RG2 - Twenty-Nine and a Half Reasons (30 page)

“Because people think I’m a big enough freak without knowing this.”

Scoffing, she waved her hand. “They’re just jealous.”

I was pretty sure that wasn’t it. “
Please
, Neely Kate.”

Her hand covered mine and she smiled. “Calm yourself. If you don’t want me to tell anyone, I won’t, but I don’t see why not. How strong is your gift?”

The food in my stomach became a ten-pound weight. “I don’t actually consider it a gift. More like a curse.”

Her eyes widened. “Why on
earth
would you think that?”

“Because I have no control over them—”

“Most clairvoyants don’t.”

“And whatever I see just pops right out of my mouth.”

“Huh.” She titled her head. “Okay, that’s different.”

“People think I’m nosy and gossipy because I know things I shouldn’t.”

She chuckled. “I know lots of things I shouldn’t, and look at me.”

True, but Neely Kate was made of sturdier stuff than I was.

Could I tell her everything? I’d come this far. “My momma thought I was demon-possessed.”

Neely Kate paused and tilted her head. “You’re kidding me, right?”

I shook my head.

“Rose, I’m so sorry.”

I shrugged. It was in the past, even if the pain jumped out from time to time, nipping at my slowly building confidence.

“You most certainly are not demon-possessed. You’re one of the sweetest people I know. I’m so glad we’re friends.”

I glanced up at her in disbelief.

“I need to ask you something serious.” A stern look crossed her face.

My stomach twisted with dread. “Okay.”

“So is my wedding going to be destroyed by my fiancé’s family?”

I squinted in confusion. “How would I know?”

“With your gift.”

“I just told you I couldn’t control them.”

“You can’t make yourself see things unless it just pops into your head?”

“Well…” Joe had once convinced me to force a vision, and when I tried I saw his murder. There was no way I was gonna do that again.

She saw my hesitation. “You
can
make it happen.”

“Only once and it was awful. I saw Joe die.”

“But Joe’s still alive. That couldn’t have been a vision.”

“Not everything I see happens. Sometimes things are different. I saw myself dead on Momma’s sofa but it ended up her, instead. I saw Joe dead, but I stopped it from happenin’.”

She leaned over the table, her eyes wild with excitement. “All the more reason for you to tell me about my wedding. If something bad’s gonna happen, I want to able to put a stop to it.”

“Neely Kate, I don’t know. I’ve only tried it one time. It might not even work.”

Her mouth lifted into a smug smile. “Well, you’ll never know if you don’t try, right? Consider it practice. You just never know when it might come in handy.”

Joe had pretty much suggested the same thing, but I didn’t see how that was possible. Neely Kate sat across from me, giving me puppy-dog eyes and pouting. How could I say no to that? I sighed, closing my eyes. “All right…”

She grabbed both my hands in hers and pulled them toward her. “Thank you, thank you! You have no idea how much this means to me!”

I hoped she felt that way after I had a vision.
If
I had a vision. I looked around the café to see if anyone was watching. The customers all seemed intent on their own conversations. “Okay, let me hold your hand and I’ll concentrate on you and the wedding and see if something happens. That’s what I did with Joe, only I thought of him and Daniel Crocker.”

Nodding, she placed our linked hands on the table. “Okay.”

My eyes sank closed and I pictured Neely Kate and thought about her wedding and her bridesmaid dresses. Tension knotted my shoulders and just when I thought it wasn’t going to work, I felt the familiar tingle.

I walked down the aisle, a puffy white dress swirling around my legs. A handsome man stood at the altar, wearing a black tuxedo. His mouth lifted into a wide smile. A multitude of groomsmen and bridesmaids crowded on the sides, too many to count, but I spotted Neely Kate’s orange cousin right off.

Candelabras covered the back of the altar and lined the side aisles, casting a beautiful candlelit glow. Then the older man next to me placed my hand into the groom’s and I stepped up onto the altar next to him, my heart bursting with happiness.

“You’re goin’ to have a beautiful wedding.” I forced the words past a lump in my throat, tears stinging my eyes.

Neely Kate’s grip tightened, her eyes wild with worry. “Then why are you about to cry?”

“Oh, Neely Kate. It was just so beautiful.” A tear slid down my cheek. “Your fiancé is such a handsome man. And I saw The Skittle, but everything else was so beautiful that I hardly noticed her. And you were so
happy
.” I choked on the last word, still overwhelmed with feeling. I’d never experienced emotions before in a vision. Did I feel her happiness because it was so strong or because I’d forced the vision?

“Really?” Neely Kate bit the side of her lower lip.

“I promise.”

She pulled me into a hug. “Thank you, Rose! Thank you so much!”

I smiled. That hadn’t turned out so bad. I’d made a vision happen and it hadn’t been something awful. And Neely Kate was clearly relieved. I had done that for her, and pride and happiness washed over me. I felt needed. “How many people are in your wedding, anyway?”

Neely Kate looked up at the ceiling and ticked off her fingers. “There’s a maid of honor, five bridesmaids, two junior bridesmaids, three flower girls, one best man, seven groomsmen, two ring bearers and four ushers.”

“I don’t even think I’d have that many guests at my wedding.”

She snorted with a laugh. “Nah. I bet Joe would invite a lot of people.”

Knowing who Joe’s family was, Neely Kate was probably right.

“Joe and Violet had a big knock-down, drag-out fight this weekend and Joe told Violet about his family. They’re the Simmons family from El Dorado.”

Neely Kate’s mouth formed an O and she quickly covered it with her hand. “
The
Simmons family?”

“Why does everyone but me know who they are?”

“Girl! Have you been living under a rock? They’re practically royalty.”

I frowned, stabbing a French fry into my ketchup. “Lucky me.”

“Why didn’t Joe tell you about them?”

“Because he knew exactly how I’d respond—not in a good way.” I pulled out my wallet. “In any case, we’re miserable without each other so I gave my notice at the DMV yesterday. I planned to move up in a week or so, but Mason thinks I should leave town with Joe on Thursday morning. Because of Skeeter.”

“Wow. That’s fast. You’re still gonna come to my wedding, aren’t you?”

“You really want me there?”

“It wouldn’t be the same without you!”

My heart burst with happiness again, only this time it was my own happiness and not Neely Kate’s leftover emotions from my vision. “I wouldn’t dream of missin’ it! It’s not every day you get to see a Skittle walk down the aisle.” I laughed. “Twice.”

“Ain’t that the truth.” Frowning, she stood. “I gotta get back to work, but if you come back to the office with me, I’ll show you a picture of the dresses.”

I almost mentioned that I’d just seen them, but I wasn’t eager to go home to my lonely house. “How can I refuse?”

Following Neely Kate back to the courthouse, I realized how much I was going to miss her. Sadness squeezed my heart. I’d finally made a friend, a friend who knew about my visions and didn’t think I was a freak. When I moved, I was going to lose her.

I stood at the counter while Neely Kate dug in her drawer. “I know it’s here somewhere.”

“Well, look who finally showed back to work.” Neely Kate’s boss rounded the corner, his words dripping with sarcasm.

Neely Kate kept rifling through her drawers. “Don’t be getting all worked up, Jimmy. Ah! Here it is!” She pulled a folded magazine page and handed it to me. “Now these right here are lavender, but mine are tangerine, even though they were supposed to be peach.”

I quickly scanned the page and handed it back, watching Jimmy out of the corner of my eye. He didn’t look very happy and I didn’t want to get Neely Kate in trouble. “Your wedding is goin’ to be wonderful.”

A dreamy look covered her face. “I’ve been imaginin’ this day my whole life.”

“I’ll let you get back to work. If you find out anything about Hyde Investments, let me know right away.”

“Sure.”

Jimmy glared at me then barked, “
Neely Kate
! You have work to do.”

She jumped in surprise, whispering, “He’s not usually this snippy.”

He walked over to the counter, scanning me with interest. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you before. Are you one of Neely Kate’s many cousins?”

I smiled, trying to smooth things over for her. “Oh, no. We met on jury duty last week.” My peripheral vision faded.
Oh no. Not now
.

I saw a hand pressing something into my hand.

“I believe this is yours,” a man’s voice said and the vision faded.

“You’re gonna get something back that’s yours.” I blurted.

Jimmy studied me. “Am I now? What are you, a fortune teller?”

I cringed. “Something like that.”

Neely Kate jumped out of her seat. “Jimmy, don’t be silly. I told her that you were missing your lucky penny. It’s her way of tellin’ you she hopes you find it.”

He scowled. “I’ve been looking for it everywhere. I’m about to offer a reward.” Jimmy kept his eyes on me. “Neely Kate, aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend?”

Neely Kate rolled her eyes. “She has a boyfriend, Jimmy.”

“I’m not askin’ her out on a date,” he grumbled.

“Fine.” She huffed. “Rose Gardner, this is Jimmy DeWade. Jimmy, Rose.”

“Nice to meet you, Rose.” His mouth lifted into a smile that looked painful. “So you’re the juror that caused all the ruckus.”

There was no denying it. “Yeah.”

His eyes hardened. “They don’t take well to ruckuses around here.”

“Tell me about it.” Suddenly, Mason Deveraux popped into my head and melancholy washed over me. If Neely Kate was right, I needed to apologize. Again. I was forever apologizing to that man. “I’ve got to go.”

“Stay out of trouble.” She winked.

“I’m going to the Henryetta Garden Club meeting tonight with Violet. How much trouble can I get into there? See you later, Neely Kate.”

She moved closer to her desk. “Lunch tomorrow? Noon?”

I grinned. “Sure.”

Jimmy stood at the counter, watching as I walked out the door.

Chapter Twenty-Three

I felt bad leaving Muffy again. Rose Gardner, the homebody who never set foot off her property unless she was going to work or church, was suddenly a social butterfly, flitting all over town. But poor Muffy paid the price, getting left behind. I considered calling Violet to cancel. I didn’t really feel like spending the evening perched on a folding chair being polite to a bunch of old women. But I still hadn’t told her I was moving to Little Rock on Thursday morning and I planned to do it while we were out.

I cringed. Joe didn’t even know I was going to Little Rock with him Thursday morning. While he’d be thrilled with the end result, there was no way he was going to be happy about the cause. I’d call him after the Garden Club meeting.

One confrontation at a time.

The neighbor boys were playing in their backyard when I got home, and Heidi Joy chased after them, looking frustrated. I smiled. I had a couple of hours before Violet was going to pick me up—plenty of time to make a pie to take next door. The police had taken the wooden rolling pin used to kill Momma, but I still had the marble one. I’d make two pies and prove to Joe that I could bake when he showed up the tomorrow night. Plus, it got me out of packing boxes.

I made the piecrust dough and stuck it in the freezer to cool it off before rolling it out. Since I didn’t have any fresh fruit, I decided to make French Silk pies instead. An hour later, I walked next door, pie in hand, while Muffy followed behind, jumping around in excitement.

Heidi Joy had moved to her chair, reading a magazine under the shade tree while the boys ran in and out of their plastic pool. Enough grass floated on top of the water to stuff a straw mattress.

I held the pie toward her and smiled. “Welcome to the neighborhood!”

“Oh, my! What do you have there?” Heidi Joy stood and waddled toward me. Her t-shirt stretched across her rounded tummy.

I stifled my gasp of surprise. Heidi Joy was pregnant. She was still early and she’d worn loose shirts before so I hadn’t noticed. How in the blazes would they fit another child in that tiny house?

“Oh. It’s a French Silk pie. Sorry it’s late.”

She grabbed the pie out of my hands. “Honey, the words
French Silk pie
and
sorry
shouldn’t be anywhere near each other.”

I laughed. “True. You might want to put that in fridge. It still hasn’t set up long enough, but I’m goin’ out tonight and wanted to make sure you got it.”

“Thank you so much!” She cast a glance around the yard, uncertainty wavering across her face.

“I’ll watch the boys if you want to run that in.”

“You don’t mind?”

“No! Of course not. Muffy’s havin’ fun with them.”

Heidi Joy ran inside and I sat on the quilt next to the baby. He looked up at me with wide eyes while he alternated chewing and sucking on his fist.

“Does that hand taste good?”

“He ain’t gonna answer you.” Andy Jr. sat in the middle of the pool, dead grass clinging to his chest. “He don’t talk yet.”

I laughed. “Is that so?”

“We ain’t got to play with your dog all weekend.”

“My dog has a name. Muffy.”

“Yeah, I know.”

I shook my head.

“I heard you tell my mom that you was goin’ out tonight.”

“I am.”

“Can Keith and I babysit your dog?”

I raised an eyebrow.

“Can I babysit
Muffy
?”

“Well…” That would appease my guilt over leaving her, but I still wasn’t sure I trusted Andy Jr.