When the Bough Breaks (Rose Gardner Investigations #6) - Denise Grover Swank Page 0,73
released a short laugh. “Never thought you’d hear me say that, huh?”
“No.” But she was right—our lives were changing. We were both soon-to-be mothers and our priorities would shift. “Promise me that we won’t lose each other once we have our babies. That we’ll still be best friends and share our lives.”
“We will,” she said, lifting a hand to my cheek and staring deep into my eyes. “You’re the sister of my heart. You’re stuck with me.”
I gave her a watery smile. “And you’re stuck with me. Sadly for you, even when I’m a witch.”
A grin lit up her eyes. “Please…I grew up with Witt and Alan Jackson. I doubt there’s anything you can throw at me that would drive me away.” She cast a glance at the Sonder Tech building before turning back to me, grinning from ear to ear. “They’re thinkin’ that you rebound pretty fast after a romantic setback.”
I turned slightly to face the building. Several people stood in the front lobby, watching us through the glass doors, and a couple of men had gathered in front of the salesroom window too. The only thing missing from their audience experience was a bucket of popcorn.
“Then we’ll give them a show,” I said with a grin, and before she realized what I was up to, I leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. “Now let’s go.”
She laughed. “You’re awful, Rose Gardner. Who knew you had it in you?”
I laughed too. “I think you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.”
I got behind the wheel of the truck and drove us toward Whispering Pines, the other neighborhood I knew Mike had been working in, while Neely Kate pulled out her phone and called Jed. She put him on speaker and filled him in on everything we’d just learned.
“And what are you two up to now?” he asked.
“Heading to one of Mike’s other spec houses,” I said. “Hoping to find Pat.”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” he said. “What if he had something to do with Mike and the kids’ disappearance?”
“All the better,” I said.
“No,” he said in a firm tone. “You two have gotten some very useful information. Let me and Witt take over from here.” He paused. “Have you told Joe yet?”
“I told him about Calista last night, but not about this.”
“Can you do me a favor and hold off for about an hour to give us a head start?”
“That’s presumin’ Joe doesn’t already know,” Neely Kate said. “He’s not sharin’ everything with Rose.”
I didn’t answer, instead mulling it over, uncomfortable with his request. I’d been honest with Joe about everything up until this point. I didn’t want to give him cause to distrust me now.
“I’m not askin’ you to withhold it from him, Rose,” Jed said in an understanding tone. “I’m only askin’ you to hold off for a little while.”
“Okay,” I said, but guilt pressed a weight on my chest. “Besides, he’s gonna be upset when he finds out I was at Sonder Tech in the first place. Last night he asked me to promise not to go back.” And because I felt the need to explain myself, even though I doubted Jed judged me, I added, “And in case you think I broke my promise, I didn’t. I just didn’t answer him when he asked.”
Jed chuckled. “Amateur. I’ve learned that particular trick from Neely Kate.”
“He’s learnin’,” I said, suddenly overcome with a sense of melancholy. What if this was the one thing that pushed him over the edge?
When would I ever get over this fear of the men in my life leaving me?
Maybe never, because every single one of them had.
Pushing out a sigh, I glanced at the clock on the dashboard. “It’s ten thirty. I’ll give you until one and then I’m callin’ him.”
“Thanks,” he said, “but I need to ask again—what are you plannin’ on doin’ now?”
“I don’t know,” I said honestly. “We still need to figure that out.”
“We thought about goin’ to see Stewart,” Neely Kate said carefully.
“Absolutely not,” Jed growled. “You stay far away from that man. Witt and I will take care of it.”
I expected Neely Kate to protest, but she said, “Okay. We won’t go see him.”
He hesitated. “Let me know what you do end up doin’.”
“We will,” she said.
“Love you, NK.”
“Love you too,” she said.
When I heard the click of the disconnecting call, I asked, “So are you lookin’ up Stewart’s address while I drive?”
“No,” Neely Kate said. “Jed’s right. It’s too dangerous for us.”