Page 69 of The Cajun Doctor

He nodded. “I wouldn’t have stayed out in that damp, mosquito-infested fishing camp for so long if I didn’t like the bayou. Must be in the genes, God help me! I understand one of my grandfathers was a swamp guide, and another one trapped muskrats, whatever they are. A great-grandmother gathered swaths of moss from live oak trees to sell for mattress stuffing. Lots of outrageous characters in my family tree, according to Tante Lulu, not the least of which is that father of mine, Valcour LeDeux. The less said about him the better.”

“My great-grandfather many times removed was arrested twelve times for cattle reaving in Scotland, and his wife was a noted witch. Rumors are, my great-aunt Jez, as in Jezebel, was a French Quarter stripper. My mother is a career seducer of young men, and my father can’t help but marry any woman who wiggles her butt his way. If you think Tante Lulu is crazy, you ought to meet my Aunt Maire who has an obsession with the color pink. Pink house, pink furniture, pink clothing, pink car. She only eats things that are pink. Salmon, lemonade, beet pasta, cotton candy, strawberry smoothies, grapefruit, Pink Lady cocktails, medium rare steak. I’d say you come out the winner in this pool of gene outrageousness.”

He smiled at her. A real, genuine smile that included his dark brown, expressive eyes. How had she not noticed them before? They were beautiful. Her heart did another somersault. First, he shows an empathy for animals, now he appreciates the humor of my family. I must be in some kind of hormone meltdown. Or he’s another devil doctor out to get something.

“Did your aunt have cancer?” he asked.

“No. She was doing this long before pink became the color for breast cancer awareness. Of course, the local cancer society has adopted her now. She’s great for raising funds. They’re always asking for the use of her house for events, or her pink Cadillac convertible for parades.”

He nodded in understanding. “You can’t blame them. There’s never enough money, especially in the competition for charity dollars. I’ve been asked to donate plenty of times myself.”

She imagined that he knew this firsthand, having been a cancer doctor himself and seeing the constant need for research funds until a cure was discovered.

But then, she thought, oh, no! A sympathetic doctor? She could practically hear another brick in the wall of her defenses crumbling.

“Are you playing me?” she asked suddenly.

“Huh?”

“Your remark about cancer charities, all caring and noble. That is the kind of thing Nick would do. I can’t count the number of charity events I’ve attended at his urging when his motives were to ingratiate himself with the movers and shakers of the Crescent City.” She tossed the hair back off her face in a haughty gesture of disdain. Then mimicked Nick, “Darlin’, we gotta go to the charity ball at the country club. Everyone will be there. How would it look if we didn’t attend and make a big donation? Wear the green gown that covers more of your ugly freckles and makes your butt look smaller. And your grandmother’s emeralds. They make you look so rich . . . I mean, elegant.”

Daniel just stared at her for a long moment. “You have one helluva suspicious mind, Samantha. That dickhead you married did a real job on you, didn’t he?” he said, with his own shake of the head.

Any further conversation was forestalled by the noise they heard coming from the kitchen. They looked at each other and gathered the animals to come inside . . . those that were so inclined. Cats had a tendency to be contrary, and Madeline looked at the two of them as if to say, “Later. Maybe.” She was munching on something that looked like a mouse, but was probably . . . hopefully . . . a stick.

He made one further comment, though, as they crossed the verandah. “I don’t think your freckles are ugly. At all. And your butt? Nick must be blind, as well as stupid.” He patted one buttock as he passed in front of her into the kitchen.

She clicked her gaping mouth shut and followed after him.

Lily Beth was sitting at the table that could easily seat twelve people . . . a massive single block of wood on thick, heavy legs that was probably a primitive antique worth a fortune. Samantha would enjoy working on it with a hot mix of turpentine and linseed oil, applied with fine steel wool, to see what character emerged from the wood grains. There were long benches on both sides and straight-back chairs on either end.

Angus had put paper plates and cutlery on the table and was now pulling foil-wrapped packages and plastic containers from the green fridge. Mostly these were Tante Lulu leftovers, which Lily Beth began to devour hungrily the second they were placed in front of her. Angus sniffed a carton of milk, then set it aside in the old, chipped enamel, cast iron farm sink. He also discarded some takeout containers that she could smell even from the doorway.

“Good morning,” Samantha greeted them.

“Morning,” they both said, without looking up from their breakfast feast.

“How are you feeling today, Lily Beth?” Daniel asked.

“Okay,” she said around a mouthful of Cajun potato salad. Chewing rapidly, she swallowed, then told him, “Mah ankles and fingers aren’t as swollen, and it didn’t hurt when I peed this mornin’.”

Samantha and Daniel exchanged glances. That was the first they’d heard of urinary discomfort.

“You’re going to need an examination. I can do a basic exam. Not an internal,” he was quick to emphasize. “But, if I detect any problems, I’ll insist you see an obstetrician right away.”

“I doan know,” Lily Beth said. “Dr. Coltrane checked me over every week, and I didn’t have this swellin’ issue ’til this past week. I’m prob’ly okay.”

Nick must have really frightened her about the dangers of seeing another doctor, who would in turn report back to Nick. Lily Beth thought that all doctors were in cahoots. As Samantha had herself, on occasion, she had to admit.

“I do know. Either you agree, or you’re out of here, on your own,” Daniel insisted, taking a much-needed hard line.

Clearly reluctant, Lily Beth nodded.

Angus seemed about to argue, but then said, “Whatever!”

Daniel put his hand on Lily Beth’s shoulder and squeezed. “I’m going over to my apartment to get my medical bag. Stay off your feet as much as possible today. There’s some folding lawn furniture in that storage room down the hall that Tante Lulu brought yesterday, including a chaise, I think. Angus can set it up for you outside, if you want, or on one of the galleries.”

Lily Beth and Angus both nodded, then resumed eating. Food was their top priority at the moment. They were also guzzling back bottles of Grapico, that Southern carbonated grape beverage that rotted the teeth of more than one overindulged Dixie child.