I fixed my gaze on him, surprised he’d voice an opinion since he preferred to keep to himself. Come to think of it, I was surprised he was here at all. “I don’t claim to be nearly as wise, but I’d like to listen to both sides and help reach a compromise. This county’s seen too much upheaval. We need peace.”
“What’s in it for you?” someone asked.
“I want peace as well. I want to raise my baby without worryin’ about its safety. I don’t want to be watchin’ over my shoulder, worried that someone’s gonna hurt us.”
“Just admit that you want a cut of our profits,” Bear said.
“Your money is the last thing I want or need. The only currency I want from y’all is protection.”
“From what?” Bear demanded.
“From Hardshaw. From Skeeter Malcolm. I don’t expect you to stand guard, but I expect you to have my back.” I paused, surprised they weren’t protesting. “Hardshaw’s comin’ and you’re a disjointed bunch. You can either try fightin’ them in your own tiny skirmishes, or you can join forces and fight them together. If you do it that way, you just might have a chance.”
Jed stepped forward. “But y’all squabble like a bunch of fishermen’s wives. You need someone to mediate.”
“Someone who has nothing to gain financially,” Dermot said. “We need Lady.”
Everyone was so silent that the only sound came from the flames whipping in the breeze until the sound of a slow clap in the back broke the silence and a lone man began walking out of the shadows. He continued forward, still clapping as he said, “Bravo. Great speech. Right up there with Winston Churchill.”
He was tall and muscular, and his shaggy light brown hair was messy from the wind. Dark shadows clung to him, but I would have recognized him anywhere.
Denny Carmichael.
I had to wonder if he even knew who Winston Churchill was.
Jed and Dermot tensed and started to push me back behind them, but I held my ground. “Do you have a problem with this proposal, Mr. Carmichael?”
He gave me an amused grin. “You do realize that Malcolm still considers you his?”
I gave him a defiant glare. “The only person I belong to is myself.”
“Maybe so,” Carmichael said, “but he’s still laid claim. Sounds to me like this is an elaborate ruse you’ve created to break free from him and get us to do your dirty work and protect you.”
“I’ve made no secret that I want protection from Skeeter Malcolm, and I suspect an alliance with the other players in town will hold him at bay, but there’s more to this situation and you know it, Denny Carmichael. The Sugar Branch Police Department is a prime example.”
His eyes narrowed as he studied me, a mocking grin spread across his face. “Touché.”
“It won’t stop there,” I said. “You know Hardshaw’s comin’ after you first. You’re too big of a threat for them to ignore. Wouldn’t it be nice to not face it alone?”
His grin faded. “No one rules me. No one.”
“No one wants to rule you, but you have to admit there’s safety in numbers.”
“You’re naïve if you think this will work.”
I held out my hands. “What do you have to lose by givin’ it a try?”
“My business. My reputation. My life.”
Dermot gestured to him. “Seems to me you might lose those anyway.”
Carmichael clenched his fists. “So I’m supposed to serve the whims of a woman who’s not even part of this world?”
“He’s right,” I said, turning to Dermot. “It’s their lives. They should have the final say.”
“What are you suggestin’?” Dermot asked.
“They should have a say. They should have a vote.” I turned back to face Carmichael. “Like a council. Majority rules.”
“Lady is the tiebreaker,” Dermot said. “Lady runs the meetings.”
Carmichael eyed me closely. Then a smug smile lit up his eyes. “I agree to your terms.”
He’d agreed much too quickly and easily to suit me, but to call him out on it would make him lose face, and that was not a skirmish I wanted to invite. Not yet.
“Carmichael has joined us,” Jed called out to the others. “Who’s with us?”
The majority signed up, and Jed and Dermot told them we’d be in touch to arrange the next meeting setting up the council rules. As they all left, they paraded past us, shaking our hands as a sign of our commitment, but when Carmichael shook my hand, he held it a little too long and he leaned into my ear and whispered, “You still owe me, little girl, and I plan to collect.”
He walked away with a shit-eating grin, and I wondered if we’d just been played.
CHAPTER 32
J oe was waiting on the porch when we got back to the farmhouse. I told Jed and Neely Kate to go home. After everything, it felt like I should be the one to allay his concerns.
“You went as the Lady in Black,” he said in surprise, and I remembered he hadn’t seen me before I left.
“Not Lady,” I said with a wry smile. “No hat.”
“They all know she’s you, so do you need one?”
“Good point.”
Conflict flashed in his eyes before he said, “I don’t want to know what happened, but I do want to know if you’re safe now.”
I paused. “Not entirely, but I’m safer than I was before the meetin’.”
He nodded. “I hope you know what you’re doin’, Rose.”
“I hope so too.”
I went upstairs and looked in on Violet. She lay propped up on her pillows, her eyes closed, but her breathing sounded slightly congested, confirming my biggest fear. She was coming down with something.
When I went to bed, I couldn’t sleep despite the fact that I was exhausted. I couldn’t help feeling like I’d betrayed James, even though he’d turned his back on me first.
Finally, my brain surrendered, and I was sleeping so deeply that I dreamt that James was next to me, his mouth on my neck, skimming up to my lips, his fingers tracing my collarbone.
“James,” I breathed out, turning to my side. I wrapped my arm around his back, and something in my head questioned why he was wearing a shirt in bed. He’d never worn clothes in bed before.
My eyes flew open and I gasped at the realization that James was actually in my bed. In my house. Fully clothed and lying next to me.
Moonlight streamed through the windows, illuminating his features.
He pushed me onto my back and his hand wrapped around my throat, resting there lightly. “I could strangle you right now, Rose. They’d be none the wiser that I was here.”
My pulse picked up, which I was sure he could feel, but I didn’t try to push his hand away. “You won’t.”
“I could.”
“You won’t. You love me.”
His hand slid down to rest over my breast. “You betrayed me, Rose. You’re doin’ what I’ve spent the last year tryin’ to accomplish. You’re pullin’ this county together.” His fingertip traced my collarbone. “You’re turnin’ them against me.”
I would have been scared if I’d heard malice in his voice, but I heard only regret.
“You turned them against yourself,” I whispered. “I’m only gathering the scattered pieces.”
He stared into my eyes and I couldn’t read his expression. I had no idea how he’d gotten inside, but I knew he could kill me in an instant, just as I knew he wouldn’t. I knew I should tell him off and kick him out, but I needed this time with him. I needed closure.
“You’re playin’ a dangerous game, Rose. You can’t trust most of them.” Again, he didn’t sound angry. He sounded resigned.
So he knew about the meeting tonight, not that I was surprised. “I know.”
“Carmichael will look for the first opportunity to turn on you. He’ll watch you build this alliance, standing on the periphery, then he’ll try to take it for himself as soon as he thinks it’s solid.”
I stared into his impassive face. “I a
lready know he’s up to somethin’.”
“Pay close attention to Martin. If he and Ledger spend too much time together, they start blabbin’.”
I had no idea who Martin and Ledger were, but I filed that in the back of my mind for later. Why was he telling me all of this?
“Things are about to become a lot more dangerous. If Hardshaw catches wind of what happened tonight…”
I sat up, feeling wary for the first time. “You’re gonna tell them?”
“Not me,” he said with a sad smile, lying on his side and staring up at me. “But they’ll know.”
“Did you try to have me killed?” I asked with a hard edge in my voice.
Hurt filled his eyes, and he pushed up to sit next to me on the bed, his body vibrating with tension. “You think I’m capable of killin’ you?”
“That doesn’t really answer my question, does it?” When he didn’t say anything, I asked, “Did you tell Carter Hale to pay me off to abort our baby?”
Anger filled his eyes. “You can’t have this baby, Rose.”
I got off the bed, shooting a glare at him. “Unfortunately for you, you have no choice in the matter.”
“You have to pick, Rose,” he said, anger in his voice. “Me or the baby. You can’t have both.”
“Are you serious?” I demanded. “And if I decide to keep it? Will you try to force an abortion on me?” My eyes narrowed. “Because fair warning, Skeeter Malcolm, I will never forgive you. Never.”
“You actually want this baby?” he asked in disbelief. “Were you plannin’ this?”
“I wouldn’t trick a man into havin’ a baby with me any more than I would trick a man into staying in a relationship with me.”
He shook his head. “And yet you’re throwing us away to have this kid?”
“You’re throwin’ us away, because I’m choosing to keep our baby. Your baby.”
“I can’t have a kid, Rose,” he said through gritted teeth. “So yeah, you’re throwin’ us away.”
My anger surged. “You threw us away before I even knew about this baby. You threw us away when you bought the Sugar Branch Police Department. You threw us away when you decided to throw your lot in with Hardshaw. You threw me away when you sent those men to that pharmacy knowin’ they would kill anyone who saw them.”
“I didn’t know you were there, Rose.”
“So you did condone them killin’ an innocent witness?”
His confidence wavered. “Some things are out of my control.”
“What’s that mean?”
He shook his head. “You don’t need to know.”
I’d had enough of his deflections. “For once in this pathetic mess we call a relationship, I wish you’d just tell me the truth. Include me in your life. Tell me what in the hell is goin’ on! This isn’t love, James. Ignoring me and orderin’ me to kill our baby isn’t love!”
“I don’t know how many ways I can tell you this, Rose, but I do not want a kid,” he said through gritted teeth. “If you do this, you do this without me. You do it alone.”
I steeled my shoulders, glaring up at him. “I already know that, James Malcolm. I’m not the complete fool you think I am. Besides, I’m not alone. I have my friends.”
He cursed under his breath and stormed toward the window, staring out into the front yard.
I was furious with him, yet I could see he was hurting. Despite everything, that still mattered.
“What are you doin’, James?” I pleaded. “Let me help you.”
“You’re not goin’ to that appointment tomorrow, are you?” he asked.
“The abortion appointment?” I asked in surprise. “No. I’m not, but I want nothin’ from you. Just leave us be, and we’ll do the same.”
He turned toward me with a hard glint in his eyes. “I don’t call stealin’ the loyalty of over half the criminals in this county leavin’ me be.”
“You’ve invited the devil into our backyard, Skeeter Malcolm. Don’t expect me to sit back and do nothin’.”
He took several steps toward me, but his anger had faded and was replaced by acceptance.
“Why in God’s name are you workin’ with Hardshaw?” I whispered. “What’s your endgame, James?”
He lifted his hand to my cheek, his fingertips trailing across my cheekbone. “My endgame was you, Rose, but the baby changed everything. This wasn’t part of the plan.”
That pissed me off. “Don’t you put this on me. How does aligning yourself with Hardshaw play into me bein’ your endgame?”
He shook his head. “That baby deserves more than my sorry ass could ever give it.” Then he brushed past me, reaching for the door.
“James.”
He turned back to face me. “From this moment on, we’re on opposite sides of a war. Take no prisoners, Rose, because you’re a general now.”
“Against you?”
“This is bigger than me,” he said. “Once I walk out of this room, we have to cease all contact. I mean it, Rose. You can’t talk to me again, and you can’t be comin’ to the pool hall. It’s bein’ watched. You have to treat me as your enemy, and I’ll do the same.”
“No.”
He released a bitter laugh. “You’re the queen of Fenton County now. If you show one iota of concern for me, you’ll lose half your army.”
He was right, and I knew it. I started to reach for him to force a vision, but he walked out the door without another word.
I considered going after him, but just like Skeeter Malcolm didn’t chase after women, I wasn’t going to chase after a man who’d pushed me away.
CHAPTER 33
I couldn’t sleep after James left, so around dawn, I got up to check on Violet, worried after hearing her congestion the night before. Her body was burning up and sweat drenched her hair and thin nightgown.
“Violet,” I said, grabbing her hand as I tried not to panic. “Why didn’t you call for me?”
She gave me a weak smile. “I had to make sure you had plenty of time with your man.”
I froze. “James? You knew he was here?”
A tiny chuckle shook her body. Then she broke into a coughing fit. When she’d caught her breath, she said, “Who do you think told him to come?”
“I don’t understand.”
“I won’t be here when you have your baby, Rose. I needed to be sure.”
“Sure about what? What did you say, Violet?” Had she convinced him to leave me?
“That’s between him and me. He made me swear not to tell you, and I assured him I would take it to my grave, which I also assured him would happen in the very near future.”
“Vi!”
“I wasn’t meddlin’, Rose. I swear. I only wanted to know his intentions. That was the one last thing I needed to know.”
She broke into another coughing fit, and Carly burst into the room, her eyes wide with panic. “I’ll call hospice.”
“No,” Violet said. “There’s nothing to be done. I’m ready for the end.”
Carly insisted on calling them anyway while I stayed by Violet’s side. Joe came up soon afterward, and we sat on either side of her bed, watching her struggle to breathe. She let me put wet washcloths on her forehead but refused to take anything for the fever.
“The inevitable is comin’, Rose,” she said, leaning back into her pillows with her eyes closed. “I have no say in my death sentence, at least let me have a say in how it ends.”
I walked out of the room to get myself together, and Joe followed, reaching for me. He paused and looked me over with a scrutinizing glance, then pulled me to his chest as I started to cry.
“I can’t let her do this, Joe,” I said. “I have power of attorney. I can make her accept treatment to fight this off.”
“Yeah,” he said. “You can, but that’s not what she wants, and it won’t buy her much more time even if it gives her another few days or weeks. Don’t make this a battle, Rose. She’s tired. She’s said her goodbyes. Let her do this her way.”
“I can’t just tell her goodbye. Not like this. Not yet.”
“It’s not your choice, darlin’,” he said, looking down at me with a soft smile. “You can’t hold on to someone who’s ready to go.”
My chin trembled as I selfishly thought about James. Had he really been ready to go? I didn’t think so, but I couldn’t make him stay with me either. He’d chosen his own solitary confinement, but Vi…
Tears pooled in my eyes.
I wouldn’t let her die alone.
Once she decided it was time to leave, she didn’t last long.
I sat by her side as we watched clouds roll in through the sunroom windows.
“I thought you wanted a sunny day to die,” I chided. “Let’s wait. I’ll get some antibiotics.”
“You can’t just get antibiotics like they’re Tic Tacs,” she said with a tiny laugh.
“Try me,” I said. “I know a guy.”
She smiled, then trained her gaze on the window. “The sun will come out.”
“You can’t will the sun to come out, Violet Gardner,” I said. “Not even you can control the weather.”
“We’ll see,” was all she would say. Then she drifted off to sleep, her chest heaving as her lungs made a rattling sound.
People came in and out—Joe, Carly, Neely Kate, and Jed. Jonah stopped by to pray with her, and peace filled her eyes as she thanked him. The hospice nurse stayed close by, checking her vital signs from time to time, but she mostly stayed in the background. But the kids were conspicuously absent. When Violet had moved in, she’d made us all promise not to bring the kids to her deathbed, to spare them the trauma of her death.
Early in the afternoon, I convinced Violet to at least use some oxygen so she didn’t have to struggle so much. She hated the nasal canula, saying it irritated her nose, but she kept it in anyway. I lay on the bed next to her, holding her hand as we stared up at the ceiling, and I thought about all the times we’d done this as kids, barely older than Ashley and Mikey. She’d always made me feel so loved, and although she hadn’t been able to protect me, she’d ensured I didn’t feel alone.
Come Rain or Shine: Rose Gardner Investigations #5 (Rose Gardner Investigatons) Page 31