Kiss And Dwell (18 page)

Then, naturally, they
’
d want to know how she and Ryan accomplished that feat,
and Monique was not going there, particularly with Gage and
Dax
, her bookend
brothers, leaning forward in their chairs and waiting for her response.

“
Well?
”
Gage finally said.
“
Why hasn
’
t he crossed?
”

“
He has his reasons, and I can
’
t tell you.
”
She gave them what she hoped was an
apologetic smile.
“
Sorry.
”

“
But he
’
s the one who fixed the tarp?
”
Tristan asked.
“
You
’
re sure?
”

“
Yeah, he told me he heard it rip, so he decided to stick around and fix it.
”

“
Why?
”
Tristan shot a skeptical gaze at Nan.
“
Why would he do that?
”

“
Maybe he likes a challenge,
”
Dax
offered.
“
Maybe he
’
s the daredevil type.
”
He
ran the corner of a beignet through the surplus of powdered sugar on his plate,
then popped it in his mouth and swallowed.
“
Is that how he died, Monique? Doing
some daredevil stunt? Cause getting on that roof last night in that storm was
damn near crazy.
”

“
I don
’
t know how he died. I don
’
t find out how spirits die, remember?
”
Monique
said.
“
And I think he fixed it because he wanted to help us. I guess if you
’
re
already dead, you don
’
t really have the same fear of dying anymore, don
’
t you
think?
”

Gage laughed.
“
No, I guess you don
’
t. Wonder if he
’
d be willing to come back and
help us haul debris to the burn pile.
”

Tristan snatched a beignet from
Dax
’
s
plate and tossed the whole thing in his
mouth before his cousin could protest. Merely a year younger than Nanette, he
relished his role as oldest male cousin and occasionally took advantage.
“
Well,
we wouldn
’
t need his help cleaning up outside, if we could get the entire family
to pitch in.
”

Monique took her coffee mug to the sink and rinsed it.
“
I can give you two
hours. I
’
ve got a perm scheduled at eleven.
”

“
I can give you three,
”
Dax
offered,
“
then I
’
ve got to pay a visit to a doctor
on my route. After that, I
’
ve got to head toward Houma to visit my ghost
’
s
parents.
”

“
I
’
ll take your three,
Dax
,
”
Tristan said, then turned toward Monique.
“
And I
’
ll
take your two hours and raise you two more after you get off.
”
When Monique
’
s
jaw dropped, he continued,
“
Hey, I know you
’
re done by five. It doesn
’
t even get
dark until nine, so I
’
m leaving two hours for whatever else you want to do. We
need you, Monique.
”
He scanned the table.
“
Hell, we need everyone.
”

“
We
’
re coming,
”
Nan said.
“
I would
’
ve been out there earlier, but I was trying
to get a handle on what those folks did at
Godchaux
-Reserve to see if it would
be suitable for saving this place.
”

“
And?
”
Tristan asked.

“
No can do,
”
she said emphatically, stacking the papers then shuffling them into
place against the table.
“
They open their home for public viewing, like a
museum. How are we supposed to do that when we never know when one of Grandma
Adeline
’
s letters is going to arrive? Or when a ghost will happen to show up at
the house?
”

“
Hey, voodoo and ghosts are a part of Louisiana culture,
”
Gage said.
“
Hell, we
might be able to charge more on the off chance that one shows up while they
’
re
touring.
”

“
They wouldn
’
t be able to see it,
”
Monique reminded.

“
No, but they could sure enough know that it was here,
”
Gage countered.
“
Your
guy fixed the roof last night, didn
’
t he? If someone would
’
ve been around during
that feat, they
’
d sure have seen the tarp getting nailed down. Don
’
t you think
they might have suspected a little ghostly interaction?
”
He grinned at Tristan
.

“
I think it might work.
”

“
No.
”
Nan firmly vetoed the idea.

“
You
’
d rather they bulldoze the house before you let them in on our secret?
”

Tristan asked incredulously.
“
You know, we
’
re not the only people near New
Orleans who have specters in our closets. Shoot, we
’
re merely going to blend.
”

“
Can you imagine what I
’
d have to deal with at school if my students found out I
live in a haunted house?
”

“
Technically,
”
Dax
said, leaving the table to check out the bag of beignets and
frowning to find Gage and Tristan had emptied it,
“
it isn
’
t a haunted house. To
be haunted, ghosts have to inhabit the place. Ours is merely a speck on their
roadmap to crossing over. None of them hang around for long.
”
He shot a look at
Monique.
“
Well, none of them did, until your guy came along. If he
’
s been in the
middle fourteen months, he might be around for a nice little visit. Hey, maybe
we can make him a honey-do list, tailored for ghosts. He
’
s already fixed the
roof. What else can he do? He wasn
’
t a carpenter when he was living, was he,
Monique?
”

“
I didn
’
t ask his profession,
”
Monique snapped, as though she couldn
’
t care
less. Problem was, now she wondered. What had he done when he was living? And
thanks to
Dax
’
s
daredevil query, she also wondered how Ryan had died. She
’
d
never wanted to know how previous ghosts had died. Not once had she even been
tempted to ask. But with Ryan, she wanted to know, and she prayed it wasn
’
t
painful.

Her stomach quivered as she remembered him, naked and glorious, leaning over her
bed in a determined effort not to touch her while he brought her to climax
.

Another proof of how deeply this ghost cared. He hadn
’
t had to abide by the
Vicknair
rules, but he had. For her. He hadn
’
t had to weather that storm to fix
their tarp, but he had. For the family? Or for her? And again, why? Though she
knew. Because of their bonding, he knew that she cared more about the plantation
and her familial duty than she admitted. No matter how much she disliked the
lack of control her medium status bestowed, she still relished the uniqueness,
the individuality, of what their family did for so many spirits. And she truly
cared about this home, so much that working on it every spare minute she had
didn
’
t bother her at all. She wanted it to shine again, to be the place that
Grandma Adeline had cherished so much, and many
Vicknairs
before her. Ryan knew
how she felt, and he
’
d reacted to her desire by helping them save the home. How
could she ever repay him?

“
Hey, instead of standing there staring out that window, you could come get in a
couple of hours with us, like you said you would, Miss
Priss
,
”
Tristan said. He
only used his personal nickname for her when he wanted to rile her feathers. So
she was a bit prissy and undeniably girly. So were Nan and
Jenee
, though he
didn
’
t give them nearly as hard a time. Then again, Nanette was older than
Tristan and, as oldest cousin, typically the family decision-maker, whether
Tristan liked it or not.
Jenee
was his baby sister, so she rarely got the brunt
of his teasing. Which meant Monique was prime for the picking. It didn
’
t mean,
however, that she had to take it without a bit of sass of her own.

“
Listen here, I
’
ll get more done in my two hours than you
’
ll accomplish all
day.
”

“
Doubtful, since you haven
’
t stepped foot out of the house yet,
”
Tristan
countered, while Gage chuckled.

“
Sis, he
’
s baiting you,
”
he warned.

“
Don
’
t I know it,
”
Monique said.
“
But I
’
m going to do my part.
”
She moved out of
the kitchen into a small mudroom that her grandmother had used for rooting
poinsettias, which grew as big as trees along the sides of the house and took
Monique
’
s breath away when they bloomed at Christmas.

“
And if you want to get into particulars, it was my ghost who took care of that
tarp last night,
”
Monique reminded.
“
Since Ryan isn
’
t on the family tree, I
’
m
going to chalk up his contribution to my branch.
”

“
Gotta admit,
”
Gage said, as he and Tristan followed Monique outside,
“
she
’
s got
ya there.
”
He laughed, and it quickly escalated into a yawn.

Monique pivoted.
“
You work all night at the hospital?
”

“
I got off at two,
”
he said, then gave her that wry smile that had melted many a
Cajun female
’
s heart.

“
Yet you still haven
’
t slept, have you?
”
she questioned, knowing the answer.

“
I will, as soon as I
’
m done here.
”
The pale-blond streaks in his hair glistened
among the darker brown locks, making him look every bit the bona fide playboy
that he was.

Monique yanked on the yellow gloves she
’
d confiscated from the mudroom, found a
rake resting against a tree and swiped at the leaf-covered earth to gather her
first addition for the burn pile.
“
So did you know her, or was this another one
of the damsels in distress that find their way into the
Ochsner
E.R., and always
when you
’
re on duty?
”

It was no secret that the women of
LaPlace
, many of whom went to Monique
’
s salon
to get their hair and nails done, would drive past closer hospitals to visit the
Ochsner
E.R. at the mildest onset of a cold in the hopes that Dr. Gage
Vicknair
would have to touch them in some way.

Whatever charisma her brother held for women, he had it in spades. Every woman
wanted him, and once they got him, they simply wanted him again. Rough life for
a playboy. Or so you
’
d think. To Monique, he always seemed distant under that
playboy facade, but he hid it well, very well. So well, in fact, that she
’
d
never mentioned her suspicion that her notorious brother really longed to settle
down. Why did she wonder if Ryan was the same?