He hadn’t dreamed about the future in years. Oh, he’d set goals for himself—finish college, move away from home, advance in his career—and those were fine, honorable achievements, but he still felt at loose ends.
Although, since being back in town, he found that lost feeling wasn’t nearly as bad. In fact, when he was with Marie he felt as if he’d found a home.
That thought brought him to a stop on the cottage’s small front stoop. No, he wasn’t looking for a home and even though Marie was quite tempting, he was sure once this mess was cleared up, he’d have no problem packing up and leaving town.
Opening the door, LD walked into his mother’s studio. “Dad?”
His father sat behind a potter’s wheel attempting to throw a vase, or mug. There was no way to tell what the item was supposed to be, a four-year-old could have done better. The soft clay under Kevin’s hands melted. “Damn, I’ll never get the hang of this.”
“So, why are you trying?”
“Your mother thought I needed a hobby, something relaxing to help lower my blood pressure. I assured her I did plenty of relaxing things. She then informed me drinking and smoking cigars didn’t count. What else could I do?” His father’s eyes softened before he stood and walked to the utility sink. “What brings you out here?”
“I was looking for Mom.”
The solid wall of his father’s back was enough to let him know he’d hurt the man. “She went back to the house.”
At the sink, his father scrubbed viciously at his nails, trying to remove the clay. LD sighed. He was tired of the tension between them. Arguments in which neither man was right or wrong had pushed them to this point. Over time, the lack of resolution simply served to fuel the uneasiness between them. He was too tired for such a disagreement today. It would be best for him to leave, not say another word. “Are you sorry you married Mom?” The words tumbled from his mouth before he thought about them, surprising him as much as his father.
His father turned to him, the towel in his hand dropping to the counter. “Why would you ask that?”
“The summer she took us kids to stay with Gran, I heard you two arguing. I heard Mom crying in the dark, night after night because you didn’t want us.”
His father walked to an old recliner and dropped wearily into it. With elbows resting on knees and head hanging, he looked like a beaten old man.
“All these years, you thought I didn’t want any of you?”
The voice coming from the man in front of him was strained and weak, nothing like his father’s normal booming, commanding voice. LD’s fists clenched at his sides. The old hurt and pain was not dead after all. “When we moved back home at the end of the summer, I promised God I’d be perfect if he’d only make you want us.”
Kevin Carmouche grunted as if the words had physically drawn blood, but LD continued. “For the next few years, I tried to do what I thought you would approve of. It seemed nothing I did was right. I wanted public school, you wanted private. My clothes weren’t right. My hair was too long. We fought about everything.”
“You were a teenager, of course we fought.”
The silence that filled the room took on a life of its own. Finally, his father broke the spell. “I can’t believe you thought I didn’t love you.”
“You did?”
Kevin raised his face and wiped away a tear. The only time LD remembered seeing his father cry was when Gran passed away. “I love you, LD. You are my son. I’ve loved you since your mother told me she was expecting.”
Suddenly uncomfortable with the conversation, LD paced the room. “I could really use a drink.”
“Under the sink, all the way at the back, inside the red pail, you’ll find a bottle of bourbon and a stack of disposable cups. Make mine a double.”
“Got any cigars stashed out here?”
“You’re joking right? Your mother would kill me if I smoked out here.”
LD handed a cup to his father before sinking slowly into the chair next to him. His father appeared to have aged greatly during the last few minutes. “What happened that summer?”
“I let my insecurities get the best of me.”
“Insecurities?” No way, not his father.
“I was convinced your mother was going to leave me.”
“She did.”
“Only after I managed to run her off. My jealous outbursts were too much for her. That night was the final straw.”
LD leaned toward his dad, trying to absorb what was being said. “Jealous, you?”
“Insanely. I could never understand why a woman like your mother picked me.”
“She worships you.”
His father grinned like a schoolboy. “Yeah, she does.” The grin faded. “That was the problem. I never felt good enough for her.”
LD rubbed a hand across his eye. He’d never seen his father like this, or maybe he simply never paid attention. “I don’t understand.”
“It’s not something you can explain. I had to learn to accept the fact she loved me despite my faults or maybe even because of them.”
“We left home because you were jealous?”
“Yes and no. We’d been to a fundraiser earlier in the evening and once again Mark Wilson manipulated your mother’s time.”
“Mark Wilson?”
“He was my campaign manager for a short time in the early days of my career. Your mother and I argued from the time we left the party, until I stormed from the house around two that morning.” Kevin took a deep breath. “What I think you heard was me telling your mother she should never have married me. She told me if I felt that way, I should leave. Then I did the one thing I’ll regret forever. I walked out on all of you.”
LD could still hear the raised voices and remember how scared he felt. “I remember the door slamming. I crept down the stairs, thinking I could help her. By the time I reached the living room, she was crying so hard it terrified me. I ran back upstairs and hid under my covers until morning. That’s when she came in and told us we were going to Gran’s for a long stay. I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”
“I was so cocky back then.” Kevin’s voice was full of self-loathing as he continued. “I didn’t call her or come back home until the next evening. I can still remember the unnatural silence that filled the house when I entered it. I wandered the house for over an hour clutching the note, which simply said ‘Gone to Gran’s. Don’t know when or if we’ll be back.’”
“But you did get her back.”
“Thanks to Mark Wilson.”
“How’d he help?”
“I was convinced Mark was trying to steal your mother from me. She was angry because I thought her love was so weak she could be taken. During that first week, Mark contacted her and sent her flowers.”
“You were right.”
“About Mark, yes. But I was wrong in not trusting your mother.” Kevin’s voice was heavy with regret.
“If you cleared everything up in the first week, why did we stay away all summer at Gran’s?”
“There was a lot a repair work to do on our marriage. During the summer, we started dating again and working through our problems. That’s one of the secrets to a great marriage. It takes work. It takes forgiveness. Thank God, your mother and I have that. I don’t know what I would have done without her.”
The silence stretched out once again, but this time without the underlying tension. LD relaxed against the back of his chair. Together they sipped their drinks and enjoyed the newly found common ground.
“Why are you here, LD? And please don’t say you’re on vacation, I’m not that gullible. Your mother seems to think it’s a woman.”
“Maybe she’s right.” LD laughed at the surprised look on his father’s face before launching into the details of the last week.
Chapter Eleven
Of all the rooms in the governor’s house, why did she have to be shown to this one, Marie thought, as she stood in the bedroom looking around. There were neatly fol
ded clothes on top of the dresser, along with three pairs of socks. The socks had been rolled together then placed in a straight line like little marching soldiers.
Through the open door to the connecting bath, she could see where toiletry items lined the vanity by height. She knew, even without using her gift, that if she opened the closet, the shoes would be neatly aligned. It was bad enough knowing she was here, deceiving him again, but to make matters even worse the room smelled like LD.
Down the hall, a door closed pulling Marie from her stupor. Moving to the writing desk, she opened the drawer and with shaking hands quickly removed the contents. Time was of the essence and every passing second brought her that much closer to being caught. The sensation of impending doom, which had hovered over her all day like a black cloud, now grew unbearable.
“Looking for these?”
She emitted a small shriek as she swung around, letting the pencils in her hand fall to the floor. Heart pounding, she watched LD empty the contents of a small brown jeweler’s bag into one palm. Swallowing hard, she fought against the panic bubbling up inside her and summoned her best acting skills. “I always dreamed when a man gave me a diamond, it would be mounted in a ring.”
Forcing her feet forward, Marie stopped directly in front of LD. With one hand raised, she extended her index finger and began searching through the stones. Images of cool sheets beneath her and his warm body above her flashed through her mind. With one perfect round diamond between forefinger and thumb, she raised it to the light. “This one is nice.”
LD poured the remaining rocks back into the cloth bag and then secured the top. When he looked at her again, she retreated a step.
“It’s nice, but it’s not you.” LD pushed the door closed with one foot before moving in her direction.
She backed up a step and wondered how she was going to retrieve the bag and escape. “Why isn’t it me?”
“It’s boring and you are anything but boring.” He moved toward her as his eyes glided over her. “Marie.”
“Well, I hope I’m not boring.” Heat burned through her every place his eyes touched. She needed to take the upper hand in this situation, she thought, as she once again moved away from him. Bumping into the desk chair, she scooted around it, never taking her eyes off LD. The solid piece of furniture between them did nothing to elevate the tension she felt. Gripping the back, she glanced first at the sack he held, then back to his eyes.
“Women who search my room don’t get classified as uninteresting. They may get labeled as a spy or even a thief, but never are they mind-numbing. So, which are you?” LD rested one knee on the chair’s seat.
“Business person. You left that off your list. I’m here on business.” Shady business but business nonetheless.
“Just like all the other places you’ve been over the last few days. I know you’ve been going around to clients’ homes, searching their furniture. Did you retrieve diamonds from the other houses too, Marie?”
For a fleeting moment, she forgot to breathe. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I found these diamonds stashed under a false bottom in that desk drawer the other day.”
“Like I said, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
LD continued the conversation as if she agreed with him. “I’m impressed and that doesn’t happen often. Using your antique business as a front for diamond smuggling. The way I have it figured, you’ve been hiding stones in the furniture you purchase overseas. You stow the goods in the furniture, knowing it won’t be found, and then you ship the pieces home. Once the shipment clears customs, you pick it up and retrieve the gems. So, what happened this time? Did some eager employee sell the furniture before you could recover the goods?”
Rage poured through Marie’s body. Her hand shook as she held the diamond between her fingers. The man actually thought she was doing this on her own. He believed her to be a thief. Perhaps she was acting like one. But that didn’t make her one. Or did it?
Marie forced calmness into her voice and spoke through clinched teeth. “Take it.”
“Did you try to double-cross Black and keep his share?”
Her words were short and clipped. “Take the diamond.”
“Is that why he came after you in Boston?” LD’s voice was cold as steel.
“Take the damn diamond.” She needed out. Each and every accusation he spouted cut to the bone. The knowledge that what she was doing was wrong and destroying any chance she might have with him was bad enough, but to hear his cold hard words was crippling. Pain stabbed at her heart and tears threatened to flood her eyes. Reaching deep inside herself, she grasped at the anger his words caused and allowed it to grow. As the words exploded from her, the diamond in her hand flew directly at his face. “Go to hell.”
The chair between them flew across the room and hit the wall with a loud crash as he grabbed her wrist. “Are you working for Black?”
She flinched, not because LD tossed the chair across the room, but from the look on his face. The anger and rage etched across it was frightening but he held her in a grip that was meant to restrain, not hurt. Meeting his hard glare, she pulled her arm free, straightened and started toward the door. “Does it matter? You’re convinced I am.”
“Answer my question.” LD closed the distance between them. Coming up behind her, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her back against him. He hardened instantly when their bodies touched. She stilled just as instantly.
“Let go of me.” Marie punctuated the words with a heel to his shin. Securing both wrists in one hand behind her, he turned her toward him. As he did, she swung a foot knocking him off balance. Managing to hold on to one hand, he fell back across the bed and she landed on top of him. The instant they were down, she started to struggle. Rolling them over, he shoved one knee between her thighs and again grasped both wrists, pinning them high above her head.
With her quieted, his mind processed facts his body was already well aware of. Like the way her breasts rose and fell with each short, choppy breath she took. Or the way her lavender scent drew him like a bee to honeysuckle.
His free hand moved, on its own accord, to the patch of exposed skin between the waistband of her pants and hem of her sweater. Soft, warm skin greeted his touch. Splaying his fingers across her stomach, he began tracing each rib. His fingers moved upward and with each new ridge, her breaths quickened and her eyes darkened.
He pressed his leg more firmly between her thighs and Marie moaned softly and arched against him. Her movements created a pressure against his shaft that was nearly his undoing. He bent his head and took her mouth in a hard, plundering kiss.
God, he needed her.
Running one hand under her bra, he grasped a hard nipple and rolled it between his fingers. Releasing her hands, he moved fully over her, pressing them both down into the mattress.
The rightness of his body over hers slammed into him as her hands brushed over his hair then trailed down his back. Tugging his shirttail free, her fingers grazed across his lower back and sent a shudder through his body.
He’d never wanted a woman this badly and he was going to have her.
Here.
Now.
He was going to strip off her clothes and…
“LD?”
He was up and off the bed in one swift move. He stood for a second, regaining his equilibrium, while Marie stared up at him as if he’d lost his mind. Maybe he had. He straightened his clothes as he moved toward the door. He heard his name called again, only this time it sounded louder, closer. Opening the bedroom door, he stepped out and closed it firmly behind him. Suddenly he was fourteen again.
“Coming, Mom.”
Taking the stairs two at a time, he intercepted his mother at the bottom. “You wanted me?”
“Yes. I wanted to tell you a Miss Bernard is here checking on some furniture I purchased a few weeks back. She might be in your room.”
Now she tells me. “I ran into her
.”
“Oh good, isn’t she nice?”
Oh, yeah.
“LD?”
LD blinked at his mother and then remembered she was waiting for a response. “Yes, she is.”
“And pretty?”
Beautiful would be the adjective he’d use. “I thought so.”
“She’s one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet.”
She’s the hottest, most desirable, intelligent little liar he’d ever met. And he was itching to get back upstairs so they could continue what they had started. The slightest thought of Marie started his blood to heat. To hide this fact from his mother, he slipped his hands into his trousers pockets.
“Mom I…” Shit. The diamonds. They were upstairs on the bed, where he’d dropped them when he’d been preoccupied with Marie.
“Mrs. Carmouche.”
Turning, LD watched Marie descend the stairs. “I’m finished now. I just wanted to let you know everything is fine with your desk. You’ll have the appraisal paperwork within a week.”
Marie kept her distance from him, circling around his mother and coming to a halt only when she had placed the older woman between them. He listened to their discussion about common acquaintances, charities and other local topics as the two women turned and walked away. When he could no longer hear Marie’s voice, he returned to his bedroom.
As he stood there taking in the room’s appearance, he knew he’d been taken for a fool. The bed cover was crisp, not a wrinkle across it. Items on the desk were straightened and the drawer returned to its slot. The desk chair was righted and placed where it belonged. There wasn’t a sign of what occurred here only minutes before.
Nothing, that is, except a missing jeweler’s bag and an ache between his legs.
* * * * *
Marie cursed her shaking hands as she tried for a third time to open the small safe located in her bedroom closet. She still couldn’t believe her good fortune. Or was it?
Bayou Treasure Page 10
