Heart of Texas

by Mary Alfort

  “Lady, are you crazy, coming here like this? Go away. Mr. Deautreve doesn’t have time to speak to you. He’s with his family.”

  I punched the intercom several more times, but no one answered. We were almost ready to leave when Jake spotted three armed men approaching. Their weapons were clearly visible.

  “Oh, shoot. Come on. We need to leave. Now, Laney.” We jumped into the car.

  Jake backed out into the street and put the vehicle in drive.

  The gate swung open, a black limousine emerged, and then stopped to check for oncoming traffic.

  “Hold on. I’m sorry, Jake, I have to try.” I jumped out of the vehicle and ran to the limo.

  Jake parked, and then came running after me.

  I’d managed to pound on the window once before two armed guards burst from the vehicle. I had about two seconds before they tackled me.

  “Mr. Deautreve, I need to talk to you about Thelma McClanahan! It’s urgent!” I shouted.

  One gun-toting guard grabbed my arm and began hauling me away as someone lowered the limo’s rear window.

  “That’s enough, Julian. Let her go.”

  The goon bruising my arm released me immediately, and I turned to look at the man in the car. I’d pictured someone much younger, but Ramie Deautreve had to be in his late sixties. He had slicked-back gray hair and piercing brown eyes. He looked more like a character from a bad Dracula movie than an alleged crime boss.

  “Leave us.” He waved one thin, veined hand in the air, dismissing his goons.

  They stepped about ten feet back, but they didn’t let us out of their sight.

  “How is it that you know Miss Thelma?” he asked with the same thick Cajun accent I’d heard on the tape.

  “She’s my aunt.”

  Shock registered for just a moment in those piercing brown eyes. “I see. Well, you’ve caught me at a bad time, Ms...I’m sorry; I don’t believe I caught your name.”

  Part of me felt like laughing at the ridiculously polite conversation. This was the biggest alleged crime boss in Louisiana, but he could have been someone’s grandfather. Or Dracula.

  “Winters. Laney Winters.”

  “I see, well, Ms. Winters, I’m on my way to attend church with my wife. Perhaps you and your friend would like to join us. We can discuss this matter after the service.”

  I glanced at Jake, too surprised to say a word.

  “Jake Montgomery, Mr. Deautreve. And that would be great.”

  “Very good. If you will follow the limo, Monroe will wait.” He waved to the two goons, and then rolled the window up.

  It took a second more for Jake and me to react. We scrambled back to the SUV.

  The car made its way slowly through the quiet streets of Baton Rouge to a brownstone church that looked to be ancient even from a distance. The goons got out first and stood guard, their eyes darting around the building and surrounding area, looking for any possible threats.

  “Do we get out?” I asked Jake.

  “I don’t know. Let’s just see what happens next.”

  Once the bodyguards were satisfied the neighborhood was secure, Ramie Deautreve got out of the limo along with his wife. He motioned for us to follow them inside.

  The service slipped by with a show of pageantry so unlike our humble church ceremony in Down, it seemed surreal.

  When it was over, Ramie and his wife waited until the church was empty before moving. Ramie said something to his wife, who promptly left us alone. With his wife gone, he turned to me. “Now, you must tell me what is so urgent that you would interrupt my spiritual time.”

  “I apologize, Mr. Deautreve, but my aunt is in serious trouble. She could be facing jail time.”

  This clearly took him aback. “Preposterous. Thelma McClanahan is as honest as they come.”

  “I know that, but the feds have tapes of your calls to her. They think they have proof that you two, along with Aunt Selma, are in cahoots, and that my aunts are helping Butchy Peterson launder your money through their diner.”

  “My dear young woman, who is this Butchy Peterson?”

  I hadn’t realized I’d been pacing until I stopped dead in my tracks at his question. “What do you mean ‘who’s Butchy’? He’s the person who’s been laundering money for you.”

  “I assure you, I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Ramie Deautreve stated calmly.

  When I looked into his eyes, I believed him. “But...that can’t be. Butch has been telling the Feds and anyone who will listen that he works for you.” I dropped to the pew and sat next to Jake, who took my hand and held it.

  “Ms. Winters, I do not need to...launder money in such a fashion. I have a staff of well-paid accountants who invest my money legitimately. I can assure you, your aunts’ diner isn’t one of their investments. And if the federal government had taken the time to discuss this with me, I would have been happy to show them my business records.”

  “So are you saying you don’t sell−?”

  “How I make my money is none of your business. How it is invested is a matter of public record.”

  OK, I confess, I was more confused by his openness than I had been at the start of this strange conversation.

  Jake squeezed my hand before taking up the cause. “Mr. Deautreve, you’re positive you don’t know Butch Peterson?”

  Ramie Deautreve gave a firm shake of his head. “I assure you, I do not. Clearly, this is all a surprise to me, but if Thelma is in trouble, then of course I must set the record straight.”

  Finally, I thought. “Thank you, Mr. Deautreve. Aunt Thelma is being so stubborn. She won’t say a word about how she knows you.”

  Ramie Deautreve got to his feet. “If Thelma doesn’t want you knowing the extent of our relationship, then you will not hear it from me, but I can do something about her being wrongly persecuted. You have my word. I will take care of everything.” With that, Ramie Deautreve and his wife left the church.

  For a long time, Jake and I sat in stunned silence.

  “What do you think he meant?” I finally asked.

  “I have no idea. But I hope it means he’ll clear your aunts’ names.”

  12

  Sometimes the people closest to us are the ones we know the least.

  We made the ride back to Down in almost complete silence.

  I kept replaying the conversation with Ramie Deautreve in my mind, and yet I was no closer to understanding his relationship with my sweet aunt. How did two people who had absolutely nothing in common meet in the first place?

  The city limit sign for Down came into sight.

  I roused from my troubled thoughts. “Do you know what my aunt’s hiding, Jake?”

  He slowed the car to a stop at the side of the road. “Laney, Thelma never talked about her relationship with Ramie Deautreve. I’m just as confused as you are by it. What do you plan on doing now?”

  I’d been considering this most of the way back. “I don’t know, but I think the time for secrets is over. I’m confronting Aunt Thelma. It’s time she told us the truth.”

  Brave words.

  As we pulled into the drive of my aunts’ house, my courage wavered a little.

  “You want me to come with you?” he asked quietly. He was watching me in that gentle way of his.

  It hit me again, how comfortable Jake made me. I had no need to put up a front with him, the way I’d done with Tom for most of our marriage. I couldn’t imagine Tom driving to Baton Rouge to confront an alleged crime boss with me. “Yes. Yes, I’d really like that.”

  He touched my face, and then got out of the car and headed up the steps.

  Before the inevitable storm ensued, I wanted to sit in my car and watch him—this man who held so many unspoken promises.

  He turned to look back at me, waiting. He held out his hand and smiled.

  Residual doubts slipped away, I returned his smile, and went after those promises with all my heart.

  Reasons why I’m thankful I came home
to Down:

  1: To help my aunts stay out of jail.

  2: To stop feeling sorry for myself.

  3: Never to have to see Tom Winters’s face again.

  4: To learn how to really write again.

  5: To be there for my aunts when they ask for my help.

  6: To free myself of the doubts that made me a prisoner of my past.

  ****

  Both aunts were sitting in the kitchen. The tension between them was palpable. Something had definitely happened.

  “Laney, there you are. We were beginning to worry. You’ve been gone so long.” Aunt Thelma saw my arrival as a welcome relief.

  Selma, on the other hand—well, it was clear I’d interrupted some important discussion. “Laney, dag nabbit, can you give us a minute here?”

  I stopped half way over to kiss Aunt Thelma, my gaze ping-ponging between them. “Am I interrupting something?”

  “Yes,” Selma snapped just as Thelma said, “No.”

  Thelma threw her sister a nasty warning look. “No, of course you’re not. Oh, Jake, I didn’t see you standing there.”

  “I brought Laney home.”

  “From where?” Thelma seemed distracted.

  “Well that’s what we need to talk about. Aunt Thelma, I spoke to Ramie Deautreve.” Nothing could have prepared me for her reaction.

  She charged me so quickly I didn’t have time to step away.

  Selma grabbed her in a bear hug, stopping her before she made it to me.

  “I told you to leave him alone,” she screamed.

  “Thelma, that’s enough.” Selma’s scrawny arms held her sister tight. “Laney, let it go.”

  “No. No, Aunt Selma, I can’t let it go. This has gone on long enough. I need to know what you’re hiding.”

  “Laney, I told you to let it go,” Selma snapped.

  “This is ridiculous, Aunt Thelma. I’m your family. You can tell me anything, you know that. Tell me how you know Ramie−”

  “He’s my son,” Aunt Thelma wailed, then collapsed against her sister. “He’s my son.”

  “Oh, my goodness.” I think those were my words.

  “It’s true, then,” Jake whispered.

  Somehow, Aunt Selma got her sister back into her chair. She patted Thelma’s shoulder gently before answering the questions I couldn’t seem to force out. “Thelma had a baby when she was seventeen. A boy. Ramie.”

  It was my turn to need help. My legs suddenly deserted me.

  Jake was at my side in an instant, helping me to the closest chair.

  “What are you talking about, Aunt Selma?” I looked at her as if she’d just told me the most outlandish lie she could think of.

  “It’s true, Laney. Mother and Father insisted Thelma give up the baby. She put him up for adoption the day he was born.”

  My gaze was riveted to Aunt Thelma. I touched her hand tentatively.

  Lord, please let her forgive me.

  I hated that I’d forced her to expose her pain. After a moment, she took my hand in hers.

  “I was so naïve, Laney. I thought the boy loved me, thought we’d be married, but he just wanted...well, you can guess. When I turned up pregnant, Mother and Father thought they were doing what was best for everyone involved. They sent me to live with a cousin in New Orleans before I started to show. I never saw my baby. They took him the second he was born. The doctor said that would be best, and I believed him. Once I was strong enough, I came back home to Down. No one ever knew the truth.”

  “So, how...when...?”

  “Ramie looked me up. He wanted to know about his biological mother. We exchanged letters, and then we started talking on the phone.”

  “So you were protecting him.” At last, I understood why she’d refused to talk.

  “Yes. It’s the least I could do. You have no idea how much I’ve hurt my boy.” She wept into her hand.

  “Aunt Thelma, you were so young. You did what you thought was best for him.”

  “No, Laney. I did what I thought was best for me. I could have stood up to Mother and Father, but deep inside my heart, I knew this would be easier for me. Who knows how Ramie’s life might have turned out if it weren’t for my selfishness?” Aunt Thelma obviously believed it was her fault that Ramie had supposedly turned to a life of crime.

  “Thelma, you old softie,” Selma said quietly. “You didn’t make the boy into a crook. He did that all on his own, and I won’t hear of you blaming yourself.” She placed a hand on Thelma’s shoulder.

  Her sister patted it gently. “You were always a good friend as well as a good sister. Thank you for that.” Then she turned to me. “You don’t hate me too much for letting you down, do you, Laney?”

  The tears in her eyes were hard to take. I got out of my chair and knelt in front of her. “Letting me down? How on earth do you think you’ve let me down?”

  “I had a baby out of wedlock. I lied to you for years.”

  “Oh, Aunt Thelma.” Suddenly I was crying right along with her. “You and Aunt Selma are the closest thing to my mother that I can remember. I love you both. You could never let me down.”

  ****

  “Laney, I think I should go. Obviously, you and your aunts have a lot to catch up on.”

  The three of us had been so caught up in the moment we’d forgotten all about Jake until he spoke.

  I kissed Aunt Thelma’s cheek and stood. “I’ll be right back, OK? I’m just going to run Jake home.”

  She nodded without saying a word. My poor, sweet aunt looked emotionally drained.

  “No, Laney, stay here. I’ll walk home. It’s not that far and I could use the exercise.” He headed for the door.

  After a second, I went after him. “Jake, wait.” I closed the door and went over to him. “Everything happened so fast that I haven’t thanked you yet.”

  “For what?” The tenderness in his eyes sparked something deep inside me. Something I’d thought Tom’s betrayal might have destroyed forever.

  “For going with me to talk to the alleged biggest crime boss in Louisiana, who just so happens to be my cousin. For staying with me through all that.” I pointed back at the house. “For keeping Aunt Thelma’s secrets.”

  He smiled that smile I would always associate with promise, and took me into his arms. The minute his lips met mine, I melted against him. The touch of him, the scent of him, made me want him more than I’d ever thought possible. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to take the next step just yet, but I wanted to.

  “You’re welcome.” His answer sounded anything but steady.

  In his eyes, I saw the same longing that I knew must be in mine.

  “You know I once asked you...”

  I knew exactly what he meant. I touched my finger to his lips. “Yes.”

  “Yes?” He asked, and then shook his head. “Yes to what part of it?”

  “Yes to all of it. Yes, you do have a chance. Yes, I have just gone through a divorce and I need more time. Yes, I don’t want to walk away from a good thing either. Yes, I want you. Does that just about cover it?”

  Jake was rendered speechless, and I chuckled.

  “Good. Because I have a question for you, Jake Montgomery.” I tried to sound angry, but he knew differently.

  “OK, shoot.”

  “Did you know Ramie was my aunt’s son?” I don’t know why it hurt to think my aunt might have shared this with Jake, but it did.

  “No.”

  “Then what did you mean in there when you said ‘it’s true then’?”

  He grinned down at me. “When I examined her, I saw evidence that suggested Thelma might have borne a child at one time, but I thought I was mistaken.”

  “I’d say so. So what do you think happens now?” For the first time, I remembered neither of us had slept in hours. We’d been caught up in saving my aunts and running on sheer adrenaline.

  “I don’t know. Let’s hope Ramie Deautreve will do the right thing. If not, I think this is definitely something you
r aunts’ attorney can use.”

  “You’re right.” I stifled a yawn. “I think I’m going to sleep for a week. What about you?”

  “I think I shouldn’t imagine you like that, because if I do, I’ll not sleep at all.” He kissed my cheek, and then turned away.

  And left me speechless.

  Oh yeah, the man was just full of promises.

  ****

  When I awoke from my much-needed nap, I climbed out of bed, snuggled Buster in my arms, and staggered downstairs to the smell of—turkey and dressing?

  “What’s all this?” It appeared Aunt Selma was in the middle of preparing a huge dinner.

  “‘Bout time you got out of bed. We’re celebrating,” she growled, but she was actually smiling. Something was definitely up. “The charges against Thelma and me were dropped.”

  “Oh, my goodness, that’s great news.” I lowered Buster to the floor and gave Selma a hug. “What happened? Where’s Aunt Thelma?”

  “Talking to that boy.” Selma commenced shoving stuffing inside the turkey with a vengeance.

  “What boy?” I was mesmerized by what she was doing to that poor turkey.

  “Her boy.”

  Her boy?

  “Ramie? He called?”

  “He sure did, and then some. But not before he called that nasty Agent Eanes and gave him the what for.”

  “No,” I breathed.

  “Yep. That over-priced attorney you hired called a little while ago. Said some “bigwig” supervisor at the FBI was tipped off that the agents were “harassing some old ladies on just the word of an accused and without probable cause” and the agents dropped the charges immediately.”

  “I can’t believe it. I’m so relieved.” I bolted from my chair and hugged her once more.

  “Now, stop that.” She swatted at my hand. “Sit down. There’s more.”

  I did as she asked because I couldn’t wait to hear the rest of her news.

  “Thelma went to visit Butch and he apologized for everything. And Thelma being Thelma, well, she asked if the charges against him could be dropped if he paid back the money. Since it was Butch’s first offense, the Feds agreed to it. “

  No one was really surprised when Aunt Thelma offered Butchy another job. Not as their accountant this time, but as the busboy.