The old woman shook her head. “That doesn’t mean I can do anything and everything. Some things are beyond my control.” She nodded toward Holly. “This might be one of them.”
Holly’s shoulders slumped. “Really? If you can’t help me, how will I break the curse?”
Her grandmother stared into her glass of lemonade. “I’ll have to think about it and look through my books and notes. It could take time.”
“Mémère, I might not have time,” Holly said softly. “I’ve had two messages. That’s more than Paul and my parents had before...”
Madam Gautier patted Holly’s arm. “I know, dear. I can’t predict your future, to know if you are truly in danger, but I know someone who might.”
Holly frowned. “I’d rather work with you, Mémère.”
“I need more time. While you’re waiting, go see Lady LaChance, the nutria seer over in Bayou Miste. She might be able to tell you if you are in danger.”
“Nutria seer?” Simon asked.
“Lady LaChance communes with a nutria to predict the future.” Madam Gautier waved a hand. “Much like a fortune teller who reads tarot cards. I’ve heard she’s had significant success.”
Holly’s brow twisted. “I don’t know, Mémère.”
“Go. See her. By the time you come back, I should know more.”
“What is a nutria?” Simon asked.
Lissette snorted softly. “An animal. You think an animal can predict whether or not Holly is in danger?”
Simon was positive an animal couldn’t predict whether Holly was in danger. They didn’t need to know whether or not she was. Based on the threatening messages and her losses of the past, Simon was one-hundred-percent sure Holly was in danger. He didn’t need a woman to commune with a nutria to tell him that.
Madam Gautier gave Lissette what Simon would classify as the stink-eye. “Holly will go to Lady LaChance. I will work on identifying the curse and come up with a cure, if there is one to be had.” She lifted her chin.
“If you work a cure, will you at least let me watch?” Lissette asked.
Holly tensed beside Simon.
“My beautiful granddaughter,” Madam Gautier cupped Lissette’s cheek. “When you show me that you care about anyone besides yourself, I might consider teaching you what I know.”
Lissette’s brow descended into a stormy frown. “I care about you.” She flung her hand toward Holly. “I care about my cousins, even though they don’t care about me. What? Do you want me to prove that I care about the whole damned bayou like you?” She lifted her chin. “Fine.”
Simon knew when a woman said “fine,” all was not fine. He stepped forward, placing his body a bit more between Holly and her cousin, and braced himself in case he had to dive in to save Madam Gautier.
Lissette’s cheeks had turned a ruddy red, and her eyes glistened. “I’ll show you who and what I care about. You’ll see.” She turned to Holly. “You all will see. I’m not just the afterthought granddaughter of the great Madam Gautier. Sure, I’ve made some bad decisions. Yes, I’ve made mistakes. I don’t know anyone who hasn’t, but I’ve learned that I’m a strong, independent woman who doesn’t need her family’s approval. I’ll make it on my own. I’ll show you.”
Lissette turned away and descended the steps without looking back.
Holly started to follow her cousin. “Lissette.”
Her grandmother caught her arm. “Let her go,” she said softly.
“But I have to go after her,” Holly said, tears welling in her eyes. “She’s family. And we have so little family left.”
Madam Gautier nodded. “She is family. But she thinks she has something to prove to the rest of us.” Her head shook side to side. “That’s where she’s wrong. She has only to prove to herself what she just claimed.”
Holly stared after her cousin. “That she’s a strong, independent woman who can make it on her own?”
“Yes.” Her grandmother waved a hand toward Lissette as she slipped into the pirogue without tipping the boat or splashing water on her dress. “All of her broken hearts. All the trouble she has stirred up.”
“She’s always had to have a man in her life,” Holly said softly, “and constantly demands attention.”
“She needs to learn she can survive on her own, and that she doesn’t need anyone but herself to make her happy. We will always be here for her. She has to be there for herself. She has to shine because she wants to shine for Lissette, and be happy because she chooses to be happy, not because she has to have someone to make her happy.”
