Mischief in Mudbug (Ghost-in-Law, #2)(33)

He studied her for a minute, almost making her uncomfortable with his scrutiny, then extended his hand. “You’re the spitting image of your father.” He smiled. “A bit prettier, though.”

Sabine took his hand in hers and smiled back. “Thank you.” Sabine looked over at the attorney. “And Mr. Alford? Is he family, too?”

“Not officially,” Catherine said, “but he’s here so often that it was either make him an honorary member or catalog him with the furniture.” She smiled at her joke. Alford didn’t look nearly as amused.

Sabine turned and gestured to Beau. “This is Beau Villeneuve. He’s the private detective who solved the mystery.”

William shook hands with Beau. “Guess we owe you a huge thanks. We never knew what happened to Adam and had no idea that he had a baby. We’re sad to hear of his death, although after all these years we really didn’t expect anything different. But Sabine is a surprise, and a good one at that.”

“I’m glad I could help,” Beau said.

“Why didn’t you know?” Sabine asked, unable to hold back the question that had been stuck in her mind ever since Beau had told her that her family was in Louisiana and very well off. “Why did he leave? And why didn’t you look for him?”

Catherine shot a look at William, then looked back at Sabine. “We didn’t exactly approve of the relationship between him and your mother. Adam had plans to go to medical school. When we realized how much time he was spending with her, we were afraid he’d do something foolish and jeopardize his future. I’m afraid we forbade them to see each other, which looking back was foolish on our part, as it only made them more determined to be together.”

“We did look,” William said. “I don’t want you to think we didn’t, but it was if he’d vanished.”

“And my mother’s family?” Sabine asked.

Catherine shook her head. “She lived back in the bayou. We tried to locate her family, but no one back there would talk to us. We don’t even know if she had any here.”

William placed one hand on Catherine’s arm. “It was a hard time,” he said. “The police couldn’t assist us, as Adam was an adult and had left on his own volition. We hired private detectives but with nothing to go on, we finally gave up after six months of futility. We honestly believed that he’d contact us again. And when he didn’t, well, we were afraid the worst had happened.”

Catherine nodded. “For years, every time the doorbell rang, my heart leapt in my throat with fear that the police were there to tell me he was gone.” She sniffed and touched her nose with the back of her finger. “We didn’t even know about you, Sabine. If we’d had any idea that your mother was pregnant when we forbid Adam to see her, we wouldn’t have handled things that way. You’re our granddaughter. We would have changed our plans to ensure you had a proper home and upbringing.”

Sabine took all this in and nodded. “It must have been quite a shock when Mr. Alford told you about me.”

“Oh, well, at first, certainly,” Catherine said, “but then we were so excited, so happy that there was a piece of Adam in this world. We made a horrible mistake with our son, Sabine, and it cost us, him, you, and Mother. We’re going to do everything we can to make up for that now. That is, if you’ll allow us to.”

Sabine studied Catherine’s face, the anxiety, the sadness. “I’m certainly willing to try.”

Catherine sniffed again, then nodded. “Well, now that the uncomfortable part is taken care of, what do you say we move into the living room and have coffee and some of Adelaide’s great cookies? I happen to know she made a new batch this morning. We have so much to talk about and there’s no point in being parched or uncomfortable while doing it.”

Sabine and Beau rose and followed the family into a sprawling room filled with soft, plump leather furniture in beautifully blended earth tones. Sabine and Beau walked toward a chocolate-brown loveseat placed next to a beautiful stone fireplace, but before they could sit, an old Creole woman entered the room with a tray of cookies, a young Creole woman close behind her with coffee.

The old woman stopped short when she caught sight of Sabine, her mouth forming an “o.” For a moment, Sabine was afraid she might dump the entire tray on what was most certainly a ridiculously expensive leather rug, but she steadied herself and placed the tray on a coffee table in front of the couch. She hurried over to Sabine and gathered her in a crushing hug.

Sabine was momentarily surprised at such an emotional response, especially since her family had been much more reserved, but she wrapped her arms around the woman and squeezed. When the woman pulled back, Sabine could see unshed tears in her eyes.

“Child,” the woman said, “You are so beautiful. It’s an omen that you come now. I feel it in my bones. Good’s gonna come from this.”

“Oh, Adelaide,” Catherine said, waving a hand in dismissal. “Don’t start with that voodoo nonsense of yours. I’m sure Sabine doesn’t believe it any more than the rest of us.” Catherine frowned at Adelaide, and then her expression shifted once more to her standard regal, bored look. “Adelaide has been with the family for all of her seventy-eight years. Her mother worked for my great-grandmother.” Catherine gave the woman an indulgent but somewhat frustrated look. “You have to excuse her. She still holds to the old beliefs of her family.”