Loving Laura (The Cantrelle Family Trilogy) (5 page)

“Neil...” Nicole said, hesitancy written all over her pretty face, “I...uh...think there’s something you should know.”

Neil tensed at her tone.

“I... I work for Willis’s wife.”

“What?” The question was like a gunshot in the quiet room. “You, what?”

Nicole cringed. “Please, Neil, don’t look at me like that. She offered me a job as the receptionist for her real estate company. I...I couldn’t refuse it. It’s hard to find any kind of job here.”

Damn, he hated the idea of any of his family being obligated to Willis or his wife.

“There’s nothin’ wrong with Nicole workin’ for Regina,” his father said. “And I don’ wan’ to hear another word about it, okay?”

Neil recognized his father’s tone of voice. It was the same one he’d used when Neil was a small boy and he’d pushed Réne too far. Even though part of him wanted to hammer his point home, force Réne to see Willis for what he was, Neil knew it would be a hollow victory if he upset his father any more than he was upset now. They
did
need all their energy for Norman.

“Willis was just elected mayor of Patinville, you know,” Denise said, a wry smile on her face, her eyes communicating her understanding. “Quite an accomplishment, isn’t it?”

Neil resisted the urge to say, “Who’d he step over this time?” Instead, he quietly met Denise’s gaze. She always had been the sharper of his two sisters. Nicole rarely saw beneath the surface; she was very like Norman in that respect.

“Yep, Willis has come up in the world,” Jett said in his quiet way.

Neil knew he had another ally in his family. His parents and sister meant well. They were just too naive. Willis had been a greedy boy who was jealous of Neil and everything Neil had ever had, and he had shucked their friendship at the first opportunity.

He wasn’t worth wasting one more minute of Neil’s time.

* * *

Laura couldn’t believe she’d slept more than sixteen hours straight. She’d dreamed while she was sleeping—disjointed snatches that disturbed her: Norman crying in pain as he tried to walk with only one leg, and Neil Cantrelle pinning her with his dark, questioning eyes—eyes that seemed to look straight through into her soul for answers. Her heart skipped erratically as the memory of Neil’s visit came tumbling back, and the realization of Norman’s condition hit her full force.

Oh, if only Celeste were with her now. At times, Laura was sorry she’d left California, since her leaving had put so much distance between her and her oldest friend. She and Celeste Broussard had been as close as sisters. Even after Celeste entered the convent and became a nun, the two had remained close, although since Celeste had taken her final vows and been assigned to a hospital near the Oregon state border, Laura had had to be satisfied with letters and an occasional phone call.

If only she had someone she could talk to here. Someone who would understand how she felt and be non judgmental. Someone who could give her solid advice based on the realities of the situation and not on personal emotions.

Laura’s only real confidante in Patinville was Denise Hebert, Norman’s older sister. And Denise was involved, so how could she be impartial where it came to Norman’s welfare?

Laura couldn’t see herself telling Denise that she didn’t love Norman and hadn’t been planning on marrying him. That she had, in fact, planned to tell him so the night of the accident.

She sighed, the sound ragged with weariness and worry, then looked up as there was a soft rap on the door. “Come in.”

She tried to disguise her surprise as Denise Hebert, followed closely by Neil Cantrelle, walked into the room. For a moment Laura wondered if they’d somehow been able to read her mind. And her thoughts.

Denise grasped her hand. “Laura, I’m so glad you’re okay.”

Laura saw tears shimmering in Denise’s eyes. Suddenly Laura felt her own defenses crumbling. She bit her lower lip to keep it from trembling and fought to control her emotions, which she knew were much too fragile and close to the surface due to her weakened physical condition.

I won’t cry, she told herself. She hated to cry. This ability to control her emotions and present a picture of calm acceptance to the outside world had been her only defense during the years when everything in her life was so terrible; she would have been crying constantly if she’d allowed herself to. “Thanks for coming,” she said.

Now Neil moved into her line of vision. He looked different today. Softer in some ways, probably because it looked as if he had recently shaved, and his unkempt hair was combed and more or less neat. He was also dressed differently, which removed more of the hard edges. Today he wore clean jeans and a rich, rust-colored sweater, the perfect complement to his dark, rugged good looks.

But his eyes, which gleamed like polished onyx in the sunlight, were still guarded and full of questions. Her heart somersaulted crazily.
He knows. He knows the entire accident was my fault.

She shivered involuntarily. She wanted to look away, but she couldn’t. Her stomach jumped as they stared at each other. His eyes were relentlessly dogged in their determination to wrest her secrets from her. She licked her lips, and suddenly, his entire bearing changed. The rigidness fell from his shoulders, and he smiled, the smile catching her frazzled emotions and tossing them helter-skelter. Where first there had been mistrust, now his gaze seemed poignantly sad, and Laura had an almost irresistible urge to reach out and touch him.

“Hello, Laura,” he said. His voice reminded her of rough velvet. “How do you feel today?” Sympathy was there in the gentleness of the question. Laura could feel it, could feel herself responding to it, even as she told herself that this man was dangerous to her own hard-fought equilibrium.

“Better,” she murmured, still holding tightly to Denise’s hands. She hurt everywhere, but for some reason, she didn’t want to admit this to Neil Cantrelle, not in the face of what Norman was undergoing. “How . . . how is Norman? Have you seen him?”

“Not yet,” Denise said. “We’re going up to intensive care when we leave you. We wanted to check on you first.” She smiled, her dark eyes filled with warmth. “Norman’s sure to ask about you when he wakes up. We wanted to be able to tell him.”

Laura looked away. Of course Denise was right. Norman
would
ask about her. After all, he loved her, didn’t he? He had fully expected her to tell him she’d marry him.

Dear God. The knowledge that any decision regarding her future had been taken out of her hands by fate and a rainy night, thundered through her. If only he hadn’t reached for her hand. None of this would have happened. None of it.
And I’d still be free.
The thought came unbidden even as she berated herself for her selfishness.

Then another thought hit her. “What happened to the people in the other car?” She had completely forgotten about them.

“There was only one person in the other car,” Neil said. “And he was thrown free.” Irony tinged his voice. “He fell asleep at the wheel. The accident was his fault.”

“I-I thought—“

“You thought it was Norman’s fault?” Neil interrupted. “No. The skid marks, the positions of the cars, everything points to the fact that the other guy swerved right in front of your car. There was nothing Norman could have done that he didn’t do.”

“No,” Laura said, unable to keep from answering honestly. “I thought it was my fault.”

“Your fault!” Denise exclaimed.

Neil frowned, a stillness settling over him. Laura could feel the tension in his body. There it was, that suspicion. Why was he so on edge, so defensive and guarded? she wondered. She could almost feel the wall he’d built around himself.
He’s been hurt and now he’s suspicious of everyone.
The thought came from nowhere, but she knew instinctively that she was right. He was like an animal who has been mistreated and who never quite trusts again. He would trust you a little bit, then he would retreat.

“I . . . was afraid,” she explained haltingly. “And Norman turned toward me. I-I thought I’d caused the accident because he looked away from the road.”

“No. Get that thought out of your mind. You had nothing to do with it!” Denise exclaimed. She turned toward her brother. “Tell her she’s being silly, Neil.”

“The accident wasn’t your fault,” he echoed, but the look of suspicion still hovered in his dark eyes. Or maybe it wasn’t exactly suspicion. Maybe it was simply a holding back, an I’ll-wait-and-see-before-I-decide look.

“Have you been worrying about this?” Denise demanded.

Laura nodded. “Norman’s been so good to me. You’ve all been so good to me. I—”

“You’re not to blame.” As he reassured her, Neil’s eyes softened, and some of the tension ebbed from his body.

Laura could feel her own muscles loosening, her heart slowing, as she relaxed against her pillow. Some of her anguish and guilt receded. “You’ll let me know about Norman as soon as you know anything, won’t you?” she asked, directing the question to both of them but unable to tear her gaze away from Neil Cantrelle’s.

He nodded, his expression grave.

Denise squeezed her hand again, then bent to kiss her cheek, a flowery scent wafting over Laura. Laura felt her eyes fill again at the expression of kindness from Norman’s sister. “Get well, honey. Don’t worry about anything,” Denise whispered. Then she straightened. “Jeannine’s gone over to see the cats several times, and I’ve fed them and cleaned out the litter box.”

Laura clasped her hand against her mouth, then flinched from the pain in her lip. How could she have forgotten her cats? They must be so bewildered by her absence. She hadn’t left them alone overnight since she’d gotten them six months earlier. “Are you sure you don’t mind taking care of them until I get home?” she asked Denise.

“No, of course not. Besides, you know how Jeannine adores them. She’ll love helping out.”

Laura did know. Jeannine, Denise’s ten-year-old, came by each evening when Laura got home from work to play with Pete and Phoebe. Jeannine’s visit was always the high point of Laura’s day—spending thirty minutes or so with the bright-eyed charmer she’d grown to love.

Laura lived in one half of the duplex that Denise and her husband, Jett, owned. In fact, Denise was responsible for Laura’s getting her job with Cantrelle Roofing and Home Improvement Company. The first day Laura had arrived in Patinville, she’d checked into the one small motel and been directed to Jett’s for dinner by the motel’s night clerk.

“Best Cajun food hereabouts,” he said. “Just down the way a couple of blocks. You can’t miss it.”

Laura walked into Jett’s, the restaurant Denise and her husband owned and worked in together, and Denise had waited on her. Laura had liked Denise immediately, her bright eyes, infectious smile, and easy manner impossible to resist. When Laura explained that she was new in town and looking for a place to live, Denise smiled.

“You’ve come to the right place.”

Then later, after Laura moved into the duplex, she’d asked Denise for her advice on finding a job. When Denise discovered that Laura was a bookkeeper and experienced office manager, her dark eyes lit up with undisguised delight. “Norman is going to think he’s died and gone to heaven when I bring you around. He’s been looking for qualified help for weeks with no success.”

Since jobs were scarce, Laura was puzzled, but Denise explained quickly.

“So many people have left this part of Louisiana since the oil business has gone into such a decline that there aren’t many around to fill the few jobs there are. There’re plenty of untrained, unskilled people, or people who only know the oil patch business, but the only person Norman could find with bookkeeping skills was a crabby old lady from Port Allen and Norman said he didn’t want to have to look at her sour face all day.” Denise grinned. “You’ll be much nicer to look at.”

And so it was settled, and Laura started to work for Norman the next day. She and Denise built on that initial liking for one another and soon became friends. Denise was the first real woman friend Laura’d made since Celeste. In fact, Laura thought, Denise had some of the same qualities that had attracted her to Celeste. The same quirky sense of humor, the same kindness and generosity, the same common sense. Denise also had a temper. It didn’t flare often, but when it did, it was like a volcano in its fiery intensity. And then, also like a volcano, it would die down and lie dormant.

“Well,
chére,
we’d better go now. Let you get some sleep,” Denise said. “Is there anything you want me to bring when we come back?”

“No, nothing.” Her eyes met Neil’s for one instant before brother and sister turned to leave the room. Her heart gave an odd little blip as he smiled.

“Hang tough,” he murmured.

After they left, Laura sank back against her pillows. Doubts began to plague her again now that their reassuring presence was gone. What if they’d been lying to her, just telling her she had had nothing to do with the accident to make her feel better?

But, no. Denise might lie to her out of sympathy, Neil Cantrelle, on the other hand, would never lie to spare her feelings. She had a pretty good idea he said what he thought.

Once again, she wondered exactly what had happened when Neil left Patinville. She knew very little about the episode, even though Norman had talked about his brother often. And that was strange, because even though he’d told her many unimportant things, Norman had withheld certain information. The only thing he’d told her was that Neil had been accused of dereliction of duty but had been found innocent. He’d refused to talk further about the circumstances, one of the few times Norman had kept anything back concerning his family.

About Neil himself Norman had obviously been full of hero worship. He’d talked about Neil’s quick intelligence, his strength and ability, and told her volumes about their childhood together. Obviously, the brothers had always been close. Neil had taught him to hunt and fish. Neil had taught him to whittle. Neil had watched over him, fought Norman’s enemies fiercely. Neil had been a cop, a great cop. And Laura thought Neil had also been married, but now that she tried to dredge up the conversation when Norman had talked about the marriage, she couldn’t remember much about it. Only the idea that the marriage had ended unhappily. She’d had the distinct feeling that the end of the marriage had been linked to Neil’s quitting the police force and leaving Patinville, but Norman hadn’t elaborated, and she hadn’t probed.