Mischief in Mudbug (Ghost-in-Law, #2)(31)

[page]Chapter Eight




Beau looked over to the passenger’s seat and studied Sabine. “Are you sure you’re ready for this?”

Sabine stared at the enormous iron gate and swallowed. Somewhere on the other side of the ten-foot stone fence was an estate, just forty-five minutes from Mudbug, where her family lived. Living, breathing relatives. Her dad’s people. It all seemed like a blur. Twenty-odd years of searching with absolutely no results and now she had an entire family…grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, maybe even a dog. It was more than overwhelming. It was like waking up into a whole new existence.

She realized she hadn’t answered and looked over at Beau. “I think so. I don’t know. Maybe not?” She covered her face with both hands. “I’m sorry. You must wish you were anywhere but here with me.”

Beau gently pulled her hands down and placed his hand on top of hers. “There’s nowhere else I need to be. That’s all that matters.”

Sabine looked up at him. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you doing this. I should have waited until Maryse could come.”

“But that would have been another two days, right?”

Sabine nodded. “Yes. She would have cancelled her plans, but the man she is speaking with is a scientist and could have information leading to the break she’s been looking for in her own research. He’s only going to be in the country a couple more days, and going to Houston was the only opportunity Maryse had to talk to him.”

Beau didn’t look completely convinced that the reason was good enough to dump her best friend on the eve of discovering her long-lost family, but Sabine couldn’t help that. What she couldn’t say was that Maryse’s research had led her to a medication that could possibly eliminate the side effects of radiation treatment.

A medication Sabine herself would most likely benefit from in the very near future.

The truth was, Maryse had begged Sabine to put off this meeting until she could be there, but Sabine had already waited for so many years that even another two days felt like a lifetime. Besides, she had the rest of her life to introduce Maryse to her family. However long that turned out to be.

“They know I’m coming?” Sabine asked.

“Yes.”

“And they know why?”

“I told their attorney everything,” Beau assured her. “He spoke with the family and they asked him to arrange this meeting. There shouldn’t be any surprises. At least not on their end.”

Sabine caught the tone of his voice as he delivered the last sentence. It had been a sticking point between them, but other than the bare minimum, Sabine had insisted that Beau hold off giving her any detailed information about her family. She wanted to get a clear impression of them without the bias of any information Beau had uncovered during his investigation.

No surprises. Yeah right. She took in a deep breath. “Okay. Let’s do it.”

“You’re sure?”

Sabine nodded. “I’m sure.”

Beau squeezed her hand, then lowered the truck window and pressed a button on a speaker mounted in front of the gate. A man’s voice sounded over the speaker, asking his name. Beau gave the man the information and a couple of seconds later, the gate began to open. Beau put the truck in gear and pulled through the gate and into an enormous courtyard. Acre after acre of sculpted hedges, row after row of beautiful flowers—a palette of color set against a lush lawn.

Beau guided the truck around a bend in the drive and the house came into view. Sabine gasped. It looked like something out of Gone with the Wind. A front porch complete with white columns reaching from the ground to the roof spanned the width of the main house. Wings stretched out from both sides of the main structure, making the entire thing at least the length of a football field.

Sabine finally found her voice. “Oh, my God. I know you told me the family was wealthy, but I had no idea…”

Beau stared in awe. “I had no idea either. I mean, there’s wealth and then there’s this. I haven’t ever come in direct contact with this before.”

Sabine swallowed. “Me either. Not even close.” She said a silent prayer of thanks that she’d forgone her normal eclectic dress and decided on her navy pantsuit, a splurge at a designer shop having a good sale.

Beau circled a twenty-foot fountain and parked in front of the house. A middle-aged man wearing a brown suit came out to meet them. “I’m Martin Alford, the Fortescues’ attorney.”

“Beau Villeneuve,” Beau said and shook the man’s hand, “and this is Sabine LeVeche.”

The man turned to Sabine and studied her for a moment. “Ms. LeVeche. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I was very surprised when I got Mr. Villeneuve’s phone call. We’d given up hope of ever hearing anything about Adam.”

Adam Fortescue. Her father, although that wasn’t the name that had been on the driver’s license he carried in his wallet the day of the accident. It had been two days since Beau had given her the news that he’d located her father’s family and she still couldn’t wrap her mind around it.

“I’d given up myself,” Sabine said.

The attorney nodded. “I can imagine this has been a shock for you as well…to find your family has been so close all these years.”