Chapter Nineteen
Despite the fact that it was darn near sunrise and nobody had really slept the night before, Maryse figured she’d find Sabine in her shop. Peering through the window of Read ’em and Reap, she saw Sabine sitting at her table in the center of the room, eyes closed and her hands covering a crystal ball. She was wearing her purple robe, one she brought out for only two reasons—stress or trying to contact her parents.
Maryse sighed. All the drama with Maryse and the land and Sabine’s own medical worries had probably driven her to the edge. But none of that was going to prevent her from what she needed to do. She took the last couple of steps to the shop entrance and pushed the door open.
Sabine looked up in surprise when the bells over the door jangled, then realizing it was Maryse, her expression changed to worry. She jumped up from her chair and hurried over. “Are you all right?” she asked. “Is everything okay?”
“Actually, I’m not all right.” Maryse smiled. “I’m fantastic. I just had an interesting conversation with Helena.”
Sabine studied her for a moment. “Are you high? Did the paramedics give you some drugs or something?”
Maryse’s smile faltered a bit. Okay, so obviously telling people to take their lives back wasn’t her strong suit. How in the world was it that Helena, of all people, did this so much better? Maryse took a deep breath and repeated Helena’s story from the beginning. Sabine listened in rapt attention, her eyes growing wider until Maryse wrapped it up with Helena’s ultimatum on living life and regrets.
“Wow,” Sabine said when Maryse finished. “Helena didn’t pull any punches.”
“No.” Maryse took a deep breath and pushed forward. “And neither do I.” She placed her hand on Sabine’s arm. “You’re not living either, Sabine. Your obsession with your parents has kept you so grounded in the past that you have no future.”
Sabine stared at her in surprise, then pulled away her arm. “How can you say that? You know what it’s like not to have a parent. How can you blame me for wanting to know something, anything, about mine?”
Shit. This wasn’t going so well. “That’s not what I meant. Look, Sabine, I’m just excited by my new outlook on life. I want you there with me…like you always have been.”
Sabine’s angry expression softened, but before she could speak, a glow of bright light appeared a couple of feet from the table, and they both stared in disbelief. “What the hell?” Maryse asked as the light swirled round and round, something slowly taking shape in the center. Please, God, no more ghosts. She didn’t think her heart could take the strain.
As the shape took form, Maryse realized they were looking at a young couple, smiling over at them. The man was tall and thin, the woman petite and slender. Their haircuts and clothes betrayed the era of their existence, and Maryse knew they had been gone from this world for some time. The woman looked directly at Sabine and extended one hand. A flash of silver at the woman’s neck caught Maryse’s eye and she cried out. “Her necklace. Sabine, look at her necklace.”
Sabine looked at the woman, and her hand flew to her throat, clutching the matching locket she wore. The only thing she had of her mothers. “It’s them,” she whispered.
Maryse nodded, unable to speak.
“They’re beautiful,” Sabine said, and started to cry. “My parents. I finally know my parents.” Sabine took a hesitant step toward the light, but as she moved, the light began to dim and the couple faded away into blackness. With a final blink, they were gone.
“No!” Sabine ran to the spot where the light had been, but there was nothing left to see. She sank onto the floor, tears streaming down her face.
Maryse rushed over to her friend. “Please don’t cry,” she begged as she sat on the floor and hugged Sabine. “I don’t want you to be sad. I don’t want anyone I love to be sad, not one more moment of their lives. It’s too short.”
Sabine choked a bit and laughed. “You ninny. I’m not crying because I’m sad.” She pulled back from the hug, and Maryse could see that even through the tears, there was a smile on her face. “I’m happy,” Sabine said. “I’m thrilled. I finally got that sliver of closure that I’ve always prayed for.” Sabine grabbed Maryse’s shoulders with both hands and shook her. “I saw my parents, Maryse. Do you know what that means?”
Maryse wiped at the tears lurking in the corners of her eyes, wondering that she had a single ounce of fluid in her left to cry after the night she’d had. “It means the world is getting two new members?” Maryse smiled. “I hope it’s ready.”
Maryse gave Sabine another quick hug, then rose from the floor. “I’d love to stay and make plans for our takeover of humanity, but I have some unfinished business with a fake zoologist.”
Sabine smiled. “Let the takeover begin.”
Maryse left the shop with a spring in her step. If everything could turn out so good for Sabine, why couldn’t it turn out that good for her? But the apparition just outside the shop door brought her up short. Maryse took one look at the guilty expression on Helena Henry’s face and knew something was up, and in a flash, she knew exactly what it was.
“You did that,” Maryse accused. “You created the image of Sabine’s parents.”
Helena shrugged and shuffled her feet. “Well, you weren’t exactly getting anywhere with that lame speech of yours, and I didn’t need you sinking back in to your former existence just because Sabine was stuck in hers.” Helena grinned. “Besides, I kinda like the nutbag, and I wanted her to be happy. Is that so bad?”
“I guess not. But making up visions of dead parents to fool a daughter is sort of low, even for trying to make someone happy. You’ve got to stop manipulating people, Helena. Even if you think it’s for their own good.”
Helena glared at her. “What do you take me for, a charlatan? I admit, I created the image, but the people were really Sabine’s parents, or the likeness at least.”
“But how do you know what they looked like?”
Helena shrugged. “I took a look on the other side, and there they were. I think they’re always close to her.”
Maryse stared. “You can look on the other side? Then why can’t you go there?”
Helena gave her a sad smile. “I tried, but they told me it’s not my time yet. Apparently, I still have some work to do here.”
Maryse smiled and shook her head. “You know, I never thought I’d hear myself say this, but I’m sorta glad you’re not going yet, Helena. I would have missed you.”
Helena nodded. “Of course you would. Not many have been graced with my stellar personality transformation like you have.”
Maryse groaned and pointed a finger at her as they walked down the sidewalk to Maryse’s rental car. “That is not an invitation to show up unannounced or to harass me over the television channel. Well…as soon as I actually have a television, and a house to put it in.”
Helena raised her hand as if taking an oath. “I promise I will not intrude without making an appointment. Although, I’ve already seen you naked, so I don’t know what else there is.”
“Because I plan on being naked with someone else. That is, if things work out.”
Helena grinned. “You know, I always did think Luc had a fantastic butt. I wouldn’t mind seeing it just once.”
“Helena!” Maryse cried, but the wily ghost walked through the wall of the not-yet-open beauty shop, making following her an impossibility.
Maryse headed to the parking lot and jumped in her rental car. She pulled out onto Main Street and drove through town, then merged onto the gravel road and sped toward the office, her mind whirling like a tornado. What if Luc’s interest in her had only been because of his job? What if he had only cared about her enough to not want her dead? Or even worse, what if the sex was so bad that he’d changed his mind?
Good God, the possibilities were endless.
She rounded the corner down from the office and saw Luc’s Jeep parked outside. There’s still time to change your mind. She eased her foot off the accelerator. You’re not even divorced from the first man who made you look like a fool. Do you really want to run that risk again?
The car rolled to a stop, and she stared at the Jeep once more, biting her lower lip. Was love really worth the risk? But then she remembered Luc’s face when he’d lifted her in the alley, his fear that she was hurt, then the utter relief when he realized she was okay. She remembered exactly how warm his arms felt wrapped around her and how the soft touch of his lips grazed her face. And she remembered her body’s response to him.
She pressed down the accelerator, and the car leapt forward. Definitely worth it.
Luc looked up in surprise when she walked in the office. “I thought you’d still be in bed,” he said.
“Or hiding in a closet?” she joked.
Luc smiled. “No, not you. Although that might have made things easier.” He studied her for a moment. “How are you doing?”
Maryse nodded. “I’m fine. I mean, overwhelmed on some things and still disappointed on others, but it will all pass in time. At least that’s what I’m telling myself.”
“Probably an accurate statement.”
Maryse pointed to the box of video cameras Luc was packing. “So I guess you’re clearing out, huh?”
“Yeah. I figured you wouldn’t need the security equipment anymore, and I sorta appropriated it without permission.”
Maryse smiled. “I bet. So how much trouble are you in?”
Luc shrugged. “More than I’d like and less than the boss-man would, I’m sure.”
Now or never. Maryse stepped closer to him. “And was it worth it?”
Luc locked his eyes on hers. “Definitely.”
Maryse took another step towards him, her body so close she could feel the heat coming off of him. “If you’d like to prove that statement, there’s still about ten minutes before the office is supposed to open.”
Luc’s eyes widened. “Are you sure?”
“I’ve never been more sure.”
Luc smiled and ran his finger across her lips. “You know, that statement lacks punch coming from someone with so much uncertainty in her everyday life.”
“Sure, point out my flaws when I’m standing here pouring out my heart.”
Luc leaned over and kissed her gently on the lips. “I love you, Maryse Robicheaux. God help me, I’m head over heels for you.”
Maryse felt her heart pound in her chest. “Are you sure?”
“I’ve never been more sure.”
“Says the guy who sees ghosts. Like that’s not uncertain.”
Luc wrapped his arms around Maryse and pulled her close to him. This time his kiss wasn’t gentle but sensual, and Maryse felt her legs grow weak. “I love you, too, Luc LeJeune,” she said. “God help us both.”
Luc laughed. “We’re a mixed pair, Maryse. Me with a one-bedroom studio in the city and you living in a hotel. What are we supposed to do about that?”
“Actually, I’ve been thinking about that…about everything that’s happened over the last week. I know what I thought was a cure wasn’t really, but the thing that made it different is that the mice didn’t get sick. I think it’s something worth pursuing. If I found a way to alleviate illness during radiation, that wouldn’t be a cure, but it’d be a hell of a lot better than the way it is now.”
“That’s a great idea, Maryse.”
“So I was thinking that since your job and the university lab are in New Orleans, maybe keeping your apartment there isn’t such a bad idea.”
“And what about Mudbug?”
“I’ve got the insurance money from my cabin and the land lease money coming soon. I was thinking about building again, somewhere on the bayou, just on the outskirts of town. Nothing fancy.”
“No more hiding out in boat-access-only living quarters?”
Maryse smiled. “I’ve missed out on things for too long. I’m not going to make that mistake again. So do you think you can handle living in a small town again…part time at least?”
Luc planted small kisses down the side of her neck. “I think I’m going to love it.”
“You know,” Maryse said as she reached around to squeeze Luc’s butt. “I’ve never made it with an undercover agent before. At least, not that I was aware of.”
“Really? So you’re telling me there are no other men in your life?”
Maryse grinned. “Well, there was this zoologist, but his exit strategy needed work.”
Luc drew her lips to his again, the promise of everything to come in his kiss. “Who says I’m going anywhere?”
Helena Henry stepped out of the beauty shop that evening and crossed Main Street. Maryse and Luc had just pulled up in front of the hotel, and from the rumpled looks of their hair and clothes, Helena had serious doubts they’d been doing any botany back at the office.
She smiled as Mildred and Sabine walked out of the hotel to greet them. Luc took Maryse’s hand in his and spoke directly to the two other women. From the ecstatic looks on their faces, Helena had no doubt what news Luc was delivering. He was still talking when Mildred grabbed him in a hug, probably crushing every rib in his body. Even from her place across the street, Helena could see the tears in the hotel owner’s eyes.
Helena felt her own eyes mist a bit, both with joy and regret. Pretty soon Maryse would have a whole new mother-in-law to deal with. She could only hope the next one didn’t cause Maryse the trouble Helena had.
But all that was behind them now. Maryse was safe, and the land was protected. Luc had put things in motion, and Helena had no doubt that her exhumation was just around the corner. Maybe then she’d get the answers she needed to leave this Earth.
The foursome finished their hugs and walked into the hotel, and Helena had no doubt Mildred would be breaking out a bottle from her champagne stash. Helena looked around at the quaint little town and sighed. It was all so peaceful, so normal.
But for now, someone in Mudbug had still gotten away with murder.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
To Colleen Gleason, friend and critique partner extraordinaire, for keeping me honest and always making me work harder. My parents Jimmie and Bobbie, brother Dwain, sis-in-law Donna, and beautiful niece KatiAnne, for all your continued support. To the fabulous staff at the Jefferson Hotel, in Jefferson Texas. Maybe I’ll get to see a ghost next time! To my editor, Leah Hultenschmidt for agonizing over the cover (it’s fabulous!) and every word in between. And to my wonderful agent, Kristin Nelson, for understanding why this was the series I absolutely had to write and working with me and the publisher until I had the opportunity to.