Free Picking Up the Pieces by Denise Grover Swank Page A

save me?” the merchant asked. “I already paid you, and I didn’t hide how disgusting I thought you were.”
    “Everyone deserves a second chance,” the fisherman replied.
    Once they got back to shore, the merchant swore his loyalty to the fisherman. He said he owed his life to him, and from them on, he would forever be in his debt.
    For some reason that story stuck with me. Maybe it was because I could relate to the fisherman. Maybe it was because the merchant got his plate of humble pie—something I wished could happen to the high-and-mighty people in my life. Or maybe I just wanted to think someone could change their mind about me. You see, I always saw myself as the fisherman until I met Rose Gardner and I realized I’d got the story all wrong. The fisherman knew who he was the whole time. And I didn’t know who I was until I met Rose.
    But she had saved me twice, so what could I possibly do to pay her back? To my mind, taking her to see Skeeter Malcolm had done twenty times more harm than good. Even if Rose didn’t see it, I’d got her into the mess. Now I was gonna have to figure a way out of it.
    The morning after Thanksgiving I sat around in my house, twiddling my thumbs. We were plumb outta jobs and Rose was planning to split up the business, which meant there wouldn’t be anything to do for a while. But now that I’d had a taste of doing something I loved, I wasn’t content to sit around. Rose owned the whole shebang—the store and the landscaping part—even if she planned to split it apart. Right now the store was in shambles and someone had to clean it up. I figured I’d head over after lunch and get a good look at what we were facing.
    Rose’s truck was in the parking lot when I pulled up to the store. I usually hated coming to the nursery, but only because Violet was always there, looking down her perky nose at me. But today her car was nowhere to be seen.
    I found Rose inside the shop, sitting on a folding chair in a small area that had been cleared of debris, two other folding chairs arranged in front of her. “Rose?” I asked as walked through the door.
    She turned to face me with a faraway look in her eyes, then gave me a soft smile. “What are you doin’ here, Bruce Wayne? I gave you the day off, remember?”
    “Sittin’ around didn’t feel right so I came to assess the damage. See what needed fixin’.” I sat in one of the chairs in front of her. “What are you doin’ here?”
    “Trying to figure out the right thing to do.”
    I chuckled. “You know what it is. Sounds like you don’t like it, but you know all the same.”
    She shook her head, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “Neely Kate better watch out. You’re giving her a run for her money.”
    I wasn’t sure what she meant by that, but it was good to see her more like herself. “I heard everyone in town got their money back. I’m guessin’ you did too?”
    “Who’d a thought Skeeter would be a man of his word?”
    “Don’t count on that bein’ a regular occurrence. In fact, steer clear of him if you can.”
    She gave me an exasperated look. “It’s not like I plan on paying him weekly visits for tea.”
    The thought of Skeeter drinking from a tea cup with his pinky sticking out nearly made me laugh, but there were more serious issues underfoot. “ You might not be planning on visiting Skeeter, but you know he’s gonna be calling on you. He’s gonna want you to help him again.”
    Her lips pressed together. “No way. I can’t.”
    “Skeeter’s not used to hearin’ no. He’s got ways of makin’ people do what he wants them to do.”
    “Mason’s in his office right now with the DA and the sheriff and they’re all abuzz about that woman with Skeeter.” She turned to me with pleading eyes. “Mason’s gonna kill me if he finds out who she really is. And what if the big-wigs in town learn that it was his girlfriend…he could lose his job because of me.” She shook her head. “No. I can’t risk