“Your upcoming date with my daddy seems more pressing to me.”

Pain shot through my chest. How much more could Neely Kate take? “Oh, honey.”

Neely Kate waved me off. “I’m fine. Just a bad joke. But I still say tonight takes priority. We don’t have time to worry about Hilmonster.”

I turned in my seat. “Kate just admitted that she hates Hilary and that she’s about to get what’s coming to her.”

“She’s hated her for years and hasn’t done a thing. What’s one more day?”

Neely Kate had a point, but something still nagged at me. I just wasn’t sure what.

The waitress brought over the bill. “Your friend said to put it on your tab.”

“Of course she did,” Neely Kate grumbled. “I can’t believe I’m related to that psycho.”

“Maybe you’re not—” But the look on her face told me not to argue. And I could see her point. The evidence was pretty damning.

I grabbed some cash out of my wallet and tossed it on the table. “We need to get some paying jobs soon. Mason was the one paying the bills, and now I’m down to fifteen dollars.”

While we had jobs lined up, the deposits covered the expense of the plants. But the real profit didn’t come until we finished the job and collected the balance.

Neely Kate stood. “Maybe I can collect on back allowance. How much do you think the Simmons kids made?”

“Not enough,” I grumbled as I followed her out the door, surprised she could joke about it. Then again, what else was she going to do? I’d never seen anything really get her down with the exception of her miscarriage.

“I think we should stop by the courthouse first,” Neely Kate said as we started across the street. “None of my friends have gotten back to me yet, but if they’re busy, we can just look for information on Thaddeus Brooke ourselves.”

“And Nick Thorn?” I asked.

She frowned. “I suspect what we’re looking for isn’t in Fenton County. Good call goin’ down that rabbit hole, by the way.”

“It just made sense to follow my instinct.”

We hid our guns in the car, then went through the courthouse security. I couldn’t help wondering how smart it was to just waltz into the courthouse, but Neely Kate was right. J.R. wasn’t going to do a thing to us. Not until later tonight.

While Neely Kate headed to the records room to look for her cohorts, I made my way to the deserted staircase and sat on a step. I needed to call Skeeter and fill him in on what we’d learned.

I told him everything with the exception of Neely Kate’s discovery, which seemed too personal to share with him. This needed to be strictly business, and Neely Kate’s parentage had nothing to do with this mess.

But after I mentioned Kate’s ominous threat, I said, “I’m worried about Hilary.”

I was dead wrong if I’d hoped to find a sympathetic ear.

“That bitch is like a cat,” Skeeter said. “She always lands on her feet and has nine lives. She’s fine.”

“But she’s pregnant. There’s a baby to think about.”

“Not my problem and not yours either. What are you two doin’ now?”

“We’re at the courthouse looking up information about Thaddeus Brooke and Nick Thorn.”

“By the time Kate left for California, I hadn’t worked for Simmons for years. I’ve never heard of Thorn. But I suspect you’ll be able to find something with an Internet search. We’ll do some diggin’ on our end, too. Keep in touch. Let me know if you find anything else.”

“Okay.” I hung up and closed my eyes, needing a moment to decompress after all the news I’d been bombarded with throughout the day. I needed to get my anxiety under control. I was so focused on the breathing exercises Jonah had taught me that I didn’t hear him approach.

“Rose,” Mason asked quietly. “Are you okay?”

My eyes flew open, and I saw him standing in from of me, worry on his face.

I hopped off the steps and threw myself at him, wrapping my arms around his neck before I could remind myself I wasn’t supposed to do that anymore.

But Mason didn’t seem to remember either. “Sweetheart, what’s going on?” he asked, holding me against his chest. “What are you doing here?”

I blinked back tears. I couldn’t deny that Mason made me feel stronger, but was that a good thing? Shouldn’t I be able to stand on my own? But I didn’t have time to dwell on my weakness. I only knew that I needed him right now. Any lingering suspicions over his character flittered away. This man loved me, of that I was sure.

“Rose?”

I leaned back and looked up into his face, cupping his cheeks. “I’m fine now.”

He kissed me. His lips were gentle but firm, giving me the courage I needed to stay focused on this crazy task. Giving me the hope that I’d find the happiness I so desperately craved at the end of the tunnel.

When he lifted his head, I looked into his eyes. “Promise me—no matter what,” I said, “that you’ll never let that witch Kate Simmons reverse cowgirl you.”

“What?” he asked in horror, jerking back.

But I held him in place. “Promise.”

A soft grin lit up his face. “That’s an easy promise to make.”

I pressed my flushed cheek to his chest, letting the sound of his heartbeat in my ear fill me with reassurance.

“Rose, what’s goin’ on?”

“I’m not sure what I can tell you.”

“Because of my job?”

I nodded.

He pulled loose and grabbed my hand, then led me to the stairs, where we sat side by side.

“It kills me that you’re doing this alone,” he said. “Tell me what’s going on, my job be damned.”

I sat up and shook my head. How on earth was I going to tell him there was a dead body in my barn? But I knew there was something I could tell him. The thing I couldn’t stop thinking about. I had no idea how Neely Kate was scouring files for information while I was sitting in a stairwell, still reeling in shock. I knew it wasn’t my secret to tell, but this was the man I’d planned to marry, my best friend other than Neely Kate. I needed to confide in someone, and I knew he’d give me the support I needed.