The House on Prytania (Royal Street #2)(55)
Author: Karen White
As if conjured, Thibaut and Jorge appeared on the porch with handfuls of tennis balls, making me glad we hadn’t brought Mardi, who would be going wild. They began one of their juggling routines, facing each other while juggling the balls, then turning around and walking in opposite directions without dropping a single ball. I’d seen the routine with small tools before, and I was glad they had stuck with soft, round objects for this particular show. JJ was watching them with a contemplative look, as if he were imagining rolling pins and whisks in place of tennis balls.
We applauded, and they bowed before opening the front door and motioning for us to follow them inside. “Please know this is a work in progress,” I announced as I stepped up onto the porch. “There was a lot more work involved than I had originally anticipated when I bought the house. I have a full-time job to pay for the renovations, but that keeps me from spending all day here.”
My parents hugged me from each side, planting kisses on my cheeks. “Nola,” Jack said, “we couldn’t be more proud of you. You’ve accomplished so much.” I knew he was referring to more than just the house, and it made me blink my eyes.
“Even without knowing how to drive or owning a car!” JJ blurted out. He’d met Trevor during our dad’s visit to the Past Is Never Past the previous day, and Trevor had shown him where I was hiding my bike from my parents. I needed to remember to be nice to JJ, since he now knew my secret.
“I’m pretty resourceful,” I said, giving him the eye-dagger look I’d learned from Melanie. “Shall we go in?”
Melanie and Sarah exchanged looks before moving to the back of the group. I asked Jolene to show everyone around while I went back outside to check on them. Melanie was already adjusting her earbuds in her ears, and Sarah wore the same grim look of determination she’d worn the day before at the church and cemetery. As I approached she held up her hand, showing three rubber bands on her wrist.
“Three?” I asked.
“In case two of them break. Jolene gave me the extra ones. She said your house has a lot of memories in it. I translated that to mean it’s haunted and that I should be prepared.”
I looked at Melanie, who paused her humming of “Mamma Mia” to speak. “And my lips are sealed. Unless you’ve changed your mind about needing my help.”
I shook my head. “Nope. I can handle it.” I wasn’t completely sure of this since the incident in the upstairs closet, but I wasn’t yet ready to admit defeat.
Cooper came up on the porch to stand next to me. “Melanie showed me pictures of what it looked like when you bought it. You’ve done an incredible job.”
“Thanks,” I said, his compliment making my cheeks flush. “I didn’t do it all on my own, though. Thibaut and Jorge are true craftsmen, and Thibaut is as patient as Job in teaching me new skills so I can do things myself. It’s taking longer that way, but I think it’s worth it.” I glanced up to find Beau wearing a speculative expression.
“And Beau,” I added. “He’s helped a lot, too, with resources and advice. Not to mention loaning me Jolene to do the decorative stuff and the social media. She’s the one who’s made the YouTube channel a huge hit.”
“Jolene is . . .”
I waited for him to fill in the blank.
“Amazing,” he finished. “At first glance it’s easy to think she’s purely decorative, especially after she opens her mouth. But I think beneath that red hair is the mind of a genius.”
“You’re not wrong. And I’m glad you said something nice. You had me worried there for a minute. Jolene is one of the most wonderful human beings I’ve ever known, and if you’d said something bad about her, I don’t think we could be friends.”
He raised his eyebrows at the word “friends.”
“Nola mentioned that you might want to look at our new property on Esplanade.” Beau’s voice boomed from behind my shoulder, cutting short my conversation with Cooper.
“Yes,” Cooper said. “I’d love to take a look. It’s incredible what putting in a lot of heart and soul can do for a home. Seeing what Nola’s done here is really inspiring.”
“Thank you,” I said, leading them inside the house. My phone buzzed, and I glanced down to see Michael’s name. I had only just unblocked his number, and seeing his name filled me with more conflicting emotions than I could list. I looked up to see Beau and Cooper watching me. I was fairly sure they’d both seen Michael’s name. “I’ll call him back,” I said, shoving my phone into my back pocket.
“Nola has quite the social life,” Beau said.
“Ignore him,” I said to Cooper. “I’ll explain more later.” I looked behind him and spotted Melanie and Sarah approaching the stairs. “I’ll let you two talk.” Without waiting for a response, I began walking toward the bottom of the staircase.
“I don’t think you want to go up there.” I leaned casually against the newel post from which I had painstakingly stripped fourteen coats of paint and varnish.
Melanie popped out an earbud, the tinny sound of a beat leaking out. “I don’t think we should go up there.”
Sarah rolled her eyes. “Good idea. I heard JJ say something about collecting a few flying roaches to breed with the ones from home. You might want to go find him before he ignites a biological disaster on a national level.”
With an alarmed expression, Melanie headed off in the direction of the kitchen, speaking to no one in particular. “Someone please remind me again why I had children.”
I turned back to the familiar sound of a rubber band being snapped against skin as Sarah looked toward the top of the stairs and the closed closet door. “Mom said you didn’t want her letting you know if she saw anything in your house.”
“Yes.”
Sarah frowned, her gaze focused on the closet door, her finger playing with the rubber bands. Snap snap snap. “Do you want me to tell you what I see?”
My automatic response of no tumbled to the tip of my tongue, but it sat there, suspended. Maybe asking my little sister for help wasn’t the same as relying on my parents. Maybe if I’d asked Melanie what she’d seen the first time she’d visited my house, a lot of turmoil could have been avoided. Not that I would ever admit it, at least out loud. My newfound sense of independence was still too fragile, liable to shatter from the slightest crack. I needed to at least give the impression that I was fine and doing everything on my own.