“What? Where?” he barked, although I knew his anger wasn’t directed at me.

“Out in the barn.”

“What was he doing in the barn?” He took a deep breath. “Please tell me you didn’t talk to him. He can take anything you say and use it against you.”

“Oh, Lordy.” Mason was right. Why hadn’t I remembered that before I’d spouted off at him? Had I said anything incriminating? “I did.”

“It’s okay,” he said, although he didn’t sound convincing. “Just tell me what happened.”

My back tensed. “I took Muffy outside to wander around, and she headed right for the barn. I figured she’d sniffed out some mice the other night and remembered. Anyway, when we got inside I noticed the back door was standing wide open.”

“That door was closed when I left the barn, Rose.” His voice was tight with worry. “You need to stay away from the barn. In fact, maybe you girls should go stay with Mom after all.”

“I think we’re fine. I’m sure it was Joe. He said he was checking the property for trouble, and he came to investigate when he heard noises in the barn. I accused him of snooping around to look for evidence to use against me, but he swore he’s tryin’ to protect me. He says he has a plan.”

“Hmm …”

“Wait. You think he might have been telling the truth?” Given time to think about it, I was beginning to think he had been too, even if I didn’t appreciate the way he was pulling it off. But after my arrest, I was surprised Mason believed it.

“In hindsight, the way he was behaving after your arrest leads me to believe he might not be on his father’s side, but damned if I know what he’s doing. Not that I trust him. I take it he didn’t share his plan with you?”

“Of course not. He gave me his usual bullcrap answer of he knows what’s best and I should blindly follow. He said J.R. was fixing to kill me, so arresting me was the only way he could protect me. He might have a plan, but I’m sure as Hades not waiting for him to work on his plan to save me. If anything, I’m worried he’ll end up doing more harm than good.”

“I plan to talk to him tomorrow when I get back,” Mason said, his tone angry again. “He has no business being on your property without a warrant.”

“No, don’t confront him.” The thought of the two of them chatting made me anxious. “Just leave him be. Hopefully, your meeting tomorrow will be the first step in getting us out of this mess. How’d it go with the sketch artist?”

“They have a good sketch, but now the state police detective is working on identifying the man. I’ve come up with a pretty solid argument for why the secretary of state’s office should formally investigate the guy who helped get me removed from office. The state detective is coming with me to corroborate my request.”

“Why don’t you sound more excited?”

“I still have that feeling that it’s too easy. I guess we’ll find out tomorrow.”

“When do you think you’ll be home?”

“I can’t imagine the meeting will run more than a few hours, but I suspect there will be some loose ends to tie up. I’m hoping to be back by late afternoon.” His voice lowered. “I’ve been thinking about your vision, and I’d like to take you out for dinner tomorrow night. How about I make a reservation at Jaspers?”

“A date?”

“We need more of those, don’t you think?”

“Yeah. I’d like that.” The timing seemed wrong, in spite of my vision, but for all we knew, I might only have less than three weeks of freedom left. We needed to make the most of our time together. “Any news on the guy who posted my bail?”

“No. Randy hasn’t gotten back with me with anything on Sam Teagen. But in the meantime, stay inside tonight, okay?”

I had no desire to see what was lurking in the darkness. It would be coming for me soon enough. “Yeah.”

“If you feel threatened in any way, call Randy and he’ll come straight away. I’m going to bed, sweetheart. I’ll call you after I finish the meeting.”

“Good luck. I love you.”

“I love you too.” He paused. “We’re going to get out of this, Rose. I promise.”

I only hoped it was true.

* * *

The next morning, I slept later than usual and woke up to the smell of coffee wafting up the stairs. For a split second I thought Mason had woken up before me and started a pot brewing. Then I remembered that Mason was in Little Rock and Neely Kate had spent the night.

I found her in the kitchen, wearing a pair of yoga pants and a long-sleeved T-shirt and standing in front of the stove. Her face was free of makeup, and her hair was pulled back in a ponytail.

She turned to look at me as I walked in, a smile wavering on her face. “Good morning.”

“Something smells good.” My stomach growled, but then I remembered that she’d spent the past several weeks concocting bizarre recipes inspired by the cooking show where the contestants were given random combinations of ingredients. “What is it?”

“Pancakes. I was gonna make some bacon, but your refrigerator is freakishly empty.”

“I’m still banned from the Piggly Wiggly, although this time it’s because Mason’s insisted that we ban them.”

“Well, I’m not banned, so I’ll pick up a few things when I’m in town today.”