Page 96 of The House on Prytania
Cooper surprised me by responding, “Because he might be listening. It’s better not to summon a spirit unless you know what to do with it.”
I smiled my thanks, happy to know that he remembered the idiosyncrasies of our time together in Charleston involving true crime and restless spirits. His presence felt like having the best parts of my growing-up years sitting in my living room.
“And Beau does know what to do with it,” I said. “So let me talk with him first. I’m going to ask him to convince Mimi to invite the Sabatiers to the fund-raiser. I think you should do it together so it’s two against one. She’ll find it hard to say no. Meanwhile, I’ll talk with Christopher about doing some digging. I’ve already texted Sam with an update. She said she’s going to go to the chapel of Our Lady of Guadalupe and light a candle to ask for this feud to be over. She must be desperate, because she’s not even Catholic.”
Sunny nodded enthusiastically. “Sounds like a plan. And I can help Christopher. I’ve been shadowing him at the shop to learn about the antiques business, so I see him every day.”
“Sure. Hopefully, if there’s anything to find, we’ll know before the party—good or bad.”
“Which reminds me,” Sarah said. “Sunny, did you bring back Jeanne’s clientele book? It’s not in my room, and I want to give it one last look before I leave. I realized that I didn’t look at it upside down. I know that’s a long shot, but I’m willing to try anything at this point.”
“Oh. Right. I think it’s still in my car. I haven’t had time to look at it yet. If you want, I’ll give it the upside-down look and let you know if I find anything.”
Sarah stood. “That’s all right. I’d like to do it myself. It runs in the family.” She looked pointedly in my direction. “If you want to toss me your car key, I’ll be happy to get it.”
“Sarah?” Jolene called from the kitchen. “Supper’s almost ready. Could you please come set the table?”
Before she could sigh heavily or roll her eyes, I stood. “I’ll help.”
“Whatever.” She looked back at Sunny, who hadn’t moved.
“My feet are killing me from shopping,” Sunny said. “Let me just rest them for a bit, and I’ll get the book before I leave—just remind me.”
“Fine,” Sarah said before heading toward the kitchen with the steps of a condemned person on the way to the gallows.
Sunny excused herself to use the bathroom, leaving Cooper and me momentarily alone.
“I don’t think I can thank you enough for, well, everything. For staying with Mardi, for one thing. And just for...” I shrugged, unable to fill in the missing words.
“For knowing you well enough that you don’t need to explain anything.”
“Yeah,” I said, smiling up at him. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“Me, too.”
We were standing close enough to each other that I could feel his warm breath on my face and see a small scar on his chin that I hadn’t noticed before. I touched it with my finger, the familiar feel of his skin warming my blood.
“This is new. What happened?”
His gaze moved from my lips to my eyes, the flicker of a shadow passing through it. He looked stricken, like a man searching for breath after being unexpectedly punched in the chest.
“Nola!” Sarah’s voice bellowed from the kitchen. “The table won’t set itself!”
Cooper stepped back as Sunny returned and plopped down on the sofa, Mardi jumping up on her lap. “You’d better go. I’ve seen Sarah when she’s angry, and it’s not pretty.”
His attempt at levity didn’t fool me, but I went along with it. “If you’re referring to her spectacular tantrums, she has fortunately grown out of them. You’ve been gone a long time.”
His smile disappeared completely. “Yeah. I know.”
“Nola!”
“Coming.” I didn’t move.
“You go on. We’ll have time to talk later.”
I hesitated, then headed toward the kitchen, fighting the impulse to look back. If there was one thing I’d learned so far, it was that there was nothing to be gained by looking back; its only purpose was to make you stumble because you weren’t looking ahead.
CHAPTER 32
