Pulling her hand free, she said, "I need to go," then stood abruptly and started back.
Joe caught up and matched her quick strides. "You felt something didn't you?"
"I don't know. Maybe. But I want to get back. Karen's watching the baby and she might worry." She was making excuses, but their conversation about their families was convoluted, him telling her things about a feud that went back generations, and her not doubting her part in it because there was something familiar about giving their son a Cajun rebel's name, yet it seemed senseless why she'd do such a thing, and she needed time for memories to fill the gaps.
"Darlin', don't run from me," Joe said, his long strides keeping up with her short fast paces. "I won't touch you again, but I want you to stay at my house, I want to get to know my son, and I want to help you get well. We'll see a doctor to find out what to do. You trusted me enough to have a child with me. Now you need to trust me enough to see you through this."
"What about my family?" Anne asked. "There's something not right about all this."
"Your family's just across the cane field." Joe took Anne's arm to stop her frantic paces, and when she turned to face him, he said, "If you want to go to your family I'll take you there, but I'm askin' you to stay with me and have faith that I'll do what's right for you. I won't let you down."
Anne started to say she wanted to talk to her family first because she needed those memories too, even if they'd dredge up some kind of conflict with her father, but something about the way Joe looked at her told her he cared and didn't want to let her go because he did love her, and she sensed that she once loved him too. "Alright, I'll stay with you for now, but at some point I have to face my parents because it could help trigger my past with them."
"I know, and when that happens your father'll probably wish your memory'd never returned."
Anne felt a stab of apprehension, but when she looked at Joe she knew he was teasing. "Why are you smiling?" she asked.
"Because you have a lot of spitfire in you, and when your memory comes back, your father will be facin' it again."
Anne wondered about that, but it had her smiling too, and she sensed that maybe Joe's hand would be the one to lead her through her maze of uncertainty
CHAPTER 4
After Karen left to return to New Orleans later that afternoon, and before Anne would see her parents, Joe wanted her to spend a couple more days with him so she'd begin to think of his house as her home and them as a family. He was certain she'd felt something for him down at the bayou, old memories beginning to surface, and although she stopped short of his kiss, he knew with a little more time things would start to come back. But if the Harrisons learned she was there before that time, their goal would be to take her and the baby away and turn her against him, and in her confused state, that could easily happen.
While he was waiting for Anne to finish nursing the baby, Ace stopped in and said, "Before the Harrisons hear about it, you might want to let the police know Anne's back, or the Harrisons could claim you're intentionally keepin' her from them."
"I am keeping her from them, but she's a grown woman and I'm the father of her child, so I do have some rights."
"True, but the police might not look at it the same way. It could raise suspicions."
Joe drew in a weary breath. Ace was right. He did have an obligation to let the authorities know Anne was alive, but a couple more days wouldn't matter. "Okay, I'll file the report the day after tomorrow. I assume no word's gone out beyond this family."
"That's the problem," Ace said. "Gator trapped a young alligator and he was showin' it to Bobby Landry, and I heard him tell Bobby everyone thought Anne had been eaten by alligators, but we found her at the race track in N'Awlins, and she's here now."
"Dang that kid and his big mouth. When did this happen?"
"A few minutes ago. He and Bobby were about to go to town where Gator planned to sell the alligator, but before they left, I took Gator aside and told him no one was supposed to know about Anne. He said he forgot and he'd tell Bobby not to say anything."
"Which is like an invitation to spread the word, especially since Bobby's brother mucks out stalls over at the Harrisons." Joe sighed. "I'll file the report tomorrow afternoon. I just need some time alone with Anne to convince her to stay here while her memory comes back because as soon as word gets to the Harrisons, they'll be on my doorstep tryin' to take her away. She moved out of their house for a half-dozen reasons she's forgotten, and she needs to remember what they were and marry me as planned. The Harrisons don't know about the baby either, and when they find out, that'll be a whole 'nother can o' worms."
"You're right. Meanwhile, Pike and I are fixin' to go to N'Awlins to look at the filly before the sale, since you and I never got around to seein' her when we were there, but we'll also have a couple of hours to check her out the day of the auction. You have any doubts about buyin' now that you saw Sheesalady run?"
Joe had all but forgotten about the race, but now it was coming back. "Except this isn't the filly we saw runnin', it's her sister. What about Hank, Pike and Alex? Are they still on?"
"They are now that Pépère's coming to the sale. He thinks we're nuts for buyin' a thoroughbred, but he knows auctions and how to bid and decided he'd better go along so we don't end up bidding against each other. Meanwhile, we need to open our joint bank account and everyone ante up before the sale so we'll have money if we win the bid, so you might get the process started when you go to town tomorrow to file the report."
"I don't want to leave Anne here that long," Joe said. "If the Harrisons find out and come over while I'm gone, they could talk her into leavin' with them, and I don't want to take her to town with me because as soon as word gets out she's alive, with no memory about what happened, it'll stir up a news media feeding frenzy and Anne's not ready for that."
"I see your point, so I'll open the account. Meanwhile, the family's wonderin' why you're keepin' Anne from them."
"I'm not. Everyone can stop in tonight and meet her, but it needs to be brief since they still don't understand what she's goin' through."
"They understand. They just don't understand why you got involved with her in the first place, especially Mamere."
"Why? Because she's not a Cajun or because she's a Harrison?" Joe asked.
"Neither. Because she's not Catholic. Daddy and Pépère are the ones who're angry because you're involved with a Harrison, and Momma's upset because Daddy's angry."
"Then you can tell Daddy that Anne won't be a Harrison much longer because we'll be gettin' married and she'll be a Broussard, and you can tell Mamere Anne was in the process of converting before the flood hit and we'll be raisin' our kids Catholic."
"That might settle things here but it won't end things with the Harrisons."
Joe let out a cynical huff. "I know. Wait'll they learn the baby might be renamed Joseph Beausoleil Broussard."
"Are you serious?"
"We were before Anne got amnesia. She's the one who suggested it, but it won't happen unless she still wants to do it after her memory comes back, in which case her father will probably be the one to pay hell. Anne could always hold her own against him."
"Except when facing up to him about marryin' you," Ace said. "Even the lot of us here didn't know the extent of it. We suspected something but figured you'd have to have your head really screwed on wrong to get seriously involved with a Harrison in the first place."
"You'll understand when you get to know Anne," Joe said.
"I'm okay with Anne. You're the one who has to deal with the Harrisons." Ace patted Joe on the back and left the house.
A few minutes later, Anne walked into the living room with the baby in her arms, and said, "I heard most of what you and your brother were saying."
"Then you heard about namin' the baby?"
Anne nodded. "I'm not against the name. I just want to know more about why I wanted to do it since it will obviously make my father mad and probably upset my
whole family as well."
"True, but you wanted the name because the man's a cultural hero who you wanted to honor in my family's name, and you were angry that your father refused to recognize him as an honorable man who'd been fighting for what was right."
"What was right being?" Anne waited.
"When the British took the Acadian's land and demanded they speak English instead of French, convert from Catholic to Protestant, and pledge allegiance to the crown, the Acadians fought back and Beausoleil was their leader."
"Beausoleil? Not Joseph?"
"Over time he became pegged to the village he came from, and now he's just known as Beausoleil. With an army of farmers, fishermen, trappers and Mi'kmaq Indians, he waged war against the Brits. He was eventually captured and spent the last years of the war in prison, but when he was released, he chartered a ship and took over two hundred exiles to Louisiana, but because he's a folk hero, Cajun culture's goin' through a revival."
"I guess I see why my father would be mad if we gave our son his name," Anne said.
"Keep in mind your father wouldn't be happy with the name Joseph Broussard either, but while namin' the baby after me would be more of a thorn in your father's side, a reminder that you married a Cajun, droppin' Beausoleil in the middle of the name would rub his nose in it, but that's what you wanted to do. When your memory comes back we'll see if you still feel that way. Meanwhile, I want to hold my son so he'll get to know me." He held out his arms.
Anne turned the baby over to Joe. "If you put him on his back on your legs he can look at you. He also likes listening to voices, so talk to him and he'll get used to the sound of your voice."
Joe sat on the couch and settled the baby on his legs, face up. The little guy looked at him steadily, a tiny crease between his brows, but when Joe smiled, the crease vanished and Joe received another gummy grin. "I think he's startin' to know me," he said.
"Ga," the baby announced.
Joe chuckled. "No, I'm Da. Dada."
"Ga-ga."
Joe felt a swell of pride. "That's like Dada. You're tryin' to imitate what I say."
The baby flailed his arms. "Uh, uh."
Joe looked at Anne and grinned. "He just said un-huh, like he agrees. He seems unusually smart, and friendly."
Anne chuckled and sat beside them. "He's a social animal. He smiles and talks to everyone, and yes, he's unusually smart. He has a large vocabulary for a two-month old. Ga, uh, na-na-na, a-da. Put it all together and he's already making sentences."
Which brought another gummy grin, accompanied by a pair of failing arms and kicking feet.
"Careful where you're kickin' little buddy, unless you're trying to eliminate having siblings," Joe said, as a pair of little feet pelted him in the crotch.
"Ga-da-da."
"Yep, you got Dada alright. You've also got a strong grip," he said, as the baby wrapped his hands around Joe's thumbs and held tight. Looking askance at Anne, he added, "He'll make a good bronc rider someday."
Anne got a curious expression, as if remembering something.
"Is it a good thought?" Joe asked, when she seemed to be puzzling over something in her mind's eye.
After a lengthy pause, she said in a reflective tone, "You're a bronc rider."
"Then you remember?"
"I'm not sure. I just feel like you're a bronc rider and maybe I saw you ride."
"You did. It was at a rodeo. You brought your cousin, Kate, who was visiting from Lake Charles. Kate and my brother, Pike, who was also ridin' in the rodeo, started dating, and Pike was serious about her. But then she broke off things with Pike to run off with the man she was workin' for, who ended up conning Pike out of a lot of money. Pike's still steamed."
"Something about that sounds familiar…" Anne's voice drifted off.
"You mean about conning Pike out of money?"
"No, like… I get an image of a girl, a free-spirited kind of girl with long brown hair. My mind might be making it up though, like it's playing tricks on me because I want to come up with a person and an image."
"Kate did have long brown hair, and she's definitely a free spirit," Joe said, feeling the first glimmer of hope that Anne's memory was gradually coming back.
While Anne sat with a perplexed look on her face, obviously trying to remember a girl whose name was pretty much taboo around there, Joe again turned his attention to his son, who'd released his thumb and had his fist in his mouth. "Is he hungry again?" he asked.
"No, that's the way he pacifies himself if he doesn't have his binky."
Joe looked at her puzzled. "
"His rubber pacifier. A binky. I left it in New Orleans with the rest of my stuff."
"Are all your things packed there?" he asked.
"Yes, in boxes in Karen's living room, but I wasn't sure if I'd be staying here."
"Then my brothers, Ace and Pike, can pick it all up when they go back there to look at a thoroughbred filly we're thinkin' of buyin'. The reason Ace and I went to the races in the first place was to watch the filly's sister run and also to take a look at the filly."
"Was that the race you were watching when you saw me?" Anne asked.
Joe nodded. "You didn't seem aware of the race though. You were starin' at somethin' while everyone around you was yellin' and screamin' about the race. What were you lookin' at?"
"A jockey. It was a woman."
"Your sister Piper's wantin' to be a jockey," Joe said.
Anne became momentarily distracted. "Younger sister?"
Joe nodded. "By a couple of years. Your other sister, Georgia's, a couple years older, and your brother, Winston's a couple years older than Georgia. None married."
"Then they live with my parents?" Anne asked.
"Your sisters do, but your brother's in England at the University of Cambridge majorin' in economics, for now."
"For now?"
"Apparently he keeps changin' majors. According to you, he's a professional student, and your father keeps payin' his way because he wants him to be British through and through, with the encouragement of your grandmother. She descends from an old British family and you've always said she acts like a dowager duchess with all the teas and proper etiquette. You figured the next time Winston comes home he'll be callin' your mother, Mum."
Anne laughed. "As long as my son doesn't start calling me Mum."
"Why? Aren't you proud of your British heritage?"
"I don't know. I'm starting to think I'm not."
"Then your memory really is comin' back," Joe said. "You've always wanted to be French."
"Why French?"
"Probably to irritate your father. You claimed you were gonna change your name from Anne Elizabeth to Anne-Marie when you turned eighteen. And speakin' of names, we need to add my name to the baby's birth certificate and change his name too, at least his last name."
"I'm okay with the name Joseph Broussard since you're his father, and I actually like the name, Beau. He was a character in the book, Beau Geste. The Geste brothers were a metaphor for British upper class values, and Beau left Britain to join the French Foreign Legion. Maybe that's where I came up with the name, Beau."
Joe laughed in jest. "I guarantee you weren't namin' our son after a character in a book. You were namin' him after a Cajun freedom fighter who waged war on the Brits and gave Brigadier-General Charles Lawrence hell. Not only do you have a lot of spitfire in you, but you have an issue with British upper class values. I'm certain it'll come back."
"I'm not sure I want it to," Anne said. "I sound like a rebel rouser."
"You are with your family, especially your father."
"Why?"
"Because you loved me, and your parents have a problem with Cajuns livin' next door. If you hadn't fallen in love with me you'd probably have a good relationship with your father."
Anne looked at him, thoughtfully. "When did I start loving you?"
Joe gave a little shrug. "I don't know. I suppose it happened gradually. We'd spend time to
gether at fais do-dos, but one of those nights I got you outside and things changed."
"Changed how?"
"I kissed you and you kissed me back. You said you'd wanted me to kiss you for a long time, so I don't know how far back it went. I wanted to kiss you the first time you showed up at a fais do-do. Maybe you started lovin' me then because you kept comin' back, and after your father found out and forbid you to go to anymore fais do-dos, you were the one to suggest we meet at the bayou."
"I don't doubt I loved you because you're the father of my son and I was prepared to marry you. I just don't understand why I can't remember anything about you, or us."
"I don't either." Joe sighed, wondering if what they once had was gone forever. It seemed inconceivable her feelings for him could shut off, like a faucet. She'd been passionate about him, loving him totally and unconditionally, even in the face of her parent's strong objections to his family. What was almost as disconcerting was that she could remember things like the gist of a book she'd probably read back in high school, yet she couldn't remember him, when he'd been the most important person in her life. At least she'd claimed he was.
To his surprise, Anne touched his face, a momentary gesture, and said, "What I told you about storing text on a computer and forgetting the file name, I think I'll eventually access it again."
Joe took her hand in his. "Do you have any idea what I've gone through these past few months, losing you and the baby?"
Anne eyed him steadily. "Yes, I do in a way because I lost everyone who ever mattered in my life, and I didn't even know who they were. I'm only now learning from you."
Joe continued to hold her hand, which she allowed to remain in his, as he said, "Do you feel anything at all for me now or am I still just a stranger?"
"I do feel something, but I don't know if it's old feelings coming back or new feelings because you're a handsome man who I find attractive."
"But you did feel something down at the bayou when I first held your hand."
Tall Dark Stranger (Cajun Cowboys Book 1) Page 5
