by Lexi Blake
And that was where he’d made his mistake. “You wrote the will and knew Seraphina Guidry would inherit that house.”
“Yes, I did.” Quaid straightened up and seemed to shake off his surprise. “When one writes a will, one tends to need the names of the people inheriting, Mrs. Beaumont. Like when my father wrote your husband’s will and put your name there on the list.”
She felt her eyes narrow because she knew what he was poking at. “Yes, it’s lucky for me that you put off that appointment with my husband before he could change the will and leave everything to Calvin. Is that what you’re trying to say? Don’t you try to intimidate me, Quaid Havery. Angela and Calvin both know what happened.”
Angie leaned over, looking the lawyer in the eye. “We’re happy Dad didn’t rewrite his will. Cal didn’t want that responsibility, and he certainly didn’t like the way my father treated us like we were back in the eighteenth century and everything should be held by the eldest son. My mother can handle the Beaumont holdings and has done so brilliantly. Don’t think you can split us up over that. There are many other ways to go about sowing dissension among the Beaumonts.”
Sometimes her daughter could be obnoxious. “Angela.”
She shrugged. “Well, you make me go to church, and we’re all supposed to be honest. It would be way easier to sway me to his side if he offered me some carbs.”
Quaid sighed and sat back. “I wasn’t trying to sway anyone. I was merely pointing out that writing wills is my job. Irene Guidry paid for my services and I wrote her will. It was not my place to tell her who to leave her property to.”
“It is your place to watch out for this family’s best interests.” She was well aware of the ice in her words. She used the voice she spoke to badly behaving board members with. “The Beaumont family makes up a large part of your business.”
“Yes, and I’m the only lawyer in town,” Quaid countered.
He was underestimating her will in this. “Business can be conducted over the telephone these days. I assure you there are plenty of lawyers in New Orleans who would be thrilled to represent my interests. My daughter’s fiancé is a lawyer.”
Angela raised a hand in a vain attempt to call her off. “Momma, Austin is a prosecutor. He doesn’t do business law.”
“Well, Quaid here does everything. I’m sure Austin can, too.” She would send him right back to law school if she needed to. “I don’t want that tramp in my backyard. I’ve made it plain that I want to buy Guidry Place for years.”
“And I took your offers to Irene,” Quaid replied. “At great personal risk. I was lucky that old woman’s eyesight was going.”
She waved it off. He was being a baby. “I told you I would pay for the Kevlar vest.” She sighed and sat back. It was obvious the man was going to be useless for anything but basic information. “So Seraphina is planning on living in that rattrap?”
“That rattrap is worth a lot of money.” Quaid settled in as though he realized the real danger had passed. He really was the only option in town. “As for Seraphina’s intentions, I don’t know exactly what she’s planning on doing with it.”
Celeste knew. The young woman would use it as a weapon to torment her. She would parade that family of hers around like they had the right to be there. Delphine hadn’t lost her boy. Delphine, for all the mistakes she’d made, still had a loving family around her. Seraphina had done her best to ruin Celeste’s family, but she’d still gotten a sweet baby boy out of whatever man she’d chosen over Wes.
If only Wes had lived, he would have seen Sera for who she was. He would have seen that Seraphina was a woman who slept with married men. It was the only reason Celeste could come up with for her not telling the world who the father of her child was. She was ashamed, and she should be.
She ignored that prickle of unease that nagged at her. What would her sister have said? There but for the grace of god . . .
It had only been her mother-in-law’s desperation for a grandchild that had caused her to allow Ralph to sully the Beaumont name by marrying a flight attendant.
“If I had any other options, I would take them, Celeste,” Opal Beaumont had said the day of Celeste’s wedding. “You won’t ever be a real Beaumont, but after I’m done with you, no one else will question it. But you and I will always know that you’re a gold-digging imposter.”
“I can’t imagine Sera is going to live there, Momma.” Angela was using her soothing tone.
It set her on the edge because she didn’t want to be soothed. She wanted never to have to see Seraphina Guidry again. She wanted that woman to stop haunting her every day of her life.
Quaid leaned in like he was telling her a secret. “If it helps, I don’t think she’s going to live there, either. I think she’s going to fix it up and sell it. Give her some time and you might be able to get that property.”
Sera would never sell to her. Or perhaps she would, but only if she paid far more than that ramshackle place was worth. There was no reason to fix it up when she was going to raze it to the ground and build something new. She forced a smile on her face. “Of course, you’re right. Angela, we should go or we’ll miss the appointment with the florist. Quaid, if you hear anything about Guidry Place going on the market, please let me know.”
He nodded, but there was suspicion in his eyes. “I will do that.”
That suspicion proved he wasn’t a dumb man. She had zero intentions of letting the situation lie until Seraphina had the upper hand. She needed a plan. She would have to find a way to win this war she found herself in.
Then it could be over. Then Sera would leave and she wouldn’t have to think about her again.
But as she walked out, she wondered about that girl who haunted her dreams. Sometimes that face of Sera’s became someone else’s. Her own.
She shook the thought off and began to plan.
chapter four
Sera hadn’t stopped thinking about Harry all day. Sending him away had been harder than it should have been, and it wasn’t merely because he would have been incredibly helpful.
She wanted to spend time with him. She liked how he smiled and how he flirted with her in a way that didn’t make her feel like he was only thinking of one thing. She flat out liked him. And his dog.
She rocked for a moment, Luc’s little body draped over her torso and shoulder. He was getting so big. One day—way too soon—he wouldn’t be able to lie on her like this. He wouldn’t need her to rock him to sleep.
One day she might not be able to rock her baby while she listened to the sounds of the evening, to the cicadas singing, her mom listening to country music while she did the dishes, the wind coming through the big cypress trees outside their house. One day soon she and Luc would be alone in the city and the only sound that would matter would be the alarm clock telling her it was another day to get through.
She did not want to leave Papillon.
She wanted Luc to be surrounded by family the way she had. Remy had only been home for a year. She wasn’t ready to leave her big brother again. They just felt complete, but she had to consider the fact that Luc was getting older and he would hear the rumors about his birth.
Would it help if she made up a man? Maybe she could find one on Craigslist. He could show up and claim to be Luc’s father, and then they could have a huge fight and break up and he could leave, never to be seen again.
What was she going to tell Luc? Did she have the right to keep the secret of his conception from him?
I love you, Seraphina. I always have.
She could still hear Wes that morning after she’d gotten drunk and landed in the bed of her best friend. When she’d explained it had been a huge mistake, he’d gotten so angry with her. There had been an undeniable potential of violence in him that morning. She’d known Wes Beaumont most of her life, but in that moment, she’d been afraid of him.
The chime of the doorbell brought her out of her dark thoughts. She glanced at the clock on the dresser. Almost eight o’clock. It wasn’t very late, but late enough for her to wonder who would come to their door. Zep had already left for the night.
She stood up and gently placed Luc in his bed, hoping he would stay there for once. Her boy liked to climb and he wasn’t afraid of falling. Nope. That was her fear. She left her sleeping baby and walked into the hall as she heard her mother opening the door.
“Well, hello, Angela,” her mother was saying. “Come on in. Is everything all right?”
Sera sighed. She should have expected a visit. Naturally Angie Beaumont would show up after dark, and she’d likely walked so no one would see her car parked outside. It wouldn’t do for the sweetheart of Papillon to be seen talking to the bad girl.
She stepped out into the foyer, where Angie was standing.
“Not at all, Ms. Delphine.” Angie was dressed in slacks and a blouse. Beaumonts didn’t do casual.
Although one of them did. One of them wore shorts that showed off his legs, and yes, she’d thought the prosthesis was sexy, too. He’d had a scar on his right arm and a couple of whispery ones that ran from his jawline to his shoulder blade. The scars made him real. Without them he would be almost too perfect. With them, she could remember he was more than a pretty face and a masculine body. He was a man who’d been through a lot.
Sometimes she wished the world could see her scars so maybe they would remember she’d been through a lot, too.
“I wanted to pop in and talk to Sera,” Angie continued, glancing to Sera. “I heard you all had a busy day.”
And she was here to make sure that day wouldn’t ruin the secret they kept. “Why don’t you come on into the kitchen and I’ll tell you about it. You want a glass of wine?”
Angie gave her a wide smile. “I’ve been wedding planning with my mother. I could use a whole bottle.”
Sera led Angie back to the kitchen and picked up a bottle of Pinot Noir that Remy had left for them to try. There were perks to having a restaurant in the family. She could always take a shift if she needed cash, and someone always wanted them to try wine. “How are the plans going? Is Austin happy with them?”
Sera had met Angie’s fiancé but only because they’d both been at a church function and it would have been rude not to introduce him. She was sure if they’d been somewhere else, Angie would have ignored her the way Celeste would want.
“Austin wants it all over with.” Angie took a seat at the round breakfast table, crossing one leg over the other and showing off the red sole of her shoes. “Sometimes I think we should have eloped.”
“And deprive the town of the wedding of the year?” Sera expertly uncorked the wine and poured two glasses. “That would be cruel.”
Angie gave her a long sigh and took the wine. “I suppose so. I know my mother would be disappointed.” She glanced around as though looking to make sure they were alone.
“Momma’s gone to her bathroom. She’ll be at least an hour or two.” Her mother took long baths during which she read old romance novels and soaked in lavender-scented bath salts. She had a gorgeous claw-foot tub. There was one at Guidry Place, though like everything there, it needed to be refinished.
Like Harry had offered to refinish the rockers she’d loved as a child. She’d stood there as he’d run a hand over the arm of the chair. Like he could feel the thing, see himself bringing it back to its old glory. Harry had the most beautiful hands.
She took her own glass and sat down opposite Angie. “How did your mom take the news?”
There was zero question in her head why Angie had shown up this evening. The news that Sera now owned Guidry Place, a property close to Beaumont House, would have made the rounds. Celeste likely had heard it at her Sunday luncheon.
Angie’s expression went tight. “Not well. She’s upset. She thinks you’re going to move in.”
“I might have to for a little while.” She’d been overwhelmed by the amount of work she was going to have to do. It would take months to get the place ready to show. “It’s a lot of work. I have to do some of it myself because I don’t think Irene understood how much repairs and refurbishing cost these days.”
“Or you could sell it to my mother.” Angie leaned forward. “You know she’s wanted that place for a long time.”
“I know she’s talked about tearing it down.” It was stubborn of her because she knew Celeste would buy it, but she wasn’t about to sell her childhood paradise to a woman who hated her. A woman who would only see it as a piece of trash to be removed.
“She would like to build a new guesthouse and a pool,” Angie said, as though that was completely reasonable. Everyone needed two guesthouses. “She would give you a good price.”
“No, she wouldn’t. She would try to screw me over and you know it.”
“I won’t let her. You have to see you’re in over your head. You’re not ready for something like this.”
She wasn’t but she had to find a way to make it work that didn’t include selling out to Celeste. “Tell her I’m going to fix it up and I will likely sell it, but only to a family that plans to live here, or Sylvie talked about selling it as a bed-and-breakfast. We need more hotel rooms around town.”
“I don’t know that Mother will like that idea.”
“I don’t care.” She was tired of being afraid of Celeste.
Angie’s eyes widened. “You need to. You know why you should.” Her voice went low despite the fact that they were alone. “Sera, I like you. I’ve always liked you and that’s why I’ve tried to protect you all these years. Mom only knows you rejected Wes. She doesn’t know you slept with him, and she definitely doesn’t know Luc is her grandchild.”
“I don’t honestly think she would care. I’ve thought about this for years.” She was tired of keeping secrets. “The woman hates me. She wouldn’t want Luc to come anywhere close to her precious name because he’s half mine.”
She’d stewed over it all afternoon as she’d walked through the house. Maybe Hallie was right and she should come clean. It would cause a scandal for a while, but then it would die down and maybe she wouldn’t have to leave. She would have to explain to Luc why half his family wouldn’t spend time with him, but it would be okay. Her family would give him all the love he needed.
Angie put her glass down. “If you think that’s true, then you don’t know my mother. I want you to think about this. In the three years since Luc was conceived, she’s lost Wes and my father. She’s actively trying to tempt Harry into coming here to live, and that second guesthouse she wants to build is so Austin and I will stay here. She honestly thinks Austin won’t mind commuting hours to New Orleans. She’s terrified of having an empty nest, and Luc is a sweet little bird who won’t fly away for a long time. She won’t care that he’s half Guidry. She’ll take him and make him all Beaumont.”
Make him hate his own mother. Or worse, teach him she wasn’t even worth thinking about. “The courts wouldn’t have a reason to take Luc from me. I’m a good mom.”
Angie’s gaze turned sympathetic. “I know you are. You’re a genuinely good person, and I honestly think if my brother had lived, you two would have found your way back to each other.”
She hoped they could have been friends again, but she’d never felt a spark with Wes. She’d loved him. She genuinely had, but she hadn’t been in love with him. What would have happened if he’d lived? There was no question in her mind that he would have asked her to marry him. She might have done it since she’d been terrified at the thought of having a child on her own. She’d made the decision to tell him when he came back on leave, but he’d never come home. Would she have married him and fallen in love with her husband? Had she been foolish to want passion and romantic love in her life?
“I don’t know about that. It doesn’t matter now anyway.”
“The courts won’t take him away from me without cause.”
“Maybe, but will you have the money to fight her?” Angie asked. “You’ll need a lawyer, and one from out of town because Quaid has represented our family for a long time. You’ll have to find a lawyer and he’ll want a retainer. My mother is patient. She can keep the legal battle going for years.”
It was her worst nightmare. The thought made her stomach turn. This was the conversation she’d had with Angie when she was six months along and she’d decided to let the Beaumont family know she was carrying Wes’s baby. She’d thought it would bring them some peace, to let them know Wes wasn’t entirely gone.
Thank god Angie had stopped her. Angie had opened the door that night and had hustled her out. They’d talked over tea in the back booth at Dixie’s Café, and Sera had realized how close she’d come to making a huge mistake.
Was she still trying to make that same mistake? Still trying to believe that somehow she could find her place here again, be enough for anyone outside of her family?
Angie stared at her with sympathetic eyes. “Let me help you. I can talk to Mom. If I let her know you’re not going to stay, she won’t have a problem with it. Let her make you an offer.”