Her Chance Encounters (11 page)

Wynona Hymel, 22, was the first listed, as mistress of River Oaks, survived by her husband Stanislaus Hymel. Below her, Yvette 'Cherice' Hymel, age six, daughter of Stanislaus Hymel was remembered. A third death notice accounted the passing of a riverboat captain named Ferdinand Gomez, who died in a valiant attempt to save Wynona.

Opting not to alert Eugene Zeringue about their reasons for gathering the material, Adrienne and Chance announced they were ready to call it a day. The editor followed them to the front door. He appeared to be trying to set up a date with Lenore, but he was not having any luck.

"The paper has a viewing station set up on the river for tomorrow night's annual Paddleboat Race up the river. We could have dinner in the city, and be back in time for a front row seat of the event."

There had been a time when Eugene Zeringue asking her for a date would have thrilled Lenore, but that ship had passed a long time ago, when he overreacted to a small misunderstanding involving his sister and her. With a hand on his muscular chest, Lenore stopped him from following them outside.

"Stop trying to make up for your rude behavior, Eugene. If your family jewels didn't shrivel up and fall off ten years ago after you... Let's just say, you are lucky I am not really a Voodoo priestess." With that, she turned her back and walked away.

Cheryl sat at her receptionist desk chuckling. "Don't tell me you forgot what you did when you caught Lenore taking down some bullies for snapping my bra strap when I was twelve? I warned you it would come back to haunt you one day."

"That tomboy I turned over my knee was Lenore?" Eugene was floored. At the time, he hoped to teach the girls not to take on people twice their size. "Crap, she filled out nicely."

*****

"Still question Lenore's talents?" Adrienne asked after reading the newspaper clippings they copied. "She got the captain's name right. What she said about Stanislaus matches what happened to us in the swamp. I never mentioned what he had said, but she knew he had demanded Cherice stay behind when his wife left."

Chance eyed Lenore as they drank coffee in his kitchen at Home Place. He hated to admit it when he was wrong, but apparently he had misjudged the woman. "It appears I owe you an apology."

Guilt from keeping the diary, even if its contents only help confirm her own talents, stopped Lenore from basking in the moment. "Sometimes even I don't trust my own skills. Why wouldn't you?" She needed to finish reading the journal tonight and return it to them. "Would you mind driving me back to my car at River Oaks? I need to get back home."

"Explain to me again why we're trying to track down the spot where Wynona died?" After dropping Lenore off at River Oaks, Adrienne had talked Chance into another outing.

"I have a hunch I know the exact spot. If I'm right, some of the pieces in this ghostly puzzle might just start to fit together. Do you see that skid mark up ahead? Follow it until we reach where it starts."

The sun was starting to set, but they had about an hour of daylight to do what Adrienne wanted. "This is it! That's where I spotted Cherice for the first time! Park here; I want to see what the river looks like on the other side of the levee."

A crow bellowed a protest and took to the clouds as Adrienne and Chance started up the grassy levee. "The article said the accident happened close to River Oaks. This has got to be the spot." At the peak of the grassy hill, they saw the mighty river's shores crashing against the batture. A few hundred yards left and right, barges were tied up to structures, waiting for the time they would be needed to collect grain from nearby plants to ship across the world.

"Your uncle leased mooring rights to several companies, but he refused to allow anyone access to this particular patch of land."

"This is probably where he pulled Cherice's body from the river," Adrienne decided, trying to imagine the anguish of losing a child. "I wonder why her mother and lover's bodies were found so far away?" A cool breeze rustled the leaves of the trees growing closest to the river. Adrienne wished she had brought her windbreaker from Chance's car.

"The current is stronger in some sections of the river. Maybe they got separated somehow. It took a lot of guts for her to take Cherice with her when she left. Stanislaus probably would have let her go without a fight, otherwise." Chance put an arm around Adrienne. "You're shivering, babe. Do you want me to go fetch your jacket?"

"Could you?" She felt pulled to this area and wanted to stay a bit longer while she tried to piece together everything they knew.

"Promise me you'll stay right here," Chance demanded. "If you fell in the river, the current could pull you under."

"Cross my heart," she promised, with a smile.

"Yeah, I am not falling for that this time. Break your word, and nothing will save you from a spanking."

Chance disappeared over the levee as the metallic odor caught Adrienne's attention. Cherice materialized in a whirlwind of dust. Bending down to look the child in the eyes, the woman felt like grabbing the girl to stop her from disappearing again. "Where have you been, honey? We've been looking all over for you."

"No you have not," the child pouted. "You are too busy with him to care about me."

"Do you mean, Chance?"

"Make him go away. I do not like him. He is trying to take you away from me. You never have time to be with me when he is here."

"Did your mother leave you behind when she met with her friend?"

"Mommy tried, but I followed. I won't let him steal you from me again."

A shadow loomed over the levee and a man started toward them. The child ran toward the trees at the sight. Adrienne started to go after her, but the memory of Chance's warning stopped her. "Cherice, come back honey."

"I warned you I would never let you take my daughter from me."

Turning back in shock, Adrienne realized it wasn't Chance returning with her jacket. She started backing away from the advancing, angry specter of Stanislaus Hymel. "I am not trying to take your daughter away."

"Did you tell her to hide from me? Wasn't it enough that you turned my own child against me with your vicious lies? Leave with your lover, but do not even consider robbing me of my child."

Stopping when she was mere feet from the riverbank, Adrienne decided it was time to yell for assistance. "Chance! I could use some help over here!"

Finally appearing on top of the levee, it did not seem as if her hero heard her request. He was taking his sweet time until he realized she was in danger. Then he wasted no time charging down the steep incline. "Get the hell away from her!" Reaching through the misty form of Stanislaus, Chance grabbed Adrienne and shoved her behind his large back.

"Come near Adrienne again and I'll..." Just how did a person threaten a ghost? Death was off the list. "I'll make sure you never see Cherice again."

Not waiting for Stanislaus' reaction, Chance turned to order Adrienne to escape in the car and wait for him at Home Place. "Don't go back to River Oaks. He might follow you there. Better yet, call Lenore and get directions to her place. Tell her I said to protect you until I get there."

Before she started arguing with Chance, she noticed the figure of Stanislaus moving toward the river. "I am not going to leave you here to face this alone."

"Are you really going to make me waste precious time turning you over my knee before I take on a damn ghost?" he bellowed.

The crazy man she loved seemed ready to follow through on the threat. Since the ghost he was planning to take on had disappeared into the river by now, she opted to retreat. Let him think he won this little battle, she decided. "Fine. I'll wait for you in the car! But I am staying there until you join me."

Time ticked by and she waited for Chance to admit defeat and join her. The clock on the dash showed ten minutes had past, and she was getting edgy. What if Stanislaus had not really disappeared? Could the mad ghost be attacking Chance right now? Why the hell did she leave him alone?"

Of course, she could be wrong. Any minute now, Chance could come strolling over the levee, pissed as hell if she wasn't locked inside the car. Like a locked car door could stop a murderous ghost, anyway. Chance would probably bust her ass right here, where people driving the River Road could see. What if Chance's ass needed saving?

"To hell with this second guessing." She ran up the levee as fast as the three-inch heels on her leather boots allowed.

Breaking the top, a scream escaped her lips at the sight of her lover lying near the river's edge. She fell twice, tearing her jeans and ripping the heel off of one of her boots before she reached him. Grabbing his arms, she tried to pull him farther away from the water. A trail of red flowed from a wound near the back of his head. Cursing the ghost of Stanislaus, Adrienne put all her strength into getting Chance out of the shadows of the trees. Darkness would come soon. She needed to get help now.

"Chance, can you hear me?" He had a strong pulse. What a relief! Using the light of her phone, she tried to gauge the seriousness of the injury on the back of his head. It looked as if someone had clobbered him from behind with something hard. Now she had another reason to keep Stanislaus away from Cherice. The coward probably snuck up on poor Chance.

Chance's gray eyes opened, and he let out a painful curse. "I see you did not follow directions again, babe. The minute there aren't three of you twirling around in my head, remind me I owe you a spanking."

"Can you stand up?" Hopefully he would be able to help her get him up the levee and back to the car. "Is there an emergency room nearby, or should I call for an ambulance?"

"Hell no, don't call for an ambulance. Give me a hand." She helped him gain his balance, despite the broken heel of her boot. A broken tree branch caught his attention. "Does that look like blood to you? I think we found my attacker's weapon. I still can't believe old Stan hit me when I wasn't looking. The man I knew hated violence. Then again, he looked kind of pissed off when I threatened to keep his daughter away from him."

"He scares Cherice. She ran off to hide when he showed up. By the way, you sort of worry the little girl, too. She's convinced you are trying to steal me from her. Can you give me directions to the emergency room or should I search on my cell?”

"Just drive me back to Home Place. You can clean up the wound there and see if I even really need stitches.” "I'd feel more comfortable if we went to the ER," she argued.

"There is no way in hell I am going to try explaining to a doctor that the ghost of a ninety-year-old man knocked me out! Either take me to Home Place or let me drive."

Adrienne started the car. "River Oaks is closer."

"Yeah, well, we haven't encountered any ghosts at my place, so we'll be staying there from now on."

"But all of our things are at River Oaks. We'll have to go back sooner or later."

"Later," he moaned. "Much later. Now drive to Home Place or move over so I can take the wheel."

His wound, while it bled a lot, did not seem deep enough to require stitches. Once she was assured he would survive, Adrienne insisted they go to River Oaks so she could pack a few clothes and replace her broken boots.

"Fine, we'll go, but you've got less than ten minutes to get your things. Every extra second will cost you when I get around to busting your ass."

"Dammit, I left like you insisted," Adrienne defended.

"But you came back!" he shouted, then moaned and grabbed the bandage on the base of his head.

"You should be glad I came back. Old Stanislaus might have finished you off, otherwise."

Afraid to push him any further, Adrienne was packed and ready to leave River Oaks in nine minutes flat. On the drive back to his place, Chance got a phone call from his plant. One of the units had tripped, forcing a shutdown of production, and crews were working to get it back up. In the past, he always insisted on being onsite, but not tonight. Unwilling to leave Adrienne until he was assured she would not be in danger, he delegated others he trusted to monitor the situation and call him with updates.

"There is no need to babysit me, Chance. If you need to go out to the plant, I'll be safe at Home Place. Like you said, we haven't encountered any ghosts there."

"Keeping you safe is my top priority right now. Besides, I can't trust you to follow directions."

Chance refused to buy her argument about her going to wait for him in the car. The moment she finished showering before bed, he leaned her over the vanity in the master bath. Her wet body made sort of a suction with the cold surface and wiggling out of reach was impossible. The devil used a hairbrush, saying he wanted to make every smack count since his head was pounding. The mirror in front of her gave her a view of Chance going to town on her ass. Grimacing with each strike of the brush, she discovered she was not very attractive when she was in pain.

A full blush covered her face, but she was sure it was nothing compared to the color of her ass. The sting had Adrienne yelping, and she noticed the sound seemed to cause him a bit of discomfort, too. It was really horrible of her, but she made a production of every slap of the brush after that discovery. If she was going to suffer, so could he.

"To be continued," he muttered, tossing the brush aside, and taking something for his headache. He knew she still had not admitted defeat, but he could not concentrate on giving her the attention she needed right now. Later on he would continue this lesson. Damn it, he'd use his belt next time if necessary. She was not going to keep putting herself in danger if he had anything to say about it.

They did not make love when they finally crawled into bed. Adrienne was still ticked about the unwarranted spanking, but it surprised her when Chance passed up an opportunity to have sex. Maybe he was still mad at her, she thought. Then again, maybe his head was still bothering him. Guilt for exaggerating her reaction to the spanking kept her up a long time. What kind of man justifies punishing a grown woman in such an intimate, old fashion way? More to the point, how could she love a man who drove her so crazy?

Maybe he loved her, too. He hardly even talked about trying to buy River Oaks these days. Then again, he had been a little busy. Chance certainly was doing everything in his power to keep her safe, even when it meant staring down a ghost. Well, wasn't it her job to protect him, too?

If only she could reunite Cherice with her mother, Stanislaus might stop hunting them all. Finally falling into a restless sleep, she dreamt she and Cherice were arguing in a rowboat. The child seemed to be thrown into the river minutes before their boat crashed into a riverboat. Stanislaus' voice echoed in the distance, calling out his daughter's name.

Trouble at the plant continued all through the night. Every time workers managed to solve one issue, another popped up someplace else. Chance realized it was only a matter of time before he had to take care of the situation himself. Every second a unit was down, the company lost money.

Yet, he could not face leaving Adrienne behind. He certainly was not going to take her with him to the plant. He wanted her as far away from the place as possible in case things went south. That left one option. Damn it, he would have to call on Lenore to help him out. At least she was aware of the situation and would understand the type of threat they faced.

Chance called her and asked if she could stop by Home Place close to sundown. To his surprise, it took her a few minutes to agree. "Would you mind if I brought company along? I let Gene talk me into spending time with him tonight. He's supposed to listen with an open mind when I explain about my... visions. Then we were going to watch the paddleboat race around midnight. Maybe you and Adrienne can join us. The paper has a viewing stand."

Trying to envision fact driven Gene Zeringue with kooky Madame Lenore had Chance chuckling. Their romance might be a blessing in disguise, though. Now Adrienne would have two people to keep her safe while he dealt with the issues at the plant. "Bring him over. I'll even provide enough wine so you can loosen him up for your talk."