Mabe's Burden (10 page)

Meg glanced out the window, watching
the city zoom by as they traveled up the interstate.

“
Meg?” she
pushed.

Her sister sighed, looking down at her
daughter, making sure she was asleep. “Just before you emailed to
tell me Da had died, I’d just gotten home from the doctor. A blood
test came back abnormal.” She paused to wipe at a tear sliding down
her cheek.

Mara eyed her sister in the rearview
mirror. “Spit it out, honey. It’s best to deliver bad news all at
one time.”

She bit her lip, glanced from Mara’s
reflection in the rearview mirror to Mabe’s wide eyes. “I’ve got
Ovarian Cancer.”

Chapter Nine

The rest of the drive back to
Monticello was quiet. Meg didn’t want to discuss any details around
Emma, so Mabe and Mara had to wait until later. With two bottles of
wine, they sat on the front porch enjoying being together once
again as a family. Meg explained to her sisters the doctor
suspected she was in Stage II but wouldn’t know for sure until
they’d performed the hysterectomy. He’d referred her to a
specialist in Tallahassee once she’d told him about family living
nearby.

“
The visit to the
Tallahassee hospital occurred the night I came from Little Rock. An
attack of pain had been more than I could bear, so I checked into
the ER to see what was going on. That’s how I know the doctor you
two saw in the hallway.” Tears pooled in her eyes. She took a sip
of wine. “I’m too young for this. I wanted my daughter to be able
to have brothers and sisters,
if
I were to ever meet another man. Now I’m just used
goods. No one’s going to want me.”

Mara slammed her wine glass down on the
wicker table, the dark liquid sloshing out on two sides. “What bull
shit. You’ve got plenty to offer to any man. Not every man in the
world wants to have children. Look at Jacques. He would rather die
than have children running around. Emma needs you. We need you.
We’ve just been able to reconnect as a family, so we’ll see you
through this. I promise.” She reached out, grabbed her sister’s
hand. Mabe did the same with her free hand.

“
Mara’s right. Don’t even
worry about men or what your potential future might be. Let’s just
concentrate on getting you through your surgery. That will be
enough for you to deal with.”

Mabe held her sister against her good
side while she sobbed.

“
Let it out, sis. I know
you’ve felt like you’ve had the world on your shoulders, but you’re
home now. I want you to arrange for all your stuff to be shipped
back here. You and our darling little girl will move in with me.
We’ll get her registered for school, and I’ll take care of her
while you beat this thing. You got it?”

Mara got on her knees in front of the
swing, placing her hands on Meg’s knees. “Don’t worry about money
either. Like I told you at the hospital, I’ve got some put aside.
I’ve been very successful in New York, and Jacque’s restaurants are
known worldwide. I’ve saved for a rainy day. I’d say it’s raining
just a little in your world. We’ll get through this
together.”

Meg sniffed, wiped her face on a
napkin, and sipped her wine. “I’m okay. It was a tough blow at
first, but I’ll get through it. I’ve got three really good reasons
to.” She looked at each sister in turn and then at the door to the
home where her precious girl lay sleeping. “It just
sucks.”

“
I know it does, honey, but
we’ll get through it together. You’re going to come out on the
other side stronger than ever. Your daughter’s going to learn how
to be a survivor,” Mabe reminded her sister.

“
I hope you’re
right.”

“
I’m always
right.”

Mara rolled her eyes. “Let’s just try
to figure out what we’re going to do about Shenanigans.”

Mabe sighed. She leaned back
in the swing, pushing it slowly with her foot. “I can’t sell it to
that shark. I just can’t. You two weren’t here–” She held up a hand
when both sisters started to protest. “Hold on, I’m not blaming
anyone. But you didn’t see what I went through to keep it going all
through Da’s drunken binges...all the gambling fiascos. One time he
won big. I forced him to pay off the mortgage on the place and buy
life insurance, so I could keep the place running in the event he
died or couldn’t run it any longer. Then he goes and loses half of
Shenanigans to some mobsters. God, if he
were
alive, I swear I’d kill
him.”

“
I know what you must have
gone through,” Mara commented. “I lived through it after Mom died.
Trying to keep him out of the bottle just became too much for me.
He never loved me like he did you or Meg. He always thought Mom had
cheated on him, gotten pregnant with me. You two each favored one
of them. I was the odd kid out. Trying to explain genetics to an
uneducated immigrant is futile, so I gave up and went to New
York.”

“
How did you even survive up
there all by yourself?” Meg wondered.

“
I’d saved my tips from
Shenanigans. I had enough to find a room to rent. I worked various
diners, deli’s, and dives, until I met Jacques. He rescued me in a
sense. I’ll be forever thankful. I’m not proud of living with him,
but he gave me an option when I had none. I’ve learned a great deal
from him.”

“
Do you love him?” Mabe
asked.

Mara climbed back into the wicker
rocker across from the swing. She took another sip of wine. “I’m
not sure. I’m fond of him. I’m more than grateful to him, but I
wouldn’t say I love him. I’m sure he wouldn’t be pleased to hear
it, but if I’m totally honest with myself, that’s what I’d have to
say.”

“
How old is he?” Mabe wanted
to know. “You’re what, twenty-nine?”

“
Yes. He’s
sixty.”

Meg sat straight up on the swing,
making Mabe wince when her cast tapped the arm. “Sixty!”

Mara rolled her eyes. “Okay,
okay. I knew you’d be shocked, but he’s good to me. He rescued a
poor hungry girl who needed a way to make a living in a big city. I
was cooking in a restaurant one day because the owner was sick. He
stopped in and tried my food. He asked to meet me, offering me a
scholarship to learn to cook at his school. He was Jacques
Bernault. He’s quite the who’s who in New York.
Everyone
wants to study under him.
I’m very lucky.”

“
Sounds creepy to me,” Mabe
muttered.

“
What?”

“
I said he sounds like a
dirty old man. Here you are, this gorgeous girl, against a lonely,
horny old man. I mean why wouldn’t he want you? Let me throw out an
opportunity for this young damsel in distress, plus I get her in my
bed.”

“
Mabe,” Meg chastised her
sister.

“
It wasn’t really like
that,” Mara replied, unperturbed. “Jacques is French, so yes he
probably did see an opportunity, but I trained under him for over a
year before we slept together.”

Mabe shuddered. “Eww. He’s
sixty.”

Mara waggled her eyebrows. “And very
experienced. And did I mention he’s French?”

Mabe laughed, her sisters joining
her.

Headlights approached from the
direction of the courthouse. The car slowed as it reached the
house. A gray BMW pulled into the driveway.

“
Oh shit,” Mabe
muttered.

“
Hey, isn’t …?” Meg eyed her
older sister.

“
Yes, I believe it is. I bet
he’s come to check on his disaster victim. Mabe, be nice. Let’s
hear what he has to say.” Mara vacated her chair to stand by the
porch railing.

The driver’s side door opened. Aaron
Shaw climbed, or more like unfolded, out of the car.

“
My, he is a tall fellow,
isn’t he?” Meg mumbled out of the side of her mouth.

“
Shut up,” Mabe admonished
through clenched teeth.

He waved as he sauntered up the
sidewalk. “Hi, ladies. I just wanted to stop by to see how Mabe
was. Rumors ran through the pub her arm was broken.”

She held up the cast.

“
Oh shit, I’m sorry.” He
climbed slowly onto the porch. She got a brief surge of
satisfaction seeing him wince, but he hid it well. “Of course I’ll
pay your medical bills.”

“
Why?” she asked. “It was my
fault, too. I’m not destitute. I can pay my own medical
expenses.”

“
Pull in your claws,
Sheikra,” Aaron retorted. “I’m not here to fight with you. I just
wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“
Come. Sit.” Mara pointed to
the chair next to her. “Tell us why our sister hates you so
much.”

He eyed Mara warily. Hesitation covered
his expression. Mabe smirked. She’d be wary, too. She, along with
her sisters were a formidable trio.

He sat in the wicker chair Mara had
vacated. She remained perched on the porch railing, waiting for his
response.

He glanced at all three sisters in
turn, his gaze lingering on Mabe. “Um, I’m not sure why I’m hated
so much. I’m trying to help you ladies out of a sticky situation.
It seems pretty simple to me. You need money to pay off a debt. I
want to take advantage of a good investment. Seems like a win-win
to me.”

“
Just what makes you think
we need money to pay off a debt? Who divulged this information to
you?” Mara inquired.

He squirmed. “Look, if you don’t want
my help fine. My sources—”

“
Gavin,” Mabe
supplied.

“
Okay. Gavin told me of your
predicament. We do business together from time to time. When he
found out about your father’s gambling debt, he called me. He
thought it would be a great way to help you three out of an awkward
situation, keep you safe. I’d get a good investment.” He leaned
forward with his elbows on his knees. “I was trying to tell Mabe
earlier. I don’t think you understand who your father was indebted
to before he died. These guys play hardball. They won’t wait.
According to Gavin, Shane had already put them off for too long.
They either want the bar or the money.”

Mabe sat up straight in the
swing. “You never mentioned the part about them wanting the
bar
or
the money.
What are you getting at here?”

“
If they don’t get the
money, they’ll take the pub. They may run it or see to it that it
burns down to take the insurance money, but either way they’ll get
paid. The head of this crime family has enough resources to see it
through. I’m willing to buy it from you for a price which will
allow you to pay them off and still have enough to live on until
you decide what you want to do.”

“
I want to run
my
bar,” she declared
stubbornly. “We will find a way to get the money to save
Shenanigans. We don’t need you running to our rescue like we’re
helpless kittens in a storm.”

He glared at her. “I don’t think you’re
helpless kittens, but I also don’t think you’re aware of who you’re
going to be dealing with.”

“
What makes you such an
expert on these people?” Mara wanted to know.

“
Yeah,” Meg added. “I’m a
little curious myself. Helping us can’t be the only reason you’re
interested in this deal.”

Mabe shot Aaron a smug
glance. “See, we aren’t easily fooled by a handsome, sexy face.”
Immediately, her face flushed.
Why did I
say that?

Meg exchanged a glance with her sister.
Mara pressed, “Answer the question.”

“
I just want to help. Gavin
is a business associate, and he’s very worried about you three. I
think the pub is a great investment. Monticello is growing, and I
think I can make a fortune. I’m a broker. It’s what I do. There’s
no ulterior motive.”

He boldly faced Mara. Mabe had to give
him props for not backing down. But her sister wasn’t giving in
either.

“
What’s your best offer?”
she asked.

Mabe jumped to her feet. “I
told you we are
not
selling to this viper or anyone else.”

Mara held up her hand. “Hold on. Let’s
hear him out. I just want to see if he’s willing to put his money
where his mouth is.”

Meg cleared her throat and Mabe glared
over at her. She motioned for Mabe to sit. She opened her mouth to
protest, but Meg shook her head. Reluctantly, she plopped down on
the swing, wincing.

“
You okay?” Aaron
asked.

“
Kiss off,” Mabe
grumbled.

He paused like he was standing at the
front of a boardroom. “I’m prepared to offer you one point two
million dollars cash for Shenanigans.”

Mabe sucked in a
breath.
Wow, what a shitload of money.
What’s he up to?
She noticed her sisters
were equally surprised.

“
It’s well above the current
market price of around six hundred grand,” he hurried on. “It gives
you plenty of money to pay off your dad’s gambling debt. You can
live very comfortably if you’re careful with it.”

“
You’re willing to go six
hundred thousand above market value just because you’re a nice
guy?” Mabe wondered. “Smells awfully fishy to me.”