Polished Rust (Wilkins Brothers Book #4)

Chapter 28

TATE

I love my sisters. All it took was a single phone call to Hattie and they came up with a seamless plan to get Rosemary out of the house and distracted for the day. She thought her trip was at the request of Landry, one more outing before the baby came, a day of pedicures and then lunch, but that was just the cover story. The truth was that I needed to steal Mercy away for a few hours without raising suspicions. 

“You ready to go, Merc?”

“I just need to find some shoes,” she yelled at me from her bedroom. Camila picked Rosemary up an hour ago, another part of the plan. She was without a car, meaning she couldn’t sneak her way home without one of the other girls having to drive her and giving me the heads up first. Mercy finally emerged from her bedroom, swinging her purse over her shoulder. “Okay, can I drive?”

I chuckle but toss her the keys. She’s improved a lot since our first few driving lessons. I actually think she’s doing well enough to pass her driving test, something I keep meaning to bring up to her big sister. I’m procrastinating though, not going to lie, the idea of her driving without me in the car makes me nervous as fuck.

Choosing to take Rosemary’s car instead of mine (pretty sure her insurance is better), I wait in silence while Mercy goes through her mental checklist and is finally ready to put the car into gear. “Okay, where are we going, Tater?”

I glare over at her and she bursts out laughing, “You’ve been spending too much time with the other gals.”

“I mean, Hattie is my boss and all.”

“I’m going to make you quit,” I scoff.

“I don’t think she’ll let you. Come on, where are we going on this super-secret mission?”

“Just follow the directions on the GPS and they’ll get us there.”

I connect my phone to the Bluetooth and the step-by-step directions play for Mercy. My least favorite part of living in Florence is having to travel a bit of a distance whenever we need to go into the city. The highway isn’t that bad, but getting onto the freeway is another story. I swear they’re all a bunch of idiots that never learned to drive. I’ve taken Mercy up and down the freeway half a dozen times to get her used to the driving, but that doesn’t mean I’m not gripping the ‘oh shit’ bar tight and double-checking every time she goes to switch lanes.

Thirty minutes later we arrive at our destination. Right when I’m taking a deep exhale, finally relaxing that we made it here safe and sound, Mercy’s fist comes flying across the center console and hits my shoulder, “Holy shit, Tate, are you serious right now?”

I rub my arm, although it didn’t hurt that much, I was more just surprised by the violent tendencies in this girl, “I’m pretty serious. Are you sure you can handle yourself in there or are you going to beat me more?”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. I just got so excited. This is where we’re going, the jewelry store?”

“We are. I’m not entirely sure what I’m doing, so I need your help. I saw the ring that Vinnie bought for her and there is no way I can afford that, but I live pretty modestly and I’ve been able to save a good chunk of money. I just need your help picking something out that she’s going to like.”

“I can totally help with that! Holy shit, when are you going to ask her? Can I help you plan a big thing?”

“Take a breath, Merc. I haven’t decided on all of those details yet. Should I take your excitement as approval in me asking her?”