He didn’t say anything, but his expression was shell-shocked.

I charged toward the front door and opened it. “Get out.”

His face hardened. “No.”

“No?” I shouted. “This is my house, Chief Deputy Simmons! You have no reason to be here, which means you’re trespassing. Get. Out.”

He moved in front of me. “This isn’t over, Rose. We aren’t over.”

“You’re deluded, Joe. I’m with Mason. I’m exactly where I want to be.” I was shocked at the chill in my voice. “If you continue to harass me, I’ll have Mason file a restraining order against you.”

“No.” He shook his head. “You’re wrong. I love you and I won’t let you destroy that.”

“I don’t have to because you’ve already done that. Now get out.”

He stomped out of the door and I closed it behind him, locking it with a shaky hand. I grabbed my phone out of my purse and called Neely Kate as I heard his car start and take off toward the highway.

“Rose? Is everything okay?” she said when she answered. I never called around six because I knew she liked to fix dinner for herself and her husband Ronnie most nights.

“No. Nothing is okay.”

“What happened?”

I told her about my fight with Violet and my impending financial ruin along with what had happened with Joe. “I’m destroying relationships right and left,” I joked.

“You stop that right now,” she said, but her voice was warm. “Both of those relationships were already in ruins.”

“The worst part of it is that Joe told me even if the police get my bank deposit back, it will be held as evidence for weeks. That’ll be way too late, Neely Kate. We need that money by Friday or I’m gonna lose it all.”

“Then we are gonna have to find it. Between your visions and my insider information, we’ll easily outwit the Henryetta PD. Seeing the look on Officer Ernie’s face will be well worth the effort.”

“I’m not sure it’ll be that easy.” I released a heavy breath. “Besides, I have another problem…”

“Too bad problems aren’t worth money…you’d be rich.”

“Very funny. I’m going out to dinner with Mason tonight and it now occurs to me that he’s going to order wine. How am I going to explain why I don’t want to drink any?”

“Hey, I know. Tell him you might be pregnant.”

“Ha ha. I can’t do that yet. I’m not ready, plus I’d like to fix all this other stuff first.”

“If you’re waiting for your relationship with Violet to get patched up, you might want to reconsider. Your baby will be graduating from high school before that’ll ever happen.”

“Very funny.”

She was silent for a moment. “I have an idea.”

“What?” I asked, skeptical after her other suggestions.

“How about if Ronnie and I show up at the restaurant and the four of us eat together? You can pass on the wine by saying you’re skipping it out of solidarity.”

“Oh!” I said, perking up. “I think that might just work. Now how do we make it happen?”

“That’s the easy part. How about we accidently run into each other there around seven-thirty?”

“That should work. I still need to get ready and Mason should be home long before then. Thank you, Neely Kate. I owe you!”

“What are friends for?”

I only wished two other people in my life would figure out what real friendship was.

Chapter Ten

My stomach felt like it had a baker’s dozen of hummingbirds flapping around inside it. I hoped this scheme worked.

Mason and I were waiting for a table in the foyer of Jasper’s, but Neely Kate and Ronnie were nowhere to be seen. In hindsight, I should have just told Mason I’d invited my friends. He wouldn’t have minded. That’s one of the things I loved about him—he was so accepting of my friends, even the ones who were rough around the edges. But he’d made a big deal about this being a date night, and it might have hurt his feelings if he thought it was more important to him than it was to me.

His arm was around my waist and he slid his hand down, letting his fingers curl around my hip. “I almost regret suggesting we go out tonight,” he whispered in my ear. “Do you have any idea how sexy you look in that red dress and those stiletto heels?”

I gave him a suggestive grin. Neely Kate had convinced me to buy it the week before. I’d protested it was too clingy, but now I was glad I’d listened to her. “Patience, Mason Deveraux.”

“I spent months being patient. In fact, I continued to exert patience after you decided you were ready to start a relationship with me. Now that the door is open, patience has flown out the window.”

And therein lay the key difference between the two men who wanted me. One was willing to wait and the other was like a steamroller, trying to convince me I was wrong. “At least no one is gossiping about you being gay anymore.”

He laughed, a rich, throaty sound that warmed my insides, then leaned down and kissed me. “And just imagine. I’m only getting warmed up.”

“Warmed up to what?” Neely Kate asked.

I pushed out a sigh of relief. “Neely Kate!” I said, trying to act surprised. “Imagine running into you here!”

“Ronnie and I haven’t been out in ages!” She bounced her long blond curls as she spoke. “And I was in the mood for steak, so Jasper’s seemed the logical choice.”