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He’d never been good at dealing with clutter. His ranch house back in Texas was remarkably well-organized. In his world every item had its place. In his brother’s world, Lucas had concluded every item had to be handy which meant things were rarely in its place.
It drove Lucas crazy.
But he had only a few more days to live within chaos.
Courtney had said she’d make other arrangements for the kids, and then he’d be free to head back to West Texas and his open spaces. He thought about Addy and something that felt like regret pinged within his chest. But that was likely for the best. Wasn’t like he had a future here in New Orleans. Everything was messy here, and he no longer fit in this world of crooked streets, tropical plants, and ornate architecture. He needed clean lines and open space. He took a deep breath, angled his truck toward Orchard Street just as his cell phone trilled.
His sister-in-law.
“Morning,” he said in way of greeting.
“Hey,” she said, sounding even more tired than she had the day before. “How are the kids?”
“Still alive.”
“Don’t joke about that.”
“Sorry. They’re fine. Just dropped Charlotte by preschool, and I managed to not offend any church clergy this morning.”
“God, I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t said yes.”
He hooked a U-turn and made a right onto Claiborne and said, “You keep saying that, but you would have figured out something. You’re resourceful and tough.”
“I don’t feel that way. I feel defeated, like God is punishing me for all my past mistakes.”
He couldn’t respond to that comment so silence pulsed between them for a good ten seconds or so. Finally he asked the inevitable. “So, how is Ben?”
“Not good. His body’s not responding to the antibiotics like the doctors thought. He’s undergoing some tests today, and they’ll know more about what course to try next. I don’t know why he’s doing so poorly—everything went well in the surgeries in Germany. He was fine, so I don’t understand this.” She sighed, and then he could hear her swallowing. “Luke, his body is starting to shut down.”
He couldn’t respond to that either. Something grabbed him by the throat sank its teeth in him.
“I’m so scared,” she whispered.
“I know you are but have faith. Ben’s a fighter.”
“I hope he is,” she said, tears in her voice. Again regret or sympathy or some emotion he hadn’t felt in a while moved in his chest.
“I hate putting you out like this,” she said.
“No worries. I’m able to work from your house, and I have a manager for the ranch so there’s no rush.”
“I’m trying to get you back to your life.”
“Look, I can’t say I’m good at this, but it’s not a war zone. You don’t have to medevac me out. I have help.”
“Who?”
“Flora made gumbo for us yesterday, and Addy paid the boys to wash her car and help her in the yard while I took Charlotte to the Spring Fling. By the way, I let Charlotte have a large sno ball, and we were up until ten o’clock. Lesson learned.”
He could hear Courtney’s smile. “Thank you for taking her to the fling. She’d been looking forward to it.”
“You’re welcome.” And he meant it. He’d actually enjoyed seeing the joy Charlotte took in playing “Fishin’ With Barney” and walking on the cake walk. Strange, but true.
“Hey, Luke, why did you say yes?”
He pulled into the driveway and killed the engine. “To going to the fling or coming here?”
“Watching the kids. I never expected you to accept.”
