In Shining Whatever (Three Magic Words Trilogy #2)(43)

"You be careful, chere," Laysard said gruffly.

"Only stating the truth. Maw Maw is having a little cochon de lait tonight. You and Rosetta come on down there and have some barbecue with us. Six o'clock or anytime after. Pig might run out since Vincent is doing the cooking, so I wouldn't be too late," she said.

Laysard looked at Hart seriously. "She must like you. Never knew Jeannie Miller to give a party for someone she didn't like. Mostly they wind up floatin' down the bayou."

"Guess I'm lucky," Hart said.

Laysard turned his eyes toward Kate. "Who's making the gumbo?"

"Maw Maw. And Minnette is doing the beans"

"I'll call Rosetta and tell her to put the pork chops back in the freezer. I wouldn't miss a chance at a meal like that for nothin'. Save me a dance, chere"

"You got it." Kate tugged on Hart's arm.

He set the empty coffee cup on the counter and let her lead him out of the office. "That was the worst coffee I've ever had in my life. Jesus, take me somewhere so I can buy a Dr Pepper and get the taste out of my mouth," he whispered.

Kate giggled. "Tastes like a combination of road tar and cow crap, doesn't it?"

"Worse," he said.

"Probably been brewing a week. He keeps that pot special as a joke. The good stuff is in the break room. Anybody who drinks that is either crazy as an outhouse rat or else meaner than a junkyard dog," she said.

"Well, I hope he thinks I'm meaner than a junkyard dog. I bet that stuff is radioactive. A teaspoon of it would cure liver cancer."

"It might," Kate said.

They were on the steps leaving the big white courthouse when she got tickled and stumbled. He caught her before she fell. Carrying her like a new bride, he caught a movement in his peripheral vision and looked up. Laysard was standing in the window and giving him a thumbs-up. Hart nodded slightly and carried her all the way to the bottom of the steps and to her truck before putting her down.

He brushed a sweet kiss on her lips after he helped her inside the truck.

"Whew!" she said.

"Yep," he agreed.

He took in the sights of downtown New Iberia as she drove. "James Lee Burke was right. Main Street is beautiful. What's that thing on the corner with all the wrought iron?"

"That would be the Gouguenheim. It's a hotel, but it started out more than a hundred years ago as a clothing store on the ground floor with the Elks Lodge on the top. Because of its stucco walls and metal roof, it stopped the fire back at the end of the eighteen hundreds. It stood empty for a long time, but the Jordans have restored it. Want to spend a night there?"

"Why should I? I've got beignets and coffee waiting for me in the place I'm staying," he said.

"And a sassy old bird who likes you because you let her cheat at dominoes."

"Was it that obvious?"

"Not to her. She thinks she got away with it."

"So I lost two dollars and ninety-one cents. I couldn't buy one beignet with that much money, and it made her feel good"

"Makes me wonder what other kind of cheating you'd let go on right under your nose?"

"If you're talking about what I think you are, the answer is, not a single penny's worth. Dominoes is one thing. Marriage is another."

"You got that right," she agreed.

They did the tourist's tour of Avery Island, where Tabasco sauce is made, and then it was lunchtime. She drove them back into town and parked down the block from Victor's Cafeteria.

"It's smaller than I thought. When I read about it in his books, I figured it was a lot bigger," Hart said, as they waited in line behind a dozen other people.

He had the jambalaya, fried okra, and black-eyed peas cooked with a generous amount of bacon. The pecan praline cheesecake took his eye, so he added a piece of it to his tray. Kate had the same and put two pieces of cheesecake on her tray.

"Don't say a word. I don't get this stuff very often and I always want more than one piece. We'll share the third one because you're going to want more too. I guarantee it."

"Maybe we better put on a fourth one, if it's that good," he said.

"I would, but that's the last one," she told him.

They sat at a table near the back. People came and went, stopping to talk to friends and family, much like the Eagle's Nest in Albany or the Amigos in Breckenridge. Accents changed. Decorations changed. But human nature stayed the same, no matter the climate or the nationality.

"So what do you think of Victor's?" she asked.

"Good food. Nice folks. No wonder Dave likes it here. You eat in this place often when you were on the force?"

"Yes, I did. My partner and I talked our way through a lot of crimes over a chunk of cheesecake."

He held up a bite on the end of the fork. "So this stuff is magic. If I eat it, I'll know what happened in the past and what will happen in the future"

She poked at his arm with a forefinger. "You are in magic country. You never know what revelation you might get with that. Who knows? Maw Maw might have called down here and had some kind of voodoo put in the praline syrup. You sure you're ready to face the truth?"

He put the cheesecake in his mouth and shut his eyes, appreciating the flavor. When he finished chewing, he blinked and, sure enough, the magic was there. He'd made a big mistake in the past when he broke up with her. She would have stood by him no matter what he wanted to do. Bull riding. Ranching. Teaching. He would have had her support because she loved him. The future? What he saw didn't scare him one bit, not anymore. It looked absolutely delightful.