Bayou Paradox (14 page)

CoCo stood and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “I love you, Tara. Nothing's more important on this earth than family. Especially now.”

Little butterflies burst free in her chest.

First the sheriff hugs her, now her sister turns to total mush on her. To top it off, Tara was now questioning her own training and her abilities.

What was happening to her?

I
f only she could get another dose into Tanty.

It'd worked with Grandmere, at least to wake her up. What else could have? Surely it would work on Tanty, too. She'd be much more careful this time to get her focus just right.

Yes, Bubba had told her not to. And he
was
the sheriff. But then again, what did he know? He didn't even believe in the powers of the potion.

She hadn't
exactly
promised him she wouldn't, had she? Sure, she might be splitting hairs, but she hadn't given him one.

He'd taken the vial, but she had all the fresh ingredients she needed. And she'd be sure to keep her mind pure while she mixed. No distractions.

Tara slipped out the kitchen door and into the work shed. CoCo and Alyssa were in the living room watching television with their husbands after supper. They wouldn't emerge again for hours. CoCo had given Tara her visiting time, so she had almost two hours to mix the potion. Plenty of time.

The shed trapped humidity inside. Tara shoved windows open and propped the door open. Then she gathered the ingredients and lit the burner.

Tree frogs sang along the bayou. The distinct smells of fresh soil and bayou drifted inside, wrapping around Tara as she worked. Once all the ingredients were blended, she set the flask on the burner and stepped back.

Her thoughts and heart had remained focused during the entire process. Nothing would cause the potion to bring on any side effects. Not this time. She'd made sure.

CoCo's soft words skipped across her mind. The questions she'd posed. The implications she'd made in her quiet and nonthreatening manner. Could CoCo be on to something?

No! Tara wouldn't consider such a thing. They were wrong. She was right. She knew it.

A bubble drifted to the top of the flask and soon the potion was boiling. Done. Tara filled a new vial, then went about cleaning her workstation.

In the distance, the hum of an engine carried over the still bayou. Tara clutched the rag she held, listening.

The engine noise grew closer. Someone had turned into the canal off the main bayou shoot.

Tara slipped the vial into her pocket, turned off the lights, went out and shut the door behind her. She made fast tracks down to the bayou's edge, ducking behind bushes and trees as she did. While the sheriff might've arrested Melvin Dubois for trashing her place, someone else was now close to her property and whoever it was didn't belong there.

Before the boat reached a point where Tara could make it out clearly, it maneuvered to the other side of the bayou, its engine idling. Tara raced to the edge of the bayou. As soon as she broke free of the tree line, the boat revved to life, whirring and gunning toward the open waterway.

Squinting, she could make out the last three call letters from the running lights—U G S. They hadn't done anything illegal, so she couldn't file a report. But just their presence there, at night, was suspect. She'd remember those letters, just in case.

She stuck her head into the living room just long enough to let her family know she was on her way to the hospital, then raced to her Mustang. With a little luck, she'd slip in and give Tanty a last dose of the potion, then still make her visiting time with Grandmere.

A breeze whispered across the parking lot as Tara hurried to the hospital entrance and went in. Heat lightning flashed across the sky, teasing and tormenting with no promise of rain.

She took the elevator to the fourth floor and made it past the first turn toward Tanty's room when a nurse stopped her.

“Ms. LeBlanc, we were just about to call your family.”

Tara's heart missed a beat. “What's wrong with my grandmother?”

The nurse smiled. “Oh, nothing's wrong, honey. Her pain has diminished greatly, and the doctor has ordered her medication decreased. She should be awake and alert in the morning.”

Feeling as if her knees would give, Tara balanced herself against the wall. “That's wonderful news.”

“Yeah, honey, it is. I'm sure you can't wait to see her and tell your sisters.”

“Yes, ma'am. I'll be visiting her shortly.” Tara straightened and moved to proceed down the hall.
“Merci.”

“Bienvenue.”

Tara left the nurse and snuck inside Tanty's room. No one had seen her. Tanty's color looked better, at least to Tara. She sat gently on the edge of the bed. “I've got the healing potion for you.”

Unscrewing the top, Tara pulled potion into the dropper. With a steady hand, she eased the dropper into Tanty's mouth and administered four drops. She leaned forward and closed her eyes.

A strong hand wrapped around hers and the vial. “What're you doing?”

Her eyes shot open.

Sheriff Theriot held her hand tight in his grip. “I thought we agreed no more of this.”

She hopped to her feet. “No, you said not to. I just said I understood.”

His face turned an interesting shade of red. “Tara, you've given me no choice.” He pried the vial from her hand.

“It can help her.”

“I told you not to, and you totally ignored my directive.”

“But you don't understand. This potion ca—”

He grabbed her by the arm and led her to the door. “I can't trust you.”

Her heart did a somersault. His statement hurt more than anything. “Look, I'm trained to do this. Trained by the very woman I'm trying to help.”

“And I've told you not to. You blatantly disregarded my order. Not only as sheriff, but as Tanty's closest living relative.”

Fear made her heart pump faster.

“I have no choice but to take you in.”

Take her in? Was he insane? “You can't be serious.”

“I'm dead serious.” And by his expression and the hardness in his eyes, he wasn't lying.

She'd have to beg to get out of this one. Tara fought to find the right words, the perfect phrasing—

Beeeeep! Beep! Beeeeep!

Tara jumped, as did Bubba. He gently lifted his aunt's hand. “Aunty Tanty?”

The elderly woman's eyelids fluttered, then opened. She blinked several times and turned her head from side to side.

“Shh, Aunt Tanty. It's okay. I'm here.” He turned his gaze to Tara. “Go get the doctor.”

Tara raced toward the nurses' station. Two nurses were already on their feet.

“It's Tanty Shaw. She's waking up!”

“We're on our way, child,” the elderly nurse said, clutching a clipboard to her chest.

The nurses headed to Tanty's room. Tara rested against the counter, panting, her heart pounding. Tanty was awake!

She stared down the hall.

She'd done it. The potion had worked!

 

“You know the routine, Sheriff. We'll begin taking her off the machines, one at a time, and run tests. Most likely, you'll be able to see her around three this afternoon.”

Yeah, he knew the drill. But he wanted to talk to his aunt, hear it straight from her that she was okay. Bubba let out a long sigh. “I understand.
Merci,
Doctor.”

“I have to admit, I expected her organs to start shutting down soon. That she came out of the coma on her own is a good sign.” The doctor looked at him. “But you know all this. I'll get to work now.”

Bubba nodded, his mind racing. Her coming out of a coma was a miracle. He raked a hand over his hair. But would Tara LeBlanc see it that way? Would she give her potion the credit? He stilled. Yeah, she would.

How could he help her see that the miracle was from God and not some silly little brew she'd cooked up?

The nurses were aflutter with good news. Not only had Aunt Tanty come out of a coma, but Mrs. LeBlanc had improved so much that they were decreasing her pain medication. Maybe soon he'd get some answers.

Please, Lord.

“Bubba.”

He turned to find Luc Trahan rushing toward him, a huge smile plastered across his face. “Another miracle.”

Bubba smiled. “Yes, it is.”

Luc clapped his shoulder. “Tara called and told us about your aunt and Grandmere's progress.”

“Yeah. Maybe I can get to the bottom of all this soon.”

“I'm sure you will.” Luc looked at him carefully. “Is there something else wrong?”

Bubba hesitated, then nodded.

“Want to talk about it?”

“Let's go to the waiting room.” Bubba led the way and took a seat in the far corner of the deserted room.

“What's up?” Luc sat beside him, his gaze serious.

“It's Tara.”

Luc straightened. “What about her?”

“I'd caught her giving Aunt Tanty some of her potion stuff earlier. I told her not to do it again. I thought she'd agreed.”

“But?”

“Tonight, just before Aunt Tanty came out of the coma, I caught her doing it again.”

Luc let out a heavy sigh. “Oh, man.”

“Yeah. So now, I don't know what to do. She's going to think that stuff she brewed is what brought Tanty out of the coma, not God's healing hand.”

“That
is
a dilemma.”

“How'd you deal with that with CoCo? I mean, back before she became a Christian?”

“Not very well. Remember, we broke up because I couldn't deal with all the voodoo stuff.”

Bubba rubbed the back of his neck. “I just don't know what to do.”

Luc narrowed his eyes. “She's gotten to you, hasn't she?”

“What?” Bubba shook his head. “Don't be ridiculous.”

Luc smiled. “Don't try to deny it, man. Your feelings are all over your face.” He waggled his eyebrows. “Does she know?”

“I hope not. I'm not sure, though.” He took a deep breath. “I pulled her into a tight embrace the other day. I'm pretty sure she knew it wasn't just a brotherly one.”

One of Luc's brows shot up. “Really? How'd that go?”

Heat crept up the back of his neck. “Better than it should have.”

“What'd she say?”

“Nothing.”

Luc cocked his head. “Nothing?”

“We, uh…” Bubba's tongue tripped. He forced a cough. “We didn't have…haven't had a chance to talk about it.”

Luc sat silent for a moment. “You must be asking yourself the same things I did—how can you have feelings for a woman who doesn't love God? I know, I've been there. Not a fun place to be.”

“So, I'm back to the question—what do I do?”

“I wish I had an easy answer for you. I don't. Just pray. God's still in the miracle business—today's a prime example. And look how He touched the hearts of CoCo and her grandmother. Who would've ever thought Marie LeBlanc would turn her life over to God?”

Luc had a point, but it didn't make Bubba feel all warm and fuzzy inside. He couldn't imagine Tara admitting she needed anyone, especially Jesus. The idea grieved him deeply. Compounded with the guilt that he hadn't witnessed to Aunt Tanty as much as he should have over the years, his emotions were as tangled as fishing line caught in a propeller.

“I'll be praying for you.” Luc stood and rested a hand on Bubba's shoulder. “With your permission, I'll talk to CoCo, Alyssa and Jackson. We'll all pray diligently.”

Too late to keep his feelings to himself. Bubba stood. “I'd appreciate all the prayers I can get. I just don't know what's wrong with me.”

Luc grinned again. “Ain't love grand?” He turned and waltzed out of the waiting room.

Love? Bubba shook his head. He wasn't anywhere near that emotion. Sure, he couldn't stop thinking about Tara. The way her eyes danced, her hair smelled, how she talked with her hands. The way his heart contracted when she smiled.

Oh, no. He
was
falling in love with Tara LeBlanc.

Lord, please help me.

 

Couldn't her voodoo give her a little better direction? Tara stomped through the kitchen, heading straight for the coffeepot. How had she slept in so late?

Actually sleep had teased and tormented her all night, hovering just out of her reach. It didn't help matters for her dreams to be littered with images of the sheriff. But in her dreams, he wasn't the sheriff, just a very attractive man.

Tara pulled a mug from the cupboard and filled it to the top with the chicory blend. She took a sip. It was just the way she liked it—hot, strong and not weakened with sugar or cream.

She groaned and set the cup on the counter. What had happened to her? Amidst all the hoopla at the hospital last night with Tanty waking and Grandmere making such a vast improvement, Bubba hadn't been able to finish scolding her about the healing potion. Or arrest her, for that matter. He'd never accept the truth that voodoo worked, just as she couldn't believe in his—and her sisters' and Gramdmere's—Jesus.