Thirty-Three and a Half Shenanigans

by Denise Grover Swank

  I sat on the steps for a while with Muffy on my lap, studying Mason as he stood to the side and watched the deputies work.

  My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I pulled it out, expecting to see Neely Kate’s number. I sucked in my breath when I saw SM instead.

  I set Muffy down and walked upstairs to my room—my little dog trailing behind me—and answered. “Did you find something out about Dolly Parton?”

  “No, I heard about your incident.”

  How had he heard already? But it had probably been on a police scanner. “Do you know who did this?”

  “No. But I don’t like it.”

  “Well, thanks for your concern.”

  “Oh, I’m not concerned for your boyfriend. I think whoever broke into your house was looking for dirt on me . . . maybe hoping to pin the break-in on me too.”

  “What?” I shook my head.

  “Did they find anything there?”

  “You’re asking me to feed you information about evidence, Skeeter.”

  “I’m goin’ to ask you one more time: Did they find any evidence there?” He paused a second. “Like a pocket knife?’

  “How’d you know?” I asked before I could stop myself.

  “Because I’m missing my pocket knife and my prints are all over it. It was my grandfather’s, and I carry it with me all the time. I noticed it missing two days ago. Someone close to me must have stolen it and planted it in your boyfriend’s office.”

  “How do I know you didn’t break in and leave it here?”

  “I’m gonna pretend the woman who accused me of being intelligent this morning isn’t asking me if I left important evidence at a crime scene.”

  Crappy doodles, he was right. When I’d been attacked back in July, Mason had convinced Joe that Skeeter hadn’t been behind the attack, that he wouldn’t be sloppy. You couldn’t get much sloppier than this.

  “I need you to have a vision of Deveraux and tell me what you see.”

  “No.”

  “You work for me, Lady.” His words were harsh.

  “If I force a vision of Mason, it would be for him, not you,” I said hatefully.

  “Fine, justify it however you like. I just want to know what you see.” Then he hung up.

  Could Skeeter be right? Was the break-in really about him?

  I knew Mason was investigating Skeeter. Did he have information that an enemy of Skeeter’s would want? What could it possibly be?

  What a mess.

  By the time the deputies left shortly before midnight, Mason was a bundle of nerves. He sat at the kitchen table, drumming his fingers on the surface as he stared out the back windows.

  “I can make you a cup of chamomile tea,” I said, rubbing his shoulders. “It might help you relax.”

  “Sure,” he murmured, then looked around. “How’s Muffy? Is she still upset?”

  “No, she’s asleep on our bed.”

  “Good.” He closed his eyes. “Rose, I’m so sorry.”

  I leaned my butt on the table next to him. “Why are you saying you’re sorry?”

  “They could have really hurt Muffy, and it was my fault.”

  “But they didn’t,” I said. “She’s okay.” I pushed on his chair, and he scooted it back, making room for me to sit sideways on his lap. “Look at all the times Muffy’s survived break-ins at my house. She’s a fighter.”

  He looked into my eyes as he lifted his hand to my cheek. “I figured that out when we were running in the woods. She’s a special dog, and she’s important to you. If I were ever the cause of her or you getting hurt, I don’t—”

  I grabbed both of his cheeks and lowered my lips to his, kissing him gently. “We’re both fine.”

  “I don’t want to put you in danger. Maybe we should go away somewhere.”

  I leaned back and gaped at him. “What?”

  “I’ll take you to Italy as an early Christmas present. We can leave Saturday.”

  I shook my head, suddenly scared. “You’re serious.”

  His jaw tightened. “Yes.”

  I stood up. “You can’t just take off. You have a job. You just got into trouble over something tonight. What’s your boss gonna say if you just take off without notice?”

  “I don’t care.”

  “What about my job? I’m setting up the landscaping office.”

  “You told me yourself that you won’t have much to do besides busy work until the first of the year. Who knows when you’ll be able to leave after you reopen? Now’s the perfect time.”

  “Mason, I need to know what you’re not telling me.”

  He stood, moving in front of me and pulling me into his arms. “Nothing, I’m just spooked. Someone broke into our house and nearly hurt your dog. I want to keep you safe.” He kissed me, his mouth insistent, and tightened his arms around my back. “I’ve done nothing but work since we’ve been together, and this break-in has made me realize I’m wasting precious time that I could be spending with you.” He turned me around and rested my bottom on the kitchen table. “If something happened to you . . .” His mouth found mine again, his lips and tongue desperate and insistent. He grabbed the bottom of my sweater, breaking our kiss so he could pull it over my head.

  As I fumbled with the buttons on his shirt, his mouth returned to mine, his hands moving behind my back to unfasten my bra. He slid the straps over my shoulders and down my arms. I spread his shirt apart and let my bra fall to the floor. Spreading my palms over his bare chest, I looked up into his eyes. I gave him a saucy grin as I reached down and began to unfasten his belt.

  He kissed me again as I worked on unfastening his pants, then he kicked off his shoes and stepped out of his pants and boxers so that he was standing in front of me in nothing but his opened dress shirt.

  His hands slid down my sides, then up to cup my breasts. His mouth lowered to one of them, and I grabbed the back of his head as I arched my back to give him better access.

  He pushed me back so I was lying on the table, then reached for the button on my jeans as I lifted my hips so he could pull them off with my panties.

  He stood between my open legs, his eyes roaming over my body as I lay on our kitchen table, feeling naughty. Good girls didn’t have sex on their kitchen tables, but I didn’t want to be a good girl with Mason. “You make me feel very wicked,” I confessed.

  A fire flickered in his eyes. “And do you like feeling wicked?”

  “Yes,” I exhaled, watching his reaction.

  He leaned over me, his mouth finding one breast while his hand fondled the other. Then his mouth trailed down my abdomen and lowered between my legs. He hooked my leg over his shoulder, and I closed my eyes and gasped, overwhelmed with what his mouth and hands were doing.

  Doing this on the kitchen table was so wrong, but that only excited me more. It didn’t take long before I needed more.

  “Mason.”

  But he continued to work wonders with his mouth.

  “Mason, please.”

  “What do you want, Rose?”

  “You. I want you. Now.”

  He slid up my body, his face hovering over mine, his eyes burning with intensity. “Don’t you know that you already have me? I’m hopelessly and unceasingly yours.” Then he entered me, and I clung to him as we showed each other how desperate we were for each other.

  Afterward, Mason rolled onto his side, bringing me with him so that I faced him, my leg slung over his hip. His hand stroked my cheek as he searched my eyes.

  I grinned. “The next time your momma comes over for dinner, we’re gonna have to eat in the dining room, because I’m not sure I can sit at this table with her without blushing.”

  He grinned, looking wicked. I loved the contrast of good Mason, who wore dress shirts and ties in the office, and naughty Mason, who made me want to do things I’d never considered.

  His fingertips stroked my shoulder in lazy circles. “I mean it, Rose, I want you to go away with me. I’ll grab my laptop right now and book two tic
kets for Saturday. Where do you want to go? Rome? Venice? Tuscany? We can visit all of them. Hell, we can move there.”

  I pulled back. “Where is this coming from?”

  “I already told you.”

  He had, and while I believed him, I knew there was more to it. “I can’t go to Italy. I don’t have a passport.”

  He slid his finger up and down my arm. “Then we’ll go somewhere else. Somewhere far away from here.”

  “We don’t have to go away to spend time together, Mason. We can do it right here.”

  “I could spend time with you in a cave and be perfectly content. But you deserve so much more than that, Rose, and I want to give it to you.” He propped himself up on an elbow, brushing the hair off my neck and lowering his mouth to my collar bone. He worked his way up until he abruptly stopped, lifting his head. “Why are there bruises on your neck?”

  “Tabitha.”

  “What?”

  “There’s a big bad world out there, Mason Deveraux, and try as you might, you can’t keep me safe from all of it.”

  Tears filled his eyes. “But I’ll die trying if I have to.”

  I cupped his cheek in my hand. “That’s enough talk about dying. Tonight is all about living.”

  He tugged me against him, kissing me with a ferocity I didn’t expect. Then we did things on that kitchen table and a couple of chairs that made it clear that it would be Easter before Mason’s mother could come close to the kitchen.

  Chapter Seventeen

  The next morning, Mason still wanted to go away, but I finally convinced him that neither of us could just pick up and leave. He had his job, and I had promised Neely Kate I’d help her find Dolly Parton. And true, there wasn’t much going on with the business, but I didn’t feel right about leaving Bruce Wayne to deal with anything that might pop up. He might be my partner, but I needed to pull my weight.

  We ate breakfast together, and Mason was quieter than usual, but I knew he was still spooked about the break-in.

  “I’m going to see if I can get an alarm system put in today. Until then, I don’t want you here without me.”

  I buttered a slice of toast. “Don’t you think you’re overreacting?”

  “No.”

  I put my knife down on my plate. “Mason, do you really think they’re coming back? They either found what they were looking for or they didn’t. They only searched the office, which means they didn’t expect to find it anywhere else. They’re not coming back.”

  “I know you’re helping Neely Kate today, but try to be more careful than usual.”

  “I will.” I took a bite of my toast, looking down at Muffy, who sat on the floor next to me, waiting for scraps. “I can’t bear to leave Muffy alone today, but I don’t want to take her on the road with me either.”

  “What do you want to do?”

  “Maybe I could see if Violet will watch her,” I said.

  “Isn’t Violet planning to be at the nursery for the next few days?”

  “Ugh. You’re right.” I ran my hand through my hair. “I forgot. I could ask Bruce Wayne, but he’s looking at a lawnmower and an edger this afternoon. He got a lead on an estate sale.”

  “I’m sure Mom wouldn’t mind watching her. We’re going by her house to get my car so it wouldn’t be out of the way.”

  “Are you sure? I really don’t want to impose on her.”

  “Mom loves that little dog, and I suspect she wouldn’t mind the company. I’ll ask her if you’d like.” He shot me a grin. “She’s not afraid to tell me no, so you’ll know she really doesn’t mind when she says yes.”

  Maeve was thrilled at the idea of having Muffy spend the day with her, and I was relieved to know my little dog was in good hands. Muffy was excited to see Maeve, whom she greeted with lots of kisses, and Mason walked me out to my truck once she was settled.

  “I mean it, Rose, please don’t place yourself in danger today.”

  I grinned at him, wrapping my arms around his neck and pressing my chest to his. “How many times do I have to tell you I’ll be careful?”

  “As many times as it takes for me to believe you.”

  “Ha. Ha,” I teased.

  He pulled me closer and gave me a long kiss. “If you change your mind about running off somewhere, I’m just a phone call away. As soon as I finish something up on Friday night, I can take you away. For as long as you want.”

  My smile fell. “How much trouble are you in, Mason?”

  He studied me for several seconds. “I’m not sure yet. Maybe a lot.”

  My breath caught in my chest. “What kind of trouble? Are you gonna lose your job?”

  He hesitated before answering, his face grave. “Maybe.” He sighed. “Rose, I’d tell you more about it if I could.”

  I tried to figure out how upset he was over that. The night before, he’d insisted he needed to spend more time with me. Was he trying to convince himself he’d be okay with losing his job, or had he really meant it?

  I winked. “How good are you at digging?”

  He laughed. “Are you suggesting that I should be looking for ditch-digging jobs?”

  I cocked my head and gave him an ornery grin. “It just so happens I know this landscaping company that might need some manual laborers this spring.”

  He grinned. “You don’t say. Do you know anything about the owner?”

  I lifted my mouth close to his. “I hear she can be very demanding. And she might make you work without a shirt.”

  “Sounds intriguing,” he teased. “Do you know how I can get an interview?”

  I kissed him, and his arm tightened around me. “If you play your cards right, I might be able to get you one.”

  He chuckled and shook his head. “For your sake, I hope you don’t need to hire me. I inherited my mother’s black thumb.”

  “Everyone is trainable.”

  He released a long laugh. “Why do I have the feeling you might be referring to getting me to lower the toilet seat rather than digging up shrubbery?”

  “Hope springs eternal, Mason Deveraux.” I swatted his bottom. “Now get to work.”

  He kissed me again and stepped back a few paces. “You’re not even my employer yet, and you’re already bossing me around. I think I should just give up now and obey your commands.”

  “I knew you were a smart man.”

  He started to get in his car and turned back to look at me. “I’m making a run out to the sheriff’s office before I head to the courthouse, just so you don’t wonder why I’m not heading downtown.”

  “Is this about the break-in?”

  He paused. “Yeah.”

  “Okay. Good luck when you get to work.” No matter what he claimed, I knew he didn’t want to lose his job. Not after he lost his job in Little Rock.

  Bruce Wayne wasn’t in the office when I got there, and the space seemed lonely without him. I decided to focus on getting our finances in order, which meant purchasing and downloading an accounting program like Neely Kate had suggested. Once that was taken care of, I started to enter in all our information.

  An hour later, Neely Kate walked through the door as I was cussing out my computer.

  “Whoa, if I didn’t know better, I’d think you’d been hanging out with my cousins,” she said as she walked up behind me and studied the screen. “What on earth are you doin’?”

  I threw my hands into the air. “Trying to put information into an accounting program.”

  “Did you link it to your bank account?”

  I gave her a blank stare.

  She picked up a receipt and read it. “What category are you putting this equipment rental under?”

  “Other?”

  She groaned as she tossed the receipt onto my desk. “You’re making a mess of it.”

  “I have no idea what I’m doin’.”

  She chuckled. “That’s pretty obvious. You should have waited for me.”

  “So how’d it go last night?” I asked.

 
Neely Kate rolled Bruce Wayne’s chair closer to mine and sat down. “Fine. I talked to Roger at the bingo hall, and he’s gonna let Granny pay off the damage to the raccoon.”

  I still wasn’t clear on what had happened, but I also wasn’t sure I wanted to be. “I was talking about Ronnie and your job situation.”

  “Oh, that.” She sat back in her chair. “He was fine with it.”

  “Well, that’s good.”

  “I told you he wanted me to quit. I think he got tired of hearing me complain.” She leaned her elbow on the arm of the chair. “Now I’ll have more time to cook.”

  “Oh.” Crappy doodles.

  I stared at her for a couple of seconds. Should I come clean and tell her that her food was disgusting? I didn’t want to hurt her, but I wasn’t sure my stomach could handle any more gourmet delicacies. But maybe there was another way. “You know, Neely Kate, now that you have all this free time, you could use it to decorate Ronnie Jr.’s room.”

  Her mouth puckered. “It’ll be another three months before I have my first ultrasound.”

  “Maybe not . . .” My voice rose on the end with a playful tone.

  She grabbed my hand, her eyes wide with excitement. “Are you serious?”

  Was I? What if I saw something bad? I couldn’t bear the thought of blurting out something awful to her. Saving my gastrointestinal tract wouldn’t be worth it. Nevertheless, I’d opened this can of worms, and I couldn’t turn back now. “Neely Kate,” I said, turning serious. “Think about this. Are you sure you don’t want to wait until the ultrasound? You can have a party to celebrate when you find out. You know, like making one of those cakes with a blue or pink center to surprise everyone with the news. You won’t get that if we find out now.”

  She didn’t answer, still holding my hand.

  “And what about Ronnie? Doesn’t he want to be with you when he sees Ronnie Jr.’s . . .” I cringed, “you know . . . part on the ultrasound screen?”

  She shook her head. “He doesn’t care about that. The doctor’s office makes him squeamish.”