Thirty-Two and a Half Complications

by Denise Grover Swank

  “Maybe so, but we need to be able to trust each other, and if I find out you haven’t lived up to your word, I’ll tell Idabelle.”

  “Fine,” he growled, looking over his shoulder at Jed. “Call Merv and tell him the new rules.”

  Jed looked like Skeeter had told him go cuddle puppies.

  Skeeter’s gaze turned back to the podium. “You don’t see anyone else who could be involved?”

  This wasn’t going well. “No.”

  “Keep searching. The bid is at twelve thousand, and we have until twenty-one or so.”

  He didn’t have to tell me that, but it obviously made him feel better to say it.

  “They might not all be here,” I said. “It would only take two of them to do this. One to bid and the other…”

  “To kill me,” he finished. “You said there’s two possible guys here. Jenkins and Davidson. If Jenkins is bidding, that leaves Davidson.” He glanced at the place where we’d last seen Eric. “Where is he?”

  Sure enough, he was gone. “I don’t know.” But the more I thought about Merrill and Mr. Sullivan being part of this mess, the more it made sense that Eric Davidson was likely involved too. He must have been the guy whose vision I’d experienced at church. That only left Mick and the man from the fertilizer plant unaccounted for.

  “I sent Merv to take care of the grocery store manager, but I can’t send Jed away.” He sounded worried.

  “Surely Big Bad Jed can take care of a scrawny thing like Eric Davidson.”

  “He can, but…”

  “Twenty thousand!” the auctioneer shouted. “Do I hear twenty-one?”

  No one responded.

  “Do I hear twenty-one?” the auctioneer repeated. “Going once—”

  Skeeter growled, then lifted his paddle and shouted, “Twenty-one.”

  “Do I hear twenty-two?”

  “Twenty-two!” the last bidder called out.

  “Twenty-three!” Skeeter shouted without being prompted.

  “Do I hear twenty-four?”

  No one answered.

  Jed stood almost directly behind Skeeter, scanning the crowd.

  “Do I hear twenty-four?” the auctioneer shouted. “Going once.”

  I tensed, my nerves pinging with anxiety. This was going differently than my vision, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something bad was about to happen.

  “Going twice!”

  I held my breath.

  “Twenty-four!” a quiet voice rang out from a corner.

  All eyes in the room turned toward it. Skeeter and I gasped simultaneously.

  “He was in my vision at the fertilizer plant,” I hissed.

  “That’s my goddamned dentist!” Skeeter growled. “You said it was the grocery store manager who was bidding!”

  I shook my head, trying to figure out what was going on. “Merv must have stopped him. So your dentist took his place.”

  “Do I hear twenty-five?” the auctioneer called out.

  “Twenty-six!” Skeeter hollered, lifting his paddle. Then he lowered his voice, shooting a glance back to Jed. “Do either of you see the Burger Shack guy?”

  “No,” we both said.

  “Twenty-seven?” The man at the podium looked toward Skeeter’s dentist.

  “How much money do you think they got from the Piggly Wiggly?” Skeeter asked Jed.

  His minion looked scared. “It’s hard to say, Skeeter.”

  “Take a goddamned guess!”

  “Maybe ten thousand or so.”

  “So they have at least thirty K,” Skeeter muttered. “Where’s the damn fast food guy? How hard can it be to find a scrawny kid?”

  “I don’t know,” Jed answered.

  Skeeter lifted his paddle. “Thirty thousand!”

  A man was slowly inching his way toward us, hanging at the periphery of the crowd. I knew I’d seen him somewhere, but I couldn’t place him.

  Skeeter’s dentist cast a glance in our direction, then stood straighter and called out with more confidence, “Thirty-one!”

  “Thirty-three!” Skeeter rumbled out, flexing and unflexing his hand.

  “Thirty-four!” the dentist practically shouted.

  “Jed.” I glanced back at him. “Over there. The man standing by the guy with the blue shirt. He’s making a beeline toward us and I know him somehow.”

  “That’s Doc Gentry,” Jed said. “The big-animal vet.”

  “Oh, my word,” I exhaled. In my vision, Skeeter had been killed with a syringe of something. Doc Gentry had access to powerful tranquilizers that could down a man in an instant. It made sense that he would smell of fertilizer.

  He was about six feet away when someone bumped into the vet and he shouted, “Get out of my way.”

  I recognized his voice. “Dr. Gentry is Mick. The bank robber.”

  “My dentist. The vet. The damn grocery store manager. What the hell is going on here?” Skeeter hissed. “Stop him, Jed.”

  “You’re the one who said they’d watched too many episodes of Breaking Bad.”

  “I didn’t actually believe it!”

  Jed took off after Mick. Mick saw him coming and turned around, heading for the exit.

  “Going once,” the auctioneer called out. “Going twice…”

  Skeeter lifted his paddle, watching Jed grab the veterinarian. “Thirty-five!”

  “Do I hear thirty-six?”

  All eyes turned to the dentist, who was watching Jed lead Dr. Gentry to a back corner. His face paled.

  “Thirty-six?” the auctioneer asked again. “Going once… going twice…”

  Skeeter’s body was so stiff I could have done laundry on it.

  “Sold! To paddle nine!”

  A big grin broke out on Skeeter’s face right before I heard Joe’s voice shouted through a speaker, “Fenton County Sheriff’s Department! Everybody drop to your knees with your hands on your head.”

  Oh, shit.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  I could not let Joe find me here.

  Skeeter snarled like a wild animal. “Jed!”

  Jed was already on his way back, Mick nowhere to be seen. Jed threw something on the ground behind him, and a huge plume of smoke billowed into the air. Shouts and screams filled the room.

  Skeeter grabbed my arm. “Come on.”

  I couldn’t see where he was leading me with all the smoke around us, and a small part of me considered staying put, but I figured Skeeter had as strong a sense of self-preservation as I had, maybe more. Sticking with him and Jed seemed the best plan.

  Skeeter and Jed must have already planned out an escape route. Skeeter trapped my wrist in a firm grip, and it occurred to me that even if I wanted to stay behind, he wouldn’t have any part of it. I had trouble keeping up in my four-inch heels, but after several seconds of running, Skeeter stopped. I slammed into him and he grabbed my shoulders to keep me upright.

  I could barely make out Jed bending over and lifting something up. I wanted to ask questions, but I could hear a huge commotion at the other end of the barn, and I knew we needed stealth to get away.

  Skeeter tugged me around Jed and dropped his grip. “Me first, then Lady,” he whispered before he turned around and disappeared down a pitch-black hole.

  Jed had found a trapdoor.

  When Skeeter was halfway down, Jed turned me around and guided me to the opening. I struggled to find my way in the darkness. My feet found wooden boards, but the pointy toes of my shoes didn’t cooperate, slowing my progress. I’d made it down several steps when I felt hands grab my waist and haul me the rest of the way. I squelched a shriek of surprise.

  Skeeter set me on the ground and pushed me against a damp stone wall, his hand covering my mouth. “Shh!” It was pitch dark all around us.

  Jed jumped down next to us and the darkness gave way when a flashlight beam flickered on. Moments later, Skeeter’s smiling face came into view. “Always have an escape plan, Lady.”

  “My name is Rose,” I said an
grily, but I was scared to death and anger was the easiest emotion to latch onto.

  “Not anymore.”

  Jed pushed past us and took the lead, Skeeter following behind. I took up the rear.

  “How did this happen?” Skeeter asked.

  “When I went after Doc Gentry, I passed a guy who said he thought he might have been tailed here” Jed answered. “I was about to warn you.”

  Thank goodness he wasn’t blaming me.

  We walked through the narrow stone tunnel for several minutes before we stopped at a dead end in front of another poorly constructed board ladder attached to the wall.

  Jed climbed up first and lifted the trapdoor, looking around in all directions before declaring it safe.

  Skeeter leered at me, gesturing toward the ladder. “Lady first.”

  It was a terrible pun, but I refused to acknowledge it. “There’s no way on God’s green earth I’m going up before you and letting you look up my dress.”

  He laughed. “I wouldn’t have thought of it if you hadn’t brought it up.”

  “Liar,” I said, taking a step back and crossing my arms. “I know your reputation.”

  His grin fell. “In all seriousness, Rose, you’re going up first. Now.”

  There was a time and place for picking your battles and now didn’t seem to be the time or place, especially since the sheriff’s department might be hot on our heels.

  “Fine, but keep your gaze averted.”

  Skeeter laughed and turned to face the side wall. “I’m giving you five seconds before I look up.”

  He actually started counting “One Mississippi, two Mississippi,” while I scrambled up the makeshift ladder. He reached five by the time Jed reached under my armpits and lifted me out, setting me gently on the ground.

  “Where are we?” I asked, looking around and seeing nothing but trees. I suddenly realized what a precarious position I was in—alone in the woods with two men of very questionable character. But taking advantage of me seemed to be the very last thing on their minds as they coordinated with one of their buddies to pick us up.

  “What about Merv?” I asked, though the person I was really worried about was Bruce Wayne.

  Skeeter shrugged. “I’m sure Merv is fine. He knew the getaway plans.”

  When I took my phone out to call Bruce Wayne, I saw that he’d already tried to call me. He’d also sent multiple warning texts after seeing the sheriff’s cars pull into the lot behind the barn. The rest of his messages asked where I was and if I was okay.

  He answered on the first ring. “Rose? Are you safe?”

  “I’m fine. I got out with Skeeter and Jed. I take it you are too since you’re answering your phone.”

  “I’m fine. I parked down the road on a county road and I heard ’em comin’. I hid in the woods, but was worried about you. Joe’s there.”

  “Yeah, I heard his voice.”

  “And Mason’s there too. I saw him getting out of his car as I was sneakin’ away.”

  “Mason?” My heart raced. “Is he okay? Did the people inside put up a fight?”

  “I don’t know, Rose. I’m sure he’s fine.”

  “Okay,” I said, my voice shaky. “You go on home, Bruce Wayne. I’ll have Skeeter take me back to my car and I’ll see you at five for Thanksgiving dinner.”

  “Okay.” I could tell he didn’t like my plan, but there wasn’t a better alternative.

  We started hiking through the woods, which proved a challenge with Neely Kate’s heels sinking in to the soft ground. Skeeter reached over to help me, but I shrugged out of his reach, which brought on a new round of chuckles.

  “How can you act so nonchalant?” I asked, just barely starting to calm down from all the excitement. “We were almost arrested!”

  “This ain’t our first rodeo,” Jed laughed.

  I didn’t even want to consider all the other misadventures those two had experienced together.

  A car was waiting for us when we reached the road. Skeeter opened the back door and waited for me to climb in before sliding in next to me. Jed rode shotgun. The men discussed how the sheriff’s office could have figured out where to find the location.

  “Bull had the perfect code,” Skeeter mused. “The way he put together that numbered chart to communicate the place, time, and date was brilliant. I don’t know how anyone not in the know could have made heads or tails of it.”

  I bit my tongue. Lord only knew what Skeeter would do if he found out I’d played a role in the bust, even if it was inadvertent. I kept quiet the entire ride to the parking lot of the pool hall. As soon as we parked, I got out of the car without saying a word.

  “Rose,” Skeeter called after me.

  I stopped next to my truck door.

  “I owe you.” He walked toward me, stopping several feet away. “And I don’t say that to many people.”

  “That very well may be, Skeeter Malcolm, but you didn’t follow through on your end of the deal,” I said, my voice firm, but most of my fight was gone. I’d resigned myself to the demise of the nursery. I had put everything on the line…and failed. “You’re still alive and now king of Fenton County, but I’m still out my nine thousand dollars and losing my business tomorrow.”

  He started to say something, but I ignored him and got in the truck, pulling out of the parking lot as he watched me in silence.

  I drove home, worried how I’d explain wearing Neely Kate’s black dress when I got home. But Mason’s car was still missing from the front of the house. I slipped in through the front door, thankful when I heard Maeve in the kitchen talking to Muffy, which explained why my dog wasn’t barking at my entrance. I was halfway up the stairs when a tread squeaked, eliciting a round of barking from Muffy.

  “Rose?” Mason’s mother called out. “Is that you?”

  “Yeah,” I hurried up the rest of the stairs and called down. “I got flour all over me at Neely Kate’s and I have to change clothes.”

  “Okay.”

  I groaned as I realized my original clothes were still at the pool hall. I stripped off the black dress and put on a sweater and skirt. As I stuffed Neely Kate’s things in the back of my closet, I reflected on how I’d gotten here. I may have lost my business, but I reminded myself of the gratitude I felt for the people in my life. Mason, my friends. Mason’s mother, and Violet, despite all her meanness lately. I was even grateful for Joe and the part he’d played in helping me become the woman I was today. I could replace my business, but I couldn’t replace a single one of the people I cared about. I rested my hand on my stomach. If I found out I was having a baby, I’d accept it with a heart full of love and acceptance.

  It was time to stop delaying the inevitable. I was ready to know the truth.

  I found my cell phone and called Mason.

  “Rose,” he answered, sounding concerned. “I tried to reach you earlier. I was worried, especially after I called Mom and she said you were at Neely Kate’s and Neely Kate didn’t answer her phone either.”

  “I was tied up. When will you be home?”

  He sighed. “Soon, I think. I got called to go on a big raid, but there’s not much more I can do here.”

  My stomach tensed. What would he do if he found out I’d been inside that barn? “Hurry home because there’s something we have to do together.”

  His voice went husky and I could hear the hint of a grin behind it. “Does it involve a bed? I’m not sure how we’ll explain it to my mother, but we can come up with something creative.”

  I laughed. “No. It’s not that. It involves peeing on a stick.”

  He was silent for a moment. “You’re ready to take the test?”

  “Yeah. I’ve been waiting for the perfect moment, because if you and I are having a baby together, I don’t want there to be one ounce of sadness when we find out. But I realize there is no perfect moment. And we’ll love the baby, surprise or not.”

  “Sometimes the best things in life are surprises, Rose.”

 
“I know,” I said, biting back tears. “Look how I found you.”

  “I’ll be home as soon as I can.”

  “I know. I love you.”

  “I love you too.”

  I went downstairs to help Mason’s mother in the kitchen, but she seemed to have everything under control.

  “I’m so sorry I wasn’t here to help. I feel terrible.”

  She waved off my concerns. “I loved doing it.” Her voice cracked. “I miss cooking for Mason, Savannah, and Van. I’m just grateful to be here helping.”

  I pulled her into a hug. “I’m so glad you’re here too.”

  She stepped away, swiping at her eyes. “The potatoes are boiling. The green beans are simmering. The sweet potatoes, dressing, and turkey are all in the oven,” she said, surveying the kitchen. “And we’ll start the gravy after we pull the turkey out. Then we’ll have what Violet brings, of course.”

  I sighed. “If she comes.”

  Maeve winked. “She will.”

  We were setting the table an hour later when Mason came home. He found us in the dining room and pulled me into a hug, kissing me like he hadn’t seen me for days instead of a few hours.

  “Mason!” I protested through my laughter. “Your mother is watching.”

  “Don’t mind me,” she sing-songed as she disappeared into the dining room. “I’ve got everything under control if you two need a few minutes alone.”

  Mason smiled down at me and whispered, “Let’s go find out if we’re having a baby.”

  I grabbed my purse and we took it upstairs. I pulled the multiple boxes out and laid them on the bed, trying to decide which one to use.

  “Whoa,” Mason said, lifting his hands.

  “Neely Kate got them for me. She said she got multiple tests… just in case.”

  “Just in case what?”

  I shrugged. “I have no idea. But I also have no idea which one to use.”

  Mason grabbed a box with a name brand and handed it to me. “Try this one.”

  I made him sit on the bed while I peed on the stick. After I put the test on the comforter and set the timer on my phone for two minutes, we sat on the bed holding hands and looked at the nursery through the sheers.

  “If we’re having a baby,” I whispered, “do you want a boy or a girl?”