LITMIR.BIZ

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everyone in her life loved her.

      Now she’d likely move into Max’s place at Number Seventeen. There was no real reason to keep two places—not unless they planned to eliminate the alley between the town houses. With Josie’s social work and college expenses, she might not be flush, but Max certainly wasn’t hurting for money.

      But Lucas couldn’t see them going that route. Adding a few walls and a doorway, as Bree and her sister had done, hadn’t defaced the property. Even if historic preservation laws would allow more extensive reconstruction, he couldn’t see his sister tampering with anything that would change her beloved home.

      For the first time, the reality of the changing situation hit him. While he’d remain connected to Court du Chaud through Josie and Max, his home wouldn’t be the same. No matter how far away he moved or how long he stayed away, his home was still a familiar and special place. Funny how he hadn’t remembered that until tonight.

      Maybe he’d offer to buy Josie’s place and keep it for when he came to town, which he planned to do often now that he and Max had renewed their friendship and Josie had officially made him part of the family. Chances were they’d eventually have kids, and the job would fall to Uncle Lucas to teach his nieces and nephews the ins and outs of life at Court du Chaud so they could keep their parents on their toes.

      Just the thought made him smile. He and Max had not only kept his parents and Nana LeClerc hopping, but all their neighbors, too. He remembered tear-assing through the piazza on their bikes after school, popping wheelies around the fountain and almost running down Old Man Guidry, who’d threatened to send his ghost after them.

      If Bree’s sister believed a ghost haunted Number One, then she might step in to replace her late uncle. Lucas hoped so. His future nieces and nephews would need a crazy neighbor to torment.

      Lucas had no clue what had him so reflective tonight, but by the time he got back inside and kicked off his shoes, he knew sleep was off the agenda. He was heading back to Pescadero at noon and had planned to get up early to pack and ship all the memorabilia he’d collected from the attic.

      But when he glanced around the living room filled with mementos his mother had saved to commemorate his youth, he found his enthusiasm to get back to his familiar work environs—which had been mounting steadily since sending Josie and Max off on their honeymoon—had vanished.

      Grabbing the phone, he sank onto the couch and dialed a number. His sister’s sleepy voice answered just before the cell phone rolled him over to voice mail. “Lucas. Everything okay?”

      “Fine. Just wanted to chat.”

      “Chat?” Josie demanded through her drowsiness. “What time is it?”

      “It’s after four here. It can’t be that late in your part of the world.”

      “Lucas—”

      “Get over it, sunshine. You buried me in that attic sorting through our lives. You owe me. And unless I miss my guess, you and Max aren’t doing much sleeping on this honeymoon anyway.”

      “Which is why these precious hours are crucial.”

      “Don’t want to hear about it. What I want to hear about is Bree Addison.”

      There was a beat of silence on the other end. “Bree? Did you get a chance to meet her?”

      “Tonight.”

      “Oh, I’m glad. She’s a sweetie, isn’t she?”

      Sweetie? He’d been left more with the impression of a seductress or siren. “Tell me about her.”

      Josie took off on a commentary that answered more questions than he’d have ever thought to ask.

      “I know Tally better, but Bree belongs to the krewe and I run into her all the time at the café,” Josie explained. “She pops in for coffee a lot.”

      Lucas cradled the phone against his shoulder and moved aside a stack of old school photos on the coffee table so he could prop up his feet.

      “Okay, so she likes coffee,” he said.

      “She and Tally are sharp. I like them a lot,” Josie continued. “I was really glad when Tally got a break finding the captain’s treasure. She’s putting the reward money to good use. I get the impression that neither of them has had an easy road. Not from anything they’ve said, mind you, but they have a younger brother. From what I gather, they’ve been taking care of him for a long time.”

      “What happened to their parents?”

      “Haven’t heard one word about their father, but it sounds like their mother’s been out of the equation for a while.”

      Lucas put these facts together with the provocative woman he’d met tonight. “Know if she’s been at Toujacques long?”

      “A few years, from what she’s told me. She works a second job, too, so her schedule is screwy. She doesn’t always make homeowners’ association and krewe meetings.”

      “So you roped Bree and her sister into painting floats?”

      “Lucas! You know very well that we do more than paint floats. And if you don’t know then I’m not doing a very good job keeping you up on what’s happening around here. Maybe you should try coming home to visit more often.”

      Lucas smiled. While living inside the court wasn’t co-requisite with belonging to the organization whose sole purpose was carrying on the legend of Captain Dampier at Mardi Gras, he knew that with Josie at the helm, court residents wouldn’t stand much chance of avoiding membership.

      To her credit, though, Josie had done a lot to further the krewe’s involvement in the community. Under her administration, they paraded year-round for charitable causes such as the Big Buddies society and women’s shelters.

      “I’ll think about coming home more often if you tell me if Bree’s dating anyone.”

      Silence on the other end…then Josie said, “Interested?”

      “Just met the lady tonight, sunshine.”

      “And yet you woke me up to chat about her. Hmm, what should I make of that? Wait—What?” She directed her question away from the phone, presumably to her new husband.

      Sure enough, Max’s muffled voice carried through the receiver, and Josie gave a laugh. “Max said you better run while you still can. He came home to visit and wound up standing in line for a new driver’s license.”

      “Tell him not to worry. I wouldn’t move back because I’d have to see his ugly face every day. But you know what? I’m feeling generous, so I’ll give you another wedding gift.”

      “Ooooh, really?”

      “Really. Tell me when and where, and I’ll pinch-hit for you with the krewe. I’ve decided to stay in town a while longer.”

      “Lucas!” Josie squealed through the phone, causing him to yank the receiver away from his ear. “Thank you! I’ve been worried about how shorthanded they’d be with me gone. I’m so glad you changed your mind—” She stopped. “What made you change your mind? Meeting Bree?”

      He could still hear that sultry voice in his memory. What a man wants…

      This man wanted to know Bree Addison better.

      “Actually I just didn’t feel like packing the memorabilia. It’s going back up in the attic.”

      3

      BREE MOVED QUIETLY around her house, more out of habit than necessity. With walls separating her from Tally and Christien, she didn’t have to worry about her odd hours at Toujacques disturbing anyone anymore.

      She told herself she was glad. All things considered, life hadn’t changed too, too much with her sister’s engagement. The renovation had been a piece of cake as far as renovations went.

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