“Yeah, right.” He picked up the nail and bracket. He climbed the ladder and began hammering the bracket into place.
“Are you pretending that’s my head?”
He looked down at me. “What?”
“I used to pretend every nail was Drew.”
“So you spent the summer thinking about him.”
That confession had backfired.
“Only at first. And yes, yesterday, I was mad when I saw him. It was just the shock of it. And yes, I kissed you to try to hurt him. But he doesn’t mean anything to me. Not anymore.”
“I can’t do this.” He climbed down the ladder and handed me the hammer. “I just can’t do it.”
My heart almost stopped. For a minute, I thought he was leaving. Permanently. Going back to Houston.
But I found him in the kitchen, working on the cabinets. Not that he saw me.
I just peered in the open doorway, saw him, and thought, Okay.
Then I went to find Sara.
Saturday, Jenna and Amber spent the day shopping with me and walking around the French Quarter.
I told them that they didn’t have to. I was okay with them spending the day with their guys. But they didn’t want me hanging around the city by myself.
Besides, the three of us hadn’t had much time together since that first day.
At least that was their reason. But I knew the truth. They were worried about me.
The past couple of days at the site had been a strain. To say the least. Mostly because I wasn’t giving up on Brady.
I took him water every hour. Sometimes I’d just toss the bottle to him. Sometimes I’d stop and talk with him for a minute. Not about anything important. Not about us. Not about Drew.
He’d hold up the water bottle. “You don’t have to do this.”
“I know. I want to, though.” And I’d decided that wanting to do something was enough reason to do it.
And tonight I was going on the vampire tour. Because I wanted to.
I wanted to because Brady was going on it, too.
Sara had confirmed that for me earlier in the week—after the falling off the ladder incident. I hadn’t asked her for a reading. I hadn’t wanted her to confirm my future. Or not confirm it. Or give any hints. All I wanted her to do was pair me up with Brady.
And I’d take care of the rest.
Tank and Sean were going to be there as well. Jenna and Amber were going to meet up with them then. And hopefully, if my plan worked out…well, I just hoped it would.
So after a day of shopping and talking, we headed to Sara’s.
I hadn’t expected Drew to be there. I really needed to put a hex on the guy.
He smiled brightly when he saw us. “Hey!”
I just wiggled my fingers.
“This is going to be fun,” he said.
“Yeah, it is.”
Sara came over—dressed in her black cape again—and took his arm. “You’re going to be with me.”
“Really?” he asked.
She winked at me. “Really.”
She led him away.
“That was close,” Jenna whispered.
Too close. I figured if Brady had seen Drew talking to me—he probably would have walked on by. But the guys weren’t there yet.
“They are coming, aren’t they?” I asked.
“Absolutely,” Jenna said, looking at her phone. “Tank just texted. They’re on their way.”
I took a deep breath and adjusted the tote bag on my shoulder. “Okay.”
Then I saw them crossing the street. They were heading right for us. Brady wasn’t trying to avoid me, probably because Tank and Sean were leading the way and he was just following, not really looking the group over. I was standing a little behind Jenna and Amber, so he didn’t see me until it was too late.
“Hey,” I said.
“Hey.”
Sara walked through the group, matching people up. “Brady, you and Dawn.”
She didn’t even give him a chance to object.
“Your boyfriend’s up there if you want to switch partners,” Brady said.
“He’s not my boyfriend. He was. Past tense. No more.”
“You really think you mean that, don’t you?”
“I don’t think. I know.” Had I been this obstinate in the beginning about wanting to have a dateless summer? Yeah, I guess I had been.
“Okay, everyone, shh…,” Sara said.
John suddenly appeared. It was like one minute he wasn’t with us, the next he was.
I don’t know how he did that, but I jumped. Brady snickered.
“Are you going to hold my hand if I get scared?” I asked.
He looked at me. He wasn’t holding my hand now. I really, really missed him holding my hand.
“I believe in vampires,” I said. I’d believe in just about anything if he’d hold my hand again.
“All right, people,” John said. He was dressed in a flowing cape. And yes, he had fangs. And he looked pale—bloodless even. “Tonight, I’m going to give you an experience you’ll never forget. Follow me.”
He started walking down the street, and everyone fell into step behind him.
Everyone except Brady and me.
“Do you really want to do the tour?” I asked.
“Not really. You?”
I shook my head. “I’d rather go sit by the river.” I lifted my tote. “I brought a blanket.”
“Okay.”
We turned and headed toward the Mississippi. He took my hand.
It was a start.
It was late, and night, and dark, and sultry. Even the breeze coming across the water was warm. Sometimes we could hear people laughing or music coming from the decks of the lighted riverboats.
Brady and I were sitting on the blanket. We’d stopped at one of the many tourist haunts and bought a bottle of water. Just one. For the two of us.
Another step in the right direction.
We’d been sitting there for a while, though, neither of us saying anything. It wasn’t uncomfortable. Or at least, I didn’t feel that way.
I brought my knees up and wrapped my arms around my legs. “I went to a voodoo shop today.”
“A voodoo shop.”
I heard the skepticism in his voice. I turned my head, lay my cheek on my knees. “Yeah. Want to see what I got?”
“You bought something?”
“Uh-huh.” I reached into my bag and brought out a candle. “If you light this, it keeps the bad mojo away.” I set it down near my feet.
Then I brought out another candle. “And this one brings in the good mojo.”
“Do you even know what mojo is?” he asked.
“Not really. I think it’s like karma. Do you want to light them and see what happens?”
“Sure.”
I struck a match, lit one, and then the other.
Brady lifted the first one, studied it. “This smells like peach.”
With the flame flickering so close, I could see his face more clearly now.
“Is this really a voodoo candle?” he asked.
I shook my head. “No. But I’ve learned that sometimes what you believe is more important than what is real. I mean, if I believed that ghosts were really touching me, it didn’t matter if it was a moth. And if you believed that I’d get back with Drew, it didn’t matter that I wouldn’t. You believed it. But you have to understand. I’m not Melanie.”
He blew out the flame. “Who told you about Melanie?”
“Tank told Jenna. She told me. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“What was there to say?”
“I don’t know. But you were asking about Drew. So it seems like you should have said something about her.”
He sighed. “She doesn’t matter.”
“Neither does Drew.”
And maybe he’d been agreeable to my only-while-we’re-here terms because they made him feel as safe as they made me feel. No commitment. No breakup. No heartache.
&nbs
p; “We had an agreement,” I said quietly. “I’m still in New Orleans. So unless you’re planning to leave—”
“I’m not leaving.”
“Okay then. I’ve got you for three more weeks.”
“And what’s-his-name?”
“I’m not interested in him at all.”
He shook his head. “I don’t usually over-react to things. But all I could think was that the boyfriend was here and you’d hook back up. I guess I wanted to get out first, on my own terms.”
Which I understood completely.
“But our terms are…as long as we’re in New Orleans,” I reminded him.
“And we’re still in the Big Easy,” he said.
I nodded.
“Okay then.”
He leaned in, touched my cheek. “I’m sorry if I was a jerk.”
I smiled. “Even Dr. Phil has a bad day now and then. Besides, the reason I was kissing you in the kitchen was wrong. You were right about that.”
“I’ve really missed you,” he said.
He leaned in closer and kissed me.
I couldn’t have been happier. Not only were we back on speaking terms, we were back on kissing terms.
Chapter 21
I couldn’t believe that we’d completed our first house.
The hammers were silent, the rubbish carted away. We’d planted two spindly trees.
The house itself was painted. Inside, it was sparsely furnished. But it did have curtains hanging from the windows to give it a welcoming touch. I had bought some dolls and put them in each of the pink bedrooms.
All the many volunteers stood on the lawn, near the front porch, waiting for the residents to return.
Brady was holding my hand, but then he usually did. He knew that I wasn’t going to leave him for Drew. And not only because Drew was no longer there.
Drew had decided to go back home after only a week in the Big Easy. At least he’d helped for a while.
I couldn’t say I particularly liked him, but I did know that I didn’t hate him anymore.
The funny thing was—after that first day, having Drew around really didn’t bother me. He was not a part of my life any longer.
Brady was.
Things between us were…well, developing. We spent most evenings together, going somewhere to listen to a band or a musician.
I was noticing everything about him. I knew he put his sunglasses on two seconds before he stepped into the sun. Always.
I noticed that he looked great in wrinkled T-shirts. And all his T-shirts were wrinkled. Even right after he washed them, because his sorting system was one pile for clean clothes, one pile for dirty clothes.
“Folding, hanging stuff up—not how I want to spend my time,” he’d told me.
Yeah, I’d been in his room a couple of times. To watch pay-on-demand movies. And cuddle without everyone in New Orleans looking on. He never pushed, but he hinted that he was interested in seeing the bottom half of my tattoo—even though it was long gone.
I was thinking about getting another one. A permanent one. One that would be there when I was ready to share it with him.
Now, Jenna and Tank were standing near us. So were Amber and Sean. It was kind of funny that so many couples were around, that so many of us had bonded while building.
A car pulled up in front of the house, and a thrill shot through me. I couldn’t believe how excited I was that the family was coming home. That we’d done what we could to ensure that they were able to come home.
John went to greet them. Holding her daughters’ hands, the woman walked to the house and stepped up on the porch. She was younger than I’d expected her to be and pretty. She turned to face us, with tears in her eyes.
“Thank you,” she said. “Thank you…so much.”
We clapped and cheered, acknowledging her—that she was home again. That we were all glad.
John opened the door for her, and she walked inside. I could hear the patter of her daughters’ feet as they raced through the house.
“Mama! My room is pink!” one of the girls shouted. “I love pink!”
Brady put his arm around me, hugged me. “Good choice,” he said.
My throat was tight. All I could do was nod, as tears filled my eyes. I felt a little guilty that I’d originally planned to spend my summer going to water parks. If Drew hadn’t been such a jerk, that’s what I would have done. And I would have missed out on this sense of accomplishment.
John stepped out on the porch and clapped his hands. “All right, people! Your job is done. Enjoy the rest of the day. We start on the next one in the morning!”
Tank, Jenna, Brady, and I walked to Tank’s car. Sean and Amber were catching a ride with Sara. We seldom rode with Ms. Wynder anymore. But, then, she was usually with John.
As we were driving away, I looked out the back window and watched the mother and her daughters waving at us from the front porch. Her daughters were clutching the dolls I’d left in their rooms. I felt…happy.
Wiping the tears from my eyes, I leaned my head back on the seat. “One down, and about a thousand to go.”
“I think there’s more than a thousand,” Brady said.
I rolled my head to the side and looked at him. “How many houses do you think there are that need to be rebuilt?”
He shrugged. “A lot.”
“Even after all this time?”
“Oh yeah. It takes a long time.”
Yeah, I thought, looking at him, rebuilding does take a long time. But it was worth it. It was so worth it.
“I am so glad we decided to spend part of our summer here,” Amber said, later that night, as we were holding our own celebration.
She, Jenna, and I were sitting on a park bench. A jazz band was playing nearby. The guys had decided to take a walk around, do some people-watching.
I think they knew that we wanted some time alone.
“Yeah, me, too,” I said, fingering the fleurdelis on the necklace that Brady had given me. I wore it all the time.
“This has been the best summer ever,” Jenna said.
“And it’s not over,” I pointed out. “We’ve still got another week to go.”
“Now that we know what we’re doing, maybe the next house will go faster.”
“Maybe.”
“You want to hear something crazy?” Jenna asked.
Amber and I looked at her.
“I’ve been thinking about asking Sara if Tank and I will get married.”
“You want to marry him?” Amber asked.
Jenna lifted her shoulders. “I’ve thought about it.”
“And what if Sara gives you a cryptic answer like, ‘Yes, you’ll both get married’?” I asked.
Jenna scowled. “That’s the only thing stopping me. I’d worry about whether that meant to each other or to someone else.”
“You know, Jenna, it doesn’t really matter what she sees. You have to decide what’s best for you. Even though she saw things, we were the ones who made them happen,” I said. “You were crazy about Tank before you saw the dragon. Amber’s reasons for coming back had nothing to do with Sara’s predictions. She came back because she wanted to do good things. Have some purpose. And I’m with Brady because I want to be. Not because he has a red hat.”
“Are you saying we’d be where we are, even if we hadn’t had a reading?” Jenna asked.
“Yeah, I think so. It was fun, but we didn’t make any of our decisions because we thought we had to make what Sara saw happen. We determine our destinies.”
“That is so corny,” Jenna said. “As corny as what Tank said that first night. But I like it. I like it a lot.”
I looked up and saw the guys walking toward us.
I grabbed Jenna’s and Amber’s hands and closed my eyes. “I see a night on Bourbon Street in our future.”
They laughed.
“That was an easy prediction,” Jenna said. “It’s Friday night!”
We got up from the bench.
; “We thought we’d head on over to Bourbon Street,” Tank said when they got to us. “See what’s happening there.”
Jenna smiled. “We figured.”
I kept myself nestled against Brady’s side as we walked along the now-familiar street. We strolled slowly, listening to bands, watching the people, and celebrating the completion of the house.
“You know what you need?” Brady asked.
I laughed, because I knew where this was going. Sara had definitely rubbed off on me.
“Beads,” he said.
He grabbed my hand, and I let him drag me farther into the craziness that’s Bourbon Street.
Chapter 22
It was our last night in New Orleans. We’d finished gutting another house and were halfway completed with its rebuilding. I wanted to stay and finish it, but we needed to get home, needed to start getting ready for school to begin. Another group of volunteers was going to finish the house. John said he’d let us know when the job was completed, in case we wanted to come back and welcome the family home.
I thought I probably would.
John and Sara had arranged for us to have an all-night party on a riverboat, their way of thanking us for the help we’d given them over the past six weeks. Even though none of us thought thanks were needed, we weren’t going to say no to a party.
Brady and I were standing by the railing on the upper deck watching one of the paddle-wheels churn through the water of the Mississippi. There was a romantic element to it, but then, New Orleans is a city of romance. Since I’d been here, I’d come to appreciate what it had to offer: its history, its ghosts, its food, its music…its love of life.
Sometimes I think it takes almost losing something to realize how very precious it is.
Like what happened with Brady. I almost lost him. And in the losing, I’d finally discovered what I’d found. During the last few weeks, we’d grown closer, but I felt like I still had so much to tell him, so much he needed to know.
I needed—wanted—to tell him everything tonight, because tomorrow we’d be going our separate ways.
“Feeling better?” Brady asked.
We’d been down below with the other volunteers when I’d started to feel a little seasick. Who knew you could feel seasick on a river? But I guess moving on water is moving on water, regardless of what you call it. So we came up top. I was fine as long as I had plenty of fresh air to breathe. I guessed that was why the swamp hadn’t bothered me. We hadn’t been enclosed.