Rue Toulouse (8 page)

“I’d be happy to park the car for you if you wish.”

“Yes, Thomas, thank you.” She jumped from the car and handed him the keys.

As Caterine hurried into the restaurant, Thomas drove away.

Remi, out of breath from running, spotted the car as it turned a corner. With a smile on his face, he ran on, only to be brought up short when he saw a distinguished-looking black man step out. Remi leaned against a wall to catch his breath as he watched the man enter a coffee shop.

Maybe she had turned before he reached the street. He wiped the sweat from his brow as he started back home. He paused beneath Brennan’s dark green awning, waiting as a group of tourists went inside.

I know it was her.
He scanned the street but didn’t see another red Mercedes. As a thought struck him, he smiled. It was nice still knowing people with access to vehicle registration records.

Chapter Seven

“There you are, Caterine.” Miss Dauphine glanced at her watch. “You’re usually punctual. Did you have a problem?”

“Yes, Grandmère
,
and I’m sorry I’m late.” She kissed her grandmother’s cheek before taking a seat across the linen-covered table that overlooked the courtyard. “I encountered one mishap after another getting here. Have you already ordered?”

“Just coffee and onion soup so far. Take your time, my dear, and catch your breath. I don’t have another appointment until this afternoon.”

Caterine placed her order for coffee, onion soup, and eggs Hussarde
,
then sat back and took a sip of water. Love and pride filled her heart as she smiled across at her grandmother.

Elegantly attired in her signature Ma Chérie black cashmere suit and lace-edged white silk blouse, Miss Dauphine’s petite frame was still erect. Her perfectly quaffed thick silver hair and smooth skin were the envy of women ten years her junior.

“What are you smiling at, my dear?”

“You, Grandmère. You look lovely, as always.”

A slight pink tinged Miss Dauphine’s cheeks. “Why, thank you. And I must say you’re looking especially lovely yourself. It’s uncanny, Caterine. The older you get the more you resemble your dear mother.” For a second, Miss Dauphine’s face took on a pained expression.

“But I digress. What I meant to say is that you have a glow about you, such as a young lady might after a pleasant encounter with a young man. Did you meet someone special at the party last night?”

Visions of Remi’s eyes dark with passion flashed through Caterine’s mind and she stammered, “W-why, no, Grandmère. I didn’t meet anyone.” Unable to meet her grandmother’s probing gaze, she busied herself refolding her napkin.

“Is there something you wish to tell me, Caterine?”

“No, Grandmère, there’s nothing.” She let out a sigh of relief when the tuxedo-clad waiters took that moment to bring their food.

As their orders were placed in front of them, Miss Dauphine said, “We’ll finish this delicious food before I get to the reason I asked you here. I don’t wish to discuss unpleasantness while dining.”

Sighing with relief, Caterine gratefully began to eat.

When the empty plates from the flaming Bananas Foster were removed and their coffee cups refilled, Miss Dauphine sat back and sighed. She patted her mouth with her napkin and began.

“Caterine, I’ve made an extremely difficult decision, but a decision I feel is necessary for the well-being of Ma Chérie. Up until now, my own grandmère’s wishes have been honored. Sole ownership was passed down to the first-born daughter, then to me. As I only had sons, my eldest granddaughter should succeed me. Now I find myself having to dishonor my grandmère, and the circumstances forcing me to this decision not only have made me heartsick, but extremely angry as well.”

The sudden tears welling in her grandmother’s eyes had Caterine reaching for the older woman’s hand. “Perhaps there’s another way?”

“No, my dear, there isn’t.” Miss Dauphine dabbed at her eyes with a lace-edged hanky. As she gazed through the window into a courtyard destitute of summer blooms, she visibly composed herself. Then sitting even more erectly than she had before, her mouth set in a determined line, she continued.

“Ma Chérie is what’s important. If I can’t follow tradition, I’ll at least save the business my grandmère worked so hard to create.” She took a deep breath. “I intended to leave Ma Chérie to you in my will.”

Caterine opened her mouth to protest but her grandmother cut her off.

“Let me finish, Caterine, and don’t interrupt. I fear if I were to do this, my sons would feel compelled on behalf of their daughters to contest my will, placing you in a difficult, not to mention unpleasant, position. Therefore I’ve made an appointment tomorrow with my attorney, Clayton Butler. At my request, he’s drawn up the necessary papers for me to turn over total ownership to you while I still live and can deal with my sons myself.”

Caterine could only gape. Finally finding her voice, she protested. “Grandmère, you can’t do that. Charlotte is next in line, then Paulette.”

“Honestly, Caterine, I don’t need you to tell me who my granddaughters are. I’m well aware that of all my grandchildren, you’re the youngest. You’re also dependable, level-headed, and intelligent. But of all your attributes, the one that stands out is that you truly love Ma Chérie. You care about tradition and holding our standards to the highest quality. Your final goal isn’t to see how much money you can make, as it is with your aunts and cousins. How my two sons could have married such vulgar, greedy women is beyond me. Other than you, my dear, your mother was the only one who truly cared, but she and my son are gone, so I’m placing the future welfare of Ma Chérie in your hands.”

Caterine sat speechless and began to feel sick. She swallowed the lump in her throat. “Grandmère, do you realize how angry this is going to make everyone? Why not tell the family you plan to leave Ma Chérie to me, but you intend on keeping control for now?”

“I thought of that, but after what occurred yesterday I’ve decided I want this done and over with. I’m weary of listening to their grand ideas. Giving the business to you now should put an end to their plans.”

Caterine’s voice quavered when she spoke. “Grandmère, you have no idea how much your trust means to me. I’d be honored, but I’m truly afraid that by doing this, we’ll have even more problems than we have now.”

Miss Dauphine uttered an unladylike snort. “Ma Chérie is mine to do with as I wish. As a matter of fact, so is the house. If they make me any angrier, I might give that to you as well.”

“You can’t do that.”

“I can do anything I want. Your two uncles and their sons have total control of Doucette Shipping. What they do with it is their business. Ma Chérie and the house my grandpapa gave to my grandmère on their wedding day are mine.”

Caterine sighed as images of the upcoming confrontation passed before her eyes. If this was what her grandmother wanted, so be it. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d clashed with her family, and she was sure it wouldn’t be the last.

“This is how I intend to handle the situation,” Miss Dauphine continued. “I plan on telling the family my decision tomorrow night after dinner. I want to wait until I’ve seen my attorney and all the paperwork is signed and finalized. I wanted to explain all of this to you today because you’ll need to be present tomorrow. My appointment is at ten o’clock. Tomorrow morning when your Aunt Frances and Aunt Hyacinth arrive for work, tell them you have to leave for a while.”

Resigned, Caterine took a deep breath. “All right. If you’re sure this is what you feel is necessary, I’ll be there.”

“Now, I have some news that I hope will put a smile back on your face. I heard from your cousin Robert the other day. He said he will be coming home for the Doucette Mardi Gras party and will stay for at least a week.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful. I was disappointed he and Becky weren’t able to make it home for Christmas.”

“So was I. I’ve never understood why he insisted on going to college up north with all those Yankees.”

“Grandmère, the University of Michigan is an excellent college.”

“That may very well be, but we have excellent schools right here.”

Caterine smiled. “Now, Grandmère, Bobby did go to Loyola. He only went to Michigan for grad school. Besides, if he hadn’t gone north, he wouldn’t have met and married Becky.”

“He could have gone to grad school here as well, but I do love Rebecca, so I’ll forgive him.” Miss Dauphine sighed. “Caterine, you and your cousin Robert have been thick as thieves since you were children. Heaven forbid anyone might have the nerve to say anything against either one of you in front of the other.”

Caterine laughed. “I’m afraid you’re right.”

“Well, I suppose we should be going. I have a garden club meeting this afternoon.” She gathered her gloves and purse. “What are your plans? Will I see you this evening for dinner?”

“Yes, I’ll be there. Since I’m already in the Quarter, I’ll go on over to Ma Chérie and get some paperwork done.”

“That reminds me. With my mind on this other business, I’ve neglected to call Paul to schedule a time for him to install the new security system. Can you take care of that for me?”

“I’d be happy to.”

“Then I’ll see you later.” Miss Dauphine kissed Caterine’s cheek. “Don’t work too hard.”

“I’ll walk out with you. Thomas has my keys, and I don’t know where he’s parked my car.”

Chapter Eight

Caterine stood for several long minutes on Royal Street in front of Ma Chérie, overawed by the responsibility that would soon be entrusted to her. She shook her head.
Grandmère, I hope you know what you’re doing.

In her office, she sat behind the desk and reached for the phone. “Hi, Paul, it’s Caterine,” she said when Paul LaBeau answered.

“Hey, Cat, how you doing? Too bad you missed the party last night. We had quite a house full.”

Caterine said a quick prayer of forgiveness for the lie she was about to tell.

“I’m really sorry I missed all the fun. Something came up here at work that I had to attend to.”

“Cat, you need to get a life other than that store. Not only did you miss a fun party, I wanted to introduce you to my partner, Remi. He’s a great guy who was with me on the force. I think you two would get along well. I thought the four of us could go to dinner some time.”

Great, now how do I get out of this?
She couldn’t come up with one plausible excuse. Perhaps it wouldn’t hurt just to go to dinner. As this thought flickered tantalizingly through her mind, her internal alarm began to scream.
If you have dinner with Remi, where do you think that will lead? Directly to his bed, that’s where. Then what?

Was she ready for a relationship that might mean nothing more to him than sex? She’d only been with him once and already couldn’t keep her mind off him. What if the affair were to go on for months? How would she handle the hurt if one day he was gone?

“Cat, are you still there?”

Paul’s voice brought her thoughts crashing back. “What? Oh, sorry, Paul. I’m here. What were you saying?”

“I said Elaine’s not here. She took the boys to the park. Do you want me to tell her you called? Or you can get her on her cell.”

“No, that’s okay, I’ll try her later. Actually you’re the one I wanted to talk to. Grandmère wanted me to ask if you’d have time to install an alarm system here at Ma Chérie.”

“Sure, no problem. But don’t you already have one?”

“Yes, but it’s very old and Grandmère wants to update.”

“Well, you’re in luck. I had a cancellation and can do the job tomorrow morning. Are you there now?”

“Yes.”

“How about if I run over and take a look. That way, I’ll know what I need.”

“Thanks. That would be great. Ring the bell at the front when you get here.”

Caterine disconnected and quickly punched in Elaine’s cell number. When she answered, Caterine got right to the point. “We’ve got trouble.”

“What? What’s wrong?”

“I was just on the phone with Paul, and he told me he wants to introduce me to his buddy Remi and have the four of us go out to dinner.”

“Oh no.”

“
Oh no
is right. You have to persuade him that’s a really bad idea.”