The House on Prytania (Royal Street #2)(89)
Author: Karen White

 

She met me with a full cup of steaming coffee when I emerged from my room. Mardi was already dressed in a navy blue argyle sweater, his tolerant expression very similar to the one I wore when I allowed Jolene to do my makeup.

 

“So, the good news is that the gas company can come today. The bad news is that the time window is between nine o’clock this morning and six o’clock tonight, so I won’t be able to drive you to Abita Springs for your fieldwork. I’m so sorry, but I’m thinking you’d like hot water for your next shower. Maybe Cooper can take you?”

 

“No—he’s in New York for the week. I guess I’ll take an Uber. Abita Springs isn’t that far.”

 

“It’s too far to take an Uber, Nola. Call Beau. I know he’d be happy to help.”

 

“Maybe I should ask Sam.”

 

“Don’t be silly,” Jolene said, pressing a number on her phone. “I need to tell him that I’m going to be able to work from home today so that he’s free to take you. I’ll be killing two birds with one stone.”

 

“Whatever,” I said, sounding too much like Sarah. “At least he has a working heater in his truck.”

 

Beau was already around the corner, at a property on State Street, so I was able to get out the door without a complete makeover and had to submit only to a hair brushing, as well as a blue cashmere sweater thrown over my head, before escaping the apartment.

 

“Your lips match your sweater,” Beau said as he held the passenger door open.

 

“Th-th-th-thanks,” I said, tossing into his truck my backpack and the enormous puffer coat Jolene had let me borrow, before sliding into the seat and reaching for the temperature controls.

 

As Beau slid behind the steering wheel, he said, “You know you’re always welcome to stay at the house on Prytania. We’ve got plenty of room. Jolene, too, of course.”

 

My teeth were clenched together, making it difficult to respond. “I’ll keep that in mind. Hopefully, this can be fixed in a day and we won’t have to.” I knew that I would prefer to sleep in a snowsuit and covered with blankets than spend a single night in a room in the same house with Beau. We had tried it before, which had resulted in our first and only kiss. Something both of us never talked about and chose to pretend had never happened.

 

“Would you like your heated seat turned on?”

 

“Is the sky blue?” I replied, annoyed that I hadn’t already thought to ask.

 

Beau pressed a button, and after a few minutes I began to have feeling in my lower extremities and backside again. I leaned forward and looked up through the windshield. “It’s not supposed to rain, but I don’t like the looks of those clouds. If it does rain, the roads will become sheets of ice. It’s a good thing we’re in a truck, right? Because we’ve got four-wheel drive.” I was proud to spout off my newly acquired knowledge like I’d always known it.

 

He sent me a sidelong glance with a familiar expression.

 

“Why are you looking at me like Jolene does when she says ‘Bless your heart’?”

 

“Believe me, I was thinking it. Four-wheel drive means nothing on ice unless I attach ice skates to my tires. And no, those don’t exist,” he added, saving me from asking the question and embarrassing myself. “If the roads are icy, here in Louisiana the best thing to do is find a safe spot and wait until the sun comes out and makes the ice melt.”

 

I whipped out my phone and checked the forecast. “According to the weather app, there’s a sixty percent chance of rain, but it’s not supposed to start until three o’clock.” I checked the time. “It’s nine thirty now, Abita Springs is about an hour away, and I should be done with what I need to do in about three hours—four hours tops. That would put us driving back before two o’clock and home before it starts to rain. I think we can do it, don’t you?”

 

Beau peered down at his dashboard. “It’s thirty-three degrees now, which means the ground is already pretty cold. Does it get any warmer?”

 

I looked at my phone. “No. It’s actually going to get colder—but not until after sunset, which is . . .” I scrolled down the screen. “At six fifteen tonight. But we should be home well before that.”

 

We’d stopped at a traffic light before the on-ramp to Interstate 10. “We should,” Beau said. “But I should probably ask how important it is that you do this today. It might be worth waiting until next week, when the temp will probably be in the seventies again.”

 

“The fieldwork was supposed to have been done last week, but I asked my boss if it could wait until today since Sarah was here, and he agreed—as long as it was done no later than today.”

 

“Well, then,” he said as the light turned green and we headed up the on-ramp. “We’re going to Abita Springs. I’ve got a full tank of gas, and a cooler full of snacks, and a big umbrella. Mimi taught me that the more prepared you are for an emergency, the lower the chances of anything happening, so we should be good.”

 

We slid into the middle lane in what was noticeably light traffic considering it was still technically rush hour. I glanced in the backseat, feeling reassured by seeing the giant Yeti cooler.

 

“I’m surprised that you didn’t ask Michael or Cooper to drive you before you asked me,” Beau said.

 

“I would have asked Cooper, but he’s in New York all week. And I did consider asking Michael, but since I’d planned on calling you today to go over the weekend with the Sabatiers while Jolene drove, this kills two birds with one stone.”

 

“Wow. I’m flattered. I guess I should be happy just to have been nominated.” The half of his face I could see was grinning, so I didn’t feel the need to apologize.

 

I’d been hoping that Sam would have filled him in, so I’d know where to start. “Have you had a chance to talk with Sunny?”

 

“Oh, yes. She was practically gushing over what you’d told her about Michael and his aunt and uncle, about how nice they were and how they could prove that they weren’t involved with her abduction. She also wants me to go with her to Mimi to beg her to send fund-raiser invitations to Angelina and Robert Sabatier as an act of goodwill. I told her I needed to talk with you first, because she sounds like she’s been either hit on the head or brainwashed.”

 

“I know. And if I hadn’t met them myself, I’d be agreeing. But I did, and their story is believable, and so are they. I’ve asked Christopher to do some digging to make sure. I know that Mimi had asked him in the past to help find Sunny, so I thought he would be the right person to ask. Regardless, I think they should come to the party. So that you and Mimi can come to your own conclusions.”