Ripple of Secrets: Rose Gardner Mystery Novella #6.5 (Rose Gardner series Book 3) Read Online Free PDF

so far from Henryetta! Did you have fun?”
    I let out a sigh of relief that she wasn’t holding this over my head. “It was an interesting experience.” If you called being a murder suspect, and Neely Kate seeing a ghost interesting .
    Mason picked up the bread basket and winked at me. “Rose and Neely Kate seem to find excitement wherever they go.”
    Violet shook her head. “No kidding. I can’t believe you were at… that place last week,” she finished, substituting that place for strip club . “Do you know how dangerous that was?”
    I glanced at Ashley, my five-year-old niece, who was intently watching our conversation. “Violet.” I widened my eyes. “I think you’re exaggerating.” I shot my gaze back to Ashley to send her a silent message.
    Violet’s lips pressed together. “We’ll discuss this more tomorrow at the shop when we finalize the plans for the grand reopening.”
    “Okay.” We were in the home stretch for reopening the nursery and launching my landscaping business. We’d only just opened the nursery a few months ago, and although vandalism of the store had forced us to close for the entire Christmas season, I saw no reason for reopening with any pomp and circumstance. Given the way Henryetta was still gossiping about my sister’s affair with Mayor Brody MacIntosh, I’d prefer to keep it quiet.
    We spent the rest of dinner hearing about the kids’ Christmas gifts, Bruce Wayne’s first Christmas Eve with his biological father’s family, and Jonah’s stint on Jeopardy.
    “It was a nerve-racking experience,” Jonah said, wearing an ear-to-ear grin. “But I think my experience on camera helped with my nerves.”
    “So how’d you do?” Mason asked.
    Jonah’s grin turned ornery. “You’ll just have to wait and see when it airs.” He picked up his glass of water. “I’m bound to secrecy until then.”
    “Not even a hint?” Violet asked, and when Jonah pressed his lips together to prove his point, she said, “Then tell us about your new girlfriend.”
    Jonah’s cheeks turned rosy. “I’m not sure what there is to tell.”
    I smiled at my friend. His relationship with Jessica was still so new, but I could tell he was happy. He’d even taken her with him to California for the taping of his Jeopardy episode the previous week.
    “She’s the church secretary,” I volunteered. “And she’s had a crush on him since he hired her.”
    Jonah’s blush deepened. “I wouldn’t be with her at all if Rose hadn’t intervened.”
    “I’d like to think you would have found the courage to ask her out.”
    Once Jonah got over his uncharacteristic bashfulness, he told us a bit about Jessica. She’d been born and raised outside of Henryetta, and she came from a large family. “Three brothers and five sisters.”
    “Wow,” Mason said, taking another helping of garlic bread. “That’s a lot of kids.”
    “She says she only wants a couple of her own.”
    Jonah and Jessica were getting serious quick if they were already discussing children.
    But while Jonah seemed totally at ease, I noticed that Bruce Wayne was quiet and more withdrawn than usual. He was typically a shy man, but I suspected something else was going on with him. I planned to corner him the next day to find out.
    Everyone stayed well into the evening, laughing and having a good time. After our guests left, I stood in the kitchen doorway, looking at the last bit of mess left over from dessert. Mason walked up behind me and pressed his stomach against my back, wrapping his arms around my front.
    “I’ll help you clean it up tomorrow night.”
    I glanced up at him in surprise. With the long hours he worked, he always made sure to eat breakfast with me and clean up the kitchen before he left.
    He grimaced. “I have to leave early tomorrow.”
    He’d checked his cell phone several times during dinner, but he’d put it in his pocket when he noticed me watching. What was going on? Now I was really curious. “I