Page 10 of Trailer Trash

He looked surprised. “You really think what you’ve done will turn her from you?”

“I’m not taking that risk with herorJoe.”

“Do you plan to meet her?” he asked.

“Kate? Yes.”

He nodded. “I think this goes without saying, yet it bears repeating: What we tell each other in this room stays with the three of us.”

I nodded and winced when the motion sent a spike of pain through my head.

Jed was still standing in front of the door with his arms folded across his chest, looking like a sentry, except his full attention was on me. His face tightened when he saw my visible show of pain.

Skeeter handed me the paper. “I have someone watching Kate Simmons.”

I gasped. “For how long?”

“Since she arrived in town this past winter.”

“Then why didn’t you figure out what she was up to before she sprang it on us?”

He grimaced. “Because she gave my guy the slip a few times. And she was barely a blip on my radar. No one ever took Kate Simmons seriously. Obviously she used that to her advantage.”

“I’ll say,” I grumbled. “If you’ve had her watched, you should be able to figure out how she got the letters out, right?”

“Yeah, and I’ll help you, but it comes at a price.”

Here it was. “What is it?”

“When you meet with Kate, I want you to bring Jed with you.”

I shot a glance to Jed to gauge his reaction. While he’d gone out of his way to protect me this morning, I’d learned from the way he always watched over Rose that protecting people was in his blood . . . just like seeing the good in people was in Rose’s. But taking a road trip to see my crazy sister was something else entirely.

Jed stared at me with his usual poker face, those strong arms still folded across his chest, giving me absolutely nothing. After all the grief I’d given him over the last couple of months, there was no way he wanted to do this, but he would do it anyway because Skeeter would order it.

That was the last thing I needed.

“No way.” Then I thought of a reason to leave him behind. “They record who comes to visit, Skeeter. And they may not even let me in without Joe.”

“They’ll let you in, and I’m well aware of the visitor list. I’m also aware of who’s been recorded and who hasn’t been.”

“You’re saying people have visited her without making it on that list?”

He remained silent.

There went my excuse. I had known Skeeter Malcolm’s help wouldn’t come for free. I should have realized it would cost me what remained of my pride, even if Skeeter had no idea about my conflict with his second-in-command. “So I go see Kate, and Jed tags along and does what? Spies on me?”

The look on his face told me I was close to crossing a line. “I have questions of my own. If Jed comes with you as your protection on a family visit, it will look less suspicious.”

“I can’t risk Joe finding out I took Jed to see her.”

“Don’t you worry about that part,” Jed said. “I’ve got it covered.”

My eyes narrowed. “You knew I’d come to you?”

Skeeter laughed. “Hell, no. But this isn’t the first conversation we’ve had in regard to Kate Simmons. Let’s just say it’s fortuitous.”

“Okay . . . when?”

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