Twenty-Nine and a Half Reasons
Page 78

Neely Kate paused and tilted her head. “You’re kidding me, right?”
I shook my head.
“Rose, I’m so sorry.”
I shrugged. It was in the past, even if the pain jumped out from time to time, nipping at my slowly building confidence.
“You most certainly are not demon-possessed. You’re one of the sweetest people I know. I’m so glad we’re friends.”
I glanced up at her in disbelief.
“I need to ask you something serious.” A stern look crossed her face.
My stomach twisted with dread. “Okay.”
“So is my wedding going to be destroyed by my fiancé’s family?”
I squinted in confusion. “How would I know?”
“With your gift.”
“I just told you I couldn’t control them.”
“You can’t make yourself see things unless it just pops into your head?”
“Well…” Joe had once convinced me to force a vision, and when I tried I saw his murder. There was no way I was gonna do that again.
She saw my hesitation. “You can make it happen.”
“Only once and it was awful. I saw Joe die.”
“But Joe’s still alive. That couldn’t have been a vision.”
“Not everything I see happens. Sometimes things are different. I saw myself dead on Momma’s sofa but it ended up her, instead. I saw Joe dead, but I stopped it from happenin’.”
She leaned over the table, her eyes wild with excitement. “All the more reason for you to tell me about my wedding. If something bad’s gonna happen, I want to able to put a stop to it.”
“Neely Kate, I don’t know. I’ve only tried it one time. It might not even work.”
Her mouth lifted into a smug smile. “Well, you’ll never know if you don’t try, right? Consider it practice. You just never know when it might come in handy.”
Joe had pretty much suggested the same thing, but I didn’t see how that was possible. Neely Kate sat across from me, giving me puppy-dog eyes and pouting. How could I say no to that? I sighed, closing my eyes. “All right…”
She grabbed both my hands in hers and pulled them toward her. “Thank you, thank you! You have no idea how much this means to me!”
I hoped she felt that way after I had a vision. If I had a vision. I looked around the café to see if anyone was watching. The customers all seemed intent on their own conversations. “Okay, let me hold your hand and I’ll concentrate on you and the wedding and see if something happens. That’s what I did with Joe, only I thought of him and Daniel Crocker.”
Nodding, she placed our linked hands on the table. “Okay.”
My eyes sank closed and I pictured Neely Kate and thought about her wedding and her bridesmaid dresses. Tension knotted my shoulders and just when I thought it wasn’t going to work, I felt the familiar tingle.
I walked down the aisle, a puffy white dress swirling around my legs. A handsome man stood at the altar, wearing a black tuxedo. His mouth lifted into a wide smile. A multitude of groomsmen and bridesmaids crowded on the sides, too many to count, but I spotted Neely Kate’s orange cousin right off.
Candelabras covered the back of the altar and lined the side aisles, casting a beautiful candlelit glow. Then the older man next to me placed my hand into the groom’s and I stepped up onto the altar next to him, my heart bursting with happiness.
“You’re goin’ to have a beautiful wedding.” I forced the words past a lump in my throat, tears stinging my eyes.
Neely Kate’s grip tightened, her eyes wild with worry. “Then why are you about to cry?”
“Oh, Neely Kate. It was just so beautiful.” A tear slid down my cheek. “Your fiancé is such a handsome man. And I saw The Skittle, but everything else was so beautiful that I hardly noticed her. And you were so happy.” I choked on the last word, still overwhelmed with feeling. I’d never experienced emotions before in a vision. Did I feel her happiness because it was so strong or because I’d forced the vision?
“Really?” Neely Kate bit the side of her lower lip.
“I promise.”
She pulled me into a hug. “Thank you, Rose! Thank you so much!”
I smiled. That hadn’t turned out so bad. I’d made a vision happen and it hadn’t been something awful. And Neely Kate was clearly relieved. I had done that for her, and pride and happiness washed over me. I felt needed. “How many people are in your wedding, anyway?”
Neely Kate looked up at the ceiling and ticked off her fingers. “There’s a maid of honor, five bridesmaids, two junior bridesmaids, three flower girls, one best man, seven groomsmen, two ring bearers and four ushers.”
“I don’t even think I’d have that many guests at my wedding.”
She snorted with a laugh. “Nah. I bet Joe would invite a lot of people.”
Knowing who Joe’s family was, Neely Kate was probably right.
“Joe and Violet had a big knock-down, drag-out fight this weekend and Joe told Violet about his family. They’re the Simmons family from El Dorado.”
Neely Kate’s mouth formed an O and she quickly covered it with her hand. “The Simmons family?”
“Why does everyone but me know who they are?”
“Girl! Have you been living under a rock? They’re practically royalty.”
I frowned, stabbing a French fry into my ketchup. “Lucky me.”