“We figured out who Neely Kate’s father is.”

Mason shook his head. “I had no idea she was even looking.”

“She wasn’t. It just fell into our laps.”

“Where? How?”

“I had the shorthand page transcribed. Your momma got part of it wrong. It wasn’t a shed. It was a barn.” I watched him closely to gauge his reaction.

“Your barn? You found something?” he asked in surprise.

I nodded.

“I searched that barn high and low last week and never found a thing.”

“We found another journal from Dora. Under the feed trough in a horse stall.”

“How’d you think to look there? Those things were bolted down.”

I grimaced. “I had some help.”

He turned somber. “I see.”

“Dora wrote about Neely Kate’s momma. I guess Dora knew her from church. Jenny Lynn was pregnant.”

“She told Dora who her father is?”

“Kind of.” I looked into his face. “He was a powerful businessman from El Dorado who came to town every few weeks to handle his business at Atchison Manufacturing.”

His eyes widened. “Oh, God. J.R.?”

I nodded.

He took a moment to recover from the shock.“How’s she dealing with the news?”

“She’s kind dazed and stunned, but she’s ignoring it to focus on other things.”

“Yeah. I can see her doing that.”

“We also talked to Kate.”

He looked worried, but he forced a grin. “Hence the cowgirl comment.” When I nodded, he said, “Did she admit to having the files?”

“I didn’t even try that tactic,” I said. “I took a different route.”

“And what did you find?”

“Kate’s out for revenge, but maybe not entirely as we suspected. I thought she was working with J.R., but now I’m pretty sure she’s trying to get even with her father. She had a boyfriend, and J.R. offered him several hundred thousand dollars to leave her, but her boyfriend refused. Kate says her father had him eliminated. I was only allowed a few questions, so I don’t know many details. His name is Nick Thorn, and my gut says he’s the reason Kate left Little Rock two years ago.”

“Why’s she here now?”

“Me.”

“She admitted she wants to hurt you?” he asked in alarm.

“No. She wanted me to get back together with Joe because she thought I was the one who’d stand up to her father. But she realizes that won’t happen, so now I think she’s goin’ after Hilary.”

“What do you think she has planned?”

“I don’t know, but I don’t trust her. Maybe I should tell Joe.” That idea sparked another. “He might know more about Kate’s boyfriend, too.”

Mason gave me a hesitant grin. “Maybe you should have Neely Kate talk to him. You’re not his favorite person right now.”

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea either. I was worried she was going to lose it talkin’ to Kate. For all I know, she’d break the news that she’s Joe’s half-sister over the phone.”

Mason cringed. “She’s that much of a loose cannon?”

“I don’t know. I love her, but I’m not sure I trust her to let this sit.”

“Okay, so maybe you call him. In the meantime, I’ll focus my attention on finding out everything I can about Nick Thorn.”

“Really?” I asked in surprise.

“How much time do you have left on your ticking clock?” he asked.

I blinked in surprise. “What ticking clock?”

He tucked a stray hair behind my ear, a soft smile lifting his mouth. “I can read you, Rose. You’re tense, which tells me you’re working with a deadline.”

“Maybe I’m just worried about Bruce Wayne.”

His smile turned sad. “I suspect the deadline has something to do with him.”

He’d always been pretty perceptive. With everything other than the Lady in Black. “You’ve told me before that the courthouse is like Fort Knox. Do you still believe that’s true?”

“Yes. I’d say this is a good place to hole up.” He looked down at me. “You want to stay here? You and Neely Kate are both welcome to hang out with me in my office tonight.”

“No, but I need you to stay here tonight.”

“Why?” he asked suspiciously.

“Because. It’s safe.”

“What time is your deadline?”

“Ten.”

“I take it you expect me to hide in here until after everything goes down. Has J.R. threatened me?”

I gave him a hopeful look. “He hasn’t threatened you today. But it doesn’t hurt to be too careful.”

He lifted his hand to my cheek and lightly stroked my jaw with his thumb. A soft smile lit up his eyes, but I also saw his sadness. “I love you, Rose. When this is over, please remember that.”

I turned serious. “I love you, too.” When it was all said and done, I still wasn’t sure we would work, but there was no denying that I loved him.

He stood and tugged me up, pulling me flush against his body. He pressed a hand to the small of my back while his other hand cupped my cheek. He leaned forward and kissed me gently, but then it turned hungry and demanding. “Let me come with you.”

“You can’t,” I murmured against his lips, then gave him one last kiss before stepping back and pushing him away. “You have your job to do, and I have mine. I need you to find out what you can about Nick Thorn. You’re more important to me here.”

I could see he wanted to protest, but then he nodded, solemn and serious. He studied me with a deep sorrow. “I’ll let you know when I find something.” Before I could respond, he bounded up the stairs, leaving me on the stairwell landing.

I found Neely Kate in the records room, digging through a filing cabinet. She looked up at me and rolled her eyes. “I really wish Fenton County would digitalize their records.”

“No luck?” I asked.

“Actually, Lori had already found a few things, but I’ve added more. Thaddeus Brooke had several prior arrests—breaking and entering, larceny, assault.”

“Sounds like a nice guy,” I said. Skeeter had said the photo on his license made him look rough, and apparently he wasn’t far off.