Falling to Pieces (3 page)

Relief washed through me, and I nodded. I might have swayed her to my side.

“But you need to come in and make an appearance. Your father announced your candidacy, and you’re hiding in the garden like a sulking child.”

She was right, but I wasn’t sure what else to do. I couldn’t stay in there and pretend to accept his announcement, and to publically embarrass him could ultimately hurt Rose. I stood and my shoulders tensed. “I just want to get this over with.”

Looping her arm around mine, Mom pulled me toward the house and murmured, “Be careful what you wish for.”

I followed my mother into their soirée, thanking the guests for attending then claiming I needed to get busy with the campaign. My father shot me a look of disapproval as I left to wait in the study, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t going through with this masquerade. All I wanted was for him to come in and tell me what he had on Rose so I could go home and figure out how to protect her.

Funny how I always thought of Rose’s house as home now, but why wouldn’t I? My mother claimed this was my home, but it had never been home. Once I turned eight, I’d been raised by housekeepers and tutors. This house was like a museum with all its antiques and stiff formality. My mother would turn up her nose if she walked into Rose’s tiny house, but when I looked back on the last twenty-nine years, I knew it didn’t matter what was in the house. It was the love that filled it. The only real home I’d ever known was when I was with Rose.

I went into my father’s study to wait, reliving my moments with Rose in the room hours earlier. God, I’d hurt her so badly. My shame burned a hole in my chest. How could she still want me? Yet she did. Her love was unconditional.

I’d told her about Savannah, but there was so much more I wasn’t proud of. So much more that I hoped Rose would never know about, so she wouldn’t look at me the way she had after I told her my secret. With horror and disbelief.

I’d never known anyone like Rose, let alone hoped to have someone like her love me. Hell, I’d never thought someone could ever love me without wanting something in return. My parents expected me to continue the family legacy. Hilary thought I’d be a rising political star and wanted to be on my arm. Even my sister expected me to break free from my parents’ hold and refused to talk to me when I didn’t do it her way.

Everyone wanted something from me. Everyone except for Rose. She loved me for me, or the me I showed her. The only thing she expected in return was for me to love her back. I spent the first two months of our relationship waiting for her to realize that I was nothing but a fraud and break up with me. But she didn’t. She only saw the good and never assumed I was anything less, even when I tried to tell her Joe Simmons wasn’t the man she knew. She thought I was deluded for even suggesting such a thing. And I let myself believe her. I let myself believe that I really was the man she knew, that when I left Little Rock, I became Joe McAllister, a simple man who wanted nothing but the woman he loved and a family. The rest of the world be damned.

But it was all a lie, and the deeper I got into a relationship with her, the more anxious I became that the house of cards would come tumbling down, and I’d lose her.

It didn’t help that I knew Mason Deveraux was waiting in the wings, ready to clean up the mess I’d eventually leave. He’d told me once in Little Rock that he was a patient man. He may have been referring to Savannah, but I knew it filled every part of his life. And Rose was definitely worth waiting for.

But I still clung to the hope it would all work out. That I could spend the rest of my life with Rose Gardner through better or worse, till death do us part. I had to believe it because when I thought of the alternative, panic clawed at my insides, ripping my hope to shreds. I couldn’t accidently stumble upon Rose in god-forsaken Henryetta, Arkansas, just to lose her.

Mom was right. Rose didn’t expect more from me like they did. The only thing she wanted from me was to be happy. Why did Mom make it sound so colloquial?

The study door opened and my mother came in with my father following behind her. He filled the threshold, pausing for effect. It was a move I was long familiar with and even though I recognized it for what it was, the same uneasy fear from my childhood crept through my body, a metallic taste coating my tongue. Some reactions were long since conditioned into me. The switch he used to hold in his hand had helped reenforce it.

“You embarrassed me tonight, Joseph.”

My back stiffened and I stuffed down my dread. It was time I finally took control and stood up to him. I was nearly thirty years old. “I embarrassed you? What do you think you and Mom did to Rose?”

His eyes clouded with confusion. “Rose? What the hell does she have to do with anything?”

“She’s the woman I love. The woman I want to spend the rest of my life with. The way you treat her is
everything
to me.”

My father’s face reddened. “I did not spend twenty-nine years grooming you for this to let you throw it away for a backwoods girl from Fenton County.”

I took a step toward him, my anger flushing my skin. “If you think I’m going to stand here and listen to you insult her, you’ve got another thing coming.”

“Joe.” Mom grabbed my arm and drawled. “You have to acknowledge our concern. How do you know this girl doesn’t want you for your money?”

“Because she didn’t even know I had money until July!”

My father growled, “It doesn’t matter whether she wants your money or not, she’s not acceptable.”

“I don’t give a shit if you find her acceptable or not. I’ve asked her to marry me and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it.”

His body tensed. “You won’t be marrying her if she’s in prison.”

My blood fled to my feet. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Have a seat, Joe.” My father brushed past me and moved behind his desk.

I spun around to face him. “I don’t want to have a seat. What I have to say can be said just fine standing.”

Dad sat in his chair and glared at me. “Have a
seat
, Joseph.”

I lowered to the seat in front of his desk while my mother sank into the chair next to me.

“If you think you have something to put her in jail, you’re either deluded or you’ve fabricated evidence.” I swallowed the bile rising in my throat. “I’m going with the latter.”

My father leaned back in his seat. “Monroe Peterman called about ten minutes ago with something that could be an issue.”

“I don’t give a damn what Monroe Peterman had to say. I want to know what you have on Rose.”

He shook his head in disgust. “You
should
be worried about what Monroe Peterman had to say instead of that girl. You have a challenger in the senate race.”

I paused. Maybe I could still get out of this. “You said I would be unopposed.”

“And you were supposed to be, but I just got word that Delany’s going to announce his candidacy tomorrow morning.”

“So I don’t need to run now.”

Dad banged his fist on the desk. “Of course you’re going to run! But it means we have to put a hell of a lot more effort into this than we originally planned.”

“Delany’s a big family man,” Mom mumbled, her nails clicking on the arm of her chair. “He plays that to the hilt. He’ll take advantage of his kids in soccer and Boy Scouts. It could be an issue that Joe’s not married.”

“I’m not running!” I shouted.

My father’s face reddened. “Like hell you won’t. This is what we’ve been preparing you to do since the doctor slapped your behind in the delivery room. This is the perfect opportunity to jump in. So what if Delany’s a family man? He’s bound to turn off some of the voters with his ultraconservative Christian fundamentalism.”

“I’m not so sure, J.R.,” Mom said. “Joe’s being single could be a bigger issue than you think.”

I fought to maintain what little control I had left. “I’m not running.”

My father turned his gaze on me. “Do you really want to see that little piece of fluff in jail? I’m not so sure how long she’d last in there.”

“You keep saying that, but so far, you’ve produced nothing. You’re bluffing.” I wanted to tell him that she was stronger than he gave her credit for, but I couldn’t see how that would help my case.

Dad opened a desk drawer and pulled out a small stack of papers, slapping them on the desk and sliding them toward me. “Bluffing, huh? You check those out and tell me if we should continue this discussion.”

I picked up the stack, a cold sweat beading on the back of my neck. He had papers that suggested Violet’s husband Mike had bribed county officials to support his construction company. Next he had photos of Violet sneaking out of a hotel with the new mayor of Henryetta. I studied the photos, wondering how he’d gotten those staged. If they were Photoshopped, whoever had done it did a damn good job. But the last sent ice through my veins. I held a bank account statement in Rose’s name with a wire transfer into an account with Daniel Crocker’s name. Fifty thousand dollars dated a week before her mother’s murder.

I looked up at him, trying to contain my fear. “This will never hold up. You and I both know that.”

“Are you willing to bet her life on it? From what I hear, she doesn’t have that great of reputation in that town. I suspect they’ll believe this hook, line, and sinker. They had no qualms believing she killed her mother during their initial investigation.”

My hand shook, giving away my fear. “Not Mason. He’ll never buy it.”

“Mason Deveraux?” My father laughed. “I put him in that hell hole, and I can pull him out of it. And all behind the scenes, so that he never even knows. The DA and that Judge McClary will do what I want.”

I shoved the papers onto his desk. “Don’t take Mason Deveraux for a fool. He’ll never stand back and let you do this.”

“No one lets me do anything, least of all a lowly assistant DA who has a job because I deemed fit to make sure he had one. Don’t delude yourself into thinking you can stop me, Joe. Are you really willing to risk it?”

I gripped the edge of the chair, my knuckles turning white. “What the hell do you want? That I run in this asinine race?” I swallowed, trying to settle my frayed nerves. “Fine. I’ll run, but I’m still marrying Rose.”

His lips pursed with a scowl. “Not acceptable.”

“The only way I do this is with her. I know you find this impossible to believe, but I actually love her. Genuine love, not the political for-show marriage you and Mom put on.”

“Joseph,” Mom gasped.

“Genuine love?” Dad shouted. “What the hell does love have to do with
anything
? You marry for money and power. Hell, even that Fenton County tart has figured that one out.” He took a breath to settle down. “I’ve tolerated your rebellion for years thinking, ‘let the boy get it out of his system before he runs for office.’ We couldn’t have you creating a scandal once your political career began, so we gave you a free rein. Overachiever that you are, you’ve done your level best to sow as many wild oats as there are fields to plant ’em in. You, me, and God only know the messes you’ve created that I’ve cleaned up over the years. But I did it, literally banking on the payoff at the end.” He pointed his finger at me, the veins on his temple throbbing. “
You owe me, Joe
. I’ve been cleaning up your shit for years, and now it’s time to pony up, boy. And I swear to God and all that is holy, if you don’t,
I will bury that girl
.”

I stood, my stomach rolling, and I took in several deep breaths as fear flooded every cell of my body. I wanted to protest that she was innocent, and that she’d never done anything to him, but when had that ever stopped him before? J.R. Simmons was ruthless.

My mother watched me, a war of emotion battling on her face.

I swallowed a cry of anguish. What the hell had I expected? He was right. I’d created more scandals than a person had a right to. I might have sailed out of every single one unscathed, yet with every transgression, I was one foot deeper in my father’s pit. I’d dug the very hole I was trapped in.

I walked over to my father’s minibar and poured a glass of whiskey, taking a gulp.

“J.R.,” Mom said softly. “I’m telling you, he’ll never win against Delany.”

“What the Sam Hill are you talking about, Betsy?” My father bellowed.

“You’re not giving the family angle enough credit. Not in this district. Not where sponsoring your local Little League team can increase your business fivefold.”

I took another swig, letting the liquid warm its way down my throat.

“And what the hell do you want to do about that?” he asked.

My mother hesitated. “Let him make his engagement public.”

I swung around to face her.

My father’s stunned face gaped at both of us. “To that….that…”

I slammed the glass down on the table. “
Her name is Rose
,” I forced out through gritted teeth. I took a step toward him. “And she is good and decent and a better person than you could ever hope to be.”

He shook his head with a sneer. “That may be true, but we all know what they say about nice guys finishing last and the same applies to her.” He rested his forearms on his desk and leaned forward. “She may be good and decent, but you need cunning and resourceful. You need Hilary.”

I shook my head, barely containing my horror. I’d always known this day of reckoning was coming, but I’d never had anything worth standing up for against him. Not before Rose. But then again, that was exactly why he chose now to spring this on me. When I had too much to lose to say no. “I will never marry Hilary.” My voice shook with emotion.

“J.R.,” my mother pleaded. “Listen to me. You can use that Fenton County girl to your advantage. She’s lower class like half the population of the county he’ll represent. Delany’s going to use his humble roots against our money as well as play the family angle.” She scooted forward in her seat, resting her hand on the desk. “Let Joe try a test engagement with her. He can use her small business as an example to support your small business program. He can trot her out on the campaign trail with him, and she can swap coon recipes with people like her.” Her eyes burned bright. “We can
use
this, J.R.”