Picking Up the Pieces: Rose Gardner Novella 5.5 (Volume 2)

by Denise Grover Swank

  Picking up the Pieces

  Rose Gardner Mystery #5.5

  Denise Grover Swank

  Novella in the USA Today Bestselling Rose Gardner Mystery series, which falls between Thirty-Two and a Half Complications and Thirty-Three and Half Shenanigans.

  While Rose might be reeling from the news that Joe’s ex-girlfriend is pregnant, she’s got bigger issues to deal with. One, putting her business back together albeit with a new partner and into two separate entities; and two, trying to keep the Fenton County Sheriff’s Department from figuring out the true identity of the Lady in Black.

  Includes POVs from Violet, Bruce Wayne, Joe, and Mason.

  This book is a work of fiction. References to real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locations are intended only to provide a sense of authenticity, and are used fictitiously. All other characters, and all incidents and dialogue, are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real.

  Cover Design: Iona Nicole Photography and Complete Pixels

  Developmental Edit: Angela Polidoro

  Copy Edit: Shannon Page

  Amazon Edition

  Copyright 2014 by Denise Grover Swank

  All rights reserved.

  Part One

  Chapter One

  Rose

  I stood in my decimated business staring at Joe, the first man I’d ever loved, and Hilary, the woman he couldn’t shake, even when he tried.

  “Joe, darling.” She glided toward him and put her hand on his chest. “Congratulations are in order. You’re going to be a daddy.”

  I sank into one of the three folding chairs that had been set up in the only part of the shop not covered in debris, forgetting how to breathe. “Oh, crappy doodles.”

  For once, Violet was silent as she watched the couple in front of us, clearly as shocked as I was. Perhaps she was finally having second thoughts about accepting Joe’s money, without my knowledge, to save our business.

  Joe’s face paled and he looked like he was about to pass out. “What?”

  Hilary flashed him a dazzling smile, as though she expected him to share in her joy. “We’re going to have a baby, Joe.”

  His eyes widened and he shook his head. “No. That’s impossible.”

  “Don’t be dense, Joe. You know how babies are made.” She pinned her gaze on me, her eyes hardening. “And we made love enough times on the campaign trail to ensure there were plenty of opportunities for it to happen.”

  Her glare was clearly a challenge. My face burned, but I refused to look away.

  Joe’s face turned red too, but when he spoke his voice quavered with anger, not embarrassment. “No, you’re on the pill.”

  She delicately placed her fingertips on her collar bone, her perfectly tweezed eyebrows lifting slightly. “Oh. Did I forget to mention that my doctor took me off the pill three months ago?”

  Joe’s hands clenched at his side as his jaw tightened. “You’re lying.”

  “I’m not…and I have the doctor’s report to prove it.” She dug into her cream-colored Prada bag and pulled out a folded piece of paper, which she handed to him.

  He jerked it away from her, his hand shaking as he read it.

  I knew I should leave. Joe’s business no longer concerned me, but I couldn’t seem to get out of the chair.

  Joe tossed the paper at Hilary, shaking his head. “No. I don’t believe you. It wouldn’t be hard for you to forge this.”

  She gracefully caught the floating paper and tucked it back into her purse. “I know it’s a bit of a shock.” She gave him a sympathetic pout. “We hadn’t planned on children for a few more years, but we’ll have to speed up our plans a little. We can get married in a few weeks like we’d originally planned during the campaign. Momma hasn’t cancelled any of the arrangements yet.”

  Joe took two steps back from her, the vein on his forehead throbbing as he exploded. “I’m not marrying you!”

  “Now, Joe. I realize this is a shock—”

  “I’m not marrying you!”

  She tilted her head to the side, seemingly unfazed by his violent outburst. “Do you really want our baby to be a bastard?”

  “You’re not pregnant!”

  Her eyes narrowed and the snake I knew her to be slipped through the cracks of her polished exterior as she lifted her chin. “And in the entirety of the twenty-nine years we’ve known each other, have I ever bluffed about something of this magnitude, Joseph Robert Simmons?”

  And just like that, the fight slid out of Joe and he gasped. Although he had shared very little with me about his time with Hilary, I took his reaction to mean he believed her.

  I felt like I was going to throw up. So, it was true. Hilary was pregnant with Joe’s baby. I shouldn’t have cared, but I did. Anger washed through me and I wasn’t sure who I was angry with, Hilary for clearly trapping Joe in this situation or Joe for letting it happen.

  Joe’s mouth gaped open in shock but nothing came out, then he turned to me, horror in his eyes as he pleaded, “Rose…”

  For the past month, I’d told him we were over again and again, until I was blue in the face, but Joe refused to believe it. As evidenced by the look of dismay on his face right now. In addition to all of the other changes it would necessitate in his life, his ex-girlfriend turning up pregnant was throwing a huge curve ball into his master plan to win me back.

  I shook my head, my eyes filling with tears, unsure how to respond.

  Hilary’s lips widened into a sly grin. “I made an ultrasound appointment with a doctor here in Henryetta for this afternoon so you can see our baby and hear its tiny little heartbeat.”

  His head swung around to her, his face white as the snowflakes that had begun falling outside our ripped-apart nursery. “Heartbeat?”

  Her smile turned sweeter. “I know! Isn’t it amazing?” Her hand smoothed an imaginary wrinkle on her completely flat abdomen. “Our baby already has a heartbeat.”

  Joe’s eyes widened and he looked like he thought that fact was the furthest possible thing from amazing.

  “I knew you’d want to hear it, so I arranged everything, which wasn’t easy since it’s a holiday weekend and you’re living in a hick town.” She tilted her head and twisted her mouth into yet another version of a pout. “But see how much I love you?” Her smile brightened. “So all you have to do is show up late this afternoon at Henryetta Family Clinic. Five o’clock.” She closed the distance between them and kissed his cheek. “I’ll see you later, Joe.” She shot me one last glare before turning and heading for the doorway, carefully picking her way through a minefield of broken ornaments, plastic tree limbs, dirt, and broken pots. Before she stepped outside, she stopped and looked over her shoulder at me. “I just love what you’ve done with the place, Rose.” And with that she left and shut the door behind her.

  “That witch!” Violet gasped, watching through the window as Hilary sashayed her way to her shiny white Lexus.

  I shared her opinion, but at that moment I was more worried about someone else. I stood, clasping my shaky hands together. “Joe.”

  His eyes were glassy as they met mine and he looked shell-shocked.

  “Are you okay?” It was the stupidest question I could possibly ask, but I was at a loss to come up with something better.

  He shook his head and swallowed. “I…”

  I moved toward him and wrapped my hand around his wrist, gently tugging him toward the chairs. “Come sit down.”

  He came willingly enough and sat in one of the chairs, looking like he was going to pass out. I took the one
next to his, still holding his arm. I was afraid to let go, as if I might be the only thing holding all the bits and pieces of him together.

  Violet shuddered and leaned her arms against the back of the folding chair across from us. “Is she right?” she asked in a prying tone. “Is she really pregnant with your baby?”

  He looked up at her, his mouth opening, but nothing came out.

  My anger rose up like a billowing cloud. She was interfering. Again. “You stay out of this, Violet! It’s none of your business!”

  Her eyes flew wide. “And it’s yours? Haven’t you been telling Joe for weeks that it’s over between you? More competition shows up and you suddenly want him back?”

  “More competition?” But I instantly knew she was talking about herself. Could she actually be serious? I would have confronted her more on the topic, but it didn’t seem like the time. “Joe needs a friend right now.”

  “That’s right. He needs a friend.” She strutted around the empty chair and sat in it, leaning forward. “I’m here for you, Joe.”

  I sat up in disbelief.

  Joe looked more confused than ever.

  Maybe Violet was right. I had been pushing him away, so why did I feel this push-pull to stay with him now? What kind of mixed signals was I sending? Perhaps my need to help him was actually hurting him. “I’ll go.” I realized I was still holding his arm, so I released it and started to stand.

  Joe’s eyes widened in panic. “No, Rose. Stay. Please.”

  Violet hesitated. “I’m worried about you, Joe. I don’t want you to be alone.”

  Joe took several deep breaths. He was barely straddling the line of control and my sister was about to topple him over.

  “Violet, please,” I pleaded. “Just go. I’ll stay with him.”

  “Well, we still have to discuss the business. There are a lot of things for us to go over.”

  “Yeah…” Joe lifted his free hand and rubbed his head. “Yeah, she’s right.”

  My back stiffened. I suspected I had a heap more to say on the matter of our new partnership than either of them would, but now wasn’t the time. “No, all of it can wait. We can talk later.”

  “And who put you in charge?” Violet asked, her brow furrowing.

  I was done.

  I dropped Joe’s arm and pointed my finger in her face. “I made me in charge. Unless Joe donated a ton more money than I think he did, I’m the majority owner of the nursery. And Violet, since you didn’t contribute any money, that makes you an employee.”

  Her jaw slacked. “What?”

  “And as your boss, I’m giving you the day off. Go home, Violet.”

  She shook her head, her anger returning. “You can’t do that!”

  “I just did! Go!”

  She stood and grabbed her purse off the only free space on the sales counter. “This isn’t over, Rose Anne Gardner.”

  “I never said it was. I said it could wait. Now go.”

  Violet started to leave, then spun around. “But consider this, Rose: How much are you helping him right now and how much are you hurtin’?”

  I gritted my teeth but didn’t answer. Her words echoed my own thoughts, but I trusted my heart and my heart told me to stay.

  After Violet walked out the door, I turned to Joe. “I can go. I just didn’t want to leave you alone in Violet’s claws right now.”

  “Please stay.” He grabbed my hand and we sat side by side, our fingers intertwined as we stared at the rubble of what remained of my business—now his too, it would seem. I found it amazing how less than ten minutes ago I had been furious with him, and now I was sharing in his pain.

  “Maybe she’s lying,” I whispered after half a minute of silence.

  He sucked in his lower lip and shook his head, looking down at the floor. “No. She’s not. I can tell.”

  “But are you sure it’s yours?” Even though he’d slept with her after our breakup, it still hurt to ask the question.

  He released a choked laugh, his eyes filling with tears. “Look on the bright side. We can raise our babies together.”

  I sucked in a breath. “Oh. You don’t know.”

  His head swiveled to face me, worry pinching the corners of his eyes. “Know what?”

  “I’m not pregnant.”

  His eyes sank closed and relief washed over his face, quickly replaced with resignation. He rested his elbow on his leg and covered his face with his free hand. “Are congratulations in order or regrets?”

  “Joe.”

  He stood, shaking his head as he surveyed the destruction around us. “I can’t catch a damn break, can I?”

  I stood. “Joe.”

  He spun around and stared at me, heartbreak written all over his face. “I wasn’t trying to harass you yesterday, although my behavior lately must have made it look that way.” He took a breath. “I’m sure Mason told you about the big bust down by Pickle Junction.”

  My guts twisted. Mason had mentioned it, but he hadn’t needed to. I’d been at the underground auction for Daniel Crocker’s black market business with Skeeter Malcolm, so I’d seen it all firsthand. “Yeah.”

  “We didn’t know how it was going to shake out. The auction was south of town, but if things went bad, we were worried there’d be some kind of turf war at Weston’s Garage, north of town. I wanted to make sure you stayed home. You have a knack for getting in trouble—whether you’re looking for it or not—and staying home seemed like the best option for you.”

  I clenched my hands at my sides and then relaxed them. He was right. I’d thought the worst of him when he was only trying to keep me safe. “I’m sorry.” My voice broke.

  He gave me a grim smile. “Don’t be sorry. You haven’t done anything wrong.”

  “What are you going to do about…”

  “Hilary?”

  I nodded, feeling nauseated again. “She’s got it all planned out.”

  His eyebrows rose with his smirk. “She always has.” He moved toward me, stopping less than a foot away. “Do you believe in destiny, Rose?”

  We’d had this conversation before. “You know I do, Joe.” My voice broke again.

  “I used to too. I used to think you were my destiny.” Tears filled his eyes. “Maybe I should put more stock in karma.” He swallowed again, the tears threatening to fall. “I haven’t been a good person, Rose. I’ve done some terrible things.”

  I shook my head. “Maybe so, but I believe that deep in your heart you’re a good person, Joe McAllister.”

  “I know.” A tear slid down his cheek. “And you believed in me enough for both of us.” He choked on a sob. “Now what do I do?”

  I threw my arms around his neck, burying my face into his chest as my own sobs broke loose. “I can’t go back to you, Joe. I can’t. Especially not now.”

  His arms wrapped around my back, pulling me flush against him as his body heaved. “I know.”

  We clung together, crying in each other’s arms for nearly a minute until he pulled away. “I love you, Rose, but I’m letting you go for real this time.” Then he pulled me back into a hug, squeezing me tight before kissing the top of my head and backing up several steps.

  “Are you leaving Henryetta?” I asked, suddenly panicked.

  “No.” He wiped his cheeks with the back of his hand. “Ironically enough, I feel like I belong here. With or without you.”

  I nodded.

  “We’ll discuss the business later.” His gaze swept the ruined room again before he walked out the door. “It’s not going anywhere.”

  And neither was Joe. That thought filled me with more relief than I had a right to.

  Chapter Two

  Rose

  I swallowed a fresh sob and wondered what to do. I needed to talk to someone, but who? Mason was tied up with work at the courthouse. He’d barely had time to talk to me earlier, when I’d called to tell him about my doctor’s visit. I went with the next person who popped into my head. Someone I could always count on to sup
port me and give me sound, unbiased advice.

  Jonah’s secretary gave me an anxious glance when I walked into the office of the New Living Hope Revival Church. Poor Jessica had her sights set on Reverend Jonah Pruitt, and she’d seen me as a threat ever since starting her position a couple of months ago. Her anxiety had lessened after she learned that Mason and I were together, but I suspected no one spent as much time behind closed doors with Jonah as I did.

  “Hi, Jessica.” I glanced at the closed office door. “Is Jonah busy?”

  “He can’t see you right now,” she said, her mouth pursed. “He’s with someone.”

  “Okay.” My nerves were wound up tighter than a ball of yarn, but I wasn’t about to take advantage of my friendship with my pastor if he was genuinely busy. “Do you know how much longer he’s going to be?”

  She gave me a half-shrug. “Not sure.”

  I wanted to assure her that I wasn’t her enemy, that I was actually trying to help her cause, but I would never betray Jonah’s trust. Instead, I said, “Would you tell him I was here and I’ll—?”

  Jonah’s door swung open and the voices of the two men in the doorway filled the reception area. The middle-aged man across from Jonah shook his hand. “Thanks, Reverend.”

  Jonah gave him a grin. “Now, Phil. I thought we’d agreed you would call me Jonah.”

  “Well, thank you, Jonah. I’ll see you on Sunday.”

  Jonah’s gaze followed his visitor toward the door, then landed on me. “Rose, to what do I owe this pleasure…” His voice broke off when he saw the tears that were already filling my eyes. He reached out for me and looked over his shoulder. “Jessica, hold all my calls.”

  He ushered me into his office, then shut the door behind us before guiding me to the guest chair in front of his desk. I was glad I didn’t have to see the look on Jessica’s face.

  “When are you going to ask that poor girl out?” I asked, reaching for a tissue off his desk. “You’d make my life a whole lot easier.”

  “I’m working on it.” He sat next to me, the barest hint of a grin lifting his mouth. Jonah Pruitt was a good-looking man. He put more care into his appearance than most men, but if I had my own weekly televised service, I’d probably do the same. His short blond hair was gelled and spiked in a way that suited him. The truth was, he could have his pick of just about any single woman under the age of forty in Fenton County and beyond, but his past love-life experiences hadn’t ended so well. Which was, of course, an understatement given that his mother had murdered his old girlfriend.