Page 39 of Family Jewels

“What was that about?” Neely Kate asked when I got back into the truck.

“I was thanking Jed for helping us.”

“I can’t believe you called him,” she said, messing with the glove compartment latch to avoid looking at me. “I could have handled it.”

I just shook my head as I pulled back onto the road. She was sulking. “I don’t want to talk about it right now, especially since Joe’s coming over in an hour. He’d flip his lid if he knew about any of this.”

“I know that, Rose,” she grumbled. “I’m not gonna say anything.”

We were silent for a few moments before I said, “What was going on between you and Jed back there?”

“What are you talking about?”

“That argument. The way you both jumped all over each other. Has he done something I don’t know about?” Although I couldn’t see how. I’d been with her every time she’d seen him, and they’d always been good-humored with each other.

But she just crossed her arms and looked out the window, making it clear she wasn’t ready to volunteer more information.

Chapter 9

Acouple hours later, Joe, Neely Kate, and I sat at the dining room table in my farmhouse while Muffy lay at Joe’s feet.

He pushed his empty plate toward the center of the table. “Between you and Maeve, I’m going to have to increase my workouts.”

“It wasn’t that good,” I said with a laugh. I wasn’t being modest. I’d been distracted from the recipe by thoughts of Homer Dyer, how Neely Kate would react once she found out Ronnie might still be alive, and that danged necklace. Plus, Jonah had called while I was mixing the bread crumb topping for the chicken to tell me that Mr. Henderson had chewed out both him and the two guys planting the bushes for making a muddy mess. By the time I hung up, I couldn’t remember if I’d added both teaspoons of basil. It tasted like I’d missed a few other spices too.

Joe shot me a grin. “It was better than what I’d make myself.”

I gave him a pointed look. That was an outright lie. Joe was a better cook than me, and all three of us knew it. I’d seen plenty of firsthand evidence of that back when we were dating.

Neely Kate was being quieter than usual, and judging from the worried glances he kept shooting me, Joe had picked up on it. I was desperate to pull him aside so we could talk about Ronnie, but I wasn’t sure how to do it without setting her off.

“I made dessert,” I said. “Strawberry cake. Would you like some?”

Joe laughed. “When did you ever know me to turn down dessert?”

I stood. “I’ll clean off some of these dirty dishes and bring it out with me.”

Joe rose, his chair scooting across the wood floor. “I’ll help. Moving around might help me make room fortwopieces.”

When Neely Kate started to get up, I said, “Neely Kate, do you think you could let Muffy out? But stay out with her if you don’t mind. She tried to chase a raccoon into the fields last night.” When she hesitated, I said with a grin, “Or you can clean off the table, and I’ll take her out.”

She snorted. “Like that’s a choice. Come on, Muff. Let’s go outside.”

Muffy was already giving us her full attention, watching us pick up plates from the table in the hopes we’d drop something, but she jumped to her feet at the sound of her name and ran toward the door when she heard the word “outside.”

Joe and I headed through the swinging door to the kitchen, balancing our load of plates, silverware, and serving bowls. When the door closed, I lowered my voice. “When are you going to New Orleans?”

“First thing in the morning, but I still think it’s best not to say anything to Neely Kate until I get back.”

I turned on the faucet in hopes of drowning out our voices. I wouldn’t put it past Neely Kate to try spying on us. “I think you should tell her.”

A stubborn look filled his eyes. “No. I don’t want to tell her until I know it’s true.”

I leaned closer. “Joe, you don’t understand. She’s trying to get Carter Hale to declare Ronnie dead so she can collect his insurance money. The policy’s about to run out, but Ronnie’s old boss has agreed to pay the premium another month.”

His eyes widened. “How much is the policy for?”

“I honestly have no idea, but she wants to use the money to buy herself a decent car as well as put a headstone somewhere. So she can pay her respects.”