Trouble in Mudbug (Ghost-in-Law, #1)(81)

“Good, that’s good,” Luc said, trying to sound like he meant it. “And you? Are you all right?”

Maryse nodded. “I’m going to be just fine.”

Luc wondered a bit at the way she’d phrased her words but was too afraid of the answer to ask. Maryse and Hank had obviously come to some sort of common ground, and Hank was still her husband. “Can I take you back to the hotel?”

Maryse pointed to the hospital entrance just as a police cruiser pulled up. “I have an armed escort. Mildred and Sabine insisted.”

“Good,” Luc said, and nodded, hoping his disappointment didn’t show.

“So,” Maryse said, and smiled, “I guess I’ll see you around.”

Luc heard the unspoken question in her voice, but he heard the uncertainty behind it, too, and he knew that if Maryse and Hank were reconsidering their relationship, the last thing she needed was another complication in her life. “Actually, my assignment here is over. I’m supposed to report back to New Orleans tomorrow.”

“Oh.”

Her smile dropped, and Luc mentally cursed himself for being the bastard Maryse had accused him of being.

Maryse shrugged. “Well, then, thanks for everything, and good luck.” She walked out of the hospital entrance without so much as a backward glance, climbed into the waiting police cruiser, and rode away.

Out of Luc’s life. Back to her own.


It was long after midnight before Maryse finished explaining her cell phone recording to the police and returned to the hotel. She struggled to keep her emotions under control as she talked to Mildred and Sabine, assuring them that the police were handling everything with the recording, that she was fine, Hank was fine, and she was suffering no lingering effects from almost dying—again. She begged off any further conversation, claiming exhaustion. She managed to make it to her room and into the shower before the tears started to fall.

Tears for her marriage that never really was and a promising relationship that was never going to be. What was it about her that she only attracted men with ulterior motives and no staying ability?

By the time she’d finished her shower and her crying jag, the exhaustion she had claimed earlier was no longer merely an excuse. But as she stepped out of the bathroom, a very contrite Helena Henry was perched on the edge of her bed. Maryse held in a sigh, knowing that it was high time she and Helena had that heart to heart Helena had kept promising her. Maryse just didn’t have a clue where she was supposed to get the energy to do it.

“How did it go with the police?” Helena asked.

Maryse pulled some clothes out of the chest of drawers and began to dress. “If you’re so interested, why didn’t you stick around? Afraid I might figure out a way to strangle you?”

Helena stared at the floor, a guilty expression on her face. “I know what I did was wrong, but I swear, I never imagined any of this happening. I had my reasons, and at the time I thought they were good ones.”

Maryse turned her hands palm up. “Then I think it’s high time I hear them. Everything, Helena. No more secrets.”

Helena raised her gaze back to Maryse and nodded. “You deserve the truth. You deserve a lot more than that, actually, but before I tell you everything, you have to know that I never, ever intended to put you in any danger. Quite the opposite, actually.”

“Okay. Then go ahead. Let me have it.”

Helena took a deep breath and gazed around the room, as if deciding where to begin. “I guess I’ll start with your mother,” she said finally.

Maryse stood straight up and stared at Helena. Her mother had been the last thing in the world she’d expected Helena to talk about. “My mother?”

Helena smiled. “Your mother was the kindest, gentlest person I’ve ever met. She volunteered at the orphanage, teaching the older kids math and reading stories and playing games with the younger ones. They all loved her very much, and she was so great with them.”

Maryse sank onto the edge of the bed next to Helena. “I never knew she volunteered there. No one ever told me.”

Helena gave her a sad smile. “She quit before you were born. In fact, she quit right after finding out she was pregnant with you. She’d seen so much sadness, so much heartache in those children that she wanted to make sure her own never suffered a moment’s pain, never shed a tear thinking her parents didn’t love her.”

Maryse nodded, the lump in her throat making speech impossible.

“The doctors had told her she wouldn’t be able to carry a child to term,” Helena continued, “so you were a real miracle for her.”

Maryse felt the tears well up again. “I wish I could remember,” she said, the sadness of her loss sweeping over her.

“I do, too,” Helena said, her voice barely a whisper. “When your mom was first diagnosed, she thought she’d beat it. But she got worse and worse and knew things weren’t going to get any better. Before she passed, your mother asked me to make sure you were taken care of. She knew your dad was a good man, but she was afraid he might not be able to see to all the things you would need.”

Maryse stared at her. “My mother asked you to look after me? Did she know you at all?”

Helena laughed. “I know it’s hard to believe, especially from where you sit, but your mother…well, your mother knew the real me. So the first year or so, I did my best to see that you had the woman’s input you needed, although your dad did nothing to make it easy on me. We never much got along, even though I always respected him, and I know for a fact that he loved you more than anything.”