Night Magic (15 page)

"An attorney, very impressive." Paul's oldest
sister, Adele, stood almost as tall as he did. Her hair was cut
short pageboy style. When she blinked, her bangs moved.

"Takes brains." Bridget nodded. "You a
criminal lawyer? You know defending the innocent. Getting at the
truth so justice can be served."

"Well, not exactly." Savannah shifted
uneasily. She was beginning to think they were being sarcastic. But
when she looked into Bridget's large brown eyes, she saw nothing
but a guileless, twenty-two year old.

"Cher pacan, Bridget. Excuse my little
sister. She loves to watch Perry Mason reruns."

"Unfortunately, it was dry old corporate
law." Savannah couldn't help but laugh at Bridget's obvious
disappointment.

"It's wonderful all the same. Mergers and
such can be just as cutthroat." Bridget declared brightly. "Tisha,
get down from there!" She rushed off to pluck her two year old from
the top of the piano.

"That child can climb anything." Adele turned
her attention back to Savannah. "Thanks for inviting us. I haven't
seen Paul this happy since the day he got his business got its
first contract. In fact, he can't do anything but smile whenever he
talks about you."

"Well, I--" Savannah blushed.

"We're all thrilled. He's the last one you
know. The rest of us are married." Adele leaning forward and stared
at her blinking rapidly.

"Uh, yeah. We haven't quite gotten that far
yet." Savannah ran her fingers through her hair. She cleared her
throat and looked around the room.

"Sorry, didn't mean to embarrass you. It's
just that, Paul has always been the intense, quiet one, like daddy.
The rest of us are rowdy." She waved her hand towards her other
siblings. Laughing and talking boisterously, they seemed to
immediately connect with Savannah's relatives.

"Robert, as usual, has got somebody in
stitches with one of his jokes. Then there's Sheldon. He is in
heaven wherever he can find somebody willing to talk about fishing
in the gulf. And Bridget, she could make friends with the devil if
given half a chance. Seriously though, I hope you'll come visit us
often."

"Thank you, I will." Savannah felt as though
she now had an older sister, too. She became a little misty eyed
when Adele took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze before
letting go.

"Don't you believe anything she says about
me." Paul, who had been watching, was pleased at the way his
sisters had obviously warmed up to Savannah.

"She hasn't said anything about you. Why?
There must be a lot to tell." Savannah winked at Adele.

"Girlfriend, can we talk? Since he brought it
up, there was that ugly incident when he was in the tenth grade."
Adele quickly bought into the game.

"Oh, I was framed! Greg put that pig embryo
in the jar of formaldehyde in Miss Trill's book bag." Paul
protested with a wide grin.

"Hey y'all, it's gettin' dark. Let's head out
for big fun," Robert called out.

It took another ten minutes to get everyone
dressed warmly and line up the caravan of cars so that they could
all arrive at the same time. Savannah and Paul rode together in his
Jeep. Sitting next to him, feeling t his hard thigh pressed to hers
was so right. She placed her hand there, wondering how long she
could resist him. Doubts and fears of the strong emotion he stirred
in her held her back. But now being here with him, that emotion was
steadily chipping away at them, until they seemed small and
unfounded. This was a season of joy and hope. Surrounded by family
and being with Paul filled her with both. It was Christmas Eve and
excitement was in the air. The downtown historic area was decorated
with tinsel, and ribbons. But it was the thousands of twinkling
Christmas lights that brought the most "Oohs" and "aahs" from the
thousands who strolled the small main street. The citizens of Beau
Chene had spent weeks stringing them from every rooftop, in every
tree and shrub of the entire six block area.

There were five foot high wooden toy
soldiers, teddy bears, and other figures carved by locals. The
antique shop's front porch was set up as a replica of a traditional
nineteenth century Acadian home at Christmas time, complete with
carols being sung in Cajun French by a family dressed in period
costume.

"I have to say, this is the best one yet."
Paul's mother turned around. She and her grandchildren darted from
one display to the next squealing with delight at each.

"Now, for a little time alone." Paul seized
Savannah's hand and quickly pulled her away from the others.

"What are you doing?" she gasped, looking
back at the crowd they were leaving. Adele and Bridget were merrily
waving goodbye, giggling at the surprise on her face.

"They'll understand. Let's get a good spot
for the bonfires."

Most of the crowd was still wandering the
streets below. There were relatively few people on the levee since
the bonfires would not be lit for another hour or so. They followed
the soft dirt path along the top of the levee, gazing at the
imaginative structures that would shortly light the way for Papa
Noel to find his way down the river."Here, over here." Paul,
smiling mysteriously, led her to down the slope of the levee to a
small wooden lean to with a bench. He swung his arms wide with a
flourish. "For you, Mademoiselle. A gift from your humble
servant."

"Merci beaucoup." She sat down, making a
great show of daintily arranging the folds of an invisible full
skirt.

They rested against each other, embracing,
kissing with increasing passion."This is a very special Christmas
for me. You're the reason." Paul ran his hand lightly across her
back, pleased at the responding shiver of delight.

"Very special." That was all she could manage
to say, feeling that strange painful, yet pleasurable, hunger
between her thighs. She brushed her lips along his neck, aching to
unbutton his shirt.

"Savannah." Paul spoke her name, his voice
made even deeper with desire.

"Yes." Savannah whispered huskily before
pulling away. They were forced to gather their wits again at the
approach of more and more people.

"Look, here they are!" One of Paul's nephews
called gaily to the others.

Soon they were again swept along in the
general mood of revelry. They began to dance as a band started to
play Zydeco. Moving together, they two-stepped to a love song being
sung in Creole French.

"Well, well. Y'all having a good time I see.
Hi, Paul. Nice to see you again." LaShaun appeared out of the
darkness. A dark, handsome man at her side.

"Hello, LaShaun. How you doing?" Paul smiled
at her and nodded.

Savannah looked from her to
him. Suddenly, the magic of the night was gone. What did LaShaun
mean, again? A familiar sinking sensation grew in the pit of
Savannah's stomach. In a flash, Savannah remembered Devin's
deception and that Paul had been in Beau Chene for several weeks
before she returned home. And Tante Marie told her how he had his
pick of women.
But LaShaun?
Savannah fumed. Staring at him, Savannah wanted to
slap that goofy grin from Paul's face

"You two know each other?" Savannah was stone
faced.

"Oh yes. I showed Paul around some when he
first got to town." LaShaun smiled as if she could say more, but
wouldn't.

"I see." Savannah pulled away from Paul and
folded her arms.

"Let's go, girl." LaShaun's companion tugged
at her elbow.

"Hold on, Andre." LaShaun flashed him a
warning look that caused him to let go. "See you later, let me know
if you need to do any more research." She directly into Paul's
eyes. "Bye now." She flounced off, Andre in tow.

"You failed to mention your- acquaintance-
with that one." Savannah sat heavily on the bench.

"Sure, she was nice to me when I first got
here and didn't know anybody. She helped me do some background
searching on how the land was used for the last twenty years or so,
flood patterns, stuff like that."

"How nice for you to have found a friend so
quickly." Savannah looked ahead into the darkness.

"What? Say, you're jealous!" Paul was clearly
delighted.

"Get real. Just disgusted at your taste in
pals." Savannah snapped.

"Look at me. Come on." Paul cupped her face
with his hands, gently turning her to look into his eyes. "There
never was anything between me and LaShaun. Never."

Savannah searched his face and eyes for any
sign of deception. All she saw was an earnest plea for her to
believe in him. As if in slow motion, she watched him lower his
head to her. His full warm lips enveloped hers; his hands caressed
her shoulders, and then traveled to her waist. He held her so
tenderly, kissing her eyes, her nose, whispering her name.

Shouts of glee went up as one by one the
wooden structures caught flame, lighting the night sky. They sat
watching, the pop and crackle of the fires all around them. As the
band played Silent Night, hundreds of voices rose into the star
filled darkness as the flames began to die. Paul and Savannah
linked hands with family.

"It was just beautiful, being here with
y'all. Me and Charles want you to come to Crowley now, here?"
Paul's mother and father stood outside their station wagon. Each
gave her a hug. While her husband got into the car to start the
engine and get the heater going, Reba lingered.

"Thank y'all for coming, too." Savannah
already felt close to her.

"Paul really likes you, and I'm glad he done
found somebody special." Reba smiled broadly, her plump alight with
cheer. She tugged on her wool coat and pressed a knit hat down over
her tightly curled hair. "He's a good man, and I ain't just sayin'
dat 'cause he mine," Reba chuckled."I know," Savannah replied.

Then with a serious expression, she put both
hands on Savannah's shoulders. "Hold on to each other, don't let
nothin' come between you." Reba hugged her again before joining her
husband. She waved as they drove off.

Savannah pondered Reba's last statement. What
did she think could come between them? Reba had spoken as if there
was something in particular that would cause a rift, something
Savannah needed to be warned about. She started to question Paul,
but the feeling was so vague. She didn't really know what to ask.
The tiny troubling thoughts were interrupted by the rush and crush
of goodbyes to her family. Shouts of "Merry Christmas" or "Joyeux
Noel" echoed as loved ones left for home.

"I don't know 'bout nobody else, but I'm beat
down to my socks. Ain't gone give Papa Noel no excuse not to leave
my presents. Goodnight." Tante Marie yawned widely.

"I'm right behind you. Let these young folk
stay up all night. Night, cher. Night, son." Antoine kissed
Savannah and shook Paul's hand. They watched the tail lights of her
father's car fade into the night. In the distance they heard the
music of a band.

"Wanna go to Sack Daddy's" Paul grabbed her
and began to sway to the music.

"No. I promised Charice I'd help her wrap the
toys tonight. You know kids. She'll have to wait until they are
totally exhausted and sound asleep before she can risk bringing
them out of hiding."

"Then you could use an extra set of hands.
Let's go."

"I thought you were going to spend the night
with your parents?" Laughing, she followed him to his truck.

"Hey, it's barely eleven. It'll only take me
one hour to get there. Let's go. Santa has other stops you know."
He winked.

They spent the next several hours wrestling
with complicated instructions, and struggling to fit big batteries
in tiny spaces. When they were through, it was almost three o'clock
in the morning.

"Whew, thanks for the help. Next time I'll
pay more attention to the words `some assembly required'." Charice
sank onto the sofa.

"No problem, it was kind of fun." Savannah
poked Paul in the ribs. She howled when he responded by tickling
her mercilessly.

"Quiet you two," Charice shushed them
playfully. "I want to get at least two hours sleep before those
little gremlins pop out of bed at the crack of dawn."

After draining their last cup of cafe au
lait, they left for home. Holding hands during the ride, Savannah
wished this night could last forever. She sighed softly when they
arrived at her front door.

"Merry Christmas, mon cherie." Paul held her
tightly, his mouth covered hers.

Savannah parted her lips to admit his soft
explorations. The small gasps she made were not from the force of
his embrace, but the force of her need for him. A need that swept
her away into a soft velvety rush of longing. When at last they
separated, Savannah walked the short distance to her front door on
wobbly legs. Before she drifted off to sleep, she began to plan a
very special New Year's Eve night.

*****

For the next week the whole town seemed
content to spend these few days taking life easy before ringing in
the New Year. Yet business at the shop remained brisk making the
time fly. At last the final day of the old year arrived. And
Savannah was more than ready for the evening.

"Damn, some party." Paul looked around the
packed dance floor.

Dozens of couples danced to the unique sound
of Zydeco. The combination of American blues, Caribbean, African,
and Acadian rhythms perfectly represented the lineage of Creoles.
Sack Daddy's was the most popular place to be anytime, but New
Year's Eve seemed to have brought out everyone within a fifty mile
radius who was looking for a good time. Savannah simply sparkled
dressed in a daring form fitting red dress. She had modeled it for
Charice two days earlier.

"What do you think?" Savannah watched her
best friend's face anxiously. She obeyed her gesture to turn around
and take a few steps.