What did Mason know that he wasn’t telling me? I decided now was the time to press him. “You said you’d reopen her case when you had time. Have you done it yet?”

He hesitated. “Yes, but barely.” He held up his hands in surrender. “And before you lambast me for not telling you, I’d like to state my defense.”

“Okay.”

He looked surprised by the lack of anger in my voice, but he forged on. “I know how important it is to you, but I can only justify working on it in my spare moments, which we both know are few and far between. I didn’t want to get your hopes up before finding some real information, and sadly I only have the basics at this point. Mostly her employment history and not much else.”

“It’s okay.”

“Really?” he asked in surprise.

“Yeah.” I rubbed his chest with my fingertips. “I know how relentless I can be when I want something.”

A grin lit up his eyes. “Like a bulldog.”

I twisted my lips and gave him a dirty look. “All I ask is that you tell me the truth about what you find, okay? Even if you think it’s not what I want to hear.”

He studied me for a moment and said softly, “Deal.” He glanced down at the book, then back at me. “When things settle down, would you let me go through her journal to see if there’s anything I can use?”

“Of course.”

He finished getting dressed, then checked the time on his phone. “No time for breakfast with you today, sweetheart. I’ll be lucky if I’m not late for a meeting as it is.”

“That’s okay. I need to head to town soon too.”

I followed him downstairs and grabbed my coat to take Muffy out so I could walk Mason to his car. She trailed after us, taking off barking to chase a squirrel up a tree.

I cast a quick glance at her as I debated bringing her with me today, but I hated to leave her in the truck while I was talking to potential clients. Her barking was distracting for one thing, but more importantly, I hated leaving her cooped up. The temperature was supposed to be in the upper forties, so she’d be perfectly safe, but I always felt bad when she watched me through the window with that universal dog look that said how could you leave me in here?

Mason opened his car door. “I’m not sure when I can get away to open our joint bank account.”

“Oh.” After all the fuss last night, I’d forgotten about the whole credit card fiasco. “Okay.”

He rested his arm across the top of the door. “Do you want to go by this afternoon and start setting it up?”

I was pretty sure this afternoon wouldn’t be an issue; after all, I wasn’t supposed to meet Skeeter until later that night. I still hadn’t figured out how to get away for our meeting, but I’d deal with one problem at a time. And the current one made me slightly less anxious. “Seein’ how you’re the one funding the account, I’d rather wait and go with you.”

“I understand.” He pulled out his wallet and handed me his debit card. “Here. If you need money, you should be safe enough getting cash from an ATM.”

“Thank you.” I took it from him, then pressed my hand to his chest. I stared into his eyes for a long moment before giving him a kiss, overcome with the knowledge of how very lucky I was. The idea of the checking account still made me uncomfortable, but I told myself I wasn’t taking advantage of him, and if our roles were reversed, I’d do the same for him. As he drove away, I pushed aside my guilt and embarrassment and pulled out my phone, hoping Neely Kate would pick up. She’d been screening her calls a lot lately.

I was happy when she answered, but her tone was dull and lifeless again. “Hey, Rose.”

“Hey, Neely Kate. What did Ronnie say about your hair?”

“He liked it.”

“Well that’s good, right?” When she didn’t answer, I pushed on. “I have a couple of landscaping consultations today, and I thought you might want to come with me.”

“I don’t know…”

“It would be really helpful if you could help with some of the consultations I have this spring and summer. Bruce Wayne flat out refuses and I’m not sure I’ll be able to handle them all myself.” Perhaps it was underhanded of me to take the guilt trip route, but I was sure what Neely Kate needed right now was fresh air and interaction with other people. She thrived off social situations, so being locked up alone in her house had to be hurting rather than helping.

“I guess I could come. But I have a doctor’s appointment at three.”

Relief washed through me. “We can make that work. I won’t be there for another hour to pick you up. Is that enough time for you to get ready?” If Neely Kate had to wash her hair, I knew it would take her a minimum of an hour to wash, dry, and style it.

“Yeah.”

She hung up, not sounding too excited by the proposition. I swallowed my disappointment. But she’d agreed to go with me, so I told myself to find happiness in that small victory. This was probably going to be a long battle.

Muffy was taking her sweet time, so I called Bruce Wayne to check on him and remind him about my appointments.

“I’m taking Neely Kate with me,” I added.

“And she agreed to go?”

“Reluctantly.”

“I hate seeing her so sad,” Bruce Wayne said. “I sure wish we could make her feel better.”