by Patricia Kay
“And what about boyfriends? Are you dating anyone?” her mother asked.
Nicole shrugged. “Just Guy.”
“You could do worse,” Arlette said.
“Leave her alone, Mama,” Réne chided, but his tone was mild. “She’ll marry when the time is right.” He reached over the top of the big round kitchen table and squeezed Nicole’s hand. “When she meets Mr. Right.”
For some reason, Jack Forrester’s good-looking face popped into her mind again. Nicole caught her lower lip between her teeth.
“What’s the matter, chere?” her astute father asked.
“Nothing.”
“You don’t sound too sure.”
Nicole shook her head to clear it of Jack’s image. “No, really, it’s nothing.” Again she wondered if she should tell her parents about Jack and his mission. She still wasn’t sure. She didn’t want to worry them, and she knew they would worry if they thought strange men were following her around.
Besides, she would probably never see Jack Forrester again, so she’d worry her parents needlessly if she brought up his name.
* * *
Jack had stayed at the Marriott Hotel on Canal Street the first couple of days he was in New Orleans. But since he traveled so often, and had to stay in hotels so much, he always tried to make his surroundings away from home as home-like as possible. So he’d rented a furnished apartment near the Superdome for a month, and after he returned to it that afternoon, he changed into warmer, drier clothes and fixed himself a hefty scotch and water and a fat baloney-and-cheese sandwich accompanied by a handful of chips. He didn’t like to cook, and he’d stocked the refrigerator with a few simple things for emergencies. The rest of the time he preferred to eat out.
As he ate his sandwich and chips and sipped his drink, he thought about Nicole. He was intrigued by the idea that whether she was aware of it or not, she might know something that could help him find Elise Arnold.
Hell. Why not be honest with himself? He was intrigued by Nicole, period. For whatever reason, the moment she’d looked at him with those blazing dark eyes, he’d been tantalized and intrigued.
The woman practically oozed sex appeal. From the tip of her shiny dark hair to the toes of her pointed black boots, she was one enticing number, full of a crackling energy and vitality that nothing could hide.
He wished he could have seen her smile. He wondered what those full, red lips would look like when she was happy. Somehow he knew Nicole Cantrelle was usually happy.
Full of the joy of living. He had read a lot about Cajuns, had long had a fascination with the culture, and he knew they were a people with a zest for life. His interest in them had started when he’d met Charles Petitjean, a fellow journalist who had covered the Persian Gulf War with him. Charles and Jack had spent many long nights in Saudi Arabia, talking while waiting for the bombs from Iraq to fall.
Charles was a font of information about his ancestry, and to pass the tense hours, he’d told Jack stories.
“Cajuns are people exiled from the old French Acadia—better known as Nova Scotia,” Charles explained. ”In the 1700s more than five thousand of them settled in Louisiana.” His voice had grown soft. “They’re a wonderful people—warm, fun-loving, unfailingly cheerful. There’s an old saying in Cajun families,” Charles added. “ ‘Love life, and life will love you back.’ That’s pretty much my philosophy.” He grinned. “I don’t spend a lot of time worryin’. Whatever happens, happens. Generally speakin’, if you expect good things in life, that’s what you’ll get.”
Jack had thought about those words many times since Charles had spoken them. He had tried to hang on to that philosophy even when he’d received the news that Charles was dead, killed by stray sniper fire when he’d been interviewing the front-line troops in Kuwait.
* * *
“Nicole, I’ve missed you,” Alice said as they hugged.
Nicole closed her eyes. Yes, she’d missed this, too. If only she could have her independence as well as be with her family. But one canceled out the other, and always would, she knew.
“Let me look at you,” Nicole said.
Alice grinned, her pretty face flushed and happy.
“You look wonderful. You’re not even showing yet.”
Alice darted a look at Norman, then at Arlette. “You told her!”
Arlette blushed, and they all laughed.
“Well, it’s only been three months. Isn’t it wonderful?” Alice said.
“C’mere, big brother. Give me a hug, too,” Nicole said, and was soon caught in Norman’s strong arms. “I’m happy for you,” she murmured as he kissed her cheek. She was particularly happy for Norman because he’d overcome so much in the past few years. As he released her and walked over to the stove to lift the pot lids and enjoy the wonderful smells, Nicole noted that there was no limp at all—nothing to give away the fact that Norman’s right leg was an artificial one.
Just then the back door opened and Celeste burst through, followed by Neil and Laura.
Laura was still as slender as a model, and Nicole noted the contentment in her face and the serenity in her aquamarine eyes. Laura and Neil had been crazy about each other since day one. Nicole knew their relationship was loaded with sizzle.
She hugged the newcomers, then said, “I hear there’s going to be an addition to the family.”
Laura colored becomingly, and Neil, sliding an arm around his wife’s waist, said, “In less than six months, Celeste is going to have a baby brother.”
“Did you have an ultrasound?” Alice asked.
Laura laughed. “No. Neil is just sure we’re having a boy this time, that’s all.”
“We are!” he stated emphatically. “And that’s that.” He walked to the stove and nudged Norman in the back. “Quit eating that. Save some for me.” He picked up a wooden spoon and ladled some gumbo onto it. “God! That’s hot!” He dropped the spoon, and they all laughed.
“That’s what you get!” Arlette said.
I love my family, Nicole thought.
Throughout dinner, the thought kept coming back, again and again. She was the luckiest woman in the world. She had a beautiful little daughter and a wonderful, wonderful family. What more could any woman want? She looked around around the dining-room table and studied each beloved face.
As her gaze flicked to Neil, who sat next to Laura, she saw him lean over and nuzzle his wife’s neck, and she also saw Laura’s quick intake of breath. The moment was gone in an instant, but something very like pain clutched Nicole’s chest.
That’s what I want. That. That feeling.
Completely unbidden and unexpected, Jack Forrester’s ocean-blue eyes filled her mind, and she wondered what he was doing right at that moment.
* * *
What Jack was doing right then was talking to his twin sister, Jenny. He sat with his feet propped up on a beat-up ottoman, the phone cradled against his left ear. In the background a fuzzy replay of Sunday’s Steelers/Saints game went largely ignored.
“Do you believe her when she says she doesn’t know anything about Elise?” Jenny was asking.
“I believe she thinks she doesn’t, but there’s got to be some connection. Jenny, if you could see her. She looks exactly like Elise.”
“Oh, Jack, when you told me about this woman, I was so hopeful! And now...” Her voice trailed off. “I feel so helpless. I wish I knew more about Elise’s family. I wish I’d probed more, but she was always so reticent, so reluctant to talk about herself.”
“You know, you’re not responsible for what happened.”
“But in a way I am! I told Elise so many times that she should leave Derek, that no woman had to put up with an abusive husband. I told her all she had to do was call me, and I’d help her. She was so afraid, Jack. So afraid. And it wasn’t just that she was afraid of Derek and what he might do to her. She was afraid of being alone. I knew that. I knew that her feelings were all tied up with the fact that her mother and father had never be
en married, that her mother had died when she was so young. She felt utterly alone. And then when she did call me, when she finally got up the courage to do something, I wasn’t there for her.”
“Jenny.” His voice was soft. “You were in Spain with Kevin. You couldn’t know that Elise would pick that exact week to finally make her move. I mean, didn’t you tell me you’d been encouraging her to leave for at least a year, with no success?”
“Yes, but—”
“But nothing. Quit being so hard on yourself! You’re not the one who abused Elise.”
“Oh, Jack! If you could have heard the messages she left on the machine! Oh, God, she sounded so desperate. If only I knew she was okay. If only I was sure Derek didn’t come home that night and do something to her.... Maybe he killed her! Maybe he killed her and hid the body! Maybe all of this is an act, and she really is dead, and...” Her voice broke, and Jack knew she was crying.
“Now come on. There’s not a shred of evidence that he killed her. You know that.” He hesitated, then added, “Jenny, from my conversation with the director of one of the shelters in Houston, men like Derek don’t usually kill their wives. She explained to me that they really don’t want to kill them—they want to control them.”
“All right, maybe she’s still alive. But where did she go? Derek said she didn’t take any money. He laughed. He said Elise wouldn’t get very far without money, that he’d find her. He said he’d hired a private investigator. He said that she shouldn’t think she was going to get away with this. That he’d find her, and when he did, he’d teach her a few lessons she wouldn’t soon forget. That’s what really scares me, Jack. If she really is in hiding somewhere, as you think, you’ve got to find her before he does, or before she gives up and goes back to him. I’ve just got to talk to her.”
“I’ll find her,” he promised. But he knew there were no guarantees. They had so little information to work with. “From everything you’ve told me about Elise, I think she would feel a strong compulsion to come back to Louisiana. And since you say Derek never knew anything about Elise’s father, that she never told him the things she told you, I think that’s the right angle from which to approach the situation.”
“So you think we’re on the right track—trying to find her through her father?”
“Yes. I think Elise has been looking for a father for a long time—if we find him, we’ll eventually find her.”
“What if Derek discovers she once used the name Cantrelle?”
“But you said he knew nothing about her work in the theater group.”
“I know she kept it hidden from him. But what if he finds out about it, Jack? He’s bound to wonder why she’d go by the name Cantrelle, isn’t he? Wouldn’t he put two and two together and start looking for her through the Cantrelle name, just as you are?
Jack sighed. “Jenny, don’t borrow trouble. Let’s go on the assumption he won’t find this out.” He didn’t add what he was thinking—that they really had no other choice.
“So what’s your next move going to be?”
“I’m not sure. I need to think about it.”
“What all have you tried so far?”
“Well, since she didn’t take her car, I checked all the usual modes of transport—the air, bus and train lines—but I didn’t turn up anything. I didn’t really think I would. You don’t have to present I.D. to buy a ticket, not if you use cash.”
“But if she didn’t have any money—”
“We don’t know she didn’t have any money. All we know is that Derek said she didn’t take any of his money.” He chuckled, trying to lighten the atmosphere. “Do you want to hear the rest of this or not? You keep interrupting me.”
“I’m sorry. Go ahead.”
“Well, I started to call travel agencies, but there were so many of them, I gave up on that. Besides, she could have used any name. My only hope in all of this is that someone would remember her, and that was always a slim hope.”
“What about car rental agencies? She might have rented a car, and wouldn’t she have to show a driver’s license or something?”
“I tried the car rental agencies. She didn’t rent a car.”
“Oh, Jack. Why wasn’t I here when she called?”
“Jenny, you’re going to make yourself sick if you keep worrying like this. Now try to relax. Leave this to me. This is the kind of thing I do best. I’ll turn something up sooner or later.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because if you ask enough questions of enough people, something eventually breaks. All I need is one good lead.”
“I hope you’re right. The longer we go with no word, the more scared I am that something terrible has happened to her.”
“I know.”
After they hung up, Jack went back to watching the football game, but he couldn’t concentrate, so he just sat there and thought. Although he’d reassured his sister, he didn’t feel anywhere near as positive as he’d let on. He couldn’t just sit around and hope things would work out as he wanted them to. He had to do something.
But what?
* * *
Saturday dawned bright and clear, and Nicole was glad to see the sun again. She and Laura and Alice and Denise, her older sister, had planned to go shopping that afternoon. Arlette had volunteered to watch all the children, although at fifteen and ten, Denise’s two were too old for babysitters.
“They’ll help Mama,” Denise said.
“Yes, they will,” Arlette agreed, winking at her two older grandchildren.
The four women spent a satisfying afternoon trying on clothes, eating lunch and doing a lot of talking and laughing.
“It’s always so much fun when you come home,” Alice said, her arm companionably tucked into Nicole’s as they sat on a bench in Cortana, Nicole’s favorite Baton Rouge mall. Denise and Laura had stopped in an earring shop, and Alice and Nicole were waiting for them to emerge. “I wish you lived here.”
“You know why I don’t.”
“I know, but Norman’s too busy taking care of me, the kids, and the business to spend too much time trying to run your life,” Alice said, her gray eyes twinkling.
“It’s not just Norman. Neil and Papa are just as bad. And everyone knows about me... and Mark.”
“Honey, who cares? You’ve got nothing to be ashamed of. There are a lot of women having babies on their own.”
Nicole shrugged. “Maybe in New Orleans, or even in Baton Rouge. But not in Patinville.”
Alice’s eyes were understanding. “Nicole, you have to stop beating up on yourself. So you made one mistake. Big deal.”
Nicole knew what Alice said was true, but she couldn’t help how she felt. She really believed a woman should be married before she had children, and she couldn’t suppress the feeling of embarrassment when she ran into some old biddy who gave her a knowing look. Worse, she didn’t want Aimee to feel different, and in impersonal New Orleans, Aimee didn’t have problems. In Patinville, where everyone knew Nicole and her family, Aimee’s origins were common knowledge.
“Alice, I know you love me, and I know you really believe what you’re saying, but the truth is, I was reckless and stupid. Norman warned me, over and over again, but I thought he was being overprotective and interfering, and I didn’t listen to him. I just went on my merry way, doing whatever I felt like doing, and I didn’t give a thought to the consequences. And because I was naive and trusted Mark and believed him, I let myself get pregnant... by a married man. And I have to live with that.”
“Nicole, you couldn’t have known Mark was married. I mean, he out and out lied to you. And as far as getting pregnant... so you made a mistake. Lots of people make mistakes.”
“I know, but other people’s mistakes don’t affect innocent people. I just don’t want Aimee to grow up around people who are snickering behind her back.”
It hurt every time Nicole thought about how Mark had deceived her—how foolish and gullible she’d been almost four years
ago. She’d really thought he loved her, that he was going to ask her to marry him. And then Norman, who’d had Mark investigated, told her that Mark was already married. That he had two small children and a pregnant wife in Fort Worth. That he was a liar and a cheat. And that Nicole had been stupid.
Aimee was the result of this episode, so Nicole couldn’t regret the past too much, for she loved Aimee with an intensity that sometimes astounded her; she wouldn’t trade her for all the respectability and wedding bands in the world, but still, she had been irresponsible, and she didn’t want Aimee to pay the price.
“So how are things going with you and Guy?” Alice said, and Nicole was grateful for the change in subject.
“Pretty much the same.” She chuckled. “Boring. No excitement.”
Alice rolled her eyes, but she laughed, too. “Here come Laura and Denise.”
For the rest of the day, Nicole kept thinking about her conversation with Alice. She really didn’t regret the past, but she hoped she’d learned from it. Her only regret was that she and Aimee didn’t have a husband and father in their lives.
Be honest. If all you wanted was a husband and father, Guy would do very well.
Nicole smiled to herself. She wanted it all. A man she could believe in. A man who would always put her first, who would never lie to her. She wanted marriage, more children, a man who would be a good husband and father. And she also wanted...sizzle. As the thoughts formed, she didn’t even try to fight them, for she knew what was coming next. And sure enough, Jack Forrester’s strong, pleasing face and blue, blue eyes filled her mind.
Later that evening, after her sister and brothers and their families had gone home, and Aimee and Arlette were in bed, Nicole and her father sat at the kitchen table drinking coffee. “Papa,” Nicole said, “there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you about.”