“
No problem. I
’
m going to keep working, if it
’
s all the same to you. When the
roof is finished, I
’
ll leave and head to Pensacola, since that
’
s what you want
.
That is what you want, right?
”
The lump in her throat thickened again, but she nodded just the same.
“
And tonight?
”
he asked.
“
You should stay—with her,
”
she said.
“
Right.
”
He went back to the tiles.
Monique ate lunch with the family.
Jenee
had scooted the long pine picnic table
beneath the shade of the oak and had filled their plates to capacity with tuna
salad sandwiches, fresh fruit and chips. Big glasses of lemonade stood in front
of every plate, with round slices of lemon floating within the clear glass and
glistening drops of condensation trickling along the edge.
Staring at those droplets, Monique pictured Ryan as she
’
d seen him when he
entered her bedroom the first night, his body wet from working on the roof,
droplets trickling along that firm jaw and down the strong column of his neck
.
If things worked out with Celeste, Monique would never see that beautiful vision
again, would only have the memory to hold onto. The thought made her stomach
queasy, and she pushed her plate away.
“
You okay?
”
Nan asked. She
’
d sat beside Monique at the table and leaned toward
her younger cousin in that protective fashion that she was known for. Usually,
the gesture irritated Monique, since she was twenty-four and could take care of
herself. Today, however, she welcomed Nan
’
s protective nature.
“
No,
”
she whispered, not wanting Gage to hear her confession and become
concerned. Like most brothers, he tended to get his back up quickly when he
thought anything was wrong with his sister. She didn
’
t want to worry him now,
not when the family had so much to do in so little time.
“
I
’
m not okay,
”
she
continued, when she was certain Gage and Tristan were completely engaged in
flirting with the three gorgeous roofers.
“
Does he still refuse to cross?
”
Nan whispered back, evidently sensing Monique
’
s
hesitation to voice her concerns aloud.
She nodded, then decided to tell Nanette the rest.
“
He
’
s refusing, but that
’
s
not what
’
s bothering me so much,
”
she admitted, staring toward the house.
“
If you
’
re worried about the roof, I totally think we
’
re going to have it done
with time to spare. Just look at the progress we
’
ve made already.
”
Nan pointed
to the elegant blue-gray tiles, each one uniquely colored, but all blending to
form a spectacular top on the run-down plantation.
Monique could only imagine how the place would look when they restored the rest
of the house, replacing the peeling paint with a new coat or siding, fixing the
broken windows, getting rid of the rotten wood and repairing the sagging porch
.
She imagined the eight big columns, currently a dingy gray and leaning
dangerously, as sturdy, brilliant and stark white. The place could be the
equivalent of Scarlett
’
s Tara, if they only had the money and the time. But they
were getting there, and the roof replacement was a key part of the restoration.
“
I
’
m not worried about the roof,
”
Monique admitted.
“
It
’
s your ghost, isn
’
t it?
”
Nan asked.
Monique waited for
Jenee
to make a pass behind them, leaning over each of their
shoulders to refill their glasses.
“
Thanks,
”
she said, and sipped the lemonade
while
Jenee
walked toward the guys and the roofers, who were currently quite
enamored with the two
Vicknair
males.
“
Tell me.
”
Nan followed Monique
’
s gaze to the house, or more specifically, to
the area of the roof where the tiles were still—in Nan
’
s view—magically being
nailed into place.
“
Are you worried that he won
’
t cross in time?
”
Monique nearly laughed at the irony of Nan
’
s question. No, she wasn
’
t overly
worried that he wouldn
’
t cross in time, and she realized that with utter clarity
now.
She was more worried that he would.
“
I
’
ve got a lot on my mind,
”
she said.
“
I
’
ve never had an assignment like this
one before.
”
“
You know, you can always ask
GrandmaAdeline
if you can have some help. Maybe
your ghost requires two mediums.
”
Nan took a bite of tuna sandwich before
continuing.
“
I mean, I
’
ve never heard of it happening before, but there
’
s a
first time for everything, right? I
’
m sure if you asked, she
’
d listen and see
what she could do. The powers that be don
’
t want us miserable, I
’
m sure. We help
them out. Leave a note on the tea service asking for help. I
’
m sure she
’
ll find
a way.
”
Monique smiled.
“
Thanks for the suggestion, but I think everything may work
itself out. He only has the last step left to accomplish.
”
“
Intimacy?
”
Nan asked, obviously remembering the list she
’
d helped Monique
create earlier this week. She glanced at the roof.
“
You okay with that?
”
Monique forced a smile and nodded, but she couldn
’
t keep her eyes from watering
.
So she turned her attention to the sky, and a thick, black cloud cruising in
front of the sun, placing all of them in its shadow and reminding them that time
was a scarce commodity.
The storm was coming.
“
Gotta get back to work,
”
Gage declared.
“
Good job,
Jenee
.
”
Jenee
beamed as she scooped up the paper plates and cups, then tossed them in a
big green garbage bag she clutched in one hand.
“
What do you think?
”
Tristan asked, tilting his head to look at the menacing
cloud.
“
Will we finish in time?
”
“
We have to,
”
Nan said, already moving toward one of the ladders. She climbed
steadily upward then called toward Ryan.
“
We can
’
t thank you enough for
helping!
”
Monique watched him nod and assumed he
’
d responded, though she couldn
’
t hear him
from her spot on the ground.
“
Ready to get back at it?
”
Gage asked.
“
We really do need to finish up. That
storm is coming, and then there
’
s my date with Carol and Adele.
”
“
Carol and Adele?
”
Monique questioned.
“
Tristan had already asked
Dani
out before I had a chance, so I
’
m taking them
out. With
Dax
at the beach, someone would have been left out in the cold. I
didn
’
t want that to happen, so I decided to take care of the problem myself.
”
He
actually made the statement without the slightest hint of a
cat-that-ate-the-canary grin. Quite a feat.
“
Bless your heart, how will you ever survive?
”
Monique asked, never shocked by
Gage
’
s boldly sexual take on life. True, she thought he wanted more, but he sure
did take hold of physical pleasure with gusto. Which reminded her of Ryan, and
the reason he couldn
’
t cross over.
While claimant has experienced his share (and then some) of physical bonding, he
refused to open his heart to love
.
Two more days. She didn
’
t want to give up her last two nights with him, but she
also didn
’
t want to fail the man she
’
d come to care about so deeply. He needed
to take his relationship with Celeste to the next level, so perhaps they could
find happiness together on the other side. Because that
’
s what Monique wanted
more than anything. Ryan
’
s happiness.
“
Come on, let
’
s get busy.
”
Gage nudged her toward the house.
“
I
’
m serious about
that date.
”
“
I
’
m sure you are,
”
she said, dragging her eyes away from the handsome ghost on
the roof. Why was he here now? Why hadn
’
t he left to go to Celeste? How would
they get to the final stage if he didn
’
t? And why couldn
’
t Monique bring herself
to tell him—again—to go?
Because deep down, she didn
’
t want him to.
For the remainder of the afternoon and into the evening, Monique, like the rest
of the family, nailed tiles until every finger throbbed, every muscle ached and
every stitch of clothing on her body was drenched in sweat. Thank goodness the
thick black pre-storm cloud kept the sun from beating down as well. The heat and
the pressure of having to finish were enough to make them miserable, without the
added force of a Louisiana sun in the afternoon.
By seven-thirty that night, the last tile was in place, the storm was
threatening and the family was exhausted. Gage and Tristan set up their plans
for a late dinner with the roofers, while Nan and
Jenee
headed straight for the
showers, and Monique faced the truth.
At some point in the late afternoon, Ryan had gone to Celeste. And he hadn
’
t
even said goodbye. As a matter of fact, he
’
d never ventured Monique
’
s way again
after lunch. Now that the work was done, and even thicker clouds came in to
rumble and quake along with the first one, the other
Vicknairs
headed for the
house. Monique stayed behind, scanning the roof and the spot where she
’
d last
seen him, his powerful body maneuvering the tiles skillfully as he worked, his
face intent and focused on the job and his very existence teasing her senseless
.
Driving her crazy with need. With desire. A desire that would never again be
filled.
Ryan
Chappelle
was gone.
“If you come
to make the
misere
with your sister, don
’
t waste ya time,
”
Inez
Thibodeaux said, as Nan entered Monique
’
s Masterpieces Saturday evening for her
weekly manicure. Multiple silver and gold bangles jingled wildly as the older
woman smoothed her ebony hands across the marble top on her nail-sculpting
table. Inez huffed and shot a disapproving look at Monique, ignoring her
employee and friend as she washed a customer
’
s hair.
“
I
’
ve never seen such a
bahbin
hanging down low. She lucky she ain
’
t tripped
over it,
”
Inez continued. The woman was a never-ending supply of opinions, many
of which were derived from her appreciation for voodoo. Right now, she ran the
tips of her claw-like nails down the bold platinum streak in her bangs that
provided a severe contrast to the remainder of her black-as-night hair. Her
bangs were straight as an arrow, while the remainder of her hair was as curly as
a corkscrew. It was an odd look, and according to Inez, obtained naturally when
a voodoo chant went awry. She called the streak her
“
racing stripe
”
and Monique
agreed the image suited the woman. She was a mid-sixty-year-old who had the
energy of a mid-twenty-year-old, but gave Monique advice like a
mid-eighty-year-old. Quite a contrast indeed, and Monique loved her in spite of
her quirks…and her voodoo.