by Robin Caroll
Tossing CoCo a teasing wink, he headed into the kitchen.
“Sit down, sit down.” Felicia motioned with one hand while she pushed the control of her wheelchair with the other. “It’s been too long.”
Easing onto the swing, CoCo felt the guilt push tears to her eyes. Once she’d called Felicia one of her nearest and dearest friends, but then Luc had dumped her…and she just couldn’t face Felicia. The memories of the fun times shared together would have robbed every ounce of her hard-earned strength. The weeks—no, the months following the break-up had been unbearable. Only by turning to God and lying in His loving arms had she been able to pull herself up and keep going. One day at a time, that had been her mantra. Still was.
“I didn’t mean that like I was condemning. I wasn’t. I understood.” Felicia’s bright blue eyes glistened. “I didn’t exactly come a-calling, either.”
Gratitude filled CoCo’s heart until she thought it would burst. “I know. It was just…hard.”
“You’re here now, yes?” Hope shone on Felicia’s face brighter than the noonday sun.
The reason why she was here returned to her. “I’m so sorry about your grandfather.”
“I should be upset. I should be grieving. I know this.” She lowered her voice. “I’m not. I’m still mad.”
“Mad? Whatever for?”
“Angry with Grandfather for what he did to Frank. Or, what he tried to do to our relationship. Mad at the way he blew up at Luc.”
“That’s natural.”
“You think?” Felicia shook her head. “I’m not so sure.” She leaned forward and whispered. “I think I’m glad he’s dead.”
How many times had she thought the exact same thing? CoCo grabbed Felicia’s hand. “It’s perfectly normal to feel that way, Boo. You’re human. Allow yourself to feel—anger, sorrow, grief…whatever emotion hits you.”
“You know this how?”
CoCo hauled in a deep breath. “Been there, done that, T-shirt doesn’t fit anymore.”
Felicia stared at her a long moment, then her infectious smile appeared. A single dimple dug itself into the corner of her mouth. “You’re bad, CoCo LeBlanc.” She laid her other hand over CoCo’s and squeezed. “And I’ve missed you something terrible.”
“I’ve missed you, too.” Her voice cracked, but CoCo didn’t care. She loved Felicia, and it was true—she had missed her.
“So, what’ve you been up to? Fill me in.”
“Work’s going well. Hopefully the Wetlands Preservation Center will approve my current grant and approve an increase. That’ll give me the funds to expand my gator-tracking equipment.”
“That’s wonderful.” Felicia grinned. “Are you dating anyone?”
Pain, as raw as that fateful night two years ago, swarmed across her chest. CoCo swallowed. “No.”
“I’m sorry.” Felicia’s voice quivered and her eyes filled with tears. “Sometimes I can be thoughtless, yes?”
CoCo forced herself to smile. “It’s okay. Tell me about this Frank character.”
Felicia talked about her boyfriend, her eyes lighting up brighter than the stars over the bayou on a clear night. Had she been that enthralled? So in love with Luc that she’d practically glowed when she talked about him? Surely not. Then again, the ache of how she’d felt about him just about ripped her heart out…again.
Luc’s sister wound down her relay of Frank’s wonderful attributes and peered at CoCo with prying eyes. “Now, tell me what’s new with you. Come on, girl, surely there’s something important you can tell me, yes?”
“There is something important that’s happened to me.” CoCo smiled at her friend.
“What?” Felicia leaned forward, her sole focus on CoCo’s face.
“About a year and a half ago, I accepted Christ.”
Felicia’s eyes went as wide as a gator’s jaw. “Well, praise God!” She laughed. “I must say, I prayed for your salvation daily.”
CoCo leaned over and hugged Felicia. “And I thank you for each and every prayer you ever sent to the throne on my behalf,” she whispered before pulling back.
“You’ve told Luc, yes?”
Shaking her head, CoCo lowered her gaze. “It doesn’t matter.”
“You haven’t let Luc know? Oh, CoCo. Being a Christian will make all the difference in the world to Luc. You know his biggest struggle was that you were a…”
CoCo laughed at the horrified expression on her friend’s face. “You can say it, a voodoo priestess.”
Felicia covered her mouth with her hand. “I did it again. I’m such a cooyon. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I was.” She let out a sigh. “If I could do it all again, I’d never have turned to voodoo. I would have listened to Luc. I would have run to Jesus a lot earlier than I did.”
“What about your family? Your grandmother?”
CoCo laughed, but the vibration came out flat. “She’s still the same old Grandmere. I just keep praying for her.” She stopped smiling. “And Tara, too.”
“Tara? What’s wrong with her?”
“When I accepted Jesus, I told Grandmere I wouldn’t follow in her footsteps of learning her ways anymore.” CoCo swallowed back the guilt. “Since Alyssa had already moved out, Grandmere began teaching Tara.”
“Oh, no. How horrible.”
“It’s a mess.” The smile she forced nearly hurt. “I just don’t understand why God won’t help them see the light.”
“One thing you’ll have to learn, my friend, is that salvation is all in God’s timing, not ours, yes?”
How had this woman become wise beyond her years? “I know, but it’s hard. I mean, it happened to me almost in a flash. I just…knew, ya know?”
“I do. Luc and I had been praying for your salvation for a long, long time. It may have happened fast to you, but it was slow for us. Still, it was perfect—it was God’s timing.”
Why couldn’t she just accept that? “I just don’t have much patience. I want Grandmere and Tara to know this feeling.”
“That’s natural. We want to share the happiness our loving God gives us, yes?” She cocked her head to one side. “Thus the term witnessing, spreading the Good News.”
CoCo laughed. “I guess I never thought about it that way.”
A breeze tiptoed over the veranda, carrying the scent of magnolias. CoCo inhaled deep. It’d been a long time since she’d sat with Luc’s sister, chatting and enjoying her company.
“CoCo, you’re wrong if you think telling Luc won’t make a difference.” Felicia’s tone was somber.
“I don’t think so. Back then, the main thing that split us apart was his belief I defended something that killed his father.” CoCo tossed a weak smile to Felicia. “Killed your father.”
“I think that’s plain silly. Daddy’s death tormented Luc, all of us, but he didn’t blame you.”
“Yes, he did. He might not have told you that, but he told me. Looked me right in the eye and said if I hadn’t been interacting with the gators in that part of the bayou, his father would still be alive.” The words cut to the bone to this day.
“Oh, CoCo. That was just his grief talking.”
She pushed aside the tears. “No, he meant it, Fel. Trust me, one thing I do know about your brother is he says what he means.”
“Now…so much time has passed. He looks at it logically. He knows you weren’t to blame at all.”
“What’s done is done.” If only her heart would believe that.
“It’s not too late. You can tell him you’re a Christian now. It’ll make a difference. I’m positive.” Such hope sparkled in Felicia’s face.
CoCo hated to let her friend down. The truth, no matter what, was that Luc Trahan and CoCo LeBlanc would never have another chance. She couldn’t trust him with her heart again.
“Believe me, I know my brother better than most anyone else. Besides you.”
“I wish that were true, I really do. Telling Luc is a moot point. Too much water under the br
idge and all that.”
“I think you’re wrong. I think this is exactly the thing Luc needs to hear.”
“No.” The last thing she needed right now was for Felicia to play matchmaker. “Please, I beg of you, don’t tell Luc. Please.”
Felicia’s gaze darted past her. CoCo shifted in her seat to see what had caused the mortified expression to cross her friend’s face.
She froze.
Luc’s hot stare pinned her to the seat.
“Don’t tell me what?”
FOURTEEN
The uneasy feeling settled across Luc’s shoulders again. They’d just begun to build a working relationship, and already CoCo kept secrets from him. He shook his head and glared at her. “CoCo, what don’t you want Felicia to tell me?”
Her eyes, those sable brown expressive eyes that haunted him in his dreams, blinked. “It has nothing to do with the investigation. It’s private.”
“Private? Yet you told my sister?” He crossed his arms over his chest.
“Luc,” Felicia interrupted, “let it go.”
“I heard you say that whatever it is, it’s just what I need to hear.” He narrowed his eyes at CoCo. “So, I’m going to ask you again…what aren’t you telling me?”
The mistrust could be cut with a knife.
She huffed to her feet. “It was a mistake to come here, to even think you and I could work together on the same side of an issue.” CoCo bent and gave Felicia a hug. “I’ll call you later, Fel.” With a returning stony glare, she pushed past Luc and bounded down the stairs.
He started to call after her, but she jumped into her Jeep, revved the engine and peeled out of the driveway before he gathered his thoughts. He could only stand there staring at the dust clouds chasing her vehicle.
“Way to go, Ace. Run her off right after you finally get her here.” Felicia’s harsh voice broke through his thoughts.
Luc wheeled around and faced her. “What’re you talking about? You know how I feel about keeping secrets. Especially with CoCo.” He shook his head. “We were supposed to be working together.”
“You’re my brother, and I love you dearly, but sometimes, Luc, you’re just a man.”
“She’s the one keeping secrets, not me.”
His little sister crossed her arms over her chest and nailed him with a piercing stare. “Oh, really? I suppose you’ve told her that you didn’t mean to blame her for Daddy’s death? You’ve done that, right?”
Her words merged with his own conscience and he found his tongue tied in knots.
“I didn’t think so.” Felicia let out a sigh and softened her tone. “Luc, when are you going to learn that communication is key?”
He peered into his sister’s soft eyes. When did she grow up on him and become so knowledgeable in the matters of relationships? She and Frank must be moving toward the happily-ever-after scene. His heart longed for a woman by his side, a home to share, children to enjoy, but the woman in his dreams was CoCo. Always CoCo.
Luc groaned and lowered himself into a porch chair. “Felicia, I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
“You’re in love with her—always have been, yes?”
Since he’d just harped on the whole honesty thing… He sucked in a breath and exhaled slowly before dropping his head into his hands. “I am.”
“Then why aren’t you going after her, cooyon?”
He jerked his head to stare into his sister’s eyes. “Even though I love her, it can never work between us. We never had a chance.”
“Why?” The light in her eyes flickered.
“Number one, because we have too much in our history. Dad’s death…let’s just say I took things out on CoCo that I shouldn’t have. It’s too late to say I’m sorry.”
“It’s never too late to offer a heartfelt apology, Luc.”
Did she have to echo the Holy Spirit nudging against his heart? “You’re right. I do owe her one for the accusations I tossed at her.”
“And?”
“And what?”
“You said ‘number one’ was how you’d treated her after Daddy’s death, yes? What else is keeping you two apart?”
Why did she ask the question? She knew the reason. “Felicia, I know you mean well and all, but her not being saved and being a voodoo…a person who practices voo—”
“Voodoo priestess. It’s okay to say it.” A smile crept into her face.
“Whatever.” CoCo’s unbelief and lack of salvation still etched deep cuts in his heart. Maybe if he’d not broken up with her, he could have witnessed more. Could have done more to show her the path to God.
“What’s your point, Luc?”
He shook himself out of the guilt. “I can’t do it again, Boo. I just can’t let myself love her when I know it’s not meant to be.”
“If you love her, and I’m pretty certain she still loves you, how can you know it’s not meant to be?”
“Felicia.” He fought to keep his tone void of the anguish ripping his heart in two. “It’s not meant to be because it’s not ordained by God.”
“My, my, my, I’m impressed. You know the will of God now?”
He clenched his jaw. “You know what I mean. I can’t love someone and make a life with her if I won’t see her in heaven.”
“And you know for a fact she won’t be in heaven?”
Why would his sister do this to him? Couldn’t she sense the pain he endured? “I know enough to realize I’m not cut out to be unequally yoked.” That fact alone is what caused loneliness to wake him in the middle of the night.
“What if you weren’t unequally yoked?” She pressed on, disregarding his tone to end the discussion.
“We are. She’s a voodoo priestess and I love Jesus. Enough said.”
“You sure about that, Luc?” Her tone came out sharp.
He stared at her, reading the mischievousness flashing in her eyes. What did she know? Wait a minute. CoCo had been confiding in her. Could it be? “Felicia, are you trying to tell me something?”
His sister laughed and nodded. “I’m just suggesting you talk with her.”
“Has she ac—”
Felicia waved him off. She pulled open the screen door before glancing over her shoulder. “If you want any more information, you should talk to CoCo. Some things, well, some secrets are meant to be shared.”
The door clanked shut behind her. The motorized wheelchair hummed. Luc ignored all the noises. Had Felicia just told him in a roundabout way that CoCo had accepted Christ?
Reaching into his pocket, he withdrew his keys. His feet barely touched the wooden stairs as he hurried toward the SUV. If what Felicia hinted at was true, they had a chance. A real chance. Hope pushed him into the vehicle and down the road. He’d find CoCo. He’d get answers. And then he’d see where his heart sat.
“Cooyon! The man is nothing more than an infuriating cooyon. I should have known better,” CoCo muttered under her breath as she marched up her driveway. Why hadn’t she just told him she was a Christian? Because then there’d be nothing keeping him from pursuing me. If she were honest with herself, she’d admit she was scared. Hopelessly scared that if Luc knew, he still might reject her. It smashed her heart into smithereens.
She started for the stairs, then stopped. No sense letting Grandmere and Tara see her so agitated. That wouldn’t speak well of her faith or her mental state.
Turning, she headed toward the Confederate rosebush, its petals perky under the midday hot sun. She touched a flower, the satiny finish warm on her fingers. CoCo pushed aside the bottom leaves, staring at the ground. No metal glittered. No coin was exposed by the recent rains.
She let out a sigh and straightened. Her gaze drifted over the yard. Nothing glimmered under the sun’s penetrating rays. A fluke, that’s what it was. She wondered who the gentleman who found the other coin recently was, where he lived. Maybe it if was close to her place… Determined to find the answer to at least one of the problems clogging her mind, CoCo strode to the backya
rd. She couldn’t help but smile as she glanced at the kitchen doorframe. The blue paint was fresh, not peeling and chipping like the rest of the house. Grandmere must have called Toby recently. The smile turned to a frown. Blue—to keep the evil spirits away.
Stomping up the stairs helped spend her frustration. And anger. And hurt. That’s what was the worst of it all. Luc’s lack of trust in her simply hurt. Not that she could blame him, really. After all, she’d turned a deaf ear to him for two years. Two years, he’d tried to lead her to God, tried to show her the path to salvation. What had she done? Laughed in his face and continued to blaspheme with voodoo.
“What’s all that ruckus about, ma chère? You’re making enough noise to raise the dead.” Grandmere met her at the kitchen door. “And why are you coming in the back way?”
“I just felt like it.” She jerked out a chair. It scraped against the floor, sounding like someone dragging fingernails down a chalkboard.
“Child, the heat has you as prickly as a palm this afternoon.” Her grandmother poured tea over a glass of ice and passed it to her. “Cool off a spell.”
Spells. Cunjas. Hexes. Gris-gris. She wanted to run away from it all. How had she ever been so blind? “I’m sorry, Grandmere. Just having a lousy day.”
Her grandmother lowered herself into a chair opposite CoCo. “What’s on your mind, cher?”
“You knew Beau Trahan, right?”
“I suppose. Why?”
“Do you think he would have gotten involved with a girl younger than his grandson?”
Grandmere ran an absentminded finger over the old kitchen table. “Beau Trahan always did have a fondness for the younger ladies.”
“That’s what I thought.”
“Why’re you asking?”
CoCo shrugged. Now wasn’t a good time for a replay of the debate she’d had with Luc. “Just something I heard.”
“Now, Justin…” Grandmere chuckled under her breath. “That man would chase anything in a skirt that moved. Old, young, it didn’t matter.”