She turned to face him, her lips quivering. “I’m sorry.”
Alone with Harper, Kip moved to a sitting space in front of a large window that overlooked the garden in the rear of the home. He wanted to give her some space between them. “Harper, who hurt you?” He placed his hand on hers.
Her eyes widened. “That obvious?”
“No, but your fear is. I don’t want to second-guess everything I say or do around you. I don’t want you to censor yourself around me. And I never want you to be afraid of me.”
She sat in the other chair. “I…I’m not as brave as Channy. She’s the rule breaker, and I’m the good girl. Our parents are wealthy. We are considered New Orleans society girls. As Rousselle daughters, we are sixth generation debutantes, part of the Debutante Club. The yacht club boys and some juniors in college were our dates. Balls and cotillions—prom on steroids. Dresses that cost more than an average resident of New Orleans makes in a year. Dirty old men in tuxes, and parents and grandparents observing. We got pranced around like show ponies.”
“The women at Le Saphir?” Kip asked. Her reaction to the story about the Kappa Kappa Gamma girls now made sense.
“Yeah. Channy made it work for her. After the procession and the first dance, she drank a lot and had fun. Our parents went nuts every time she disappeared from the ballroom. One night, Terrence Libscomb’s parents were in a frenzy. They warned him to stay away from one of the debs, Clio. They went banging on doors in the hotel and found him. Channy and he were in a room getting it on. Huge scandal. Made the local newspaper.
“Our folks reminded me daily they couldn’t endure another scandal. I was smothered. Other than school and at home, there was someone following me…supposedly for my safety. Channy and her protector… she made that work for her too. They remained friends with benefits until her bump came into the picture.
“My parents didn’t need to worry about me. All through high school and college, I was so naïve. When I was alone with a guy, which was rare, I was so awkward, I’d panic. My mother forced rules down our throats. No public displays of affection. Demure behavior. Quiet and non-combative tone. And diet. I take after my grandmother on my father’s side and her mother before that. And I take after my father’s shape. My mother starved us. She equated weight loss with love. I am built this way. It took a while to feel comfortable with how I was born and built.”
His mind whirred.Harper, beautiful girl, how could she feel unwanted?How could her parents, her mother, let her feel unwanted?Chantal had to be a minor when that relationship began. And now it sounded like this security provider was the baby daddy. He felt ill.If one of his employees did that?
Harper smiled at him. “After high school, I focused on college. My first scandal, thanks to Channy… I changed my major to nursing. And then I went to work. That first year, seeing patients and families in the hospital, I realized I knew nothing about relationships. And as part of my job, I needed to help people through a loved one’s illness.
“Channy went to business school. She is a self-taught chef, learning from some of New Orleans’ best. For two years, she worked as a line cook and sous chef at places around town. At one of her jobs, she met Moises. After borrowing some seed money from our friend’s parents, they formed their partnership. Our parents refused to loan her the cash. Within a year, she paid the loan back the minute she got her first check from the restaurant, and after finding a great studio apartment, she moved out.
“My parents tolerated her. I think it was ‘out of sight, out of mind.’ The restaurant grew in popularity. A lot of our parents’ friends showed up. I can imagine that made my folks uncomfortable. Things were calm for a while, then Channy got pregnant.
“My parents disowned her. Her unmarried pregnancy was the last scandal they’d endure. She tarnished the Rousselle name. That was my mental kick in the ass. I ignored the tension in the house too long. I realized I was hiding from them every chance I got. I left soon after. I got tired of walking on eggshells.
“By that time, I had seen so many people wish they had just a little more time to be with loved ones. I couldn't understand how they could disown her. Away from our parents, I started to live a healthier and less tense life. But I remain a work in progress.”
“Do you hear anything from your parents?” Kip asked.
Harper looked away. “No, not since their lawyer delivered papers for us to sign. The minute I chose to leave, in their eyes, I was as bad as Channy. It was Channy or them. The choice wasn’t too hard.
“We needed to acknowledge that we were giving up any rights as heirs to their estate, and they would not be responsible for any debts incurred by us. That taught me a lot more about love or, actually, what love wasn't.” She shrugged.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart.” He reached for her, wrapping his hand around hers in a loose grip. He sighed when she didn’t flinch.
“Can I confess something?” Harper pulled her hand away, forcing her palms beneath her armpits.
“Anything.” Kip nodded.
“Monday, I didn’t want to go to the club. Jerrold Sommerstone came back to work at the clinic. He makes me feel uncomfortable. I mean, he’s a good doctor, but he’s not nice to me. He doesn’t like the word no. I wanted to mope, but Channy insisted we go out. And then, there were you and Kyle.”
“There were you and Channy,” Kip whispered. His instincts coupled with their conversation from the club said there was a lot more to Jerrold Sommerstone.
“I love nursing. The Center is a great place to work. The patients, especially the chemo patients, spend a lot of time there. They share wonderful stories.” She stared over Kip’s shoulder. “It’s different from the ER or the ICU where patients come and go.” Her eyes darkened.
“What, Harper?” Kip felt himself slip into his role as investigator.
She played with her fingers and looked away from him. “I was asked to assist Lourdes and Jerrold with a clinical trial for a new chemo drug. They said they got an oral approval from the FDA to move forward with Phase 2. I’ve never heard of that before.”
Kip swallowed visibly. “You think they’re fudging data?”
“I don’t know.” She opened her palms.
“Do you know why they chose you?” Kip asked.
“Administering chemo requires a special skill set, which I have. But I was never asked to work with the trial patients before. I got an uneasy feeling. I only work in the clinic twice a week and every other weekend. Before this chemo thing, I told Channy and Raven to try to find different doctors elsewhere because they were making the patient loads too large.” Her foot tapped restlessly.
