Page 114 of Family Jewels

“No, to One Eyed Joes.”

“Oh.” That shocked me. “By yourself?”

“Yeah.” She shrugged. “You were gone, Joe hadn’t come back yet, and . . . I was in a weird mood. So I went to the bar, and several guys started hitting on me. It felt good to be wanted, you know?” She looked over at me with pleading eyes.

“Oh, honey. Idoknow.” I knew all too well, and I feared how this story would end.

Her mouth twisted as she looked away. “In any case, I drank way too many beers—too many to eventhinkabout drivin’. I’d been hanging out with one guy, and he offered to take me home.” She cast a worried glance at me. “To his home.”

“Oh.”

She looked down at her lap. “When we got there, we were makin’ out, and he was givin’ me the hard sell to sleep with him. I mean, I went home with him, right?” she asked in a self-deprecating tone. “Of course he expected it.”

I grabbed her hand and squeezed, worried over what she was about to tell me. “No means no, Neely Kate. You didn’t owe him a thing. Even if he drove you to Little Rock and back.”

She didn’t look me in the eye. “I couldn’t go through with it, and he got so pissed I thought he was gonna hit me. So I grabbed my phone and locked myself in the bathroom and called Jed.”

“Then what happened?”

“Jed made me stay on the line while he drove to get me. The guy kept beatin’ on the door and callin’ me names, and Jed heard everything. Then he hung up. The next thing I knew, there was a lot of banging and shouting, and within less than a minute, Jed knocked on the bathroom door to tell me it was okay to come out.” Her voice broke. “I was only wearing my panties, and the guy was such a pig he didn’t even have towels in his bathroom. Only a couple of hand towels and washcloths. I opened the door, trying to cover myself with my hand, but Jed slipped off the jacket he was wearing and helped me into it, all while avertin’ his gaze. Then he put his arm around me and led me out to his car. But I saw the guy’s apartment as we left.” She turned to me with tears in her eyes. “Jed had busted down the door and beaten the crap out of that guy.”

“Was he angry with you? Is that why you two are fighting?”

She shook her head. “No. He asked if the guy had hurt me and looked me over. When he saw the red mark on my arm, he told me to stay in the car and he went back inside for a few minutes. When he came out, he had my clothes. Then he got in the car and took me home.”

“Then what happened?” I prodded again after she was silent for several seconds.

“He walked me into the house and insisted on spending the night on the sofa. I told him the guy didn’t know who I was. I didn’t give him my real name. But Jed said while he doubted the guy would dare to come near me, he was gonna make sure he was there if he did.”

“So he stayed all night?”

She nodded. “He was asleep on the sofa the next morning when I went let Muffy out, but he woke up when the stairs creaked.”

I shook my head. “I still don’t understand why you two are angry with each other.”

“I was terrible to him. I started yelling at him, telling him that he shouldn’t have beaten the crap out of that guy for me. That all I’d wanted was a ride home. Then I asked him why he had done it.”

“What did he say?”

She swiped at her cheeks. “He didn’t say. He tried to pull me into a hug, but I pushed him away and kept saying awful, hurtful things. He just stood there, until I finally pushed him too far and he stomped out. Now he won’t even look at me.”

I wanted to remind her that he’d gotten an eyeful of her yesterday, but it didn’t seem like the right time.

“Neely Kate,” I said quietly. “Why did you call Jed? Why not Witt?”

She just shook her head. “Why did he even come? Why did he spend the night on our sofa?”

“Because he obviously cares about you.”

She shook her head, and a tear spilled down her cheek. “Why?”

I wanted to find her mother and shake the snot out of her for destroying her daughter so much she didn’t believe anyone could love her. I pulled her into a hug. “I really wish you could see yourself as we do.” I leaned back and cupped her wet cheeks. “You’re fun and witty and so, so smart. You have a good heart, and you’re the most loyal friend a person could have. Even when you’re going through hell, you’re like sunshine on a cloudy day. You’ve made the past year bearable, even when things were so bad I felt like I was drowning in sorrow. And if Jed or any other man sees even a fraction of what I see when I look at you, he’d trip over himself to help you.”

Her lips twitched into a tiny smile. Then she got out of the truck and walked toward our waiting client.

As I watched her, I couldn’t help thinking that if we were really going to start investigating cases, maybe I needed to add tracking down Jenny Lynn Rivers to my own personal list.

Chapter 24