Chapter 6

Chapter Six

A fter I dropped Neely Kate at the office so she could retrieve her car, I headed to the church to pick up the kids. Ashley and Mikey took a bus to the daycare after school, which made the pickup routine so much easier because I only had to make one stop. Today, I was especially relieved Ashley didn't have to stay at the school longer than necessary. I was anxious to hear how her day had gone and to see if it had changed from my vision.

I went to the elementary kids' area in the multipurpose room first. Some children were outside playing on the playground, but Ashley was sitting at a table with other kids who were working on homework. As if sensing I was there, she lifted her head. When she saw me, she jumped out of her seat and ran for me, throwing her arms around my waist.

This didn't match my vision.

My heart stopped. Had there been another incident?

I squatted and looked her in the eyes. "How did today go?"

She glanced away. "Okay."

"Really okay, or not really okay?"

She shrugged.

"Did Oliver say anything else?"

She shook her head but stayed quiet.

"What about Mrs. Pritchard?"

She shook her head again.

This part somewhat matched what I'd seen. Something had happened, but I could understand why she didn't want to talk about it right now. "How about we get the little kids and head home?"

She hugged me again and mumbled, "Okay."

I asked the daycare teacher to pull Mikey from the playground while I checked Hope and Liam out of their respective rooms.

Liam was thrilled to see me. When I picked him up off the floor mat, he wrapped his arms around my neck and hugged me tightly. My heart melted as he murmured, "Momma," and gave me wet kisses on the cheek.

After I grabbed his bag, we headed to the three-year-old room to get Hope. She and Daisy were playing in the kitchen, pretending to cook something at the stove. Daisy was wearing a pink tulle skirt, a pink long-sleeve T-shirt, and a pink headband with sparkles. She definitely took after her mother—while Hope was in her brown turtleneck and a pair of striped leggings. Daisy seemed more excited to see me than Hope, who ran to Ashley and gave her a hug.

"Is my mommy coming too, Aunt Rose?" Daisy asked in a sweet little voice.

"She'll be here any minute." I squatted next to her and tucked a blond strand of hair behind her ear. "We'll get to see you again tonight at Mikey's soccer game."

"Will Uncle Joe be there too?"

"Yep, and Nana Maeve too."

"Yay!" she exclaimed in glee, and Liam mimicked her, although I was pretty sure he didn't know what he was excited about.

I hurried the kids along to snag Mikey, and then we headed home, where I let Muffy out and got the kids going with their afternoon routine. Mikey didn't have any homework. While he and the little kids were playing in the living room, I found Ashley at the kitchen table and decided to take advantage of the alone time.

I sat next to her and folded my hands together on the table. "Did anyone bother you today?"

She kept her gaze on her math worksheet. "No."

"Was Mr. Caldoni or Ms. Klaas in your class all day?"

"Yeah, but everyone knew they were there because of me."

"Wrong." I leaned forward and placed my hand over hers. "They were there because Oliver and his friends said unkind things, and Mrs. Pritchard didn't stop them."

She glanced up at me. "But everyone thinks it's because of me."

I wrapped my arm around her back, and she leaned her head on my shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Ash. I wish I could make this better."

"I know, Aunt Rose. You tried."

"This will blow over soon. I promise. Okay?"

She looked up at me with teary eyes. "Okay."

Mikey shouted that Liam was slobbering all over his stuff, so I ran to the living room to see Liam practically French kissing Mikey's soccer ball.

Before we left for the game, I had everyone change—Mikey into his uniform of a red T-shirt with the soccer organization's name on the front, a pair of black shorts, and a long-sleeve black T-shirt underneath. The girls were excited to wear the shirts Aunt Neely Kate had gotten them, but Liam wasn't thrilled when I tugged a warmer shirt over his head. It was cool, and it would get even cooler outside as we came closer to sundown.

I packed extra snacks for the two littles, along with more diapers for Liam, then told everyone it was time to head out again.

"Can we bring Muffy, Momma?" Hope asked. Muffy sat next to her, giving me a pathetic look.

"No, sweet girl," I said, shoving a shoe back on Liam's foot. "No dogs allowed at the soccer game."

"But she's sad," Hope said in a small voice. "She misses us."

As though Muffy knew Hope was petitioning for her to come with us, she lay down with her chin on her paws, looking even more pathetic.

"I'd love to take her?—"

Hope let out an excited squeal.

"—but we can't. We'll get kicked out if we bring her." I couldn't help thinking Hope had a point. Muffy thrived on being with her people and hated being alone for hours at a time. I'd left her alone far too often lately.

But there wasn't anything I could do about that at the moment, so I chased everyone but Muffy out the door, and we headed to the game.

I was exhausted by the time I pulled into the parking lot, but Joe was already there, thank goodness. The sight of him standing next to his patrol car in jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt, his butt leaning against the hood, gave me butterflies. He looked even sexier than the day I'd met him nearly six years ago. A warm glow filled my chest as I parked, and it surged when he walked over to my door and opened it for me, then gave me a soft kiss. "You look frazzled."

"Rough day."

He cast a quick glance at Ashley and gave me a questioning look.

"That too, but there's something else I should probably tell you before Neely Kate and Jed show up."

His mouth turned down, and concern filled his eyes. "Should I be worried?"

"Yeah, maybe, but let's get the kids out first, and then I'll tell you."

Mikey had already unbuckled and was trying to crawl past Ashley, who was working on Hope's carseat straps.

"Move out of the way!" he exclaimed. "I've gotta get to my game!"

"Whoa," Joe said, moving to the passenger side. "You're early, buddy, and it's not nice to mow down your sister. Especially when she's helping Hope."

His bottom lip stuck out. "Sorry, Ash."

"It's okay," she muttered under her breath, clearly still holding a grudge.

I finished getting Liam unbuckled and moved to the back of the car to get the double stroller.

"I'll take care of that," Joe said. "Why don't you take Mikey over to his team? The girls and I will meet you on the sidelines."

With Liam on my hip, I got Mikey delivered to his coaches with plenty of time for warm-up practice. Ashley was steering the empty stroller, with Hope helping her push, while Joe carried three lawn chairs. He set up the chairs, and I sat in one with Liam in my lap. The girls saw Maeve walking from the parking lot and ran to greet her.

Joe leaned over and rested his arm along the back of my chair. "You have about twenty seconds to fill me in on whatever you can, darlin'."

I leaned closer, lowering my voice. "Neely Kate will likely kill me for telling you, but she's pregnant."

His face lit up with joy.

"Don't get too excited. I guess there's a potential health scare. Jed's none too happy about the situation, and Neely Kate's holding it against him." I figured it was better to ease him into the situation than to tell him outright her life was in danger. Although they hadn't grown up together, Joe and Neely Kate were half-siblings.

His body went rigid. "What kind of health scare, and how's he reacting?"

"I don't know exactly, and he's not talking much. He's scared."

"Is my sister in danger?" he asked, his face turning pale.

"I'm not sure, but I insisted she make a doctor's appointment as soon as possible. She's going on Tuesday morning."

"I thought she couldn't get pregnant."

"They thought so too, but apparently, a couple of the last doctors said it could be dangerous for her if she did get pregnant. She took the home test this morning, so she doesn't know how far along she is, only that the test was positive, and Jed wasn't excited because he's scared to lose her."

His mouth dropped open. "She could die ?" he asked loudly enough that a couple a few feet away turned to stare at us.

Lordy, I'd screwed up. I hadn't meant to tell him that part, but he was an intelligent man. Of course, he'd read between the lines.

"Let's not think that way," I said in a whisper, shifting a squirming Liam on my lap. "She's gonna be fine. But you know Jed. He's overprotective of his girls."

He didn't respond. Instead, he gazed past me and got to his feet, reaching for the stadium chair slung over Maeve's shoulder. "Hey, Maeve, let me help you with that chair."

Each girl held one of her hands. Hope had to let go so Joe could get the stadium chair, but she grabbed it up again as soon as Maeve was free.

"Girls," Joe said. "Let Nana Maeve catch her breath. You've got the whole game to see her."

"And dinner too," I said. "I invited her to join us."

"Even better," Joe said, snatching up Hope. "I haven't seen my baby girl all day. Don't you want to spend time with your daddy?" He kissed her cheek, and a giggle burst out of her. But she soon got wiggly, so he set her down, and she ran back to Maeve to complain about me making Muffy stay home.

Joe reached over and covered my hand on my thigh with his. I offered him a warm smile.

"Joe," Maeve said, leaning closer. "What do you make of Rose's mystery box?"

He shot me an inquisitive look. "What mystery box?"

"Oh dear," Maeve said in alarm. "Was I not supposed to mention it?"

"No, you're fine," I said. "I hadn't gotten a chance to tell him about it yet. We're just now seeing each other today."

"What mystery box, Aunt Rose?" Ashley asked with interest.

I told them about digging up the box with Neely Kate and how the homeowner had asked us to find its owner. I pulled out my phone and let them see the photos I'd taken.

"What's in the box?" Ashley asked.

"It's locked up tight, so we're not sure, but Aunt Neely Kate is hoping the owner will let us see once we locate them."

"They need to share," Hope said with a pouty face. "Sharing is nice."

"Share," Liam parroted.

I gave Hope a grin. "Maybe we don't want to know what's in it. Maybe it's gross and stinky."

Hope giggled.

"Or maybe it's full of money," Ashley said. "Like a buried treasure."

I looked up at her. "Whatever we find, I'll be sure to tell you about any progress that we make."

"So you're investigatin' a case," Joe said quietly.

Grimacing, I turned to face him. "It's not like you're thinking."

"I'm thinking that you girls haven't investigated anything in years."

My heart dropped. "It's nothin' dangerous, Joe. I swear. I made Neely Kate promise that if it became even remotely dangerous, we'd stop." I held his gaze. "I have too much to lose to go risking my life over the contents of a box I don't even own."

"Agreed," he said with a forced smile. "You're right. Of course, you're right. It's a buried wooden box. How dangerous could finding the owner be?"

"Don't go jinxing us like that," I said.

Neely Kate and Jed showed up next with Daisy. The two of them still seemed distant, but Jed was clinging to her hand, and I took it as a good sign she hadn't shaken him off.

Joe jumped up and threw his arms around his sister, giving her a tight squeeze, and then—as though realizing what he'd done—he pulled back and held onto her upper arms. "Sorry. I didn't mean to hug you so tightly."

Neely Kate gave me a pointed stare. "You told him?"

"I had to," I said apologetically. "He's my husband."

She rolled her eyes, then looked over to see if Maeve had noticed. Thankfully, Daisy was just as excited to see Maeve as Hope had been, so she was preoccupied.

Joe started to lead Neely Kate over to his chair, as though she'd just had a hip replacement that morning.

"I'm perfectly capable of putting one foot in front of the other, Joe Simmons," she complained, pulling her arm from his grasp. She plopped down next to me and scanned the field. "Where's Mikey?"

"Out there," I said, pointing to the field. "They're warming up."

Jed gave Neely Kate an exasperated look, but Joe leaned in and said something. Then the two of them headed over toward the coaches.

Neely Kate reached for Liam, and he went to her, playing with the strands of her hair. He'd always been fascinated with her hair, and one night after we'd gone to bed, I'd teased Joe that Liam was going to have a thing for blonds.

" I only have a thing for one brunette," he'd said before proceeding to prove it.

"Have you told Jed about the box?" I asked. "Maeve let it slip to Joe."

"No." She cast me a sideways look. "How'd he take it?"

"I assured him that we'd back off if it got dangerous. He didn't seem too concerned."

She nodded. "Jed won't have a problem with it."

I suspected she was right. Jed liked to baby her, but he wouldn't interfere with this. Especially since she obviously needed it.

"Did you tell him you made the doctor's appointment?"

"Yeah," she said, watching Mikey kick a ball to another player. "He says he wants to come with me."

"That's good," I said insistently. When she didn't answer, I said, "I know his reaction this morning was disappointing, but you need to give him some grace with this."

"I know," she said with a sigh. "And I will, but I'm gonna make him sweat a little bit first."

The referee blew his whistle to start the game, but Joe and Jed stayed down by the coaches. The two little girls were busy playing with some Barbies that Daisy had brought, and Ashley moved closer to me and Neely Kate. I snagged her hand and tugged her to me. Relief flooded me when she sat sideways on my lap, resting the side of her head on my shoulder.

Maeve gave her a worried look. "Is Ashley getting Daisy's cold?"

"No, she's just feeling out of sorts," I said, rubbing Ashley's back. She stayed for a good five minutes on my lap, longer than I would have expected. She was ten going on thirty-five, and according to her, sitting on laps was for babies.

Neely Kate shot me a worried look, but there was nothing to say, so she rubbed Ashley's back too and kissed the back of her head. She might be facing trouble at school, but I vowed she'd never question whether she was loved. Thankfully, there were plenty of people in her life to prove it.

The teams were coed, and the kids tended to huddle up as they moved up and down the field. We all cheered when Mikey made a goal. We weren't supposed to keep score, but Mikey's team was the obvious winner.

After the game, Joe scooped Mikey up and put him on his shoulders, then brought him over to us.

The girls and Liam cheered as they approached, congratulating him on his goal, and Mikey grinned from ear to ear. Joe let him pick what he wanted for dinner, and he asked to go to Pizza Palace, a new place that had games and a play area for kids.

Since we didn't get to the restaurant until around seven, we didn't leave until nearly eight, which was the littles' bedtime. Once we had the kids clean and in pajamas, Joe told me to go take a moment for myself while he helped get their teeth brushed and read bedtime stories.

I kissed everyone good night and left him to it while I went down and made a cup of tea. After I put on a thick sweater, I took my tea and a blanket out to sit on the porch swing Joe had installed a couple of years ago. I needed a few minutes to decompress.

Joe found me about twenty minutes later. He was carrying his own mug. He lifted the edge of the blanket and sat next to me, tucking the blanket under his leg.

"How'd you know where to find me?" I asked, resting my head on his shoulder.

"This seems to be your favorite place lately."

"It's quiet out here."

"And it's noisy in there," he said, pushing off the porch with his feet to set the swing in motion. "I know it's been harder for you since I got elected sheriff. You're carrying a good portion of the load on your own. Would it be easier if we got someone to watch the kids at the house?" he asked quietly. "Or maybe someone to do some of the housework, like the mountains of laundry?"

"The housework sure, but someone to watch the kids here?" I considered it. "I suspect Hope and Liam would hate it. They love daycare, and Hope would really miss Daisy. Those two are inseparable." I took a breath, admitting something I'd been considering for a few weeks. "I'm wondering if maybe I should go part time."

He turned to me in surprise. "But you love what you do."

"I know," I said, feeling a lump in my throat. "But everything is just so crazy. Four kids is a lot."

"I know," he said, grabbing my free hand with his own. "Sometimes I wonder if I should have waited to run for sheriff until Liam was older. It was easier when I worked with you at the nursery and the landscaping business."

"Yeah, it was easier," I said. "But you weren't happy. Not really."

"I loved working with you and having a flexible schedule to help with the kids. I feel like I've dumped it all in your lap for my own happiness."

At times, I felt it had all been dumped on me too, but I'd never seen it as a selfish move on his part, which was why I'd never admitted it to him.

"You love being sheriff," I said. "And you're good at it. Not to mention the people love you. They need you."

"But you and the kids need me more."

"It's just growing pains," I said, sitting upright and turning to face him. "We're still feeling our way. But even if you were working with me, I'd still feel this way. I rush them off to school and daycare, then rush to get us all home. And we both know things are just going to get busier and crazier. Ashley loves her dance classes, and the older she gets, the more classes she'll be taking, and then there's Hope and Liam…" I took a breath. "I'm thinking about hiring another designer so I can pick Mikey and Ashley up when school gets out, then get Hope and Liam. But the tradeoff is, I'd be bringing home less money because I'd have to pay the designer."

"If it comes to that, we'll figure out the money part," he said. "Don't make your decision based on that."

I nodded, then took a sip of my now lukewarm tea. "I just feel like I'm missing so much of their little lives," I said past the lump in my throat.

"I know, I feel it too. If you want to go part time so you can be with them more, I'm all for it, but if you're doing it because of guilt for not being here, we'll figure out a way to make sure everyone's happy." He kissed my temple. "Including you, Rose."

"Thank you."

"Now tell me what's going on with Ashley."

I filled him in on our conversation that morning, my talk with the principal, and our discussion after school.

"She seemed okay tonight at the Pizza Palace," he said, tightening his hold on my arm.

"I know, but I think we took her mind off it. I'm hoping it will all just die down after a few days."

"How about I take her to school tomorrow?" he asked. "I'll take her to breakfast and see if she'll talk to me."

"She'll like that," I said. "But just remember she was worried you'd be upset."

"I hate that she thought that. I'll be sure to let her know I'll always have her back."

"Good." I snuggled into his side. "You're a great daddy."

"I have my own guilt," he said softly. "I feel guilty that I'm not home as much because my job is taking me away from all of you."

"We already discussed this," I said, wrapping an arm around his chest and tucking my hand under his arm. "I'm happy you ran for sheriff."

"I know, but still…I miss you and the kids."

"So let's plan a family weekend," I said. "No job stuff, just you, me, and the kids. Games and fun all weekend. Maybe we can go to the zoo in Little Rock for a day in a few weeks."

"I'd love that." He tilted his head down and kissed me with more passion than he would have in front of the kids. Heat flooded my veins.

"What do you say we continue this upstairs?" he murmured against my lips.

"I'd say that's the best idea you've come up with today."

Hours later, I woke up with a start, sitting upright in bed and gasping for breath. The room was pitch black, so I knew it was the middle of the night, but it took me a second to orient myself.

"Rose," Joe said, sounding anxious as he sat up and wrapped an arm around me. "What's wrong?"

I took a breath, trying to still my racing heart. "I don't know."

"What happened?"

"I don't know," I said, groggy from sleep. "I think I had a bad dream."

"You don't remember it?"

I closed my eyes and tried to remember what I'd dreamed of but only recalled fragmented pieces that made no sense. A warehouse with shelves stocked with cardboard boxes. A scream. Gunshots. A woman lying on the ground…

I'd had plenty of nightmares related to my Hardshaw fears, but none of them had been like this. They usually included bits and pieces of the past, combined with imagined confrontations. But even though they terrified me, they always felt like dreams. This had felt real —even if I could only remember fragments of it.

Even stranger, it had felt an awful lot like a vision. But I'd never had a vision while I was asleep before, so I quickly dismissed it.

I shook my head. "No. Nothing really to tell." I turned to face him. "Maybe I'm just anxious about Ashley."

"Yeah," he said absently. "That's probably it. It's about one-thirty. Do you want to try to go back to sleep?"

"Yeah." I lay down, and he tucked me into his side, his fingertips stroking my bare arm. I closed my eyes and tried to settle down, but now my mind was fixated on Ashley. And Hope. "Joe?"

"Yeah, darlin'?" he whispered against my hair.

"I keep thinking about Ashley, but also about Hope." I paused. "Joe, what if someone found out and…?"

His fingers stopped. "No one's gonna figure anything out," he said reassuringly as he cupped my arm and squeezed. "She looks plenty like you, and she's got brown eyes like me. No one's ever gonna question it."

"But I keep thinking about what would happen if someone did, and I'm not belittling what's happening to Ashley, but Hope…" My voice broke. "It would be so much worse, Joe."

He lifted my chin, and I could see outlines of his face in the dark. "It won't happen, Rose. I promise. But God forbid, if it did, we'd move somewhere far from here, where no one has ever heard the name Skeeter Malcolm, okay?"

"But your job and mine…"

"They're just jobs. We protect our kids. At all costs."

His voice was tight, and I, of all people, understood why.

His father, J.R. Simmons, had only cared about him in as much as he wanted his son to carry on the legacy of the Simmons name in both politics and business—and when Joe had balked, J.R. had schemed against him. He'd never once considered what his son wanted or needed.

The people who'd raised me hadn't been much more considerate. My father had left my mother after Violet was born because he'd been carrying on an affair with a woman named Dora Middleton. When Dora got pregnant with me, he moved in with her. She'd been killed in a car accident before I was two months old. He'd been lost without her and had taken me to his childless sister and husband. But my mother had used his grief to get him to return to Henryetta and reunite their family. She'd vowed to love me as her own daughter.

She'd lied.

She'd spend her life resenting me, and when I'd started having visions, she'd used that as an excuse to abuse me more openly.

And my father had let her.

Joe knew about my childhood, and I knew about his, and we'd both vowed our children would never feel unloved and that we'd support them in all things.

Even if we had to leave everything and everyone we loved to do it.

His body tensed. "Ashley and Mikey might not have our last name, but they are our children." He paused, his voice turning hard. "Which is why I plan on making my own visit to the school tomorrow."

I almost felt sorry for Mr. Caldoni.

His body softened, and he placed a kiss on my forehead. "Given everything you're worried about, it's no wonder you woke up," he said, his fingers resuming their meandering on my arm. "But with Hope, don't go borrowin' trouble, darlin'. We have plenty of our own."