Trouble in Mudbug (Ghost-in-Law, #1)(88)

“He was watching the hotel,” Maryse said. “You sent him to save me. That’s how he knew.”

Helena nodded. “Luc LeJeune is no Harold or Hank Henry, Maryse. And I think I overheard him say he needed to pick up some stuff at the office first thing in the morning before he cleared out of town.” And with that, she disappeared through the wall.

Maryse rose from the bed and pulled on her shoes, knowing with a certainty she’d never felt before exactly what she needed to do. But first, there was someone else who needed to hear Helena’s speech.

Chapter Nineteen

Despite the fact that it was darn near sunrise and nobody had really slept the night before, Maryse figured she’d find Sabine in her shop. Peering through the window of Read ’em and Reap, she saw Sabine sitting at her table in the center of the room, eyes closed and her hands covering a crystal ball. She was wearing her purple robe, one she brought out for only two reasons—stress or trying to contact her parents.

Maryse sighed. All the drama with Maryse and the land and Sabine’s own medical worries had probably driven her to the edge. But none of that was going to prevent her from what she needed to do. She took the last couple of steps to the shop entrance and pushed the door open.

Sabine looked up in surprise when the bells over the door jangled, then realizing it was Maryse, her expression changed to worry. She jumped up from her chair and hurried over. “Are you all right?” she asked. “Is everything okay?”

“Actually, I’m not all right.” Maryse smiled. “I’m fantastic. I just had an interesting conversation with Helena.”

Sabine studied her for a moment. “Are you high? Did the paramedics give you some drugs or something?”

Maryse’s smile faltered a bit. Okay, so obviously telling people to take their lives back wasn’t her strong suit. How in the world was it that Helena, of all people, did this so much better? Maryse took a deep breath and repeated Helena’s story from the beginning. Sabine listened in rapt attention, her eyes growing wider until Maryse wrapped it up with Helena’s ultimatum on living life and regrets.

“Wow,” Sabine said when Maryse finished. “Helena didn’t pull any punches.”

“No.” Maryse took a deep breath and pushed forward. “And neither do I.” She placed her hand on Sabine’s arm. “You’re not living either, Sabine. Your obsession with your parents has kept you so grounded in the past that you have no future.”

Sabine stared at her in surprise, then pulled away her arm. “How can you say that? You know what it’s like not to have a parent. How can you blame me for wanting to know something, anything, about mine?”

Shit. This wasn’t going so well. “That’s not what I meant. Look, Sabine, I’m just excited by my new outlook on life. I want you there with me…like you always have been.”

Sabine’s angry expression softened, but before she could speak, a glow of bright light appeared a couple of feet from the table, and they both stared in disbelief. “What the hell?” Maryse asked as the light swirled round and round, something slowly taking shape in the center. Please, God, no more ghosts. She didn’t think her heart could take the strain.

As the shape took form, Maryse realized they were looking at a young couple, smiling over at them. The man was tall and thin, the woman petite and slender. Their haircuts and clothes betrayed the era of their existence, and Maryse knew they had been gone from this world for some time. The woman looked directly at Sabine and extended one hand. A flash of silver at the woman’s neck caught Maryse’s eye and she cried out. “Her necklace. Sabine, look at her necklace.”

Sabine looked at the woman, and her hand flew to her throat, clutching the matching locket she wore. The only thing she had of her mothers. “It’s them,” she whispered.

Maryse nodded, unable to speak.

“They’re beautiful,” Sabine said, and started to cry. “My parents. I finally know my parents.” Sabine took a hesitant step toward the light, but as she moved, the light began to dim and the couple faded away into blackness. With a final blink, they were gone.

“No!” Sabine ran to the spot where the light had been, but there was nothing left to see. She sank onto the floor, tears streaming down her face.

Maryse rushed over to her friend. “Please don’t cry,” she begged as she sat on the floor and hugged Sabine. “I don’t want you to be sad. I don’t want anyone I love to be sad, not one more moment of their lives. It’s too short.”

Sabine choked a bit and laughed. “You ninny. I’m not crying because I’m sad.” She pulled back from the hug, and Maryse could see that even through the tears, there was a smile on her face. “I’m happy,” Sabine said. “I’m thrilled. I finally got that sliver of closure that I’ve always prayed for.” Sabine grabbed Maryse’s shoulders with both hands and shook her. “I saw my parents, Maryse. Do you know what that means?”

Maryse wiped at the tears lurking in the corners of her eyes, wondering that she had a single ounce of fluid in her left to cry after the night she’d had. “It means the world is getting two new members?” Maryse smiled. “I hope it’s ready.”

Maryse gave Sabine another quick hug, then rose from the floor. “I’d love to stay and make plans for our takeover of humanity, but I have some unfinished business with a fake zoologist.”