Dena gave me an amused grin. “Is it a landscaping emergency?”
“We actually have those,” I said as I stood. “Sometimes Bruce Wayne decides a plant in the design won’t work or he needs more or the owner substitutes things at the last minute. Bruce Wayne and his crew are pretty booked, so any delays can mess up their schedule.” Why was I explaining this to her? And why was I so grumpy? Part of it was definitely Dena, but I was also worried about Violet’s text. What could she possibly want to talk about?
“Are you sure you have to go?” Joe asked, sounding disappointed.
I let my gaze drift to Dena for a fraction of a second before shifting it back to him. “Yeah. We’ll talk later.”
Then I spun around and hurried out before I could say anything I’d regret, like pointing out that Dena had created a bogus excuse to come over and interrupt our coffee date. I’d done all I could do to make Joe see the light. He had to figure things out for himself.
I slid behind the wheel of my car and, crossing my fingers, turned the key. My cousin Witt was a mechanic and had stumbled upon a used transmission that he thought might buy me more time before I was forced to get a new car. It had worked so far, but I’d had enough bad days with the hunk of junk that it felt like Russian roulette every time I turned it over.
The engine roared to life, but before I could pull away from the curb, I saw Joe heading out of the coffee shop with Dena clinging to his hand. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and shifted into reverse as he released her hand and headed my way. She stayed back, but it was clear she didn’t like it.
“Neely Kate, wait up.”
I would have loved to pretend I hadn’t heard him, but the a/c was out in my car, so the windows were already down—I’d almost pay someone to steal it—and he was standing on the curb about four feet away. “I have to go, Joe.”
He walked to my driver’s door and squatted so his face was level with mine. “I’m sorry our coffee date got interrupted.”
“Are you?” I asked dryly.
“What’s that mean?”
I shook my head in disgust, then repeated, “I have to go.”
“Wait.” He gripped the door through the open window as though he could keep me from backing up. My car was such a piece of crap, I was giving him fifty-fifty odds.
“Joe, I don’t want to talk about this.”
“Then we’ll talk later, but I need to know that you’re still good with Saturday night.”
Oh God. Had he invited Dena to come to that too?
He must have seen the confused look on my face. “You’re still planning to come with me?”
“It’s just the two of us?”
“Of course.”
But for how long? “Look,” I said with a sigh. “I don’t want to be that person, but I’m gonna put it out there—if she’s coming, I’m not. If it’s just you and me, then I’m still in.”
“I… She knows it’s just the two of us. She wouldn’t…”
“She found a really great excuse to crash our coffee date. She would.” I softened my tone. “I’ve got to go. Despite Dena’s skepticism, there really are instances that are semi-emergent.”
He frowned. “She didn’t mean—”
“She did.” I sounded sadder than I’d intended. “I’ve got to go.” Then I backed out, refusing to look at him.
The further I got from him, the bitchier I felt, but I was so tired of feeling I had to compete for attention. Was it so wrong to want someone to simply love me and want to be with me and not have to fight for it?
I had that with Rose, but our relationship was strained lately, and I knew it was completely my doing. I was keeping secrets from her and they were coming between us. I was nearly ready to tell her everything, but I kept finding excuses to stay silent.
Six years ago, I’d killed a man, and then I’d buried his body. I wasn’t afraid of losing her love—I knew I could tell her the whole ugly truth and she’d still love me—but I was afraid of losing her respect. I’d done everything I could to become a woman who would never fall prey to a man again. And yet there was no erasing the fact that I’d been weak. A strong woman wouldn’t have allowed her boyfriend to use her as a sex slave for nine months. A strong woman wouldn’t have let herself get into a situation where killing a man was the only way out. I couldn’t handle the pity I’d see in Rose’s eyes if she found out—or how devastated she’d be on my behalf. Rose had the biggest heart of anyone I knew, and once she found out what I’d gone through, it would break her.
But part of me needed to tell her. I wanted her to know the whole me.
Thank God I had Jed to help me work through it.
Except I’d begun to realize he had secrets of his own. He’d been cagey about something the last couple of weeks, going off and doing things that he couldn’t share with me. And while he was a very attentive boyfriend when we were together, we still hadn’t slept together. I knew there were plenty of men who waited before sleeping with a woman, but I knew for a fact that Jed Carlisle wasn’t one of them.
So why wouldn’t he sleep with me? He’d told me he wanted to wait to prove I was special, but combined with his secrets, I was beginning to wonder if he’d changed his mind, especially since he’d pulled away from me the last couple of times we’d kissed. Maybe he was feeling stuck, like we’d shared too many secrets for him to ditch unstable, needy Neely Kate. That kind of thing happens when you move a body with someone.
Then there was the fact that we’d agreed to keep our relationship secret. I couldn’t risk Joe finding out, and Jed was worried that Skeeter’s enemies would hurt me to hurt him. It was for the best, but what kind of life could we lead if we kept each other a secret? And some part of me worried he didn’t want anyone to think he was sleeping with Neely Kate Rivers Colson…even if he wasn’t.
I pulled into the nursery parking lot, pleased to see several cars in the lot. August was supposedly a slow month for landscaping businesses, but Bruce Wayne and his grounds crew were busting their tails to keep up with demand, and Rose and I usually had at least one consultation a day.
I started to open my door when my phone rang with a number I didn’t recognize. I sure didn’t know anyone with a 469 area code. Figuring it was a robocall, I silenced the ringer and stuck the phone in my pocket as I climbed out.
Maeve, the store manager, was ringing up a customer at the counter, and I could see Anna out back talking to a customer. Violet was sitting in a chair in the back of the store.
Violet and Rose had started the Gardner Sisters Nursery together, and my brother Joe was now a partial owner after having bailed them out of a financial situation that had nearly ended their business last November. Violet had been diagnosed with some kind of aggressive blood cancer in February, and she’d come home last month after a long stay at MD Anderson in Houston. We’d all thought she was cured, only to find out there was nothing more they could do to save her.
A couple of weeks ago, she’d been so weak Rose had feared she would die any minute, but Violet had gotten strong enough to come work at the nursery for a few hours every day. The nursery had been Violet’s dream and being here made her happy.
She smiled when she saw me and waved me back to the cozy corner Anna had set up for her.
“You’re lookin’ good, Violet,” I said as I walked toward her.
She reached a hand up to the light pink scarf tied around her head.
I squatted in front of her and grabbed her wrist, gently pulling her hand down to her lap. “Stop. You’re beautiful.”
Tears swam in her eyes. Violet once had the most beautiful blond hair before it had all fallen out from her chemo. She was self-admittedly vain, so I knew it bothered her to lose it.
Her gaze dipped to her lap. “Neely Kate.”