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Chapter Six
Present Day
Rose felt more at home in her studio than any place on the planet. There in the paint-dappled and ragged artist apron she’d bought twenty years ago, she stepped away from her stone sculpture, snapped her hands on her hips, and declared itfinito.She couldn’t wait to show it off, which was why she decided to invite all of the Salt Sisters over for dinner and drinks that night to celebrate.
She just had to send a text.
Then she had to go grocery shopping.
Everything is falling into place,she thought as she got herself ready to go, jumping into the shower and heading out to her car, her grocery list typed into her phone, her heart on her sleeve.
Had Rose peeled back through time to tell her twenty-one-year-old self that she actually enjoyed cooking now, she was sure her previous self would say,That’s impossible.But it was true. Now that Rose’s time was herown, and nobody had told her where to be, what to do, or how quickly to do it, she loved spending hours in her kitchen, slicing and sautéing and roasting and baking. She loved the look on her friends’ faces when she showed off a new recipe.
Her favorite thing to do in the kitchen was add a bit of Southern cooking flair to her recipes. A bit of spice they didn’t understand around here. It was a way to honor her parents and that world she’d crawled out of. It was a way to remind herself of what she’d lost and what she’d gained.
Hilary and Stella got to Rose’s first that early evening. They brought chilled chardonnay and plenty of questions about Rose’s new project with the Grayson Estate. Stella looked captivated by her, as though she couldn’t believe she’d taken this plunge after everything that had happened.
“It’s like you want to play with fire,” Stella said, swirling her glass of wine in the kitchen sunlight.
Rose waved her hand. “I swear, all the ghosts are gone. Or they’remostlygone.” She laughed. “Charlie has a few friends in construction. They’re in there now to really make sure everything is sound and ready for a big refurbishment. To make sure it’ssafefor me. The last thing I want is to get buried under some rubble in that so-called haunted house.”
“Look at her,” Hilary teased. “Her eyes are bigger than saucers.”
“But you should see what was left behind after the fire,” Rose gushed. “I mean, so much was damaged, obviously. But there’s enough leftover antiques and artwork to blow your mind. The minute Charlie gives me the all clear, I’m going to drag you both in there.”
Stella’s eyes clicked with intrigue.
The other Salt Sisters arrived after that, each with wine and cheese and different perfumes, blowing through the kitchen with kisses and vibrant hellos. Rose fell into easy conversation, answering questions about the Grayson Estate, asking about husbands and boyfriends and work appointments. When a hush fell over the kitchen, Rose announced it was time to go to her studio and look at what she’d been working on.
“Let’s do it!” Hilary cried.
Rose led her Salt Sisters into the studio and lined them up, watching their faces intently, trying her darnedest to comprehend what they felt when they looked at it. This piece had lived in her mind for months now. This was the first time she was showing the sculpture to anyone. She was delirious with excitement.
But each of the Salt Sisters’ faces were dry and loose, as though they were confused.
Rose’s heart lurched.They don’t like it. How could they? I’ve worked so hard on it. I’ve put my heart and soul into it.
Rose twisted around to look at the sculpture herself.
But the sculpture wasn’t there.
Rose’s heart thudded. “What?” she gasped, clenching and unclenching her fists. “What the heck? Where is it?”
“Is it this one?” Ada gestured toward a stack of stones off to the right.
Rose ignored her and blasted across the studio. Was it possible she’d moved it elsewhere? But no. The sculpture was more than two hundred pounds. She could not move it without moving the flatbed upon which she’d built it. And the flatbed wasgone, too.
I would have remembered moving that. I would have remembered asking someone to come pick it up.
What happened?
“This can’t be,” Rose muttered. “I don’t understand.”
“Was it stolen?” Hilary rasped.
Rose heaved forward and gripped her thighs. The world spun. Someone ran upstairs to fetch a glass of water, and Hilary put her hand on Rose’s back and ordered someone else to call the police.
“It’s a misunderstanding,” Rose continued to sputter, as though that would make this mess go away.
