Thirty-Six and a Half Motives: Rose Gardner Mystery #9 (Rose Gardner Mystery Series) (35 page)

I didn’t have to look too deep.

“I think I fully realized it yesterday, as I worried myself sick over you. When I saw you in the stairwell, I knew you didn’t need me like I need you.”

My chest hurt. “That’s not fair, Mason.”

“It’s not a criticism of you,” he said softly. “It’s only a sign that you’re not ready. You still have living to do.” When I didn’t answer, he said, “When you broke up with me, I panicked. It made me realize something. Besides my job, I’ve made you my whole world, but you have so much more.”

A lump filled my throat as tears rolled down my face.

“I realize I probably need more in my life, too.”

“You’re leaving me,” I choked out. “Because of the Lady in Black. Because of my association with Skeeter.”

“No, but it brings up a good point. Jed Carlisle is your friend”—he squeezed my hand when I started to protest—“I know there’s nothing between you. He cares for you as a friend. But we both know that Jed—
and
Skeeter—have a reputation. A reputation that could hurt me with your association with them.”

“You want me to not be friends with them?”

“No, Rose. The opposite. You have no idea how relieved I’ve been knowing Jed was watching over you when I wasn’t there. That he shows up as your bodyguard when you put yourself into dangerous situations.” He gave me a sad smile. “And yes, you
will
find yourself in one again. You can’t help it. They find you. But I want to know you’re as protected as possible. And that means having Jed Carlisle there to watch over you.”

“And Skeeter.”

His eyes darkened. “And Skeeter Malcolm.”

“There’s nothing between us, Mason. I would
never
cheat on you.”

“Sweetheart, you are the
last
person I would think capable of cheating.”

“Then what?” I asked.

“He loves you, Rose. You have to know that.”

“He’s never made an advance.”

A wry smile lifted his mouth. “Which only proves my point.” He shook his head. “I’m off track here. The point is they are your friends—
loyal friends
—who could hurt my reputation and career if it became known that you’re friends with them. And you’re right, I love what I do. I love seeking justice . . . on the right side of the law. I’m not ready to give it up. Your friendships could end my career.”

“You want me to choose.”

“No. I don’t want you to be forced to choose at all. I’m choosing for both of us. I’m making the choice to end us before we hate each other for things we’re not ready to change.”

“You’re breaking up with me,” I said in disbelief. How was this happening? But I had to acknowledge that he was saying everything Neely Kate, and Jonah had already said. He was confirming things I’d told myself. Deep in my gut, I knew he was right, but my heart refused to accept this. Why couldn’t love be enough?

Tears filled his eyes. “My hope is that I can give you time. Time to live your life without having to answer to someone else. And my hope—” His voice broke. “My hope is that someday you’ll still want me. That this isn’t goodbye forever. I’m fully aware that you might end up with someone else, but it’s a risk I need to take.”

“I love you, Mason. I don’t want to be with someone else. I don’t want this to be the end of us.” But he was right. His life and mine were at odds that could destroy his career.

He pulled my lips to his and gave me a gentle kiss. “I’m not calling it an end. I’m hoping it’s an interlude. I still want to spend the rest of my life with you, Rose. We love each other so much, but sometimes love just isn’t enough.” A sad smile covered his face. “Maybe it’s a matter of timing. When you’re ready to settle down, maybe I’ll be ready to give up working as a district attorney and have more time for you and a family. Maybe we’ll work then.”

He loved me. There had to be a way to work this out.

“But we can’t stay away from each other. This will never work,” I said softly. “The other day was proof of that. I broke up with you, but we couldn’t stay away.” Would my inability to stay away from Mason destroy him? Would he hate me for it? I couldn’t bear the thought of that either.

“I know. Which is why I called the attorney general after I left you in the stairwell and accepted the job he’d offered me in Little Rock.”

I took a step backward, bumping into a chair. “You did
what
? Without talking to me first?”

He looked heartbroken. “I knew I needed to give us space.”

“When?” I choked out.

“I was supposed to start at the first of the month, but losing half my liver has put a damper on that.” He grimaced. “I’ll go as soon as I can make it happen. But I have a favor to ask of you, even though I have no right.”

I nodded, trying to hold by my tears. While I knew this was probably the right decision, my heart was being ripped apart. “What?”

“Will you look out for my mother? She loves it here, and she’s made so many friends. But sometimes she gives too much. Just make sure she takes care of herself.”

“Of course. I love Maeve.”

“She loves you, too.”

We were silent for an unbearable moment.

“So that’s it?” I asked, crying again. “I’m supposed to just walk out and say goodbye?” How did I walk away from the man I’d planned to spend the rest of my life with?

“Not goodbye, Rose. I hope it’s not goodbye.”

I wanted to hate him for breaking my heart. But there was no denying the truth in what he was saying. I
had
felt free over the last week. I
would
destroy his career. We would resent each other.

I would rather let us go now while we still loved each other than later, when we would surely be at odds and be filled with hate and resentment.

Because I loved him. I loved him more than I’d ever loved anyone before. But he was right.

Sometimes love wasn’t enough.

No.

That wasn’t true. Love
was
enough.

Sometimes it was the only thing that gave us the strength to do what needed to be done.

I
sat
on the front porch of my farmhouse, covered in a thick blanket while I watched Muffy play in the yard. I was making a slower recovery than the doctor had expected, so he still hadn’t cleared me to go back to work, even after a couple of weeks. I didn’t tell him that he didn’t have a medicine to cure my true ailment.

I knew from experience that only time could heal a broken heart.

Mason had been released from the hospital a few days before. I hadn’t told anyone about our official breakup—and I was pretty sure he hadn’t talked about it either—but we’d been apart for a week before the factory fire, so no one really asked.

But Neely Kate knew without me even telling her.

The front door opened, and Neely Kate walked onto the porch. Plopping down in the chair beside me, she said, “It’s supposed to warm up tomorrow.”

“Really?” I asked.

“Maybe we can go to the Tibeau job site and you can tell me what to do. It’s a small one. I think I can handle it.” She looked over and grinned. “You can bring a chair and look like the queen of Henryetta bossin’ your subjects around. I’ll even get you a tiara.”

I chuckled. “You hate people bossin’ you around.”

“I might make an exception in this one instance.” She stood and pulled me to my feet. “Enough mopin’. We’re having a girls’ night out. Dressin’ up and everything.”

I laughed. “You just want to have a reason to wear that new dress you ordered online.”

She propped a hand on her hip. “And what’s wrong with that?”

I instinctively touched my face. The swelling had gone down, but bruises still lingered. Neely Kate had experimented on me with makeup the day before and declared me ready for public. “Nothing. Just making an observation.”

“Come on. I’ll do your hair.”

I wasn’t sure whether to be excited or scared. The last time she’d fixed my hair, it ended up looking like a family of robins had made it their home.

But an hour later, Neely Kate and I were dressed to the nines—wearing dresses and heels, with makeup and styled hair that I’d approved. We walked into Jaspers and were led to a table for two.

Over the course of our dinner, I felt my heart begin to lighten a bit. That heavy gray cloud began to lift.

We were eating dessert when Neely Kate’s eyebrows lifted. “That’s Martha Peabody.”

“Oh?”

The small forty-something woman looked to be on her way to the restroom, but Neely Kate motioned her over. Martha changed course and sat down in the chair between us.

“Hey, Neely Kate,” she said, looking us over. “Don’t you two look nice tonight!”

I smiled.

“I heard about Gunther,” Neely Kate said, uncharacteristically ignoring the compliment. She usually milked them for all they were worth or at the very least acknowledged them. “Have you found out where he went?”

“No, but he’s been gone a week now. He just up and disappeared.”

My ears perked up. “Did you call the police?”

“Of course I called the police, but that Officer Ernie is a buffoon. He refuses to do a thing.”

“Has Gunther run off before?” I asked, irritated by this evidence of the continued incompetence of the Henryetta Police Department.

Martha laughed. “I should hope not. Gunther doesn’t have legs.”

“He’s a double amputee?” I asked in confusion.

Martha laughed. “No, he’s a garden gnome. But he’s very special. I won him as the prize of a gardening contest two years ago. You know, my neighbor Trinnie has been so jealous of me winning him. I’m certain she had something to do with it.”

“Sounds like you could use some help recovering Gunther,” Neely Kate said to Martha, though she gazed at me pointedly. “I’m surprised you haven’t gotten more tips with the
five-hundred-dollar
reward.”

My eyes widened. That could help pay the upcoming rent. The business was still cash poor, and things were tighter than ever now that Mason no longer lived with me and helping with the bills.

Five hundred dollars . . .

Neely Kate shot me a grin. “Martha, you don’t just need tips. You need someone to do a proper investigation.”

“Where on earth would I find someone like that?”

“I bet we could help you. Right, Rose?”

What was Neely Kate thinking? Sure, we’d solved some mysteries before, but truth be told, I’d stumbled into most of them. This would be our first
case
.

It was on the tip of my tongue to say no. I still wasn’t feeling one hundred percent, and despite our previous success rate, I wasn’t so sure we could help this woman.

But I couldn’t deny the excitement bubbling up in my chest, the anticipation of looking for clues. If we were going to start taking cases like Neely Kate really wanted, it would probably be good to start off small.

“Martha?” a woman called from the bar. “Are you coming?”

“I’ll be right there.” Martha gave me an apologetic smile. “Sorry about that. The girls in probate always come here on Thursday nights for margarita night.”

I cocked my head, starting to smell a rat. “And Neely Kate knows about this?”

“Of course,” Martha said. “She’s the one who started the whole thing a few years back.” She patted Neely Kate’s arm. “You should start coming again. We don’t care if you don’t work at the courthouse anymore.”

Neely Kate had set up this entire
accidental
encounter—not that it surprised me.

“I’ll see what I’m doin’ next week,” Neely Kate said, then leaned forward. “Now about Gunther . . .”

Martha turned to me. “Do you think you really might be able to get Gunther back?”

I wiped a tear from the corner of my eye. Maybe I could do this. Maybe I could be okay.

It would start with finding a garden gnome. All I had to do was say yes.

“Rose?” Neely Kate prodded.

I turned to Martha and smiled. “Now what can you tell us about the day Gunther disappeared?”

* * *

R
ose continues
in Rose Gardner Investigations. You can read the first chapter of Family Jewels on the next page!

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* * *