Authors: Julie Ortolon
Like the kiss Luc had given her last night.
With her cheeks warming at the memory, she stepped back to admire the display of bath and beauty products she’d needed to rearrange after a flurry of sales that morning. The three women staying in one of the bungalows for a girlfriend weekend had gone wild for the locally made soaps and lotions. Making a mental note to order more product, she moved on to a display of coffee table books filled with photographs of Galveston.
Idly, she flipped through one of the books, hoping to glean inspiration for her own photography. She’d first started taking pictures as a way to help Aurora, who managed the inn’s website. Aurora had wanted atmospheric shots of the inn and island, so Chloe had volunteered to give it a try. Discovering she had a knack for composition had led Chloe to study more about operating a camera. She still had a lot to learn about aperture and filters before she’d consider her efforts art, but having the St. Claires use her photos on the website pleased her.
She especially enjoyed shooting merchandise for the gift shop. The merchandise itself held little interest for her, but photographing it meant spending time with Allison. When Chloe first came to Pearl Island at age twelve, Allison had lived in the owner’s apartment downstairs. After Allison married Scott, they’d moved into Allison’s childhood home on Galveston Island. Most days, Allison worked from home, packing and shipping orders.
Glancing at her watch, she saw it was already after two. Where was Allison? Chloe had no idea when Luc would show up, since they hadn’t set a specific time, but she really hoped to be done with work before he arrived. Refusing to let the time bother her, she sang along with the tune on her phone as she continued tidying displays.
Without warning, the ear buds popped out of her ears. Shrieking, she whirled and found Allison smiling at her, holding the buds in her hands.
“Sorry to interrupt the concert,” Allison said, grinning broadly.
“You scared the tar out of me.” Chloe slapped a hand to her heart.
“Just trying to get your attention.” Allison handed her the ear buds. “You certainly seem to be in a good mood.”
“And why wouldn’t I be?” Chloe felt her smile return. “It’s a beautiful day and business is booming.”
“Speaking of…” Allison walked over to the checkout counter, where she’d left a shipping box. “I can’t wait to see the new inventory that just arrived.”
Please let it be something other than dolls,
Chloe thought.
Or tea sets.
Not that she had anything against dolls and tea sets. She’d actually learned to appreciate both over the years. She’d just like to see a few more things like sculptures of dolphins and sea gulls, or collectible shells. Things that appealed to people other than girly-girls.
Rather than say any of that, however, she waited while her aunt worked at removing the tape without damaging the package. Chloe would have ripped it open, but she lacked her aunt’s patience. How did a mother of three active children always exude such an aura of calm while looking so effortlessly pretty in her floral sundresses?
Finally, Allison got the box open and lifted out… a doll.
“Oh my goodness.” Allison held up the foot-tall figure dressed in flounces of satin and lace. “Isn’t she wonderful?”
Chloe stifled a sigh. “She’s very pretty.”
“Oh, they’re all beautiful,” Allison exclaimed, pulling out more dolls.
Seeing the array of gemstone-colored gowns, Chloe warmed a bit to the subject matter. They’d make great photos. “All right,” she said, moving to the staging area, “let’s take some pictures.”
As usual, once she got into the shoot, the subject didn’t matter. She concentrated on arranging the objects in a pleasing composition. Finally satisfied, she stepped behind the camera mounted on a tripod. Focusing the lens, the porcelain face of the doll in the center of the grouping caught her attention. Dark sausage curls surrounded a face of delicate beauty. The blue eyes, however, were what stopped Chloe. They were glass, no different than any of the other dolls’ eyes, but they seemed to stare back at her through the lens.
Then suddenly they sparkled with life.
Chloe straightened with a jolt. Heart kicking up in pace, she wondered if this could finally be the moment when she had her real “Marguerite encounter.” Everyone in the family had had several, but she’d only had one, the day she found the necklace. She wasn’t sure that even counted, since she hadn’t actually felt the ghosts. She couldn’t help thinking if she were truly part of the Pearl Island family, it would have happened by now.
Looking hopefully at the dolls, she realized the sparkle came from the lights she’d set up around the display. Not a ghostly encounter at all.
Stifling her disappointment, she bent back to the camera.
She and Allison fell easily into the groove they’d developed by working together during the years since Chloe had first come to Pearl Island. She may have come initially as a runaway looking for her uncle, but she’d quickly worked her way into the rhythm of the inn. Today, though, she found herself sneaking peeks at her watch and glancing at the door, hoping to see Luc.
“Is something wrong?” Allison asked.
“No, not at all,” she insisted quickly. “Why do you ask?”
“You seem distracted.”
“A little,” she admitted, wondering how Allison would react to hearing about Luc. Her reluctance to talk about him with her aunt surprised her. Allison might hover and worry at times, but she never spoiled anything Chloe confided. Allison would likely listen patiently to every detail. That assurance had a smile tugging at her lips as she lined up another shot. “I had a date last night.”
“Oh?” Allison asked, instantly curious as Chloe had predicted. “With the hot guy from yesterday?”
“Um-hm.” Chloe’s cautious smile broadened to a grin.
“Well?” Allison asked eagerly. “How’d it go?”
“Pretty well, I think.” Stepping away from the camera, she adjusted one of the lights.
“You think?” Allison looked confused.
“Actually”—she remembered the easy conversation over dinner and the kiss on her front porch—“it went really well.” Just saying that out loud made nerves jangle in her belly. “I think I really like this guy.”
“You do?” Eagerness brightened Allison’s eyes. “So, tell me about him.”
That quick, unconditional joy for her wrapped around Chloe’s heart.
Before she could open her mouth, however, the phone in her apron pocket filled the air with the ominous “Imperial March
”
from
Star Wars
. The warmth drained from her body. Retrieving the phone on reflex, she stared at the caller ID to confirm what she already knew. As if Darth Vader himself had entered the room, dread landed in the pit of her stomach.
“What a cheerful ring tone.” Allison scowled.
“I just installed it,” Chloe explained, her voice flat. “So I’d know who’s calling.”
“Oh?” Allison looked cautiously neutral. “Who’d you assign it to?”
Staring at the phone as it continued to emit the oppressive notes, Chloe took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Diane.”
“Your mother?” Surprise lit Allison’s voice followed by hope. “Are you two talking again?”
“Sort of.”
“Or not,” Allison added. “Since you’re not answering it.”
“I don’t need to.” Chloe muted the phone and dropped it back into the pocket. “I know why she’s calling.”
“Care to tell me about it?” Allison asked with no hint of judgment or censor.
That automatic support made Chloe’s eyes sting, but she pushed aside the stupid urge to cry. If she gave in to that useless impulse, who knew what might come tumbling out of her mouth. She couldn’t possibly tell Allison the truth without the whole family getting in an uproar. Lord knew what would happen if Scott found out about his sister’s weird obsession with the necklace, or that his father was threatening to cut off Chloe’s trust fund.
Her uncle and the St. Claires would rally around her, but at what cost? The tentative peace between Scott and his mother was already on shaky ground since his parents had reunited. The twins and Nicki could lose what little contact they had with the only grandparent they knew. Deirdre LeRoche, or DeeDee as her friends called her, might not be the most loving grandmother in the world, but she was better than no grandparent at all. Wasn’t she?
That would end if Chloe couldn’t figure out a way to defuse this latest bomb on her own. Even worse, if her grandfather really did take away her trust fund, she couldn’t afford to keep working at Pearl Island in exchange for free rent.
She had to tell Allison a little bit, however, since her aunt now knew something was up. “Either she’s calling about the necklace again, or about wanting me to come to New Orleans. Probably both.”
“The necklace from the shipwreck?” Allison frowned. “Why does she care about that?”
“It’s a long story,” Chloe sighed. “Let’s just say she’s not happy it’s on display in the museum. She thinks I should try harder to get possession of it since I’m the one who found it.”
“I thought you were happy with the judge’s ruling,” Allison said.
“I am,” Chloe reassured her. “A valuable artifact like that should be in a museum where everyone can enjoy it. Being acknowledged as the owner was enough for me.”
“I’m glad, since the necklace is going to stay put, but why does she want you to come to New Orleans?” Allison asked.
Chloe turned away. “For her engagement party.”
“Your mother’s getting married?” The word “again” hadn’t been said, but it hung in the air.
“Apparently.” Chloe tried to make light of it with a snort.
Silence followed.
When Allison spoke, her words sounded casual. “Wanna talk about it?”
“Nothing to talk about.” Chloe concentrated on adjusting the lights.
“All right…” Allison stretched the words out carefully. “I’m here, though, if you change your mind.”
“I just get so frustrated,” she said, moving to the dolls to rearrange them. Despite her insistence that she didn’t want to talk, words crowded her throat. Maybe she couldn’t reveal the threat to her trust fund, but if she didn’t release some of her irritation at her mother, she’d blow. “The last thing I want to do is meet Diane’s next emotional-train-wreck-waiting-to-happen. Do you know what it’s like listening to her gush about how fabulous some jerk is? How this time it’s for real? How he treats her like a princess? When the truth is, he’s probably already treating her like dirt. Not that she’s saying any of that this time, since I’ve made it clear I don’t want to hear it.”
“Have you met him?”
“I don’t have to.” She waved a hand through the air.
“Careful.” Allison reached out to rescue the doll Chloe still held.
“Oh, sorry.” Chloe grimaced, then continued with her rant. “I know her type. He’ll be as full of himself as he is good looking and rich. The money and looks are all she ever sees. At least this time she doesn’t have to wait for the lying, cheating bastard to get divorced before they can tie the knot.”
“Well, there is that, at least,” Allison offered in a failed attempt at humor. “I’d say don’t let her upset you, but that’s always easier said than done. No matter what, she is still your mother.”
“But
why
is she so insistent I come to this party?” Chloe asked. “We haven’t had much to say to each other since Ralph, the last ‘Mr. It’, dumped her for a younger woman.”
“And you said, ‘I told you so,’” Allison gently reminded her as she took over rearranging the dolls.
“So sue me,” Chloe said in defense of her actions, despite the regret that brought back the urge to cry. Damn it, though, she didn’t know who or what she wanted to cry over. Her mother? Herself? The endless cycle of hope and heartache that defined both their lives? Swallowing hard, she returned to the camera settings. “I was right, wasn’t I? She got that jerk to leave his ‘aging’ first wife for her, the hot new thing in his life, then she’s shocked when he dumps
her
for someone even younger?”
Allison didn’t say anything.
The silence made Chloe glance over. She found her aunt studying her with sorrow in her eyes.
“Don’t give me that look,” Chloe insisted.
“I’m not giving you any look.”
“Oh yes, you are.” In truth, her aunt’s expression held nothing but sympathy. That was all it took, though, to stir her own guilt. “You’re thinking I’m being too tough on Diane. That her last divorce hit her hard. That she’s feeling lost and abandoned, and I should cut her some slack.”
“Chloe, stop.” Allison strode over and cupped her face. “I didn’t say any of that. I didn’t even think it.”
“But I know how much you value family.” Chloe’s voice nearly broke on the final word.
“I do.” Several beats passed before Allison spoke with a calmness that added weight to her words. “But ‘family’ is about more than blood. Being someone’s biological mother or grandfather or cousin or whatever doesn’t give them the right to thoughtlessly trample your emotions. If you don’t want to go to Diane’s engagement party, I think you have the right to say no.”