Threads of Steel (Bayou Cove) (37 page)

She pulled herself up and went inside to try to make sense out of what the man had just told her. Could she stay in the community with people like him and like Angela
Holbert
down the road? Would she ever be accepted if she stayed?

Maybe she ought to withdraw her loan papers and leave the house on the market. That way, Caitlyn and Nancy would eventually have their money, and she could go on doing what she had down for the last decade—getting lost in the crowded city of New Orleans.

After a quick walk through the house, she drove around the neighborhood, saw Angela
Holbert
in her yard, but didn’t call out to her this time. Angela was walking toward the street with a phone stuck to her ears. Anna Marie kept going. After her confrontation with the Harrington man, talking with the likes of Angela wasn’t exactly what she needed.

When she got to the main road and had to stop, she picked up her cell phone and hit Nancy’s name. When she answered, her cheery voice instantly made her feel better. With Harry on the mend, Nancy seemed to be back to her cheery self.

“I hate to ruin your good mood, but let me tell you what I just had to go through.” She went on to tell her friend about Miss Ellie’s nephew.

In an uncharacteristic manner, Nancy said a few choice words.

“Yes, Nancy.
He was rude, just about as rude as anyone has ever been to me, even worse than the grandson was.” Anna Marie followed the flow of traffic, but laughed when Nancy called
Mr. Harrington an inconsiderate ass.

“I have to agree with you. He’s the biggest jerk I’ve ever met. I really was looking forward to buying the house from you and Caitlyn and doing something with it, and I have you to thank you for that. You’re the one who made me start thinking about what I have in New Orleans. I think you said I was hiding in the crowds and maybe I have been.”

“No,” she said when Nancy tried to apologize for saying those things after the signing. “No, I’m glad you said what you did. I needed someone to knock me in the head and make me start doing what I really wanted to do. Maybe I’ve always let what others think of me rule what I do.”

She took a deep breath. “I don’t know what I’m going to do now. I want the house and I guess I can live with people not welcoming me with open arms because of what Dad did, but, gosh, I had hoped it wouldn’t be quite this straight-forward. Having people talk about me behind my back is a little easier to take than what this man just did.”

Nancy tried to console her from the other end of the phone and invited her over, but in the end, Anna Marie chose to go check in at the hotel. She had a night to think about what had happened today. Tomorrow she could withdraw the paperwork to buy the house and head back to the city to catch a flight to a tropical island, or she could do what she came to do here in Bayou Cove and make the most of it.

* * *

“So have you figured out why this Harrington character was so riled up this morning?” Doug sat on the back deck of the hotel with his arm stretched across the back of a double rocker, resting on Anna Marie’s shoulder.

Anna Marie didn’t want to talk about the house or the
Harringtons
or anything else for that matter. With the afternoon sun finding its way through the thick leaves of the oak trees, she only wanted to feel of his arm against her, close her eyes and let the weight of the world slide off her shoulders. Doug had a way of making that happen.

But he looked at her, waiting for an answer.

“Well, have you?”

“No,” she said and took a deep breath, “I’m not sure why he decided to come see me today, but I hope I never see him again. I can’t image anyone being so rude to another person.”

He smiled. “Not everyone’s as nice as you are.”

“No, I’m not that nice, but I do have the decency to talk with a little civility even when I’m upset.”

“Sounds like the guy must’ve been brooding a long time over the house and what his aunt didn’t leave him. When he actually got here, he probably just lost control.”

“I know, but it still took me off guard. I wish he would’ve done this earlier before I made the decision to buy the place.”

“Would that have changed your mind?”

She thought about that for a few seconds before answering.
“Maybe.”

He turned to her and pulled her into his arms. “Well, I have to admit I’m feeling a little selfish. I’m glad he didn’t come right away. I’m happy you’ll have a house here. Now you have an excuse to come back to Bayou Cove more often.”

Anna Marie wanted so much to tell him that he could’ve been reason enough for her to come over more, but she bit back the words. After seeing him with the other woman at his house, she wanted to make sure she didn’t appear as if she thought she had any attachment to him.

Instead of telling the truth, she kissed him lightly on the lips. “It makes me happy that you’re glad I’m buying it. If I start feeling like I’ve made a miserable mistake, will you promise to cheer me up with those words?”

He got serious. “You can count on that, but I think you’re worrying over nothing. It’s not like this purchase is written in stone. Buying a second home isn’t doing something that can’t be taken back. It doesn’t have to be permanent.”

Anna Marie kept a slight smile on her face, but his words were not what she wanted to hear. Was it his way of his telling her that nothing here in Bayou Cove should be looked at as permanent, not even him?

“You’re right I guess. I should enjoy the moment and not worry about what it means to me or to anyone else.”

“That’s my girl,” he said and gave her another quick kiss.

For rest of the evening, Anna Marie read a book and tried to stop thinking about the house. Doug had an old boss coming over for dinner, and he didn’t ask her to come over. He hinted at her joining them, but she didn’t feel as though his heart was in the invitation, so she said she had some work to catch up on. She wondered if the boss was female, but didn’t let that thought upset her.

It had been a long time since she’d given herself enough time to actually curl up on the bed and read a book. She went to the local superstore and bought several romance novels and one mystery. Still, she had to make herself stay focused and not think about Doug and about the house. It was well after midnight before she finished one of the books, turned out the light and fell asleep.

By eight o’clock the next morning she was already dressed and headed out to the veranda to eat a light breakfast, knowing that if she actually let herself go through with the signing of the loan, she wouldn’t need to use this hotel when she came to Bayou Cove. She’d have a house of her own to use.

In a way her excitement over the house was tempered by the fact that this hotel, her home-away-from-home wouldn’t be needed any more. She’d grown comfortable here with the hotel’s homey décor and wonderful outdoor areas to enjoy the bayou waters or simply to watch the golfers on the course. And, more importantly, she felt close to her mother here.

Again her insides tightened thinking about what she was going to do.

Phooey, Anna Marie. You’ve done worse things in your life than making something of Miss Ellie’s your own.

That made her smile. Like Doug said, nothing was permanent.

After her breakfast she called Stephen.

“Are you at the office?”

She laughed when he said he’d just walked in and had thought about not going in at all.

“I wouldn’t blame you for taking a little break. I don’t expect much in the way of new orders anytime soon.”

She took a deep breath and let him know what she’d been thinking about.

“I’m closing on the house today, you know.” She listened to his congratulations, then to the expected question of what she would do with the house.

“I plan to use it as my weekend get-away. It’s close enough to get over and back on a short weekend, but I’ve had some other ideas as well. Now don’t holler when I tell you this, but do think about it. Nothing has to be decided today.” She grabbed the arm of the chair for courage. “I was thinking that if I chose to stay over here more than on weekends, I could drum us up some
business. You know, maybe like having a branch of Fleur de
Lis
over on this side of the coast. I could take orders, do measurements, and then do the actually creations in New Orleans.”

She swallowed and waited for him to explode. He didn’t. Instead he said it was an option to think about. Then he threw in, “Are you planning to move back there permanently?”

“Oh no, Stephen, but if I spent time over here, I might as well do a little work. This area is big in Mardi
Gras
just like New Orleans. Who knows? It might be a bigger boost to the business than we ever thought possible.”

She listened to him fumbling around with something on his desk before he said it was an option and he’d consider it. “But, Anna Marie,” she heard his loud breath before he continued. “We’ve built this business together from the ground floor when no one else in the industry thought we’d have a chance. We’re good together. Please don’t do anything drastic without giving it a lot of thought. And I mean a
lot
of thought.”

His words touched her heart. “I’d never do anything to ruin what we’ve worked so hard to build. We’ll talk about it when I get home. I just wanted you to be thinking of the expansion idea. It’s just that, an idea. This community might not need another Mardi Gras business.”

She hung up,
then
wondered if she had just taken the next big step in becoming more than a weekend fixture in Bayou Cove.

After the Harrington confrontation, I’m not even sure I want to sign those papers today to buy the house, and here I am moving the business over here.

With her plate pretty empty, she left a nice tip for the waitress and headed to her car, trying to remember what she’d eaten. Having her mind on the house and the office, she wasn’t even aware what had been put in front of her.

Before her appointed time, she waited in the lobby of the closing offices, determined to go through with the signing. Reinforcing herself with Doug’s words that nothing was permanent, she made herself believe this was the right move, at least for the moment.

One of the Lowery brothers showed up early as well. He walked over to her with a smile on his face. “I wasn’t sure you’d actually show up today, Miss
LaFaire
. I’m so glad you did.”

“Thank you, Mr. Lowery. I’ve had a lot of support from my friends so I think this is the right move.” She left out the part about what the Harrington nephew told her or the obvious snub from Angela
Holbert
. She had to believe this was the right move. She simply would not let herself think about them.

Nancy flew through the doors exactly at 9:30. “I’m not late, am I? I had to wait until someone could sit at my desk before I left the school.” She plopped down on one of the nicely upholstered chairs and fanned herself. “I wanted to get here early so we could talk,” she said directly to Anna Marie.

“
It’s
okay, Nancy. I’m not leaving town today. I’ll be around.”

Nancy smiled. “Yeah, that’s right. You’ll have a house here. Have you bought anything for it? Did the
Harringtons
leave you a bed?”

Anna Marie felt a warm flush spread across her face remembering the day she and Doug made love on the bed in one of Miss Ellie’s guest bedrooms.

“They took the antique bed from her master bedroom, but there are two other smaller beds.” She had to squelch the smile that would give her and Doug away so she spoke fast. “I can make do with them. There’s a really old washer and dryer so I can wash the linens. I don’t want to jump into buying too much right away because I don’t know what I’m going to do with the house yet.”

As soon as she finished, the receptionist asked them to go into the room where they’d
signed to get the house in all three of their names a few months ago. A flutter of nerves gave her hesitation.

“You okay?” Nancy asked after she got up but realized her friend was still seated.

Anna Marie nodded. “I guess. This is a big step for me.”

Mr. Lowery offered his hand. “It’s a wonderful step for you, Miss
LaFaire
. You’re doing the right thing. I think you’ll find you’ve made the best decision of your life, and I know Miss Ellie is smiling down on you.”

Anna Marie took his hand. “I hope so. I don’t know about it being the best decision, but I just want it to be a good decision.”

Within the hour the house was hers, and the checks were distributed to Nancy and to Mr. Lowery for Caitlyn. When they got to the parking lot, Nancy threw her arms around Anna Marie’s neck and sniffled. “You have no idea how this check is going to make my life better. Our bills had been piling up before Harry got hurt, and even though he’s back at work from the accident, we still haven’t caught up. Thank you so much.”

“Thank Miss Ellie, not me. She’s the one who did this. I only hurried the process along. Somebody would’ve bought the house eventually and you would’ve gotten your share.”