Thirty-Six and a Half Motives
Page 4
“Okay,” she said, nodding and looking so hopeful my heart hurt.
“Over the last few weeks, I’ve done a lot of digging into Dora’s life.”
“I know,” she said. “Mason told us. That’s why J.R. had you arrested. Because Dora had evidence you could use against him. A journal Joe took from you.”
“But Mason didn’t tell you everything.” I took a deep breath. “Dora had an affair with Paul Buchanan, the son of the factory owner. He was married, but he planned to leave his wife and marry Dora.”
“What?”
“Paul was killed in a car accident. Only, it wasn’t an accident. His sister cut his brake lines. Just like what happened to Dora.”
She sat back, her eyes wide. “What are you saying?”
I held on tight to her hand. “Dora had an affair with Daddy, but then she had one with Paul. Somewhere in that time period, she got pregnant with me. Her best friend Hattie thinks Paul was my father, but it could also be Daddy. I think Beverly thought so, too, and she killed Dora to keep her quiet. Then Daddy and Momma ended up raising me, of course.”
“Oh, my God.” Her face became so pale and her voice so quiet I worried she was about to pass out. “You’re not my real sister.”
“Violet,” I said, trying to remain calm. “I still might be. Beverly and Hattie were sure I was Paul’s daughter, but why would I have the gift of sight if Daddy’s mother wasn’t my blood relative?”
She shook her head, her eyes wide. “I have no one.”
My back tensed, and I squeezed her hand tight. “You stop that right now, Violet Mae Beauregard,” I said in a firm tone. “After the whole Momma mess, I thought we’d already established that we were sisters even if we had different mothers. Family isn’t blood, Vi. Family is being there no matter what. And I’m your sister no matter what, even if I find out I was spawned in a cabbage patch. I’m here. I will do whatever you need.” I shook her hand. “You will fight this, and you will beat it—do you understand me?”
She nodded, her eyes full of unshed tears.
“How soon until you leave?”
She sniffed. “They want me there in a couple of days. I leave the day after tomorrow.”
That soon? My mind struggled to keep up. “Do you need me to watch the kids?”
“No, Mike’s going to take them. His parents are going to help.”
“Where do I need to go to be tested?”
“Um . . .” She hiccupped, fighting tears. “The Henryetta Medical Clinic.” She tried to open her purse, but her hands were shaking too much to work the clasp.
“Violet.” I grabbed her arms and pulled her into a hug, stroking the back of her head. “It’s going to be okay.”
A dam of tears burst loose, and she cried against my shoulder, heavy sobs that shook her entire body, and I clung to her, trying to assure her that I was the one who would be her anchor in this storm. She’d carried me through more tribulations than I could count.
I couldn’t help but think back to that summer afternoon, how we’d lain under the full trees on a blanket after splashing around in the water park. How Violet and I had held hands and cried over the revelation that we were half-sisters. And how Violet had confessed her fear of losing me.
But now I was the one afraid of losing her.
“I love you,” I said softly. “You’re my sister, and I will love you forever, no matter if we’re angry with each other or not. Don’t you ever forget it, okay?”
She nodded and leaned back.“We need to talk about the nursery and the house.”
I shook my head. “No, Violet. Not now.”
“Yes, Rose. We do. We have to be practical about this. I could be gone for weeks or months. I have to make sure everything’s in place.”
“Months?”
She held my gaze. “I don’t know how long I’ll be gone. We have to plan for the worst.”
The worst. I’d experienced too much of the worst in my life. I didn’t want to think that way now, not when my sister’s life hung in the balance. “Our daddy is my father. I’ll be a match.”
She gave me a patient smile. “Even if he is, there’s only a slim chance you’ll be a match.”
Part of me wanted to offer to have a vision, but I was terrified of what I’d see. I wasn’t sure I could handle seeing my sister’s death, let alone blurting out that the trip might be hopeless. Some things weren’t meant to be known. “Let me get tested. Then we’ll deal with the rest. You have to think positive, Violet.”
She cracked a grin and nodded. “Yes, ma’am. But we still have to talk about the nursery.” She paused to make sure I was listening. “Anna is still so new, but she’s learned a lot. I think she can handle most of the day-to-day operations, and Maeve has agreed to help out.”
“Maeve? She knows?”
“She guessed something was up. And I’ve already told her and Anna that I’ll be gone for awhile. Just not the full details. I wanted to tell you first.”
“What about Hilary’s baby nursery plans? I thought you were going to decorate her baby’s room.”
“I gave her some ideas and left her to do the rest. I’ve been too tired.”
“I’ve known you weren’t feeling well for weeks, but I was too self-absorbed—”
“Rose, stop.” Pinching her lips, she shook her head. “This isn’t your fault. And if you’d asked, I would have lied and told you everything was fine. But now it’s time to come clean. I need you to help me.”
I nodded, biting my lower lip to keep it from quivering. “Okay. If you think Anna’s capable, I’ll let her run the nursery. I can have Joe check in on her since she seems to hate me.”
“What are you talking about?” she asked in surprise. “Why would she hate you?”
I shook my head, refusing to confess my paranoia. This wasn’t about me. “Never mind, just a weird feeling. But since Joe’s part owner, he’ll need to step up. Have you told him yet?”
“No.” She swallowed. “Like I said, I wanted to tell you first.”
I pushed out a breath. “Okay. Then tell him that I’ll only step in if he thinks I’m needed. Otherwise, I’ll leave it to Anna and Maeve.” It made me feel better to know Maeve would help oversee everything. But then a new thought struck me. “Oh, my word. You’re going there alone! I can come—”
“Over the last few weeks, I’ve done a lot of digging into Dora’s life.”
“I know,” she said. “Mason told us. That’s why J.R. had you arrested. Because Dora had evidence you could use against him. A journal Joe took from you.”
“But Mason didn’t tell you everything.” I took a deep breath. “Dora had an affair with Paul Buchanan, the son of the factory owner. He was married, but he planned to leave his wife and marry Dora.”
“What?”
“Paul was killed in a car accident. Only, it wasn’t an accident. His sister cut his brake lines. Just like what happened to Dora.”
She sat back, her eyes wide. “What are you saying?”
I held on tight to her hand. “Dora had an affair with Daddy, but then she had one with Paul. Somewhere in that time period, she got pregnant with me. Her best friend Hattie thinks Paul was my father, but it could also be Daddy. I think Beverly thought so, too, and she killed Dora to keep her quiet. Then Daddy and Momma ended up raising me, of course.”
“Oh, my God.” Her face became so pale and her voice so quiet I worried she was about to pass out. “You’re not my real sister.”
“Violet,” I said, trying to remain calm. “I still might be. Beverly and Hattie were sure I was Paul’s daughter, but why would I have the gift of sight if Daddy’s mother wasn’t my blood relative?”
She shook her head, her eyes wide. “I have no one.”
My back tensed, and I squeezed her hand tight. “You stop that right now, Violet Mae Beauregard,” I said in a firm tone. “After the whole Momma mess, I thought we’d already established that we were sisters even if we had different mothers. Family isn’t blood, Vi. Family is being there no matter what. And I’m your sister no matter what, even if I find out I was spawned in a cabbage patch. I’m here. I will do whatever you need.” I shook her hand. “You will fight this, and you will beat it—do you understand me?”
She nodded, her eyes full of unshed tears.
“How soon until you leave?”
She sniffed. “They want me there in a couple of days. I leave the day after tomorrow.”
That soon? My mind struggled to keep up. “Do you need me to watch the kids?”
“No, Mike’s going to take them. His parents are going to help.”
“Where do I need to go to be tested?”
“Um . . .” She hiccupped, fighting tears. “The Henryetta Medical Clinic.” She tried to open her purse, but her hands were shaking too much to work the clasp.
“Violet.” I grabbed her arms and pulled her into a hug, stroking the back of her head. “It’s going to be okay.”
A dam of tears burst loose, and she cried against my shoulder, heavy sobs that shook her entire body, and I clung to her, trying to assure her that I was the one who would be her anchor in this storm. She’d carried me through more tribulations than I could count.
I couldn’t help but think back to that summer afternoon, how we’d lain under the full trees on a blanket after splashing around in the water park. How Violet and I had held hands and cried over the revelation that we were half-sisters. And how Violet had confessed her fear of losing me.
But now I was the one afraid of losing her.
“I love you,” I said softly. “You’re my sister, and I will love you forever, no matter if we’re angry with each other or not. Don’t you ever forget it, okay?”
She nodded and leaned back.“We need to talk about the nursery and the house.”
I shook my head. “No, Violet. Not now.”
“Yes, Rose. We do. We have to be practical about this. I could be gone for weeks or months. I have to make sure everything’s in place.”
“Months?”
She held my gaze. “I don’t know how long I’ll be gone. We have to plan for the worst.”
The worst. I’d experienced too much of the worst in my life. I didn’t want to think that way now, not when my sister’s life hung in the balance. “Our daddy is my father. I’ll be a match.”
She gave me a patient smile. “Even if he is, there’s only a slim chance you’ll be a match.”
Part of me wanted to offer to have a vision, but I was terrified of what I’d see. I wasn’t sure I could handle seeing my sister’s death, let alone blurting out that the trip might be hopeless. Some things weren’t meant to be known. “Let me get tested. Then we’ll deal with the rest. You have to think positive, Violet.”
She cracked a grin and nodded. “Yes, ma’am. But we still have to talk about the nursery.” She paused to make sure I was listening. “Anna is still so new, but she’s learned a lot. I think she can handle most of the day-to-day operations, and Maeve has agreed to help out.”
“Maeve? She knows?”
“She guessed something was up. And I’ve already told her and Anna that I’ll be gone for awhile. Just not the full details. I wanted to tell you first.”
“What about Hilary’s baby nursery plans? I thought you were going to decorate her baby’s room.”
“I gave her some ideas and left her to do the rest. I’ve been too tired.”
“I’ve known you weren’t feeling well for weeks, but I was too self-absorbed—”
“Rose, stop.” Pinching her lips, she shook her head. “This isn’t your fault. And if you’d asked, I would have lied and told you everything was fine. But now it’s time to come clean. I need you to help me.”
I nodded, biting my lower lip to keep it from quivering. “Okay. If you think Anna’s capable, I’ll let her run the nursery. I can have Joe check in on her since she seems to hate me.”
“What are you talking about?” she asked in surprise. “Why would she hate you?”
I shook my head, refusing to confess my paranoia. This wasn’t about me. “Never mind, just a weird feeling. But since Joe’s part owner, he’ll need to step up. Have you told him yet?”
“No.” She swallowed. “Like I said, I wanted to tell you first.”
I pushed out a breath. “Okay. Then tell him that I’ll only step in if he thinks I’m needed. Otherwise, I’ll leave it to Anna and Maeve.” It made me feel better to know Maeve would help oversee everything. But then a new thought struck me. “Oh, my word. You’re going there alone! I can come—”
