Kara Lennox - A Second Chance

Melanie gave a parting shrug and an apologetic smile as she followed her grandmother into the crisp autumn afternoon.

M ELANIE STAYEDlong enough to have an early dinner before heading back to New Orleans, and Celeste and Doc joined them. Everyone tried to make it a festive occasion-for Luc’s sake, he guessed, because by now they all knew Loretta had dumped him. He wasn’t sure how Melanie had found out, but he could see that she had in every look she gave him.

Luc tried to get into the spirit of things as Doc made them up a batch of his famous mint juleps. He and Melanie put together a killer gumbo and some dirty rice. But he couldn’t help thinking how much more fun it would have been if Loretta and Zara had joined them. Maybe Vincent and Adele, too.

A family get-together, the kind he’d never had in his life.

He tried to console himself with the knowledge that he did have a family. Celeste and Melanie had warmed up to him, and Doc might as well be a relative, as much as he hung around. And his mother would love him no matter what he did. All in all he was luckier than a lot of people.

He managed to keep up his end of the conversation, talking about his future renovation plans for the second outbuilding. He’d been thinking about turning it into a workshop, where guests could try their hand at candle-and soap-making or canning-some type of participatory museum to reflect what times were like when the Creole cabin had been built.

“So do you think you’ll keep working here?” Melanie asked innocently. “After the probation’s up, I mean.”

Luc shrugged. “I’ll work here as long as Grand-mère wants me to. But I think she may have some plans of her own regarding the B and B.”

Celeste nearly choked on her coffee. “What makes you say that?”

He gave her a knowing look. “Just a feeling.”

LATER, WHEN MELANIE had gone home and the guests were all in their rooms, Luc couldn’t help but ponder his future. Celeste had neither confirmed nor denied any plans for herself or the B and B, but Luc could see the writing on the wall. Celeste had been building her nest ever since she arrived.

Luc would only be in the way here.

But he would stay in Indigo. He felt at home here. If Loretta disapproved-if the whole town found out about his past and wanted to tar and feather him and ride him out of town-he would simply have to prove to them that he was a changed man.

LORETTA WAS AT her wit’s end with her daughter. She’d tried love and tenderness and coddling, to no avail. She’d tried tough love. She’d tried a sensible, talking-things-out approach. Zara was like a stone wall.

Zara’s teacher had called. Apparently there were numerous witnesses to the fight at the school, and the consensus was that Thomas had deliberately provoked Zara, getting right in her face and taunting her until she’d lashed out. Then he’d thrown her to the ground and punched her-retribution for the previous fight.

But even when Loretta had told Zara she wasn’t in trouble-well, not too much-Zara hadn’t responded with anything but monosyllables, and she’d only picked at her dinner.

Something more than the fight was bothering her, but she claimed she was fine.

Loretta had thought she would have at least a few more years of peace before getting hit with attitude.

The next morning, when Zara still wasn’t back to her usual cheerful self, Loretta was ready to tear out her hair. Given that she hadn’t been sleeping well herself, she wasn’t at her most patient. She set Zara’s cereal in front of her and said, “Zara, I’m tired of this. If you don’t tell me what’s wrong, how can I fix it?”

“You can’t fix it. You won’t fix it.”

“Fix what?”

“I want to be friends with Luc again.”

There was no way around it. She was going to have to tell Zara the truth. Once her daughter realized Luc was not the saint she believed him to be, she would understand.

“I found out that Luc is a criminal.”

Zara’s eyes widened with disbelief. “You mean like a bank robber or something?”

“Or something.”

“What did he do?”

“Well, I don’t know exactly.”

“Then how do you know it was bad?”

“Because he’s on probation. That means he’s serving a punishment for a serious crime.”

“Maybe it wasn’t his fault or something.” Zara was grasping at straws. “Maybe someone made him do it. Maybe it was a mistake.”

Loretta put her head in her hands. She was making everything worse.

“Couldn’t you just ask him what he did?” Zara said. The suggestion sounded remarkably sensible.

“If I find out what crime he committed, and we agree it was bad, will you accept my decision that we should stay away from him?”

Zara didn’t answer for a long time, and when she finally did, she said, “He didn’t do anything that bad. I know he didn’t. He’s not like Jim.”

“Honey, you don’t even remember Jim. He could be sweet and thoughtful and charming, just like Luc. Just because a man is handsome and kind and charming on the outside doesn’t mean you know what’s on the inside.”

“ I know.”

And it hadn’t escaped Loretta’s attention that Zara hadn’t agreed to steer clear of Luc if they found out that the crime he’d committed was of a serious nature.

“Hurry up and eat. We need to get going.” She was already running late with her deliveries, although now that she didn’t linger at La Petite Maison over Luc’s delicious coffee, her morning rounds didn’t take as long.

She’d just have to learn how to make her own damn coffee.

LATER THAT MORNING, when she’d returned from her deliveries, Loretta made a phone call she was dreading. But it had to be done.

“Hotel Marchand, how may I direct your call?”

“Could I speak with Melanie Marchand, please? This is Loretta Castille.”

A couple of minutes later, Melanie came on the line. “Hi, Loretta. What’s up?” She sounded warm and friendly, though surely by now she’d been brought up to date on the idiotic soap opera that was Loretta’s love life.

“I need to ask you something. Could you please tell me what Luc did to get a criminal conviction?”

Melanie paused a long time before answering. “Why don’t you ask Luc?”

“Because I want the truth.”

“He would tell you the truth, Loretta. I’m sure of that.”

“Well, I’m not sure, and I have my reasons.”

“It’s not my place to tell you,” Melanie said firmly. “But you should know this. I believe with all my heart that Luc regrets his actions.”

“All criminals are sorry-when they get caught.” She thought again of Jim, of the first time he’d been arrested for stealing a car. He’d stood up in court and claimed he’d learned his lessons. He had a baby on the way, he was worried about how he was going to take care of it. There hadn’t been a dry eye in the courtroom.

He’d gotten a slap on the wrist, and two months later he’d stolen another car.

“Talk to Luc,” Melanie said. “Find out what he has to say. Then you can judge him all you want.”

“I’ll think about it,” Loretta replied, although she knew she wouldn’t. “Thanks for taking the time to talk to me.”

She knew she was being harsh. But she also knew what a pushover she was, how vulnerable she was to Luc’s charms. What if he convinced her that whatever he’d done was a terrible mistake, that he was now completely reformed? She would get back together with him, and then he would do something awful and she would never, ever be able to forgive herself.

She’d taken Jim back twice, believing he was sincere, until he’d held up a convenience store and shot the clerk.