“Fine,” I groaned. “Deal.”
Neely Kate closed the cover. “No promises. I might not be throwing up as much anymore, but I’m still fast asleep by nine o’clock most nights. I’ll try to sneak a look while I’m at work tomorrow.”
“Well, don’t get into any trouble over it.”
My friend groaned as she stood. “Speaking of trouble, I need to get back. I’ve got a new manager, and she watches me closer than an aardvark studies an ant hill.”
I got to my feet and followed her to the door. “But I thought you were the boss now?”
“I am—of my department. But there’s a new supervisor in charge of all the departments, and she’s got it out for me.”
“You?” Everybody loved Neely Kate. “Why?”
An ornery grin lit up her face. “She didn’t appreciate my assessment of her friendliness.”
I gave her a blank stare.
“I might have mentioned she’d get along better with the courthouse employees if she took the hickory stick out of her behind.”
“You didn’t!”
“Well . . . not to her face. She overheard me telling someone in probate. And she’s been gunning to get me fired ever since.”
“Oh no! Don’t you need the insurance for the baby?”
“No, thank goodness. I went on Ronnie’s insurance. After all the county budget cuts, his is better than mine. Can you believe that? Besides, I’m hoping to quit when Ronnie Junior is born, so it wouldn’t be the end of the world. But I still need my income to buy all the baby things.”
“Then I guess you better get back to work, huh?”
“Yeah,” she sighed as she got up, tucking the ledger in her purse. “I don’t want a confrontation with Stella the Hun.”
I hopped up and gave her a hug. “Hang in there. Just think, if you’re due on July 1st, you have less than seven months left.”
She made a face. “Seven months? That’s supposed to make me feel better?” She shook her head, but she couldn’t shake the grin off her face. “Bye, Rose.”
“See you later.”
I watched her walk out the door as my phone dinged with a text. My stomach tightened when I glanced at the message from SM.
We need to talk.
Not if I could help it.
Chapter Three
I was worried Skeeter might come looking for me, so I left a note for Bruce Wayne, telling him I was leaving for the day. I loaded Muffy into the truck and drove to the nursery, pulling into the parking lot with the intent to check in on the progress of the cleanup and reconstruction of the store. I sure wasn’t expecting to find Violet’s car in the parking lot. There wasn’t much to do in the store until the construction guys finished their patch-up work, and they weren’t scheduled to come in until later in the week.
She was sitting outside on a stool next to the live Christmas trees the nursery was selling, bundled up in the tan wool coat I’d given her for Christmas two years ago. The teen boy she’d hired to man the lot was nowhere to be found.
I got out of my truck, Muffy tagging along behind me, and walked toward her. I wondered which Violet I would face today. For the past three weeks I’d only seen my repentant sister, but I couldn’t help expecting the bossy version to resurface at any time.
“Vi, what are you doing out here in the cold?” I asked.
She hopped off the stool when she saw me. Her collar was turned up to partially cover her ears, and her hands were stuffed in her pockets. “Rose, I thought you were working on your new office.”
“I took a break to check on the store. And you didn’t answer my question. Why are you outside?”
“The kid I hired to sell the trees had to take the afternoon off. And since the store’s still closed, customers won’t realize the trees are for sale if we don’t have someone outside. You and I both know we need the money.”
“We don’t need it bad enough for you to get pneumonia.” I grabbed her arm and tugged. “Let’s go inside, and you can show me around.”
Violet resisted. “You can take a look on your own. There’s not much to see.”
“Vi, please,” I pleaded. “Come inside, and I’ll tell you what I’ve been up to with the landscaping office.”
Indecision flickered in her eyes, so I gave one more pull. Her shoulders sank. “Okay. But only for a few minutes.”