I grabbed my phone. “Joe,” I said as soon as he answered.
“Rose,” he groaned. “I can’t spare the manpower to be chasin’ after Neely Kate’s cousin.”
“This is something else.”
He groaned again. “What on earth did you and Neely Kate do now?”
His attitude ticked me off. “It wasn’t our fault, Joe Simmons! You need to teach your girlfriend some manners.”
“My girlfriend?” A second passed before he groaned yet again. He was really on a roll. “She’s not my girlfriend. We are not together.”
“I’d love to discuss the current status of your relationship, but I’ll look it up later on Facebook and see if your relationship status says ‘it’s complicated.’ Right now I need you to get your baby momma to call Officer Ernie off Neely Kate.”
“What happened?” I heard the alarm in his voice.
I told him everything . . . well, everything except for the fact that she’d insinuated she knew J.R.’s secret.
“You girls lie low for a bit, and I’ll take care of it.”
“Thank you.”
I parked in the lot next to the Burger Shack and let Neely Kate run in for her ice cream, and then I took her to Maeve’s and texted Joe to let him know where we were. I knocked on her front door, wondering how she’d feel about the two of us showing up on her doorstep, but Mason’s mother was thrilled.
“I thought we’d drop by and check on you,” I said, feeling a tiny bit guilty that I hadn’t done so sooner. “I hope we’re not interrupting anything.”
She ushered us inside. “Don’t be silly. You’re always welcome here!”
Maeve gave Neely Kate a quick tour, and I was impressed by how put together everything already looked. “I can’t believe you’ve practically finished unpacking,” I said.
“It’s a small house, and I’m not one to sit idle.”
I knew that from all the time she’d spent cooking and cleaning at my house.
“I was about to make a cake if you girls want to come sit with me.”
We helped her make a red velvet cake and dinner too. I texted Mason to tell him we were eating at his mother’s house. I worried about leaving Muffy all alone, but I didn’t want to venture out onto the Henryetta streets until Joe gave us the all-clear. The last thing Neely Kate and I needed was another almost-arrest.
We were in the middle of frosting the cake when there was a knock at the front door. Maeve excused herself to answer it, and I was surprised to hear Joe’s voice.
“I’m sorry to bother you, Mrs. Deveraux, but Rose told me that she and Neely Kate were hiding from the law here.”
My breath stuck in my throat. I hadn’t considered that Joe and Maeve had only met for the first time a few weeks ago. Since I knew the encounter had been painful for both of them, I had no idea what to expect.
I breathed a sigh of relief when Maeve laughed. “They’re both here, but I didn’t realize I was harboring fugitives. Come on in.”
Maeve entered the kitchen with an ornery grin, Joe trailing behind her.
“Did you arrest your girlfriend, Joe?” Neely Kate asked, pointing her cake spatula at him.
“Nobody’s getting arrested,” he grumbled, “but everything’s taken care of.”
“When’s she goin’ back to Little Rock where she belongs?” Neely Kate asked with a frown.
“You know very well that she’s not goin’ anywhere,” I said, trying to take the pressure off Joe.
Neely Kate put her hand on her hip. “Can’t you evict her from the county or something?”
A tiny grin lifted his mouth. “Don’t you think I would have done it already if I could?”
“Hmm,” she grunted.
Joe took a step toward the door. “Well, I just wanted to let you girls know that you’re safe to roam the streets of Fenton County . . . or as safe as you two are capable of being.”
“Thanks.” I gave him a soft smile.
“Joe,” Maeve piped up. “Would you like a piece of cake before you go?”
He shook his head, eyeing the cake on the stand. “Thanks, but I need to get back to work.”
“Well, how about one for the road?” she asked. “You can take it with you and eat it later.”
He grinned at her. “It’s hard to turn down a piece of homemade cake.”
“You wait right there,” Maeve said, pulling a small white plate from the cabinet. She cut a generous slice of the red velvet cake and put in on the plate, covering it with plastic wrap before handing it to him. “You enjoy that now.”
“Thank you.” He nodded, his eyes glistening.
I couldn’t help but wonder if I was missing something.
“I’m gonna get out of you girls’ hair,” he said, heading for the front door.
“Let me walk you out.” I cast a quick glance toward Maeve, hoping she wasn’t upset with me, but she and Neely Kate had already started to wash the dishes.
I went out the front door and stopped on the front step, Joe following behind me. He swung the squeaky front door back and forth before shutting it and turning to me.