“Not even,” she said, keeping things simple. Grace lifted her chin.
The dogs danced in place, ready to leap.
“Well, now, I can hire men like you ask, but I’ll have to add the charge to your tax bill.”
“I value my privacy. I can’t have strangers coming out here unannounced.”
“I can use the same men for the assessment and the telephone installation. They can do it all in one day.”
“Fine.” She wasn’t going to be able to get a telephone without some disturbance to her solitude. “Make sure you send a note with the date for their work at least two days ahead. You can send it with my land manager.”
“I’ll do that, Miz Thibodaux. Y’all have a nice rest of your day.” He gave a half-bow that was more insult than manners.
She kept the rifle on him while he returned to his automobile.
As he drove out of sight, Mars and Mercury whined then sat and looked up at her.
Is that disappointment I see in their eyes?
“You two really wanted to bite him, didn’t you?”
Mars’ woof echoed Mercury’s.
When Grace finally lowered the weapon, she was shaking.
Fury, fear or frustration?
All were so familiar; she could scarcely tell the difference anymore.
She went back into the house and buried herself in cleaning the attics—the one place in the house she’d neglected.
Grace accomplished a great deal, despite Guidry’s unpleasant interruption. She swept, dusted, removed broken furniture, setting aside those pieces she felt might still be useable. As sunset neared, she dusted her hands and descended to the kitchen. The animals needed feed and water. So did she. Eventually she grabbed the lantern and headed for the dock, where she settled like every pleasant evening.
She was proud of how she’d handled Guidry, yet she had no one with whom to share her pride.
Knowing I did something well, should be enough. Grace didn’t need other people’s approval, least of all from some man whocouldn’t even be bothered to visit frequently enough for her to determine if he was truly friend or foe.
“Aunt Sarah, I hope you saw my encounter with Guidry. I did as you taught me. I never let him see how angry he made me. I’m getting better at ignoring other people’s attempts to manipulate my feelings. It feels good.”
Except when it doesn’t.
True, she confessed to herself. Luc was the only person she’d been unable to pretend did not exist since she’d moved toSweet Dreams. Despite their rocky start, and their short number of encounters, she wanted to think of him as a friend.
I can’t. Not until I know him better. Even then, friends have betrayed me before.
That was the reason she held back from calling Luc friend. Grace wouldn’t survive another betrayal like Boston.
She looked out over the bayou. The bright purple red of the sky was fading, but enough light lingered that she clearly saw the outline of a sailing ship.
“Aunt Sarah, is that ship really there?” Asking the question helped still the tattoo of fear that drummed in her chest. “I thought I imagined it the first time, but now…”
Now, the masts, lines, and spars, with sails tightly furled, loomed stark against the fading sunset. She stared. Absently, she’d stood and left the dock moving closer to the ship. She had to get to that ship. Needed to know if it was real or not. The bayou soaking her sandaled feet startled her from her daze.
The image never wavered, never changed shape or size regardless of her position.
Grace stepped back onto dry land, and shielding her eyes, watched as darkness grew consuming the vessel. “That ship has to be real. It shouldn’t be here, but it is. Tomorrow, I’ll find it.”
Who knows what items of historical significance I might discover?
