He sure as hell had never cared about his wife or son.
Matt had made it his goal in life to never be like his father. The only thing the two of them had in common was practicing law, and Matt vowed to do everything he could to make sure that it remained theonlything they ever shared.
Once his father had moved out of the Gauthier mansion and Matt had moved in, he’d made it a point to erase as much of Leroy Gauthier from the home as he could. His first order of business had been relieving Marion Samuels of her duties as the Gauthier family’s longtime housekeeper and cook. For years Matt had suspected that Marion’s son, Leon, was his half-brother.
Suspected?
Matt huffed out a laugh, shaking his head as he returned the pizza, uneaten, to the refrigerator. Leon looked more like his father than he did.
He wondered how many other bastard children Leroy had sired.
It took a moment for him to unclench his jaw. Matt ran a frustrated hand down his face, cursing Ben for bringing up his father and putting him in this mood. He wasn’t up for dealing with this right now. He needed a distraction.
And he knew exactly where to find one.
This desire to see Tamryn bordered on ridiculous, but he couldn’t help it. Hehadto see her.
Matt made his way to Belle Maison. Maybe he could surprise her with a picnic lunch and a drive out to the Chalmette Battlefield. He would be bored to tears, but as a history professor she would eat up the chance to visit the War of 1812 site.
Matt’s hastily concocted plan was annihilated when Phylicia met him on the porch at Belle Maison and told him that Tamryn was in New Orleans today, researching in the library at Xavier University. Matt shot a quick text message to Zeke Marsh, who hadn’t batted an eye when Matt asked him to keep him abreast of the research Tamryn was conducting this summer.
Today, however, Matt didn’t care about whatever it was she was seeking within the tomes of the university library. His only concern was making sure she was still there before he made the hour-long drive into New Orleans.
Did he really intend to drive all the way out there just on the off chance that he could convince her to have lunch with him?
“Hell yes,” Matt said as he slipped his sunglasses on and backed out of the driveway at Belle Maison.
He knew he had it bad. And he didn’t give a damn.
Tamryn ran a hand along the back of her neck, rubbing the kinks and knots that had taken up residence there. She’d been hunched over this table for the past three hours, unable to tear herself away long enough to even use the restroom. It had been this way for over a week. She was completely enthralled by every single article she’d come across.
She’d read about the history of the slave uprisings along the Mississippi River while researching her dissertation, but she’d never had the chance to delve as deeply as she’d always wanted to. She could spend months in this library and still not satisfy the curiosity that grew with every new text she pulled from the shelves.
“But if you don’t get up from here soon, your bladder will burst,” she mused.
She managed to leave her work long enough to use the restroom and grab a quick drink of water. When she returned to the archives room, Ezekiel Marsh was standing at the table she’d occupied since eight o’clock this morning.
“Hello there,” he said as she made her way back to the table. “How’s it going so far?”
“I could not be more jealous of you,” Tamryn said.
He laughed. “I am very lucky to have this at my disposal.”
“Beyond lucky. I was just thinking that I could spend a month in this room and not make a dent in this. The archives here at Xavier are absolutely remarkable. Thank you so much for allowing me such unrestricted access.”
“My generosity is not entirely altruistic,” he said. “I’m curious about your findings. Once you explained your research, I knew this was something I needed to hear more about. Are you making any progress?”
“I’m sure I would make a lot more if I wasn’t sidetracked by every fascinating article I run across. And knowing that most of these places are just a short drive away is too tempting.”
“You should definitely schedule a few day trips while you’re here. There’s living history up and down the river.”
“I plan to take advantage of it whenever I can over these next few weeks. I cannot express enough just how much I appreciate this. I’ll have to thank Matt for calling in a favor on my behalf.”
“You can thank me with lunch.”
Tamryn turned and spotted Matt coming through the door.
“Speak of the devil,” Ezekiel said, pulling Matt in for a one-armed hug. “I was just saying that I needed to get together with you, but unfortunately I’ve got office hours in ten minutes.” He pointed to Tamryn. “Remember, if you need anything, just call or stop in at my office.”
