Threads of Steel (Bayou Cove) (36 page)

It does, she thought to herself.

“It does,” she said out loud then turned around to make sure no one actually heard her voice the words
.
Lately, though, she had to remind herself there was happiness to be gotten from seeing her designs come to life.

So what if she had no one by her side but Stephen to rejoice in the finished product. Divorcing Ronnie and staying single had been her choice. Now she had to live with that choice.

The high peel of the pipe organ split the silence of the church, sending chills up and down her spine. The grand music and the beautiful historical setting would showcase her creations today. Anna Marie turned and watched as each girl stepped out of her limo. As they entered the back of the church, she met each one, gave them each
a
once-over, offered encouragement, straightened their flowers, then let the wedding director start them down the aisle on cue.

Eight young ladies dressed in their gowns of chocolate raw silk and carrying a simple white lily walked down the long aisle alone where countless bridesmaids had marched throughout the centuries.

When the interior doors to the church closed behind the last of the bridesmaids, Anna Marie opened the front door of the church and helped Elizabeth and her father in. Elizabeth’s dark hair contrasted with the cream of the dress. Her makeup, done to perfection, only emphasized the beauty of the young lady. For the months that Anna Marie had worked on the wedding, Elizabeth had been bossy and whiny, but today hanging onto her father’s arm, she looked scared.

“You look lovely, Elizabeth. You show that beautiful smile when the doors open and all those people inside, including your new
husband,
will be wowed by you.”

The bride nodded.

“Thank you for all your help, Miss
LaFaire
,” Mr.
McEntire
said as the wedding director fussed over Elizabeth.

“My pleasure, sir.”

The interior doors opened again, and Anna Marie stepped back away from the view of those inside the church and watched as another bride and her father headed toward the altar.

When the congregation sat down and the ceremony was about to begin, Anna Marie found her seat on the last row. From here she could see the wedding party, yet be inconspicuous. Stephen sat a few rows in front of her whispering to a couple on his left. His mood was ecstatic all week knowing that this wedding would
zoom
their design company up a few notches
.

Anna Marie wanted to be ecstatic as well. Seeing Elizabeth’s nine-foot train spread out behind her and the way the people in the pews whispered and
aahed
softly as she walked down the aisle should have given her a thrill. The hours of labor she’d put into her ensemble had paid off
.
Nothing had gone wrong with any of the dresses, and all the bridesmaids as well as the bride and the mothers were pleased. That in itself was unheard of.

You’re getting good at this, girl
. But even that thought left something to be desired.

She’d have more work than she and Stephen could handle from the compliments she’d        received today, but deep in her heart she felt a longing for something else more meaningful.

Had she not been in a cathedral, she would’ve groaned out loud or said a couple ugly words. As it was, she swallowed her aggravation with herself and tried to concentrate on the words spoken from the altar.

Yep, just as she’d said before, she definitely needed an attitude adjustment. She and Stephen dressed the New Orleans elite, and they were good at what they did.

So why was she bored?

CHAPTER
23

Stephen’s idea about taking time off came to fruition at the end of June. Anna Marie let him take a couple weeks off first,
then
she took her time. It was the beginning of July, a great time to visit some tropical paradise, but instead she chose to return to Bayou Cove. The couple who had thought about buying the Miss Ellie’s house had returned and
were
getting serious. Anna Marie couldn’t grasp the idea of someone else buying the house so she made a decision, and she made it without telling anyone until she’d talked with the bank.

On July 2, she walked out of one of the banks in Bayou Cove with a smile on her face. Her decision hadn’t been an easy one, but for the last few weeks, she’d been working with one of the bankers. She was pleased with herself. Everything was in place for her to buy out the two-thirds it would take to own the house. Today she would sign the final papers for the house then wait with jitters until tomorrow’s closing.

Doti
had named the Lowery brothers as her executors even though the only thing she owned with any value was her small house and now part of the Victorian.

Only Nancy and one of the Lowery brothers would be present at the signing. Ronnie had been told about the share of the house that would go to Caitlyn. He was pleased, but surprisingly he insisted that most of it go into a trust fund for her future. The man had finally grown up.

As she drove back to the house she realized she felt better about life than she had in a long, long time. The streets of Bayou Cove looked more welcoming than ever before. She waved to several people on the street who obviously didn’t recognize her, but that didn’t matter. In the last nine months, she’d made a complete circle, one she never saw coming.

When she slipped the key into the front door lock, she wanted to jump with joy. The house wouldn’t officially be hers until tomorrow afternoon, but that didn’t matter. As far as she was concerned, it already belonged to her. Once the door was opened, she stepped back out onto the lawn and looked at the front of the house. Ideas flowed through her head about what to do with it now that it would be hers.
Fresh paint, new porch furniture, maybe some landscaping to take away the years of neglect—nothing that would change the house drastically, but just enough to make it feel like her own.

Then the hard part would come. What would she do with the house? Would she use it as a weekend getaway? Was it possible to open a business here? She could take orders from here and have the garments made in New Orleans? There was so much to think about that excited her. Why hadn’t she done this earlier?

She spun around to check out the condition of the fence and nearly ran into a gentleman standing behind her.

Her hand flew to her mouth. “Excuse me. I didn’t hear you come up. May I help you?”

The man who stood about six feet tall was probably in his late forties or early fifties. The scowl on his face told her that he wasn’t here to welcome her to the neighborhood.

“I’m Joseph Harrington. Miss Ellie was my great aunt.”

Not put off by the frown on his face, Anna Marie smiled and extended her hand. She’d already had a run-in with a grandson, so she knew she could handle this encounter.

“Welcome, Mr. Harrington. Would you like to come up and sit on the porch? I haven’t moved anything in yet, so I have nothing to offer you in the way of refreshments.”

“Does it look like I’m here for a spot of tea?” His harsh voice dripped sarcasm. He stuck his
hands in his pockets,
then
pulled them out again before he continued. “I’m here to let you know that none of my family approves of what you and those other two girls got out of my aunt.”

Even expecting his disapproval, his harsh words stunned her. She stepped back away from him. Ever since the reading of the will and the run-in with the grandson, she’d expected someone else from the family to try to stop the transfer of the house, but now, nine months later, it came as a shock
.

Finally she found her voice. “Excuse me again, but we girls didn’t get anything out of your aunt that wasn’t her idea. None of us had an inkling that she had planned to give us this house.”

“Well, obviously she did for a long time. There’s no telling what you three had up your sleeve and how you brainwashed her into giving away a piece of my family’s history.”

“Brainwashed? Is that what you believe? I’ll have you know that none of us. . .” but he cut her off.

“You don’t have to deny it. My aunt was a gentle soul who never would’ve turned her back on her family without some coaxing from the outside.”

Anna Marie opened her mouth to defend herself and her friends, but he didn’t give her time. His words came out fast and loud, as if he’d been thinking about, and seething over, what he wanted to say for a long time.

“And I’ve heard that you’re buying the other women out. We don’t approve of any of it.”

“How could you know that?” she interjected before he continued. “I made that decision only a few weeks ago.”

“It’s a small town, Miss
LaFaire
. Everyone knows everyone’s business and we think you need to take your business back to New Orleans or wherever it is you came from.”

Her insides shook as she stepped closer to man. No one had ever spoken to her in the tone that he was using, and he certainly wasn’t going to get the upper hand.

“I’ll have you know that I came from here, Mr. Harrington. This used to be my home.”

“Not any more. It’s bad enough that Aunt Ellie gave the damned old house to you and the others, but for you to move into here is an abomination of her spirit. Your father killed her. You don’t deserve anything that belonged to her.”

Nothing that the man said could’ve affected her as those words. She slumped against the railing of the steps. How long had she struggled over the very fact that it was her own father who took Miss Ellie’s life? If she could correct anything that had happened in her past, it would be that incident, but there was nothing that could be done about it now.

“I’m sorry about the way you feel,” she finally said after she’d found her voice. “If you and your family felt so strongly about the house you could’ve protested . . .”

“What? Protest the will,” he interrupted her. “That wasn’t an option. We tried, but our lawyers told us we didn’t have a leg to stand on. No, legally the house is yours, but I want you to know we don’t want you here.”

Anna Marie wanted to melt into the grass, disappear before his very eyes, leave and never come back to this area. But, then she surprised herself. Anger tightened her chest. Her blood heated, but instead of screaming at him as he was doing, she reeled in her temper and spoke in a calm voice.

“You know, Mr. Harrington, had you bothered to spend time with Miss Ellie when she was alive, this house could be yours, but from what she said in her letter, she didn’t see any of you.
Doti
, Nancy and I were more
family
to her than her real family. Miss Ellie was like a mother to all three of us, and we loved her and spent a great deal of time with her. Maybe you and the rest of your family should’ve done the same because even though she was well-known in the
community, in her later years she was very lonely.”

Anna Marie’s breaths came fast. She swallowed and decided she wasn’t going to allow him to say any more. “If you’ll excuse me, I think you know where the gate it.”

“Oh, I know where the gate is, and it’s what you should be going through.”

“No, sir.
I own this house and if you don’t leave now, I’ll call the police.” With shaky hands, she reached in the pocket of her pants for her phone. When she pulled it out, the man speared her with a look of hatred. “Good day, Mr. Harrington. I don’t ever want to see you on these premises again.”

The man spun around and marched to the gate. He flung it open so hard, he had to step quickly or it would’ve hit his back from the force.

Anna Marie wished it would’ve. She stood in her front yard and watched him slam the door to his car then speed off down the road. Her whole body shook. How could anyone talk to another human being like he had to her?

When his car disappeared around the corner, she walked up to the front steps and slumped down. Now what? After all these months of trying to make a decision about what to do with the house, she’d finally made what she thought was the right choice, and now this. Why now after she’d gotten her heart set on the house?

She dropped her head and groaned out loud, but screaming to the top of her lungs and cursing out loud was what she felt like doing. She was mad and hurt all at the same time. With her head still in her lap, she opened her eyes and stared at the overgrown shrub hanging over the railing of the steps. The leaves were wide and green and healthy. In spite of the fact that no one had tried to keep them trimmed and well-shaped in the last few years, they thrived.

Miss Ellie had been like that. No one took care of her. Not since her young husband had been killed in World War II had anyone looked out for her. She’d been on her own and she’d managed to make a life for herself in this community. It had been a good life, maybe a little lonely, but it was a good life. Now that she was gone, Anna Marie wanted to do something to honor that life, or at least she did until Miss Ellie’s rude nephew had intruded. Now, maybe she was more like the shrub than Miss Ellie, healthy and growing, but bent completely out of shape.