Page 120 of For the Birds

Chapter24

Neely Kateand Witt weren’t happy about my plan, but they agreed in the end. When I called Violet, Mike answered, and he told me I could come over but only for an hour. I nearly asked when he’d become my sister’s keeper, but it seemed like a question better saved for Violet.

The plan was for the Rivers cousins to drop me off and pick me up in a halfhour.

Neely Kate squeezed my hand when Witt pulled into Mike’s driveway. “Goodluck.”

Why did I feel like I’d needit?

Witt waited until Mike answered the door, and seconds later my niece and nephew were hugging my legs. “AuntRose!”

“It’s my favorite niece and nephew!”

“We’re your only niece and nephew!” Ashley shouted. We’d played this more times than I could count, but this time I said my lines under the scrutiny of my brother-in-law.

“Who dropped you off?” he asked.

I blinked. “What? Neely Kate’s cousinWitt.”

“Why don’t you have your truck?”

“I didn’t need it today. What’s this all about?”

“I don’t like the company youkeep.”

I gasped.

“I read the papers. I hear people talk. I know you were associating with Skeeter Malcolm to get J.R. Simmons arrested last winter. Your business partner has a record.”

I didn’t say anything. I definitely couldn’t denyit.

“I can’t have my wife and children around criminals, Rose. No matter how much I likeyou.”

“Rose?” Violet’s voice came from down the short hall where we were standing. I turned my back on Mike, trying to stuff down my hurt feelings. He and I had always been allies. His disapproval was hard to stomach. But shouldn’t I have expected this? I had known there would be a price topay . . .

“I’ll take the kids to get some ice cream,” Mike said. His words had shaken me so much, I barely registered the sound of his jingling keys and the kids’ excited voices before the front door shut behindthem.

“Hey, Vi,” I said when I finally pulled myself together and walked into the living room. She looked thin and frail, huddled up on the sofa and surrounded by pillows and covered with a blanket. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m tired but so grateful to behome.”

Of course, she wasn’t home. She and Mike had sold their house after separating, and Mike was renting this house. I worried that she wasn’t feeling settled.

“Does it feel like home? You never lived here,” I said as I sat on the loveseat.

A soft smile lit up her eyes. “Oh, Rose. Home isn’t where you live. It’s where your loved ones are. And mine arehere.”

“Is that why you’re not moving back into Momma’s house?”

Her eyes clouded over. “There’s nothing but bad memories there. You felt it too, didn’t you? That’s why you moved out when you finally saw Dora’sfarm.”

“Yeah.” I paused. “So it’s true that you want to sell the house?”

“I don’t want to go back there, and I didn’t think you did either. Unless I was wrong . . .”

I shook my head. “No. I never want to live there again. But what about rentin’ it out? It’s paid for, so you could make pure profit.”

She made a face that hinted she wasn’t interested.

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