Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

D ermot left a few minutes later, telling us he'd be at the grocery store before two to help protect me and Neely Kate in case something went awry. But before he walked out the door, I asked him when I could talk to Austin.

He paused with his hand on the doorknob and glanced back at me. "He doesn't want to talk to you."

I couldn't hide my shock. "Why?"

"No offense, but your husband calling me into the station made the kid scared of you." He walked out the door before I could say anything more on the subject.

"Do you believe that, Jed?" I asked, turning to face him.

He made a face. "I can see how it would scare him off."

"But he knew I was Joe's wife after he got to the jobsite and still stuck around."

"He might have people in his ear advising him to steer clear of you," Jed said. He added, "Or Dermot might be trying to protect you."

"He's never lied to me before," I countered.

Jed didn't answer.

We sat at the kitchen table in silence for several seconds before I looked at the clock on the oven and realized it was dinnertime. We hadn't figured out who was going to watch the kids or how I was going to explain going grocery shopping with Neely Kate if Joe was home.

"I need to make dinner," I said, getting out of my chair. "I'm surprised the kids aren't already in here complaining that they're hungry."

I jinxed myself—or Mikey heard me—because he came in seconds later, saying his tummy was rumbling.

I gave all the kids some cheese sticks while I started boiling water to make spaghetti.

"Neely Kate, Jed. Are y'all staying for dinner?"

"We're not leaving until Joe comes home," Jed said in a tone that convinced me it was pointless to argue with him.

"Fine by me," I said.

"I don't like that Dermot doesn't know any more than he did yesterday," Jed commented. "He's either keeping things from us, or he's lost control of his territory."

I didn't like the implications of either of those suggestions. "I don't like it either," I confessed. "But maybe Neely Kate and I will find out something useful from Darlene."

They both helped me put together a quick dinner, then Neely Kate watched over Mikey and Ashley as they got ready for bed. I took the three younger kids to my bathroom to bathe in my clawfoot tub. After I got them washed, I sat on the floor next to the tub while they played in the water. Daisy was excited to take a bath with her cousins, and even more so that she got to wear a pair of Hope's pajamas. They'd been in the tub playing for about fifteen minutes when Joe appeared in the bathroom doorway.

"Hey," he said softly.

I twisted to look up at him. He looked exhausted and defeated, and I couldn't help wondering if it was partly because we'd been at odds. I also suspected he wasn't feeling great about his investigation. I felt guilty for not telling him what I knew from Austin, but I still didn't feel right telling him without Austin's permission, and I couldn't get it if he wouldn't even talk to me.

"Daddy!" Hope shouted, splashing water.

"Uncle Joe!" Daisy called out, while Liam excitedly patted the bath water, shooting it everywhere. "Dada!"

Joe laughed and walked over, squatting next to me as he addressed the kids. "No need to be painting the walls and the floor with water in your excitement."

"We missed you, Daddy," Hope said with an exaggerated pout.

Liam mumbled something in an attempt to mimic his sister, but it came out as gibberish.

"Sorry I'm late," he said to me, then gave me a gentle kiss on the lips. "What can I do to help?"

"You look exhausted," I said. "Have you eaten?"

"Not yet."

"Go grab the plate out of the fridge and heat it up. It's nothing fancy. Just spaghetti with meat sauce."

"I'm sure it's delicious," he said, then reached for Hope's hand and examined it, plastering an exaggerated frown on his face. "What happened to your fingers, Hopey? They look like they've been replaced with prunes."

"That's silly, Daddy," she said through giggles.

Daisy held up her hands. "Do I have prunes, Uncle Joe?"

"The pruniest," he said with a grin.

Liam held up his hands and mumbled something unintelligible.

Joe grabbed one of his hands. "You've got prunes too, and they look delicious." He pretended to eat Liam's fingers, and all three kids burst into a fit of giggles.

My heart overflowed with joy.

Joe glanced over at me. "I take it they're ready to get out?"

"We were just killing time. They're ready."

"Then how about you go rest and let me finish in here? You've been dealing with them all day. Let me take a turn."

"How about we do it together?"

Joe took Liam to his room to put on a diaper and his pajamas, while I got the girls out and into their pajamas. I took the girls downstairs and found Jed and Neely Kate in the kitchen with Ashley and Mikey, eating the cookies we'd finished baking earlier.

"Have you said anything to Joe?" Neely Kate asked, trying to keep her voice down, but Mikey heard her.

"About the artist guy?" he asked excitedly.

"That's right!" Neely Kate told him, but the look she gave me confirmed that wasn't what she'd meant.

"I haven't had a chance to tell him anything," I said, ushering the girls into chairs at the table, then grabbing them each a cookie. "We've had our hands full."

"Told me about what?" Joe asked as he walked in with Liam on his hip.

"There was an artist here, Uncle Joe!" Mikey exclaimed. "He drew people! I want to be an artist too, and Aunt Rose says I can take art lessons! He let me watch him work!"

"That's so exciting!" Joe proclaimed as he walked to the fridge and pulled out an aluminum foil-covered plate. "I wish I could have been here to see him. I bet it was really cool."

"It was, Uncle Joe! You also missed my soccer game." He made a face. "But I didn't make a goal this time."

Joe took off the foil and popped his plate into the microwave. "I really wish I could have been there, Mikey. And you don't have to score a goal every game. Sometimes you have to let the other kids score them too."

Mikey made a face. "Yeah, I guess so."

I handed the little girls their cookies, then walked over to Joe to take Liam, but instead he pulled me into his other side, holding me close and kissing the top of my head.

"Were you working all day , Uncle Joe?" Ashley asked as she took a tiny nibble of her cookie.

"I was," he said, sounding as exhausted as he looked.

"Do you have to work tomorrow?" Mikey asked.

Joe was silent for several seconds, so I peered up at him. He gave me an apologetic look before he said, "Yeah. I'm afraid so."

I wrapped my arm across his abdomen and gave him a tight squeeze to let him know I wasn't upset.

"That's so much work!" Mikey said.

"It is," Joe admitted. The microwave dinged, and he released his hold on me to turn toward it. "But it's important, so it has to be done."

"Go sit," I said. "I'll get it."

Joe did as I said, settling Liam on one leg after he sat at the head of the table. "I'm surprised you two are here so late," he said to Jed and Neely Kate.

"We came over after the game," Neely Kate said, "and then it turned into an all-day thing."

"I see," Joe said as I set the plate and a fork in front of him, then grabbed a glass of water. Liam reached for the spaghetti, but Joe moved his plate to the side. I would have taken the baby from him, but I could tell he needed to hold Liam, and that worried the stuffing out of me.

Joe wasn't just feeling guilty for being gone all day.

He was concerned.

Jed must have caught on too because he started giving Joe a play-by-play of the soccer game, much to Mikey's delight. Then Mikey took over and told him a detailed recap of Tony's process of drawing the two people.

"Who are they, Aunt Rose?" Mikey asked me.

"Just two people I saw," I said.

Ashley lifted her gaze and stared into my eyes. "In your nightmare?"

My lips parted in shock, and I wasn't sure what to say, but Neely Kate intervened. "We made cookies too, which the kids are sampling now."

"They's so good, Daddy," Hope said, holding her cookie toward him. "Do you want a bite?"

I was pretty sure Joe didn't want to mix sugar cookies with the big bite of spaghetti and meat sauce he'd just taken, but he took one anyway and made mmm sounds.

Hope beamed. "We helped make the cookies, Daddy."

"I could tell," Joe said, swallowing his food, then reaching for a glass of water and taking a big gulp. "It was full of extra love."

"I helped too, Uncle Joe," Daisy said.

"And I could taste your part too," Joe teased. "The really, really sweet part."

Both girls giggled.

While Joe finished his dinner, the kids all told him about their day, with Hope and Daisy repeating parts of what Ashley, Mikey, and each other had said. But he listened patiently, even though I could tell he wanted nothing more than to stretch out on our bed and go to sleep.

When he finished his plate, I got him a cookie, and he quizzed the girls on which parts they'd played in the cookie-making process.

Ashley was quiet, and I was worried about her. I knew I'd spooked her with my nightmare the night before, and now she'd caught on that I'd had sketches made of two people I'd seen in my dreams. Normal people didn't do that.

Joe shoved the last bite of cookie into his mouth and announced it was time for everyone to brush their teeth and go to bed.

The older kids complained that Joe had just gotten home, and they hadn't seen him all day, but I told them he was tired, and they could see him sometime tomorrow.

At least I hoped.

Jed announced it was time for his family to go home, and Daisy started to cry, begging to spend the night with Hope.

I glanced over at Joe to get his take. He was worried, but was he worried about our safety or the fact he had two homicides on his hands?

"I'm fine with it if you two are comfortable," Joe said, holding Jed's gaze.

That made me feel better. Joe would never encourage them to leave their daughter if he thought we might be in danger. The real question was whether Jed felt comfortable leaving her.

"Are you goin' to church tomorrow?" Jed asked.

I hadn't even thought about church, but that was our typical Sunday morning routine, so it made sense to go. Even if I would be handling all the kids on my own.

"Yeah. Are you wanting to pick up Daisy there?"

"That seems like a lot for you to deal with," said Neely Kate.

"We'll be fine," I said. We had a spare car seat for when Daisy was with us. "But if you two are getting a child-free night, you should leave immediately and take advantage of it."

Neely Kate gave Jed a dry look. "I suppose that depends on him."

Jed gave her a frown that suggested they were still in the middle of a disagreement. Maybe they'd be able to resolve it if they weren't tiptoeing around Daisy.

"Before I head to the office, I can help Rose and get the kids loaded in the car to head to church," Joe offered.

Jed relented, and he and Neely Kate kissed Daisy goodnight. She gave them gentle hugs and kisses, then ran upstairs so she and Hope could brush their teeth together.

Neely Kate motioned to the stairs. "They're gonna need supervision."

I laughed. "Really? This is my first time putting children to bed."

She cringed. "Sorry. Habit."

I gave her a playful grin. "Go. We're good. Enjoy your kid-free night, and we'll see you tomorrow."

We got them out the door and oversaw the children's teeth brushing. I took Liam into his room and began to rock him under the low lamp light. He seemed especially clingy tonight, and I wanted to give him some extra attention.

Joe found me and said from the doorway, "I'm gonna take a quick shower. Meet you in our room when you're done?"

I smiled up at him. "Sounds like a plan."

I rocked Liam about ten minutes longer, then put him to bed. Next, I checked on all the kids, ending with Ashley. She was still awake, and she gave me an extra-long hug.

"Were they the people from your nightmare, Aunt Rose? You didn't answer earlier."

I could have lied but decided she deserved the truth. "Yes."

"But it was just a dream," she said. "Not a vision."

"I know, but Uncle Joe thought it was a good idea anyway." I paused. "I know it's been a while since I've asked…" I paused again. "Have you had any signs of having visions?"

"No," she said quietly. "But you said Mommy didn't have them either."

"You're right. She didn't. And I got mine when I was younger than you, but I didn't really have help with them. I had to figure them out on my own. If you get them, I don't want you to be alone with them like I was."

"Will Hope or Liam have visions?"

That was a question I'd been asking myself since I was pregnant with Hope. But so far, she hadn't shown any signs of having visions. I hoped she didn't. Liam either. Sometimes my visions were a blessing, but mostly, they were a curse.

"Did your mommy have visions?" Ashley asked.

I hadn't been prepared to have a conversation about visions, but Joe could wait a few more minutes. "No, she didn't, but my grandmother did. They used to call her the Oracle of Lafayette County."

"She didn't help you?"

"My daddy was older when he had me, and his mother was older when she had him and Aunt Bessie, so she died before your mommy and I were born."

"Oh."

We were quiet for several seconds. I was about to get up and tell her goodnight when she said, "Do you see lots of bad things?"

While she knew I had visions, I didn't talk about them much, but I wasn't surprised she was pressing me, given the situation. "No, Ash. I mostly see good things."

"But you do see bad things," she pushed.

"Yes, sometimes I see bad things."

"Do the bad things scare you?"

"Sometimes," I admitted. "But I can stop the bad things from happening if I try hard enough."

"And you saw something really bad last night?"

I hesitated. "Yes. I don't understand how, but I think I had a vision in my sleep. You're right. Uncle Joe had Mr. Tony come over so we could try to figure out who the people are and try to stop it from happening."

"Someone got hurt?"

I hesitated again before telling her the truth. "Yes."

She shuddered. "I'm glad I don't have visions."

"Me too."

I leaned over to kiss her goodnight, but she said, "Why did that woman look like you?"

"I don't know," I said, sitting back up. "But I promise that she wasn't me."

"She looked a little bit like Mommy too," Ashley said quietly.

I considered that for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, you're right."

"Hope and I look a bit alike," she said. "People sometimes think we're sisters, but we're cousins. Could she be your cousin?"

I stared at her in surprise. I hadn't considered that she might actually be related to me. "I don't have any cousins. Aunt Bessie and Uncle Albert didn't have kids, and my momma didn't have any sisters or brothers." But what about second cousins? I didn't know much about either side of my family tree. Maybe it was worth looking into.

"You don't need to worry about my visions, okay?" I said softly as I kissed her forehead. "I've got it under control."

"Okay, Aunt Rose," she said in a tone that suggested I hadn't been very convincing.

More guilt. If I hadn't woken her up with my dream, then she wouldn't be worried now. But at least she didn't seem to be concerned about my argument with Joe anymore.

I headed back to my room, ready to climb into bed with Joe and tell him all the things I hadn't been able to tell him with the kids around, but when I walked in, I found him lying on the bed in sweatpants and a T-shirt with his eyes closed, fast asleep.

The bathroom light was still on, so I brushed my teeth and got ready for bed. He was still asleep when I got into bed, releasing a soft snore, so I snuggled up next to him.

Maybe this was a blessing in disguise. I didn't want to lie to him, and this way, I wouldn't have to.

Then again, not telling him was a lie of omission.

I'd deal with that tomorrow.