A Case for Love (22 page)

Alaine’s heart gave a trill like a piccolo. “They don’t know what they’re missing.”

His eyes, almost as dark blue as his shirt, snapped to hers. She couldn’t believe she’d said that aloud. She couldn’t do this, could she? Yet if she walked away, would she be giving up the only chance she might have for falling in love? She held his gaze, not caring if her indecision showed.

“You know”—Forbes leaned forward and lowered his voice—“falling for your parents’ lawyer isn’t the worst thing you can do. No matter what that woman from Channel Three said to you last night.”

“How did you—”

“Meredith called me last night to ask me what was going on. I didn’t tell her much. Just that we’re friends, and that I’m doing a favor for your parents. She doesn’t need to be dragged into the middle of this.”

“I agree. But Forbes, did she tell you how truly vulgar Teri’s insinuations were? Other people are bound to wonder the same thing.”

“Let them wonder.” He reached across the table and took her hand in his.

Her pulse pounded through her head in dizzying waves. “You don’t understand. As a representative of the TV station, and especially because of the nature of my show and my primary viewers being stay-at-home moms and senior citizens, I have to protect my reputation as much as I can. If a rumor like that were to sprout legs, it could create a scandal, and the last thing we need is negative public attention on what we’re doing.”

His thumb made slow, soft circles on her palm. “You worry too much about what other people think. What do you
feel,
Alaine Delacroix?”

All she could feel right now was the way her body tingled in response to his rubbing her palm. “I...”

Before she could think, before she could react, Forbes leaned across the table and kissed her. Soft, gentle, undemanding, and too quickly ended. Her hand spasmed in his.

“Need more time to think?”

She pulled her hand out of his and reached for the section of newspaper in front of her, folded it in half, and started fanning herself with it. Feel? The only time she ever gave herself over to her feelings was when she was drawing or painting. Which she hadn’t done regularly since college. Did she still know how to feel? “If you hadn’t found out about this whole development thing our parents are involved in right after the banquet, would you have gone out with me?” He took the paper out of her hand and recaptured it.

“Yes, but—”

“And do you think that if we’d gone out on a date, with no family feud looming on the horizon, you might have enjoyed it?”

“I do, but—”

“And if you’d enjoyed that date, would you have gone out with me again?”

“I probably would have, but—”

“And if we’d started seeing each other regularly, don’t you think you’d have fallen in love with me as much as you have while you’ve been trying to avoid me the past month?”

Lawyers. “I’ve never said I’m in love with you.”

He grinned at her. “But you are. Why else would you have flung yourself in front of me to save me from the verbal arrows those people were shooting at me Thursday night? You risked your parents’ ire—as well as this reputation of yours that you’re now concerned about—without a moment’s hesitation. Not to mention the fact that you sat here not twenty minutes ago and ran off our dear friend Riley just so you could spend more time with me. Really now—opera? ballet?”

“Arrrggghhh.” She tossed her head back. “Do you always have to get your way?”

Grinning, he leaned over and kissed her again. Her entire skeleton melted into a puddle of wax, and she could barely focus on him when the kiss ended mere seconds—or millennia—later.

He traced her cheek and jaw with his free hand. “Yes, I always get my way.”

Meredith leaned into Forbes’s one-armed squeeze. “You look like the mouse who found the cheese.”

“It’s a beautiful day.” He should have asked Alaine to come to church with him this morning. Yesterday had clinched it for him: Alaine fit into his life quite nicely. And while he wasn’t ready to take any kind of drastic steps, he wanted everyone to know she was his.

“Really?” Meredith glanced out the bank of windows behind her—on the other side of them, a heavy downpour obscured everything beyond about three feet. “This unusually chipper mood doesn’t have anything to do with your attending a certain meeting in a certain area of town with a certain TV news reporter, does it?”

“Maybe.”

Instead of breaking into a smile, Meredith’s frown increased. “Forbes, weren’t you listening when I told you what Teri Jones—”

“You know you can’t believe a thing that woman says. How many times have Mom and Dad sued her and that station already?”

“That’s beside the point. She will spread the rumor that you’re taking payment for handling the Moreaux Mills case in form of ... well, intimate favors from Alaine.” Meredith’s voice dropped so low, he barely heard the last part of her statement.

He could tell his shrug frustrated his sister further. “Let people think what they want. In the end, the truth always manages to trump the rumors.”

Meredith touched his arm. “Mom and Dad were very hurt when they saw the newspaper article. They don’t understand how you could even consider taking on clients who want to sue them.”

“Not to sue them. To sue their company. There’s a huge difference.” He smiled and nodded at several acquaintances passing by in the crowded foyer. Everyone waited for the rain to ease before leaving. They might be here for a while.

“Don’t try to argue semantics. B-G is us: It’s Mom and Dad, and Major and me. It’s the people we work closely with every day.” Her volume increased with her intensity. She glanced around.

“No one’s listening to us, Mere.” He looked around, too, just to be sure. “But you haven’t talked to the people who’re about to lose their businesses, their homes, everything they’ve worked for their whole lives, just because Mom and Dad—or B-G or however you want to think about it—want to buy up all of their property as cheap as they can so they can tear it all to the ground and rebuild Warehouse Row and Moreaux Mills in their own image.”

“They’re only buying foreclosures and from people who want to sell. Some of those people will never make as much as they’ll get by selling their property to B-G.”

“Not at the scandalously low rate the city council’s inspectors set the property values at. Most of them, if they sell, won’t even be able to cover the full amount of their mortgages and small-business loans.”

Meredith pressed her fingertips to the back of her neck and rolled her head as if to ease tight muscles. “I don’t want to fight with you about it. Actually, I don’t want to know about it.” She inhaled and released a deep breath. “I thought you were planning to attend the art exhibit opening Friday night.”

“Oh, you know me and art.”

“Yeah, I know. Paint-by-numbers or Elvis on black velvet.”

He reached toward her, about to put her in a headlock to make her take that back, but stopped. Not only would it bother Meredith, it would look ridiculous. “You forgot anything made with macaroni and glue.”

Major joined them. “Looks like it’s letting up a little bit. I’ll go pull the car up so you don’t have to get soaked.”

“That’s not necess—”

Major pressed his finger to his wife’s lips and stared her down.

She took his hand in both of hers and pulled it away. “Thank you, dear. I would greatly appreciate you for doing that.”

“I’ll see you over at Errol and Maggie’s.” Forbes unfurled his umbrella so it was ready to open as soon as he walked out the door.

“At Errol and Maggie’s?” Meredith shook her head.

“Yeah ... for lunch. Like every week after church.”

“You mean, you’re going?” She took a step forward, utter confusion twisting her features.

Her confusion proved to be contagious. “Of course I’m going. I go every week, just like you do.”

“But you know Mom and Dad are going to be there.”

He nodded. “Just like they are every week—well, except when they fly off to Boston at the last minute.”

“They’re going to want to talk to you about this case, Forbes.”

Ah, so that’s what had her worried—controversy over the dinner table. She’d always had a delicate stomach, easily upset by the least bit of conflict. “They’re not going to have it out with me at the table in front of the rest of the family. And if I were to skip out, it would look like I’m ashamed of what I’ve done or afraid of them, and I’m neither.” He pulled his sister into a hug. “I’m a big boy. I can handle Mom and Dad’s being a little miffed at me.”

“But they’re not just miffed—”

“Enough, Mere.” He took her by the shoulders and held her at arms’ length. “I
can
handle this. Everything’s going to be okay. Once I’ve explained everything to them, I think they’ll not only realize I have a point but they’ll see things from my point of view and help me work to change what’s happening.”

Meredith still looked skeptical, but someone called to her that Major had just pulled up. “Come on, we’ll drive you over to your car so you don’t have to get quite so soaked.”

“Thanks, Sis.”

But even with his umbrella, his shoes and pants’ legs were drenched just from the few feet he had to dash to get from Meredith’s SUV to the Jag. Whether it was her intention to keep Major completely out of the controversy or if she’d actually decided to believe Forbes when he said he could handle facing their parents, she hadn’t mentioned it again in the brief, shared car ride.

Driving in rain so heavy made claws of anxiety dig into his shoulders—not because of worrying about his own driving ability, but because of everyone else on the road. By the time he arrived at Uncle Errol and Aunt Maggie’s house, the muscles across his upper back were tight to the point of snapping. He remained in the car a moment, doing some deep breathing to try to relax before he walked into what could be an adversarial environment. For all he’d told Meredith that Mom and Dad wouldn’t make a scene in front of the extended family, if they were angry enough, no telling what they might do.

He joined his thirtysomething siblings and cousins in the florida room at the rear of the house.

“Forbes!”

“Hey, Forbes!”

“You made it!”

Everyone’s greetings were bright, cheery—a little
too
bright and cheery. And who was that with Anne? He took another deep breath and slapped on a smile as the tall, curvaceous brunette slinked over to him.

“Evelyn. What a surprise.” He took her proffered hands, but did not move in toward her when it looked like she wanted to exchange a kiss on the cheek.

“I was rather surprised when your parents invited me Friday. I guess they realized how homesick I’ve been the last few weeks. I usually hit a point after about a month where I go through that. But never before have my clients invited me into the bosom of their family to help me feel better about being so far from my own.”

Right. Knowing his parents, they’d invited her for some reason of their own, probably because of his involvement with the Mills case. “I’m sorry to hear you’ve been down.”

A melancholy realization struck Forbes, the same feeling as when he’d been told at age eight that Santa Claus wasn’t real. In questioning his parents’ motives behind inviting a lonely woman they worked with on a daily basis to come to Sunday dinner, he’d taken a giant leap away from the person he’d been not long ago who believed everything his parents said and never second-guessed any decisions they made. He’d lost the last remaining vestige of childhood idealism.

His younger brothers and male cousins seemed eager to recapture Evelyn’s attention. Forbes excused himself and ducked out of the room as Major and Meredith’s entrance drew attention away from him.

He wandered aimlessly down the hall. He didn’t want to go into the living room, family room, or kitchen, where the remainder of the family would be. Being honest with himself, his intestines twisted in knots at the prospect of facing his parents—that they might not hold on to the reserve for which everyone in the family admired them. But would they really do it in front of Evelyn?

The clanging of Maggie’s handheld bell echoed through the house. In just a few short moments, he’d find out exactly how his parents were going to react. Steeling himself, he headed for the dining room. He ignored Meredith’s doleful expression when he took his seat beside her.

During Papere’s blessing, Forbes prayed for wisdom—as well as patience—for the confrontation he was sure would be coming, from the assiduous manner in which his mother avoided making eye contact with him.

Once platters and bowls started going around the table, Forbes got an idea of why his parents might have invited Evelyn on this of all Sundays. She became the center of attention—in which she seemed to revel.

Mom glowed like a proud, well, mother. “Evelyn has done so much in the few short weeks she’s been here to further the Warehouse Row project. It’s amazing how she’s managed to clear some roadblocks that have been hanging us up for months and months.”

Evelyn preened under his mother’s compliments. “Now, Mairee, don’t make it sound like more than it was. I’m just doing my job. It’s easier to make something seem simple if one has experience in it.”

“I’m only telling the truth, dear. We’ve been wanting to move on this development project for at least six months, and it’s your dedication that’s made it happen.”

Forbes pushed a wad of chicken and rice casserole around on his plate. He should have listened to Meredith. Fast food from a drive-through eaten at home alone would have been much preferable than listening to his mother fawn over the person who was probably more culpable for the inequities even now bearing down on the good people in the Mills than he could currently prove.

“So is there a groundbreaking date yet?” Major asked. “Jennifer and I have teamed up to do some interviews recently, so I’m eager to know when I might be able to start hiring.” He cast a grin at his sister-in-law across the table from them. “After all, I can’t let Jenn have all the good candidates simply because she can put them to work immediately.”

“For Warehouse Row, yes, we should be breaking ground by Labor Day. That is, of course, as long as we know we’re going to be able to go ahead with the rest of the Mills development project.”

Forbes tightly controlled his expression when he met his mother’s glare. The crowded dining room became chillingly silent.

“After all, what we’re doing is best for Bonneterre.”

Forbes wiped his mouth and dropped his napkin on the table. Meredith grabbed his forearm and squeezed. With gentle but firm pressure, he disengaged from his sister’s silent expression of concern without breaking eye contact with his mother.

“‘Best for Bonneterre’? Don’t you mean best for Boudreaux-Guidry Enterprises’ bottom line? Because from what I’ve seen and heard from talking to the people who already live in Moreaux Mills, what’s happening is definitely not best for them.”

“You can’t believe what those people say. They’re a drain on our city’s resources—always applying for hardship loans and trying to talk their way out of paying their taxes, all the while reneging on their financial responsibilities. We’re offering them a helping hand by buying them out.”

“After using your considerable influence with the city council to get their property values dropped and their property taxes raised.” He shook his head and stood. “I would never have believed my own parents would do something so underhanded—would exploit other people just to make more money.”

Near the end of the table, his father shot out of his chair so fast it fell backward with a bang on the floor. “You will apologize for making such an accusation.”

“No, sir, I will not apologize. Now more than ever, I believe what you are doing is wrong, and I will do whatever it takes to help the people whose homes and businesses you’re intent on ruining.” He glanced around the room. No one would look at him.

“Lawson, Forbes.” Papere stood as well. “Surely this is a discussion best saved for
private.
”

“Papere, Mamere,” Forbes inclined his head toward his grandparents at either end of the enormous table, “my apologies for disrupting dinner. And you’re right, this is a discussion best saved for another time and another place—when
all
parties are present, including their legal counsel.”

Meredith gave a little gasp. He touched her shoulder and pushed his chair out of the way. “Until such a time, I will consider myself excused from all family gatherings.” With a final half bow, he walked out of the dining room.

No one called his name—no one came after him. Just as well. At least it let him know where the entire family stood on the matter: not with him.

By the time he made it to his car, his lungs hurt from pressure worse than what he’d experienced the first time he’d been scuba diving and had gone too deep.

But he could handle this. He could. He’d handled everything else that had come his way in life. He could handle this. Except no matter what he’d faced in his life before now, he could always count on his family to be there for him.

Not this time.

The pressure increased tenfold. He pointed the car east and drove, not caring where he went so long as he was moving. The conversation he’d had with Major just a few months ago about honoring one’s parents replayed with the vividness of surround sound in his head.

Taking a stand had been the right thing to do. Wasn’t part of honoring one’s parents helping them see when they were doing something that hurt others? Accepting what they were doing without raising a question as to the ethics behind their actions would be dishonoring himself.

He pulled the Jag to a stop—in front of Delacroix Gardens. Though the rain had slackened to a steady drizzle, the cloud-darkened sky made it possible for him to see movement in the lighted, second-floor dormer windows of the building that looked like a cottage out of a fairy tale. He pulled into the small gravel parking lot at the side of the dual-purpose house. Unsure of where the entrance to their home would be, Forbes approached through the pergola that stood over the sidewalk leading to the shop’s front door, not bothering with his umbrella.