Ripple of Secrets: Rose Gardner Mystery Novella #6.5 (Rose Gardner series Book 3) (2 page)

My irritation had begun to grate away at my control. “Hilary is a healthy, grown woman. She’s not working, and she lives in one of the nicest homes in Henryetta, Arkansas. Pregnancy is not a disease, Mother—she’ll be just fine. In fact, Neely Kate Colson is having a much more difficult pregnancy, and the last thing she does is sit around while other people wait on her.” I turned to face them both, growing angrier by the minute. “Just last week, she and Rose helped find Neely Kate’s missing cousin.”

A condescending gleam filled my mother’s eyes. “Are you seriously comparing our sweet, delicate Hilary to the Fenton County riffraff?”

I stood, clenching my fists at my sides. “And which one of those women are you calling riffraff, Mother?”

Her face softened and she nodded her head, acting as if I were an upset child who could easily be managed if the right sweets were promised. “Joseph, all of this fuss is unnecessary. If you want to be the chief deputy sheriff in that backwoods county, fine. Do it. Your father thinks your new position will aid you politically more than being with the state police would.” She set her champagne flute on the side table, then placed her hands on her knees in a graceful swoop. “But at least have the sense to marry the mother of your child.”

“No, Mom.” I kept my voice down, but my anger was unmistakable. “You may think you can dictate everything else in my life, but you can
not
make me marry this woman.”

My mother and I glared at each other for several long seconds before I heard a woman’s voice say, “Well, it’s about damn time.”

I spun around, my mouth parting as relief washed through me when I saw my younger sister Kate standing in the doorway. I hadn’t seen her in a couple of years, but she looked exactly the same except that the red streaks in her short dark bob had been replaced with blue ones. She wore jeans and a long-sleeved gray T-shirt, her thumbs hooked through holes at the ends of the sleeves. Her style was grunge-casual, and I could feel my mother’s skin crawl from three feet away. I would have run to her and pulled her into a hug if she hadn’t told me to go to hell the last time we’d seen each other, especially since she’d really meant it. But after what had happened, with a couple of years’ distance and a bit of maturity on my part, I couldn’t say I blamed her.

“Katherine.” Disdain dripped off my mother’s tongue. “I had no idea you planned to join us for the holidays.”

“I heard changes were afoot.” She winked at me and glided into the room, perching on the arm of the empty armchair. “I had to see if it was true.”

Mom’s back stiffened. “Joe and Hilary are expecting a baby, and we’re trying to set a wedding date.”

“It sounds like you and Hil-Monster are the only two who are concerned with that task.” Kate gave Hilary a devilish look and tsked. “Now, now, Hils. The last person I expected to be an unwed mother is you.” She got up, headed to the wet bar, and picked up a crystal glass. Clutching it to her chest, she turned to face the couch. “You must be either getting sloppy or desperate. Personally, I’m going with the latter.”

I released a chuckle, but Hilary gasped.

“Katherine,” Mom admonished. “Hilary is our guest and you will speak to her with respect.”

Kate poured whiskey into her glass. “Guest? Hell, she’s practically lived here her entire life.” She set the decanter down on the table with a heavy thud and picked up her glass. “She’s more like a sister than a guest.” She turned her cold eyes on me. “Wouldn’t you say so, Joe?” Then she lifted the glass and took a sip. “But if she’s really pregnant with your baby, that would be incest.”

I cringed. Kate may have viewed Hilary as a sister, but I never had. Maybe it was because even when I was a little boy I’d felt the unspoken expectation that I’d end up with Hilary one day.

“Katherine Elizabeth!” our father shouted. “That will be enough.”

Kate seemed unfazed. “Enough what? Honesty?” She walked closer to my father. “I disagree. There never was enough honesty in this house.”

My mother shifted in her seat. “Did you come back here to insult us, Katherine? If so, an e-mail would have sufficed.”

Kate resumed her seat on the arm of the chair. “No. It’s like I told you. I came back to see if Joe really grew a pair of balls.” Though she’d addressed our mother, she’d said it while looking at me.

I should have been insulted, but I snickered instead, earning a glare from Hilary.

“If you insist on speaking so coarsely, we will have to insist that you eat Christmas dinner somewhere else,” my father said in a tone that suggested he wouldn’t tolerate any nonsense.

Too bad it never worked with Kate.

She took a sip of her drink and laughed. “And what exactly are you going to do? Call the police and have me kicked out?” She covered her mouth with the tips of her fingers and released a fake gasp. “And besmirch the Simmons name?” Grinning, she dropped her hand. “No, I don’t think so.” She tilted her head toward the doorway. “You could try to have Gerald haul me out, but I’m pretty sure I can take ’im.”

I burst out laughing. “Things have been dull without you.” And while my words were true, I also didn’t trust her motives. I believed she was curious, but there had to be more to it. Kate only did things that benefited Kate.

Merriment filled her eyes and she winked. “Glad you grew a pair, big brother.”

“Katherine,” Mom said in her harshest voice. “The Wilders are coming to dinner and if you wish to dine with us, I insist you dress for dinner and use your manners.”

Kate leaned back, draping her arm over the back of the chair. “I’m not six years old anymore, Mommy. You don’t scare me.”

I needed to take lessons from my sister.

“It’s called common decency, Katherine.”

Kate took a sip from her glass and seemed to think about Mom’s statement for a moment, and then she pursed her lips. “We could talk about common decency—” she turned her gaze to our mother, “—but considering that it’s Christmas Day and you want to keep everything civil, I’ll save it for another time.” She lifted her glass in salute. “See? I
can
behave.”

It was going to be an interesting day.

Joe

Christmas dinner was more than slightly uncomfortable. The Wilders showed up a few minutes after noon in their Sunday finest. They took one look at my sister, still dressed in her grunge outfit, and I could tell they were reconsidering their plans for the afternoon, but my mother rushed out of her seat faster than I’d seen her move in ages and grabbed Hilary’s mother’s arm, probably to keep her from bolting.

“Vanessa and Ed, we’re so happy you’re here. And thank you for loaning your lovely Hilary to us last night. I think it’s good to start the tradition of our grandchild being here on Christmas morning.”

“Like the baby knows,” Kate laughed. “It’s a cluster of cells.”

“Katherine.” Based on the look of surprise on Mom’s face, the one-word admonishment had come out sounding harsher than she’d intended. But then Kate had always been good at pushing Mom’s buttons.

“Mother.” Kate lifted her eyebrows and smirked, daring our mother to continue.

Flustered, Mom announced it was time for dinner, and we all headed into the massive dining room and sat at the mahogany table. I’d had more elaborate, multi-course meals at that table than I could count, but it had become a talisman that evoked only one memory—the disastrous dinner Rose and I had attended here only a few short months ago. The anger over that night had burned in my gut for so long, it was still smoldering embers. It only needed a little poking to rear its ugly head. I’d spent several weeks trying to come to terms with Rose’s decision to be with Mason. But that damned table was just another kick in the gut.

Kate stopped behind me, standing on her tiptoes so that her mouth barely reached my shoulder. She whispered, “You and I need to chat later.”

I glanced down at her in surprise. When she left two years ago, she’d made it clear that she was through with me and the entire Simmons mess. I couldn’t help but wonder what she’d heard—and from whom—to incite her return. I planned to find out.

My parents sat on either end of the table, with me and Hilary on one side and Kate and the Wilders on the other. Kate sat directly in front of me, and both of us were positioned at the end of the table next to our father. No doubt the seating had been planned strategically, as my mother was unable to control herself around my unconventional sister.

The conversation was stilted during the first two courses, while everyone waited for the ticking time bomb that sat across from me to explode. But Kate surprisingly kept most of her snide comments to herself.

Everyone ignored her for the most part, but I finally asked her the question I’d been dying to have answered. “Kate, where’ve you been for the last two years?”

Mom glanced at Hilary’s parents, then shot me a glare. “Joe, I’m sure the Wilders don’t want to hear about Katherine’s exploits.”

I grinned at my sister. “Oh, I’m not so sure about that. They’ll probably be entertained.”

“I could go into all the drugs and booze and men…” She rolled her eyes dramatically. “Oh, the men.”

I laughed. How could I have forgotten her sense of humor and flair for drama? It was entertaining as long as it wasn’t directed at me.

Hilary cringed, her hand tightening around her butter knife enough to slightly lift it off the table.

I cast her a curious glance. Was Hilary capable of violence? She’d been in the Arkansas State Police with me, but her position had mostly been a desk job. Though she’d carried a gun, it had never been used in the line of duty. Still, the looks she was shooting my sister made me wonder.

“Maybe you should leave out those particular exploits,” I said with a wink.

“Then that hardly leaves me anything to tell.” Kate held up her wine glass, swirling the liquid before inhaling the scent and taking a sip. Her outward appearance was a sharp contrast to her actions now. In fact, it was a sharp contrast to her upbringing. The art of acting proper while attending a dinner party had been pounded into us before we even started middle school. Kate had been raised in this world with me, but she’d thrown off the mantle and blazed her own trail. Looking at her now, I couldn’t tell if she was happy or not, but I was dying to know. I had to know if it was possible for me too.

If Mason Deveraux succeeded in his fanatical quest to bring down my father, I would have the chance to truly be free. But like a man who was faced with the prospect of freedom after spending his life in prison, I found myself unsure of what I really wanted. Had Kate figured that puzzle out for herself?

When we were served pie and coffee, Kate decided it was time to turn her attention to the woman beside me.

“So, Hils. Whatcha up to these days?”

Hilary’s fork continued its sideways slice through the pecan pie on her plate. She scooped the bite onto the tines, then glanced at my sister. “I’ve taken a leave of absence from the state police.”

“Because you’re pregnant?” Kate’s voice was deceptively vacant of emotion.

“Yes.” Hilary lifted her fork to her mouth, her hand tightly gripping the handle.

Kate leaned her elbows on the table, tilting closer to Hilary. “I’m not sure if you’ve heard or not, but it’s the twenty-first century. Pregnant woman are allowed to go out in public and have jobs up until the time they deliver.”

“Katherine,” our mother interrupted. “Hilary worked for the state
police
. She couldn’t very well put the next Simmons heir in danger.”

Kate sat back in her chair, shaking her head in disgust. “There are so many things wrong with that statement. For one thing, Hilary basically had a desk job.”

But how did Kate know that? Hilary had only started her new position with the state police a few months before my sister took off.

Hilary set her fork down and lifted her finely waxed eyebrows. “I was at a big bust in Henryetta last June. We took down a criminal mastermind.”

“The way I heard it, you only became involved because you found out Joe had met someone.” She turned and looked at me. “Is that true, Joe? Did you meet someone in Henryetta, Arkansas?”

How did Kate know so much about our lives, particularly since we knew next to nothing about hers? But that question ranked lower on my priority list than my resolve never to discuss Rose at this table again. I gave my sister a menacing glare. “Not now, Kate,” I said through gritted teeth.

She appraised me for a second before glancing away, seeming to recognize she’d pushed too far. It was like she was sending out feelers, seeing what was and wasn’t acceptable to me, although she didn’t seem to care about establishing that boundary with anyone else.

Turning away from me, Kate returned her attention to Hilary, a wicked gleam in her eyes. “What exactly have you done in Henryetta besides screw up the report of what happened in the Crocker bust?”

Screw up the report? And how did she know about Daniel Crocker, and why? I shifted in my seat. “What are you talking about?”

But Kate ignored me as the two women embarked on a staring contest. “Hilary knows exactly what I’m talking about. We both know why she was in Henryetta in June and what her real purpose was.”