by Etta Foster
The man who had written her those lovely letters was still there. She knew that with a certainty now.
She tried to clear her mind. Louise swallowed and considered their other options.
They wouldn’t go to her parents’ home. It might be easier if they could find a boarding house closer to the clinic.
“Let me ask someone,” Louise offered. Her eyes searched the platform before spotting a train worker with his hat and vest. “Perhaps he knows a place.”
She had never needed to know about boarding houses, after all. Not when she had a home in Gramercy.
Louise went up to the man, asking what he might know of the best places to lodge in the northern part of the city. Fortunately, he had a few ideas.
When she returned to where she had left Richard, he wasn’t there.
Louise’s heart dropped as she spun in confusion. Their bags were also gone.
“Louise!”
Richard waved an arm to get her attention. He was in the street in an open horse carriage.
Her eyes widened as she hurried over. She hardly glanced at the driver as she ran to Richard’s side. “I thought you had disappeared,” she said breathlessly. “How did you get over here?”
“I walked,” he offered sarcastically. Then he shook his head and opened the door. “Get in.
“Malcolm here said he would take us anywhere we wanted. Everything is already put up. Did you find a place of lodging?”
Obeying, she scampered in.
The carriage was made for six people to sit comfortably. But the extra space was used by his wheelchair, so she sat directly before Richard.
It was a close seat and her knees knocked against Richard’s. She tried not to think about it.
“Yes,” Louise fiddled with her skirts before turning to Malcolm. “Hello, sir. Can you take us to Renay Avenue by the orchards? The large house with white shutters.”
Malcolm wore a ridiculously tall black hat with a longer goatee. “Most certainly! The white shutters, then.” He turned to his horses and they started off.
Louise sat at attention as she recognized the area’s buildings. Her eyes searched the crowd for familiar faces. Even the scents were as she remembered.
While she was more than happy elsewhere, there was something comforting about being in such a familiar world.
“You missed this, didn’t you?”
Her gaze turned to Richard. He had been watching her. Constraining her smile, she offered a shrug.
“Yes and no. It’s hard to explain. It’s the town I grew up in, after all. I know the food, the streets, the people. I know the traditions and the habits and the smells.
“But I was ready to leave,” she added when an unreadable expression crossed his face. “I felt like I was reading the same chapter over and over again when I wanted something new.”
Something in his eyes flickered. “And now that you’re back, you’re reading that chapter again?”
She nodded. “Yes, I suppose. I know the words by heart. But it doesn’t mean they’re my favorite ones.” A flush spread over her cheeks. “That sounded silly, didn’t it?”
His eyes left hers as he glanced into the street. “Not really.”
Louise swallowed and turned back to watching the streets pass them by. Silence fell as they enjoyed their bumpy ride along until Malcolm set them in front of the cobbled path leading up to the lodge.
Indeed, there were stark white shutters on top of a bright yellow house. It wasn’t the prettiest, but it certainly looked large enough to house a few travelers.
“Thank you,” Louise offered Malcolm as she accepted the last of their bags.
The man offered an extravagant bow with a farewell in French. Once their bags were set down, he headed down the street and Louise couldn’t help but be amused with the man.
With Gramercy on the edge of New Orleans, there were always strange characters in town.
“Shall we?”
Louise turned to Richard.
He had a bag on his lap and a suitcase tied to the back of his chair. Then she had her two bags in her arms. That was everything they had brought with them.
She gave the street one more glance to make sure she wasn’t missing anything, and then nodded. They headed up to the house together.
Richard was able to wheel himself there for the most part, but the wheels bumped roughly against the path occasionally. Louise gave the chair a nudge and then they started off again, not mentioning it.
She could already tell what was on his mind. The resolve was apparent in Richard’s head.
He wanted to walk again, and he was willing to do whatever it took. His brow furrowed as he ran into each blocker.
That would be determination enough to help him walk again.
“Welcome!”
Louise glanced up as the door opened.
A short Creole woman waved her arms, dressed in all white with her hair done up in braids. She was missing her two front teeth in her cheerful grin.
“Hello,” Louise volunteered in response to the contagious smile. Richard shot her a glance as she stepped past him to greet the woman.
“This is Mister Seary’s Lodge,” the woman announced. “He’s sleeping in the back. I knew we’d get a few new folks in today. Come in, come in. Call me Ray. I help run things when Mister Seary isn’t around. Or when he’s just lazy. Aren’t you a charming couple!”
Louise held the door open for Richard who gingerly wheeled himself in.
It was a spacious place, mostly bare besides some sparse furniture and some beads pinned around the ceiling. There was a comfortable feel to the place and Louise shrugged when Richard shot her a curious look.
“I’m Richard Hanson,” he offered to Ray. “This is Louise Moreau. We’re looking for two rooms.”
Ray hummed as she inched around the large crooked desk to start looking through the big book left on top. “Mhm. Mhmmm. How long, my children?”
“Two rooms starting tonight,” Louise volunteered. “But we’re not clear for how long.”
She turned to Richard for confirmation and he nodded. Louise turned back to Ray. The woman bent over the book so much that her nose was nearly touching it.
Only then did Louise worry there wasn’t space for them. Her gaze turned back towards the front door they had just walked through. Their ride with Malcolm was gone.
If they didn’t stay here, then she wasn’t certain where else they could go.
What if the next place was full as well? She thought again of her parents but knew Richard had already tossed that idea aside.
Perhaps, she wondered, if he could find one room, then Richard could have it and then she could return to her parents.
But the idea brought a queasy feeling to her stomach.
“We have three rooms available,” Ray announced proudly to Louise. Then she made a face and turned to Richard. “But I’m afraid they’re all on the next floor up.”
Louise’s mouth turned dry. She thought she’d felt the dread filling up in her stomach. Though she had tried to ignore it, it had come for a reason.
“Thank you,” she managed slowly. “But I don’t think that will do. We’ll have to try somewhere else.”
“No.”
She glanced at Richard who was shaking his head. “No? Richard, this room would work after your healing, but not now.”
“I can do it,” he insisted. “I’ll crawl, or something. We’re here. You said this place was close to the clinic, right?”
Louise licked her lips. “Yes, it’s around the corner. But I don’t know…”
“I can’t carry my chair,” Richard sighed. “But if someone can do that for me, then I’ll get myself up and down those stairs.
“We’re not going to keep looking all over the city for a place that has enough rooms on the first floor. We could be out all night, I’m sure.”
He had a point.
When they first started considering their options for coming to Louisiana, she and Luanne
had talked about how different the city could be and how busy it was with all the people so close to each other. Richard had taken the arrival with ease and already seemed to accept the inevitable.
With that, Louise knew any more arguments were futile. Richard had made up his mind and if he thought this was manageable, then she wasn’t going to argue.
He wanted to climb the stairs himself, so he would.
“All right.” Louise nodded as she gave Ray a smile. “Two rooms, please.”
Chapter 31
The house felt quiet.
Jacob stood in the doorway after taking off his winter gear. Now that he was still, he realized he could actually hear his housekeeper Mrs. Pennyworth in the kitchen as she hummed to herself. It trickled through the hall down to him.
But it felt quiet.
His fingers tingled as he stood there and listened. There was something so strange about this emptiness that confused him.
The last two nights, since Richard and Louise had left, he had hardly been able to sleep a wink. It made no sense.
He shifted uneasily and wondered what was wrong. If he wasn’t at peace when he was alone, then when would he ever be at peace? This strange situation only made him frown.
Having his brother gone was supposed to be relaxing and refreshing. But something just didn’t sit right.
Jacob supposed he was going crazy.
Shaking his head to himself, he pulled off his boots and stomped off to his bedroom. He could feel the snow melting on him and all he wanted now were dry clothes.
The quiet and emptiness of the house could be ignored for a little longer.
He made his way to his bedroom and changed. Then he sat there for a few minutes until he decided to assist Mrs. Pennyworth in the kitchen.
“I’m back,” he volunteered with a hesitant smile in the doorway.
The older woman glanced up.
She had been taking care of him and his brother for as long as he could remember. Jacob wasn’t certain he could even recall a time where she hadn’t been there.
Especially when their parents passed.
Though he distinctly recalled loving his mother and father, those memories were far and in between. Especially since they had always been so focused on Richard.
But Mrs. Pennyworth had always treated them equally. She had bandaged each of them with their scrapes, sneaked them extra cookies before supper, and always had a smile for Jacob and Richard.
He wondered why he hadn’t thought about that for a while. With Richard’s accident, of course all the attention reverted back to him.
Mrs. Pennyworth offered him a broad smile as she ushered him in all the way.
“I was wondering if you were going to freeze out there,” she said. “Warm yourself by the fire, dear. Then you can help me prepare the supper table for the three of us.”
“Three?”
She gave him a look. “Luanne.”
He blinked before turning away. Luanne was still there. He’d been so focused on handling all the work alone on the ranch that he’d taken his meals with him.
It was only tonight he had finished at a reasonable time, meaning he could eat his food hot. With everything else on his mind, he had forgotten about Luanne.
She had blonde hair and big green eyes. The young woman always wore a pout and had something to say. It wasn’t always kind.
In fact, if he recalled right, her words usually weren’t very nice.
But it had made him grin once or twice and he recalled the attention she had given him upon her arrival.
Taking a seat by the fire, Jacob rubbed the warmth back into his hands as he considered the young woman.
She had decided to stay without her sister around. Even when she could have simply gone back home to a place she would clearly prefer.
It had been stated several times how much she wasn’t interested in living in Oklahoma.
There was no reason for her to be there.
Jacob wondered what might be on her mind. He was still thinking about her when she arrived in the kitchen, sniffed the roast beef, and then took her seat.
Luanne was dressed neatly in a blue dress that brought out the color in her eyes.
She had pinned her hair back and skimmed a glance at him before returning to the plate set before her.
Mrs. Pennyworth came around and took her seat as well.
He offered grace and they dug in. It was a quiet meal, but he hardly noticed. His thoughts were buzzing the entire time.
Though he ate, Jacob couldn’t imagine what the food really tasted like; though he supposed it was decent, he wasn’t paying attention.
Finally, it was done.
Scratching his head, he handed off his plate to Mrs. Pennyworth. He caught Luanne slipping out of the kitchen from the corner of his eye.
Immediately he followed after her.
Pursing his lips, he asked himself again all the questions running through his mind. There was only one person who could answer them.
“You could have left.”
Luanne had one hand on the doorknob.
But she stopped and turned to look at him over her shoulder. Her eyes met his, a piercing shade of blue, before she glanced him over.
She dropped her hand from the door.
“Here? Yes,” she agreed. Then she shrugged a shoulder at him. “I could have. I still can.”
There was something in her eyes that drew him closer.
He couldn’t tell what it was; a glimmer of light or darkness. Jacob wasn’t certain. But he took another step forward to get a better look.
“You’re the one who told them to leave.” He made his way over to the young woman until they were standing eye to eye. “You stayed and encouraged them to leave.”
His eyes trailed over her as he wondered if she was bored as he was. As tired of this quiet house like himself.
He knew he was average height, but she was fairly tall for a woman. She lifted her chin and suddenly appeared taller than him.
His eyes fell to her lips. That’s when he could finally feel his heart beating again. She had stayed for a reason, hadn’t she? He felt pretty certain he knew just why.
But as he leaned in, Luanne took a step back.
Jacob frowned.
“I didn’t tell them to leave so we could be alone,” Luanne told him pointedly with her hands on her hips. “They didn’t leave for our benefit.”
Cocking his head, he considered her words. He thought of how Louise looked at Richard. But that wasn’t how Luanne looked at him.
This realization made him hesitate. He stood there before the young woman and wondered if she didn’t want to kiss him after all. Just one harmless kiss. They had nothing else to do in this house.
“No,” he allowed. “But it was convenient. Why else are you still here?”
She flipped her hair over her shoulder. “Because my sister loves your brother. For some ridiculous reason. And I saw what you were trying to do. You, sir, were trying to get in the way of all that.”
Jacob hesitated. Frowning, he studied her and wondered if she had been more observant than she let on. She eyed him sternly, her jaw set.
“Richard didn’t want her,” he pointed out. “He was weak. Don’t you think your sister deserves better?”
Luanne took another step back as she shrugged at him. “Oh, she certainly deserves better. Better than Richard, and certainly better than yourself.”
“Jealous?” he noted.
Her eyes narrowed. “Who wouldn’t be? But I’m no fool. The best way to help my sister was to get her away from you. One way or another.”
He risked another step forward to close the gap between them.
Luanne didn’t budge from her spot where her shoulder brushed the wall. He offered a small grin, wondering if this was some sort of game. She was being silly, after all. Louise was not at risk of any trouble around him.
“So you stayed behind to keep me company.” It was more of a statement than a que
stion.
She opened her mouth. And then she closed it. He grinned, hovering beside her. But then she suddenly scoffed and inched back a little further.
“I know a rat when I smell one,” she announced primly as she set her nose in the air.