Trouble in Mudbug (Ghost-in-Law, #1)(53)

Luc gave her ten, fifteen minutes tops.


Maryse awoke the next morning with another pounding headache and immediately decided that head injury headaches were much, much worse than the drinking kind. Her poor body had seen more abuse in the last couple of days than it usually did in years. She groaned as she got out of bed and turned a tired eye to the alarm clock on the nightstand. Only six A.M. Habit, she knew, but if ever there was a day she’d have liked to sleep in, this would have been it.

The day before had been long and intense, first Luc filling Mildred in on the basics, with Sabine joining them for most of the conversation. Then Maryse had made her appearance, and it was all she could do to keep Mildred and Sabine from bundling her up and hauling her out of town, regardless of land, oil, inheritance, or anything else. She’d finally convinced them to leave it alone for the night at least, but she could tell that no one was happy going to bed with no plan of action.

She shuffled into the bathroom to survey the damage and groaned. It wasn’t a pretty sight and definitely wasn’t going to help her “stay in Mudbug” argument. Even Jasper, who was drinking out of the toilet despite a perfectly good bowl of water in the bedroom, paused for a moment and stared.

The bruises on her arms and legs from the truck wreck were purple with that nasty-looking yellow around the edges. The cuts were not deep and wouldn’t scar, but they dotted her hands like bright red freckles. Fortunately, in all of this, she’d remembered to protect her face, but the stress and lack of sleep were showing there. The bags under her eyes were so dark they looked like she was ready to play a quarter in the NFL, and to top it all off, they were puffy, probably from all the yelling she did yesterday mixed with the intermittent tears last night.

She looked like a hybrid raccoon strung out on acid.

Although she knew her appearance should be the least of her concerns at the moment, Maryse also knew that unless she managed to pull off a semblance of control, she’d never convince Mildred and Sabine she should stay in Mudbug. Or if she did, they’d never want her to leave the hotel, and that just wasn’t an option since it put Mildred at risk.

And then there was Luc.

A whole other problem and definitely an enigma. She knew he was more than a little troubled, especially with Helena in the mix, but if he had any thoughts or opinions on the situation, he’d held them in last night, instead choosing to listen for a change. Which made Maryse more than a little nervous. What was going on in that head of his? His revelation about seeing Helena had thrown her for a loop but also made her feel closer to him, something she’d definitely been trying to avoid.

Realizing she wasn’t going to solve all her problems or get a decent cup of coffee standing in front of the bathroom mirror, she shrugged off the T-shirt Mildred had loaned her to sleep in and made a quick pass through the shower. Sabine, in her infinite wisdom, had started off Maryse’s replacement wardrobe with loose-fitting sweats and T-shirts from Wal-Mart.

Given the bruises and the overall soreness, Maryse was happy with Sabine’s choices. The sweats were a light, thin fabric and wouldn’t be hot at all, and they were much less restrictive than the jeans Maryse usually wore. Probably wouldn’t stand up very well to a day in the bayou, but at the moment, it appeared her days in the bayou were coming to a screeching halt. She fluffed her damp hair, pulled on her tennis shoes, then headed to Mildred’s office, hoping the woman had taken mercy on her and picked up some donuts.

Mildred was in her office, but she wasn’t alone. Sabine sat across the desk from her, and surprisingly enough, Luc occupied the other chair. Conversation ceased the moment Maryse entered the room, and she immediately knew that the three had been plotting some way to “take care” of her. She looked from face to face, but no one met her gaze. It seemed that the floor was far more interesting.

“It’s a little early for a booster club meeting, isn’t it?” Maryse asked. “And don’t even bother making excuses. Sabine hasn’t been out of bed before eight o’clock since high school.”

Apparently, they hadn’t prepared for her to wake so early, and no one had a ready excuse for their treason. Mildred cast a guilty look at Sabine, and Sabine and Luc stared at the wall past Mildred’s shoulder. Maryse raised her eyebrows and stared at them one at a time, waiting for a response. “Cat got your tongues?” she finally asked.

“Now, Maryse,” Mildred said, obviously going to take a shot at the peacemaker role. “We’re just worried about you is all. This whole situation has gotten out of hand. And don’t tell me you can handle it yourself. It’s just too big for one person.”

Maryse turned her back to them and poured a cup of coffee, making note that the coffeepot was the old one that Mildred had claimed was broken. Not that it surprised her.

She stalled for another couple of seconds, not yet ready reply. The truth was Mildred was right. This situation was too big for her to handle alone. But the last thing she wanted to do was involve people she cared about in her mess—people she considered family. Which left only Luc, and Maryse was too scared to have the sexy zoologist that close too her. She didn’t need her attraction to him confusing things even more.

She stirred some sugar in her coffee and turned back to them with a sigh, easing herself into a chair next to Mildred’s desk. “Look, I appreciate what y’all are trying to do, really, I do. But don’t you see that I can’t risk anyone else being involved? I’ve already lost too much. I can’t afford to lose anything else. Surely you understand that.”