When the Bough Breaks (Rose Gardner Investigations #6) - Denise Grover Swank Page 0,93

gave me that grin again, the one that rippled across his whole face. “You have no idea how happy I am that you did.”

“I love you, Joe,” I whispered. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

“I love you too, Rose. I never stopped. I’ve loved you since I kissed you on your mother’s porch.” He kissed me gently as he held his hand against my belly.

The baby gave another hard kick just as a vision set in.

James was holding a gun on me—on Joe—from six feet way, his face full of contempt. “You thought you could take what was mine, Simmons?”

“You could never deserve them, Malcolm,” Joe’s voice said in disgust.

“Maybe not, but neither do you.” He lifted the gun so it was pointed at me center mass. Then he pulled the trigger and the deafening report made my ears ring. I felt intense pressure on my chest, followed by a rush of white-hot pain.

The vision faded and I mumbled, “James is gonna kill you,” into Joe’s mouth.

He pulled away, his hand lingering on my face, and there was so much love in his eyes, my heart felt ready to burst. “I love you too. I’ll see you at home.”

Then he turned around and headed back to the scene.

I watched him in shock and disbelief, unable to process what I’d seen.

A new deputy walked over to me and gave me a sharp rebuke. “You need to leave, miss. You’ll find out what happened here right along with everyone else in Henryetta. When we release it to the press.”

I considered telling him I’d just been talking to Joe, but I was still in too much shock to process what was happening. I walked back to my truck in a daze. I had to stop this, but how?

Should I spend the forty-eight hours with James? Would that convince him to leave Joe alone?

I was in no condition to sort it out now, not this close to my meeting with Vera. I considered calling Neely Kate, but she’d want to get together immediately to powwow. No, I’d wait until after my meeting with Vera.

Dermot and I weren’t supposed to meet for another forty-five minutes, though, and the Stop-N-Go was about twenty minutes away, so I decided to stop at Henryetta Veterinary Clinic to see Muffy. Maybe it wasn’t the best idea given what Levi had said to me, but he’d also told me that Muffy needed me—and right now I needed her.

Maria, the new receptionist, smiled when I walked into the waiting room. A man sat in a chair holding a dachshund dressed in a hot dog costume, but the cloth mustard was dropping off the back, looking like it was a string of yellow poop that was still hanging on.

“Your girl’s a trooper, Rose,” Maria said.

“That she is. Would it be okay if I see her?”

She got up from behind the desk. “Of course. Let me take you back.”

I cast another look at the man, but the dog let out a vicious bark, and its owner bared his teeth too.

I jumped back in surprise.

She ushered me through the back door. “Don’t mind Mr. Weiner and his dog Schnitzel. They take themselves way too seriously.”

I followed her into the kennel room and found Muffy lying on her fleece blanket, her eyes closed. Her body rose and fell with her labored breathing, and I fought the urge to cry.

“I know she looks bad,” Maria said. “And she is pretty sick, but she’s a fighter. She’s too stubborn to let a station wagon, of all things, take her out.”

I released a chuckle as I swiped a tear. “That’s true.”

“Just tell her that you love her, and you can’t wait until you can take her home.”

Maria opened the kennel door, and I did just that, telling Muffy that Joe loved and missed her too. And that the three—and then four—of us would be a real family when she came home, just like she deserved.

But then I saw a glimpse of James’s face, twisted with hate, and I wondered if I’d just issued Joe a death sentence.

My bitterness and anger toward James shifted to something dangerously close to hate. If James killed Joe, I’d kill him myself.

Pushing the dark emotions away, I stroked Muffy’s paw, hoping she could feel my love. She stirred a bit and released a soft whine, looking up at me with the saddest eyes I’d ever seen. I leaned over and kissed her gently on the head, telling her