samantha Jo when I had that vision—and we were in church, for heaven’s sake!”
“Hey.” He looked down at me and smoothed back my hair. “You didn’t do anything wrong, and I’m not upset with you. Please don’t think I am. I’m so proud of the progress you’ve made over the last six months. You said you rarely used to do anything or go anywhere, but look at you now. You own your own business, and you have friends—good ones. But unfortunately, there’s a price for venturing out into the world—you risk having visions at inopportune times. It’s going to keep on happening too. The only alternative is for you to hide away from people like you did for so long, but you don’t want to go back to that life…and it’s not what I want for you either. You deserve much more, and the people who have yet to meet you do too.”