CHAPTER SIX
Byron
I showed Jessica Fletcher… or Jess… into the dining room. There was a spread of pastries, fruit, eggs, bacon, biscuits, and all sorts of other breakfast items laid out on a sideboard and people were helping themselves.
“Would you like me to make you a plate?” I asked her.
She was staying close to my side, which I thought was pretty adorable.
I felt a protectiveness towards her that I’d never felt before.
I mean, being protective was my way of life.
But I felt protective of her like a man feels over his woman. That was new for me.
At least to this level. I’d felt protective of girlfriends, of course. But they weren’t actively running from something dangerous. Jess was. And I wanted to rip anyone apart that came near her.
“No, I can do it.” She smiled up at me, and I had to fight to keep from just standing there and staring at her. She was so beautiful. I could see why this Skeeter guy was obsessed with her.
“Oh, good! You’re up.” Nadine bounded into the room with a smile as bright as the sun. She hurried right over to Jess and wrapped her up in a big hug.
Jess made a little noise of surprise that was muffled by Nadine’s body.
“Honey, you’ve got to let her breathe,” Reynolds tried to hide his amusement. “We talked about this,” he said softly.
“I know,” Nadine waved a hand in the air.
“But I just can’t help it.” She held Jess away from her, gripping her by the upper arms. “Do you know how badly I wanted a little sister growing up? My God. I used to force Jelly to let me do her hair. I’m bigger than her, so sometimes I would just sit on her so she couldn’t get away.
” She turned towards Jelly. “You remember that, Jell?”
“Uh… yeah.” Jelly had to bite back a grin. “I don’t see how I could forget it, actually.”
“True,” Nadine sighed. “Look at all this hair.” She turned Jess around, took her hair down, pulled a brush from some hidden pocket on her yoga pants, and started brushing it out.
Jess stared at me with big eyes. “What is happening right now?”
Nadine stopped. “Well, shit. Nobody told you, huh?” She laughed. “I’m your big sister!” She reached for her again to hug her, but Jess stepped back.
“What?” Her face had gone a little pale. “How?”
“My daddy is your daddy. Was he as sorry for you and your mom as he was for me and Mama?”
Jess’ face had a comical level of shock on it. “I… can I sit down?”
“Oh, sure. Just sit anywhere. What do you want to eat? I can get it for you.” She piled some of everything on a plate.
“Jesus, Nadine. I think you got her enough stuff, honey.”
She looked down at the plate. “Wow. Well, I hope you’re hungry. I guess I got carried away. What do you drink in the morning? Coffee? Coke? Orange juice?”
Jess was still staring at her. “You’re my… sister?”
“Yep. I thought we could maybe go shopping together today. Madeline can come over and give us makeovers. Glory can do our nails, and Nia can make us laugh. Oh. My. God. We can have a sleepover!”
“Nadine,” Jelly said gently. “I know you’re excited, but you have got to calm down. You have to remember Jessica Fletcher’s been through an ordeal…”
“Y’all can just call me Jess. Only my mom calls me Jessica Fletcher.”
Jelly nodded. “She’s been through a lot. And I’m sure she wants to see her mom. You’ve got to give her some time to get adjusted to everything.”
Nadine was practically vibrating with the obvious desire to attack Jess with sisterly love.
Jess watched her warily while she picked apart a croissant and drank some orange juice. “I’ll be honest. I am feeling overwhelmed. Can anyone just tell me how y’all found me?”
I stepped up. “Of course. We should have already. That note you gave your mom put everything in motion. Your mom remembered seeing Nadine’s picture in the paper when she married Reynolds.” I gestured to Reynolds. “He’s West Bay’s mayor.”
“My sister is married to the mayor of West Bay? Am I still asleep or something?”
I chuckled. “No. Your mom saw her and realized you two must be related. She tracked down Nadine’s mom, called her, and the two of them figured things out. Then we started the rescue mission. First, we got your mom…”
“How? She’s agoraphobic.”
Nadine grinned. “Your mom said you were really smart. I’m so proud of you for being valedictorian!”
“Um… thanks.” Jess smiled at Nadine but was still looking shell shocked by all the information.
“She fought through it,” I said. “She was really strong. And Nadine’s mom got her some anxiety medicine to help her.
She’s staying with her now, and Reynolds has a few treatment centers that can take her for some intensive therapy.
He just wanted you to help pick everything out.
And see her before she goes, too, obviously.
” I took a sip of water. “Anyway, she told us you were staying with the Gray Bones MC and that she thought you might be there against your will. She said you’d always acted happy until you gave her that note.
And besides, she didn’t have a clue who would help her save you until she saw Nadine’s picture and put two and two together. ”
“I had to get out of there. I stayed so long because Skeeter was taking care of Mom, and… well, I couldn’t leave. I didn’t have a car or money. He took everything I, er, earned at the strip club. I was totally dependent on him.”
Nadine looked pissed. “We might as well kill him.”
Reynolds choked on his orange juice. “We can’t kill him, honey! I don’t think either of us would do very well in jail.”
“I think I might. I’ve seen those prison shows, and I make friends pretty fast, so…” she shrugged. “He has to die.”
“Be realistic,” Jelly said, rolling her eyes. “You’re going to make her think you’re crazy.”
Jess held up her hand. “That’s not necessary. The… killing. I just want to get as far away from him as possible.”
To my dismay, I saw that she was near tears. This had been too much too soon. “You know, I think Jess might do best if she got the story in small doses and met just a couple of people at a time.”
“What about the party?” Nadine asked.
“Party?” Jess whispered, going pale.
“I’m planning a party to introduce you to all our friends. The Salazars will all be here, of course, and don’t worry, they act like mafia, but we don’t think they kill people. At least not many, and then all the Cinnamon Girls, and the…”
“I’m not feeling well,” Jess stood up looking nauseous.
Without another thought, I pulled her in my arms and carried her up the stairs. “Thank you,” she said. She sighed and turned her face into my chest, clutching onto me as if she never wanted to let me go. I was okay with that.
“Dammit, Nadine,” I heard Jelly saying. “I told you not to freak her out.”
“I know,” she wailed, “I just got so excited!”
I carried Jess to her bedroom and tucked her in. She looked exhausted, and I had to remind myself of everything she’d been through. She needed to rest.
“Don’t worry,” I said, gently brushing some of her hair off her forehead, “I’ll make sure Nadine cancels the party.” I thought about how hard that might be. I might be making a promise I couldn’t keep. “Or at least postpones it,” I amended.
Jess looked relieved. Her eyelids fluttered, and I knew she was about to drift off. I turned to leave, but she reached out and grabbed my hand. “Don’t leave,” she whispered.
I felt something in my heart click into place as I reached for a chair and pulled it over to the bedside. I held her small hand in mine. “I won’t leave,” I assured her.
She gave a small sigh and fell asleep.
This woman. There was just something about her.
I knew I was in trouble.