by Sable Hunter
“Okay, I like that idea.” Remembering that he said he had others, she asked. “What else did you have in mind, to fix our problems?” She couldn’t believe she was saying all of this, letting herself hope when the possibility of a happy ending was so remote.
Revel knew he had to take things slow, he couldn’t unload everything on her all at once. He had a plan, but with such high stakes, he couldn’t afford to make a mistake. “I do have some suggestions and I have already been working on a gift for you.”
“Other than Wildwood?” she asked with surprise.
With a wink, he said, “Yes, something else. I think you’ll be pleased. But let’s not rush things, you just got home and we have the rest of our lives to work this out.”
“But, what if…” Harper pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. It was longer now, almost to the middle of her back.
Revel realized she needed a guarantee. So much had gone wrong in her life that she was afraid to take risks. Losing her parents the way she did, being vulnerable to men who had taken advantage of her—those things had worked together to make Harper wary. And for good reason. He refused to take advantage. And since he couldn’t guarantee that everything would work out perfectly, he could control his part in the plan. “If things don’t work out between us, you’ll still have Wildwood. You’ll be home, you’ll be safe. Between the two of us, if someone has to leave…it’ll be me.” She didn’t need to know what he’d be losing. Frankly, the thought of losing the money and time he’d invested in this house meant nothing to him next to the thought of losing her.
As soon as he’d voice the possibility, Harper knew that wasn’t what she wanted. As audacious as it may be, she wanted Revel. “There’s so much you don’t know, so much I don’t know if I can conquer.” She spread her hands out, as if imploring him to understand.
“One day at a time, Bright Eyes.” He bent forward and placed a reverent kiss on her forehead. “We’ll work together to create our own perfect world, one day at a time.”
* * *
The fact that they had a plan of sorts made Harper feel better. She helped him clean the kitchen, their working side by side was both soothing and arousing. It didn’t take long for her to realize their chemistry was still off the charts. Every time they bumped into one another, she could feel an electric spark, and he seemed to bump into her at every opportunity. To keep her cool, she reached up to open the window over the sink. As she did, she noticed the collection of tiny shells still sitting there. Thirteen of them. “You still have the rougaroux shells,” she said bemused.
“Yes, everything is still in place. All of the tiny wind chimes are still over the doors, the chess pieces are in the window in the living room, the tiny angels are in the dining room. At least we won’t be attacked in our sleep by the werewolf.”
“I guess that’s some consolation.” Folding the dishtowel once they’d finished, Harper gave in to her curiosity. “So, what do you do, for a living I mean, if I’m not being too nosy to ask?”
“Not at all.” He tapped the end of her nose. “I want you to know everything. Don’t ever hesitate to ask anything you want to know.” He grabbed her by the hand and tugged her to the sunroom off the kitchen. It had a kick-ass view of the bayou. You could sit in there and feel like you were practically outside no matter the weather. “But to answer your question, Patrick and I went to work for the Marine Corp of Engineers when we got out of the service. We’re part of a wetland salvage operation.” He’d called Patrick before Harper came down, he had some vacation time coming and there was no better reason in the world to take it than to be with Harper while she was re-acclimating to her surroundings. “But I’ll be around here fulltime to worry you for the next couple of weeks. If that’s okay with you?”
“Yes, yes, please.” She wouldn’t argue with that idea. “This is Sunday, right?” It was bad when you didn’t know what day of the week it was.
“No, it’s Monday. So, if you want me to call the lawyer and set you up with a meeting, we could make a day of it and visit some friends of mine that I’d like you to meet.”
The notion of an outing brightened her face. “Okay, let me go get pretty.”
“You’re already pretty, baby girl. Just put on something that’s not completely see-through. That view is mine alone.”
Harper glanced down, then jerked her head up. With the sunlight coming through the window, she was all but naked. “Sorry.”
Revel laughed big. “I’m certainly not sorry. You go change and I’ll make an appointment with the lawyer.” He couldn’t help but smile as she hurried off. His whole world was a brighter place and he was grateful.
Going to the desk in the living room, he first called the rental company for someone to pick up the car, then he searched for the number of the Lafayette law firm. He knew he’d seen it somewhere here. As he searched, something seemed off. Something was different. Revel found the slip of paper with Edwin Long’s name and number on it, then he stepped back to survey the area to see if he could pinpoint what was bothering him.
He let his eyes skate around the room. The fireplace, the bookshelves, the coffee table, the couch…he looked around, then retraced his steps. And then it hit him…all of the books in the bookshelf were upside down. “What the hell?” Walking over, he ran a finger down the spine of one book, a history of Louisiana. “How could this happen?” Unbidden a chill made him flex his shoulders. This was almost impossible…unless…
“Revel!” Harper’s frightened cry reverberated through the house.
“On my way!” He sprinted to the stairs, then took them two by two. He wondered if she’d had another encounter with whatever had scared her earlier. When their conversation had veered to another topic, he’d forgotten all about her previous concerns.
“Revel!” she screamed again and he tore into the bathroom, finding her cowering in the corner of the shower all naked and delicious—and scared out of her mind.
“What?” he began, and then he saw it. In the other corner, facing her, like two fighters eyeing one another in a boxing match was a huge cottonmouth water moccasin. “Oh, shit,” Revel breathed. The damn snake was poisonous. “Hold on, baby,” he murmured, his mind racing as to what to do to save her. He couldn’t pull her across, the snake would strike as she passed. Desperately glancing around, he had an idea. Grabbing a towel, he spread it out and dropped it over the snake and in the next heartbeat he leaned forward, picked up Harper and lifted her high, even as the reptile struck out, lifting the towel a good two feet off the floor.
“Oh, Revel, I hate snakes!” she whispered, clutching him desperately as he slammed the glass door shut to contain the threat.
“Go downstairs till I get rid of the thing.” He kissed her quickly and turned her, handing her a towel.
Revel didn’t have to tell her twice, she took off as if the snake had grown legs and was chasing her down the hall. Frowning, he turned back to his problem. He hated to kill the thing, but he didn’t know how to get it out of the shower without getting bitten. When he leveled his eyes, his problem was staring him in the face—literally. “Goddammit!” The fuckin’ thing had climbed the wall and was coming over the door, right on him. Taking another towel, he just went for it, grabbing the bastard behind the head with one hand and the thick body with the other.
“Harper, open the front door,” he called, giving her plenty of time to respond. By the time he got down, the door was standing wide open and Harper was on the opposite side of the room, standing behind the door and just peeping around. Heading outside, he tromped straight to the bayou and flung the offending serpent as far out into the water as he could manage.
Letting out a long breath, he wondered how the snake had gotten in the house. When he returned to Harper, she had the same question. “How did it get in the bathroom? Are there holes in the floor?”
“No, there aren’t,” he assured her. At her skeptical expression, he amended his statement. “I’ll make sure there aren’t. I prom
ise.”
With shaking legs, Harper sank into a chair while he washed his hands. When he returned, she began to speak. “I was rinsing my hair when I heard a thump, when I turned around—there it was.” She wove her fingers in her hair, and he could see her hand was trembling. “Where do you think it came from?”
Revel did the only thing he could do to make it better. He picked her up, cradling her close. “I don’t know, but I’ll comb every inch of this house to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Okay?”
“Will you go upstairs with me while I get ready?”
“You bet, sweetheart.” He stood and carried her upstairs. While she dressed and he waited, he shook—not with fear over a swamp snake, but with sheer unadulterated lust. The woman was so sexy, so soft, so perfectly created for being loved on. This time it was him driving his fingernails into his flesh. He sat on the edge of the bed and tried to look away, not be obvious he was ogling her. When she was all dolled up in a light blue sundress and strappy sandals, he stood. “You look beautiful.”
“I’ll do.” She smiled. “Let’s go.” She held out her hand and he took it. The moment seemed symbolic.
On the way north to Lafayette, Harper was in good spirits. She seemed to have put the snake matter behind her. Him—not so much. Couple her shower buddy with the books he’d found upside down and Revel was perplexed. He didn’t want to read more into it than what it was, but he was having the devil of a time thinking of what the explanation could be. However, now was not the time to dwell on the negative. At the present, Harper was smiling, which meant the sun was shining for him.
CHAPTER SEVEN
As they drove¸ he enjoyed the view. The sun was shining, dappling the roadway with lacy patterns as the beams filtered down through the canopy of leaves overhead. As narrow as the roadway was, he could see the glimmer of water on both sides of the road. On the right was the swamp and on the left was the bayou. If one were to view this part of Louisiana from the air, they would be surprised to see there was more water than land. This really was a beautiful part of the state, lush and fertile. But the beauty of the landscape had nothing on the vision sitting next to him. She was humming along with the radio and looked as happy as the last time they’d been together on the road trip to see the lights. Before…
“There’s something I’ve been wondering,” Revel said, needing to think about something else, “if you don’t mind me asking.”
“What’s that?” She gave him a sexy little grin.
“I know your grandmother had money. And I remember nothing about her husband, your grandfather. What’s their story? Who was he? What did he do for a living?” For the first time since they started, Harper seemed a bit uncomfortable. She stared down at her hands, making a fist.
Revel saw what she was doing and he was beginning to catch on. Covering her hands with one of his, he used his thumb to caress her skin. “Relax.”
Easier said than done. She opened her hands and instead of gripping herself, she held on to him. “My grandfather, Antoine Deveraux, owned lots of land in the parish. He raised crops. Rice, mostly. Before he died, he was one who was instrumental in revolutionizing crawfish farming, combining it with the rice fields. And…” she met his gaze, “he raised sugarcane.”
Now, Revel understood her hesitancy about answering. She was afraid of what he’d think. At that revelation, he began to put the pieces of Harper’s puzzle together. That was it, whatever was tormenting her, she was dreading him finding out. Well, that shit had to stop. “So, he made his money in sugarcane and rice. Many Louisiana families did.” He squeezed her hand. “Did you think I would be upset?”
“I didn’t want to remind you of something that caused you pain.”
Revel snorted, intent on easing her mind. “Nothing your grandfather, your father, or anything any relative did would ever change my mind about you.”
Harper didn’t reply, she just clung to his hand, deriving strength. Maybe she was beginning to believe him.
They drove up to the lawyer’s office, and he went in with her, telling the receptionist who she was and who she was there to see. When the woman called her name and he hesitated, she beckoned him to come with her. “Please.”
Revel held the door, allowing her to go in ahead of him. “Miss Summers, welcome.” A gaunt man with a shock of grey hair stood to greet them.
“Revel Jones.” He shook the old gentleman’s hand. He had no idea if the lawyer would remember that he had been the one to buy Wildwood from the estate.
“Edwin Long. Please have a seat.” He gestured toward two leather chairs in front of his desk. “I can’t tell you how glad I am to see you two. Your grandmother left some things in trust for you.” Mr. Long began to dig in his desk drawers. “There are two Certificates of Deposit in your name at the First Bank & Trust downtown.”
He pushed some papers toward her and when Harper saw the amount on the paper, she gasped. “I didn’t know she had this much money.” It wasn’t a fortune, but if she was careful, she could make do until she could get through college.
“There’s also some stocks and bonds in your name.” Edwin Long gave her another set of papers. “Plus, and this is what she really wanted you to have.” He rose and went to a closet, taking down a small box, which he placed on his desk in front of Harper.
Harper was practically speechless. She had glanced at the stock and bond information and the money there was even a little more than the cash in the bank. “What’s this?” Pulling the pasteboard box toward her, she peered down in it. Two letters addressed to her were inside, along with a photo album and what appeared to be three diaries. “I thought you said you found her journals,” she directed the observation to Revel.
“I did,” he confirmed. He stood and gazed over her shoulder. “I guess this is more. You’ll have a good time reading everything she wanted you to know, I guess. It appears she intended to mail one of those letters to you, but she never got the chance. It was found on her desk. The other one was with the will.”
Harper nodded. “I can’t imagine what all of this is, she never shared a great deal with me.”
“Perhaps she planned to when you were older and time for her just ran out. No one knew she had a bad heart,” Edwin Long said as he folded his hands on the desk and peered at her over his glasses. “Clotille Deveraux didn’t have an easy life. Your mother, pardon me for saying so, was a handful.”
Harper frowned. This was news to her. “I don’t know, no one ever told me anything.”
Edwin rose. “Well, I have a copy of the will tucked in there for you. The house was the bone of contention because…”
“But all of that was taken care of ,” Revel interrupted him abruptly, not wanting him to reveal the fact that he’d had to purchase Wildwood in order for Harper to have it.
Edwin Long met his eyes, trying to read Revel’s expression. Finally, he nodded. “Yes, it’s all been taken care of.”
Harper sat there, looking between the two, not knowing if she had missed something. This trip had brought unexpected things. “I don’t know what to say, except thank you.”
Long chortled. “No need to thank me. This is all Clotille’s doing. The other daughter received equal recompense and since you were Bernadette’s only child, it’s your due.” He stood and so did Revel and Harper. “If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call.”
Revel picked up the box to carry for her. With her head spinning, she went with him to his vehicle. “I’m shocked,” was all she said as he helped her in.
Once Revel was behind the wheel, he smiled at Harper. “I guess you don’t have to worry about a job.”
Harper unfolded the papers Long had given her and glanced at the numbers again. “This seems unreal.” She hiccupped a small gasp, almost a sob. “She’s still taking care of me.” Pulling them to her breast, she looked into the distance as Revel guided his truck up on the freeway, then took an exit north. “I want to go back to school. Get a different degree.”
“Like what?” he asked.
Rubbing one of the mother-of-pearl buttons on her dress like a worry-stone, she answered, “I don’t know yet, art maybe. I need to give it some thought.” She turned to look him fully in the face. “At least I can pay you back now, for all you’ve spent on Wildwood.”
Her offer didn’t make him happy. He didn’t want to be paid back, he wanted to be a part of her life and all it entailed. “I tell you what, the day you ask me to leave, because we’ve concluded that we can’t be together, we’ll talk about this again. I can always get another apartment—I just don’t want to.” He placed his hand on her knee. “I want to be with you.” If the day ever came when she wanted him out of her life, he still wouldn’t confess he’d bought the property outright. Wildwood would be his gift to Harper, one created not just by money but by the work of his hands.
“Tell me about Dandi and Lucas.” Harper changed the subject. Revel made her nervous when he became so serious. “You said they had a daughter.”
“Yes.” Revel looked into the rearview mirror and changed lanes as he headed toward the capitol of Louisiana. “Her name is Lucy and she’s a character. She’ll talk your ear off.”
“How did you meet them?” She really was interested. Harper might doubt that she was the right woman for Revel, but that didn’t keep her from fantasizing how wonderful being a part of his life could be.
Her interest made Revel feel good. He settled more comfortably in the truck seat with one hand on the top of the steering wheel, the other still resting on Harper’s leg. That she hadn’t moved or shifted to get him to move gave him hope. “I met them through Patrick and Savannah. They’re friends with Beau and Harley LeBlanc, you’ll be meeting them soon enough and Dandi is Beau’s first cousin. She used to work for him. I’ve been up to his gun store many times.”
“I’m sure I’ll like them,” she assured him, so conscious that he was massaging her knee, making her female parts warm and wet.