Page 139 of Trouble Comes in Threes

“Of course. It’s in my purse.”

I found my purse in the living room and handed the paper to him just as Jed and Neely Kate walked through the front door. Daisy ran to them, jumping up and down with excitement. “We’re goin’ on a trip! We get to go to a farm!”

“We sure do,” Neely Kate said, trying to match her daughter’s enthusiasm, but she shot me a worried glance over her daughter’s head.

The guys grabbed the luggage and basket of dirty laundry and started to pack the car. The kids went out with them and began to pile in my Suburban.

“How bad was the office?” I asked Neely Kate.

“It’s pretty ransacked. They were definitely looking for something.”

“Joe thinks it was the package the killers were looking for when they shot the man at Adkins.”

“You told him?” Neely Kate asked in surprise.

“Our kids’ lives are at stake. I had to.”

She nodded. “What about the box?”

“I told Joe we opened the box and showed him the contents. He doesn’t think that’s what they were lookin’ for since Harvey was killed before we found it.”

“Jed thinks the same thing.” Then she added, “Joe doesn’t want it for evidence?”

“He didn’t say he did.”

She nodded. “I need to go to the bathroom before we go. Pregnancy hormones.”

I headed out to the car to help Joe get the kids buckled in, but he and Witt seemed to have the situation under control. Muffy settled in on the floor between Hope and Liam. After Neely Kate came out with her purse slung over her shoulder a few minutes later, Joe turned on the alarm and locked up the house. Once he was in the driver’s seat of my Suburban, we took off. Jed followed, driving Neely Kate and Daisy, and Witt took up the rear in his own car.

The kids stayed awake during the hour and fifteen-minute drive. I was glad I wouldn’t have to wake them and try to get them asleep again after we got to Aunt Bessie’s, but it also meant that I wouldn’t get any time for adult conversation with Joe. I’d hardly seen him for days, and the dark circles under his eyes worried me.

Aunt Bessie’s farmhouse was lit up both inside and out when we got there. She must have been watching for us because she walked out the front door onto the porch as we pulled up. Uncle Albert was only steps behind her. They were both smiling, but I could see the worry in their eyes.

The kids were excited to be there and ran up the porch steps to give my aunt and uncle hugs. They hurried into the house after Aunt Bessie told them she had some freshly baked cookies waiting in the kitchen.

Joe carried Liam up the stairs, while I greeted my aunt and uncle. “Thanks for letting us crash in on you like this,” I said as I hugged my aunt.

“We’re so happy to have you. It’s just unfortunate it’s under these circumstances.” She gave Joe a questioning look.

“I’m working on it, Aunt Bessie,” he said. “In the meantime, thank you for giving Rose and our kids a safe place to stay.”

She gave him a curt nod, then turned back to me. “You’re always welcome here. I don’t have enough beds, but I figured you and Neely Kate can each get your own room, and the bigger kids can have the fourth room. I have some air mattresses the kids can sleep on in your rooms and the living room, if they like.”

“I brought a Pack ‘N Play for Liam,” Joe said, “so you don’t have to worry about him.”

“Got it right here,” Witt said, walking up from the back of the Suburban with the bed slung over his shoulder and a couple of duffel bags. “Just tell me where to put them, Miss Bessie.”

“None of that Miss Bessie nonsense,” my aunt said with a laugh. “How many times do I have to tell you it’s either Bessie or Aunt Bessie?”

“Then it’s Aunt Bessie,” Witt said. “Because my granny would skin me alive if I called you by only your first name. Now, which room am I putting these in?”

“The room at the top of the stairs on the left,” Aunt Bessie said. “It’s slightly bigger, so I figured there’d be more room for the baby.”

Witt gave her a wink, then headed inside.

“How many girlfriends has that boy been though?” my aunt asked with a chuckle.

“Surprisingly, fewer than you’d think,” I said, watching him through the door. “By the way, he’s staying too.”

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