The Pepper in the Gumbo (Men of Cane River #1)(62)

Charlie started to laugh just as hard, mouth open wide, one arm around her middle. It was contagious.

Alice turned to ask Bix for help, but he was shaking his head, chuckling. “Now you done it,” he said. “Once you start a-laughin’ at a time like this, it’s like the church chuckles. You just can’t stop.”

Church chuckles. Bix’s description of the infectious, unstoppable laughter that happened in the pew made Alice laugh even harder. She braced herself against the chair, letting one hand fall on Paul’s knee. She wasn’t even making much sound anymore, just a slight wheezing with each spasm.

Paul bolted upright. “Are you okay?” He gripped Alice’s shoulders and pulled her forward, looking into her face. Tears streamed down her cheeks and she waved a hand, still unable to talk.

“You want some coffee?” Charlie managed to get out some words, most of it lost in giggles.

Paul looked from Charlie, to Bix, to Alice and cocked his head. “You drew something on my face, didn’t you?”

Alice took a second to digest that comment and collapsed against the chair, shaking her head, her smile stretched in a silent rictus of laughter.

“I had a roommate in college that did that every single time I fell asleep.” Paul sounded a little irritated, but mostly amused. “He shaved my eyebrows, wrote words on my forehead with a Sharpie, took pictures of me drooling. I started thinking it would be safer to sleep in the local bus terminal.”

“No… no, we didn’t touch you.” She took several breaths that ended in giggles but the worst was over. “We would never do that. You fell asleep and I was trying to wake you up, and it just struck me as funny how we’re all crowded around you and what a shock it would be when you woke up surrounded by this group.” She looked up and met his eyes. He was grinning now.

“Well, you should have taken your chance while you had it. I’m a deep sleeper. I always have been. I grew up in a house about forty feet from the train tracks. I learned to tune it all out.” He stretched his hands over his head. “Sorry about the impromptu nap, but at least y’all got some entertainment out of it.”

Alice stood up, wiping the tears from her cheeks. “I don’t know how you can sleep like that in public. I’d be afraid to ever shut my eyes.”

He stood, holding the box in one hand. “I don’t usually. It was just so peaceful in here and this chair is heavenly.” He smiled. “I was up late talking to a friend.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Alice felt a sharp stab of jealousy. She turned to hide her expression as the words registered. It didn’t matter who he was talking to, friend or girlfriend. She shouldn’t even care.

“Bix, let Paul show you what he brought.” She kept her voice carefully cheery.

As Paul opened the box and turned on the e-reader, Alice went back to her desk. She felt totally exhausted, as if she’d run several miles. The conversation in the store barely reached her as she dropped into her chair. She’d just laughed until she cried, but now all she wanted to do was cry. Whether from stress or lack of sleep, her emotions were too close to the surface.

She reached up to cradle her parents’ rings in her hand, but didn’t find them. She felt her body go cold. She stood up, reaching around her neck, frantically feeling for the chain. It was gone.

She jumped from behind the desk and crouched down, peering at the area underneath. It had to be here somewhere. She leaped up, turning in a circle, scouring the store for a hint of gold.

“Just press here to adjust the font and―” Paul broke off as she paced the floor. “Alice?”

It was just her name but she felt her control start to slip at the concern in his voice. “My rings,” she said, her voice shaking. “They’re gone.”

He walked toward her, leaving Bix holding the e-reader. “Did you leave them in your apartment?”

“I never take them off. Ever.” Her eyes were swimming in tears. If it had been anything less important, she would have been embarrassed and wondered what he thought, but she didn’t care. Her entire focus narrowed to the only thing she’d inherited from her parents.

“Where did you go today? Just the store? They have to be here.” He put his hands on her shoulders as if to keep her calm.

Bix crossed the store, e-reader forgotten. “It won’t take us long to search down here. Can you remember which rooms you went into? Maybe they rolled under the ranges.”

“I bet they’re in your bed,” Charlie said. “I lost a necklace and looked for a week before I found it under my pillow.”

Alice looked up into Paul’s face. “I did leave the bookstore. I walked down to city hall today.”

“And you had it this morning?” Paul wrapped an arm around her shoulders. His voice was confident but he looked as worried as she felt.

She nodded. “I remember seeing them when I got dressed.”

“Oh, boy. That’s at least a mile along the river walk.” Bix rubbed a hand over his white crew cut. “What were ya doin’ down there?”

Alice didn’t want to say, wanted to have Paul find out some other way. She didn’t want to be there to see his reaction. She took a shuddery breath. “I was filing legal papers to stop construction on the new ScreenStop store.”

She felt him freeze beside her and then he stepped back, eyebrows raised. A long silence stretched between them all.