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“Who says I did?” Forrest asked.
“Norma Rose would never step foot in the Plantation and not even Ty could convince her to, unless it was to tell me it was time to go home.”
Forrest grinned. “Must be past your curfew.”
“I no longer have a curfew.”
“Says who?”
“Me,” she snapped, before smiling at her sister and Ty. “Forrest taught me how to bowl,” she said. “You should try it.”
Norma Rose frowned, but Ty grinned. “I haven’t bowled in a long time, but I got a glimpse of the lanes.They look good.”
“Where are your stockings?” Norma Rose asked, obviously more interested in the shoes in Twyla’s hand than the bowling lanes.
The glare in her sister’s eyes was colder than the water Twyla had used to rinse out her stockings. Evidently, her sister had forgotten the peace treaty they’d created back at the resort. Then again, Twyla wasn’t feeling overly warm and friendly herself. Forrest had to have called for someone to come and get her. She hadn’t told anyone where she was going. “In the bathroom,” she said, lifting her foot to show her bandage. “I ended up with a blister that popped and bled. I had to rinse out the blood before it stained.” She crossed the room and sat in an armchair situated diagonally from the sofa. Telling herself she’d get more bees with honey than vinegar, she added, “At least I didn’t drop a ball on my foot. They’re heavier than they look.”
“But she did throw a ball behind her and almost took out Scooter and his nephew,” Forrest said, stopping to stand behind her chair.
“He makes it sound much worse than it was,” Twyla said.
Norma Rose’s glare hadn’t diminished, and her frown increased as she looked around the room.
“There was a break-in,” Twyla said before her sister could comment. “Prior to Forrest’s arrival.”
“Did they steal anything?” Norma Rose asked, surveying the area again.
“I don’t know,” Forrest said, still standing behind her. “I hadn’t lived here for years. I had no idea what might have been missing or not. Jacob wasn’t sure, either, as he wasn’t on the upper levels very often.”
Ty was looking around, too, thoughtfully. “Looks to me like they were searching for something specific.”
Twyla glanced up at Forrest.
“Hard to say,” he said. “They could have just been vagrants.”
He’d laid a hand on her shoulder that, as wonderful as it felt, also made a tiny quiver tickle her spine. She didn’t need to love Forrest in order to help him. The creep from earlier, Nasty Nick Ludwig, knew Galen and could have been the one to break in. Thugs like him could never be trusted.
“I agree with Ty,” Twyla persisted. “I think they were looking for something specific.”
“Forrest, would you mind giving me a tour of the place?” Ty asked. “I used to bowl quite often back in New York and wouldn’t mind getting a closer look at all you’ve done here.”
Ty’s attempt to change the subject said he knew more than he was willing to share. What Ty knew, Norma Rose knew. That much, Twyla was certain of.
“Sure,” Forrest said.
As Norma Rose and Ty stood, Twyla glanced over her shoulder to ask Forrest, “Would you mind if I waited here? My heel still hurts and I don’t want to put my shoes on without stockings.”
“Your stockings won’t be dry for hours,” Norma Rose intoned.
“I know,” Twyla snapped back. Forrest’s hand was still on her shoulder and the pressure of his fingers increased, as if reminding her of what he’d said back in the coat closet at the resort. She didn’t need a reminder. Norma Rose did. “When it’s time to go home, I’ll put my shoes on without them, but until then, I don’t want to traipse up and down the stairs any more than I have to. Why don’t you wait here with me, Norma Rose?” she asked, widening her eyes. “Let the men go on the tour by themselves.”
“That sounds like a good plan,” Ty said, placing a peck on Norma Rose’s cheek. “We won’t be long.”
Norma Rose was clearly not impressed, and Twyla thought that if her teeth were clamped as tightly as her lips she probably would have bitten off the end of her tongue. Nonetheless, Norma Rose sat back down and Twyla waited until the men had left and closed the door behind them, before asking, “Why’d Forrest call you?”
“You knew he called?”
“It didn’t take much to figure out,” she said. “Why? What did he say?”
Norma Rose sat back and crossed her legs. “I don’t know. He talked to Ty. Why’d you come here? I told you to wait until I learned more information.”
