Patrick thought it was time to lodge some protests. If he didn’t speak up, she was going to walk right out of his life and that would never do. “I’ll play with you anytime, Baby. And if I’m not in your league, I want to join. We really need to go somewhere and talk, Savannah.”
It couldn’t be that she was involved with anyone, or her girlfriend wouldn’t be trying to set her up. He stood close to her, enjoying the contact. But to his bewilderment, she chose to ignore what he said and continued to give him information he wanted – but not nearly as much as he wanted her.
“LaVerdure, you say? That name doesn’t sound familiar, but let me give you a website address that contains invaluable genealogical records. If the LaVerdures are related to any of the original settlers, there’s a chance you’ll find something in this collection of work.” Trying her best to ignore Tammany, who was edging closer to them by the second, she turned to the big Marine and handed him her business card. “It’s called Ensemble Encore. I think it will help you in your quest. And if you want me to look for you, I’ll be glad to. My email address is on the card. All you have to do is ask.”
The soldier took the card and carefully put it in his back pocket. “This information is important to my grandfather, so it’s important to me. I’ll email you for sure, but consider yourself asked. I don’t intend to lose contact with you, and if this is the best way to do it, I’m all for it.” Before Savannah could stop him, Patrick stepped around her and offered his hand to Tammany. “Hello, Savannah’s friend. I’m Patrick O’Rourke. I’m about to take this pretty lady to lunch.”
“Great! I knew this was going to work out.” The lithe blonde jumped up and down a little, making her breasts bounce. Patrick didn’t react. But Savannah was doing her best to shush the blonde up. It didn’t work, she just kept on. “You know it’s her birthday, don’t you? She’s twenty-six today. Did she tell you what the fortune teller said?”
“Tammany, no!” Savannah warned her with a hint of panic in her voice.
“A fortune teller?” He turned to Savannah with a questioning look. “No, she didn’t mention the fortune teller.” He wasn’t surprised. This was Louisiana, home of hoodoo, voodoo and Anne Rice, where the supernatural is a perfectly acceptable form of normal. Wait till he told her about seeing her face in the well on that Halloween night so long ago. He wondered what she’d think of that.
“Nana Fontenot is powerful and well-known in south Louisiana. She’s never, ever wrong,” Tammany stated flatly, fully convinced.
“What did she say?” He couldn’t wait to hear this.
Behind him, cute grumbling from Savannah only increased his curiosity. “You don’t have to tell everything you know, Tammany. I can’t believe this.” She threw her little hands up in the air and huffed her consternation. “This beats all I’ve ever seen. I’m going to get Nana to turn you into a nutria rat, Tammany,” Savannah promised her friend with a glare.
Tammany didn’t pay Savannah a bit of attention. Leaning over near Patrick, she whispered her delicious news. “She said that Savannah would meet a warrior today, and that warrior would one day become her husband.” She said the words slow with delicious emphasis.
“Oh, merciful Heavens, kill me now.” Savannah seethed in embarrassment as her friend grinned and Patrick’s eyes widened in surprise. “I’m sure Nana Fontenot is losing her touch, Patrick,” Savannah reassured him. “If it’s any consolation, she also predicted the Saints would win the Super Bowl this year and we know there’s no chance of that happening.”
Patrick cleared his throat, trying not to laugh out loud. “Well, Honey,” he placed a hand on the small of Savannah’s back. “I’m a Saints fan, so I hope she’s right. Don’t you think we ought to go to lunch and talk about our engagement party?”
“That’s the spirit!” Tammany announchappily. “There’s no fighting fate. It’s stronger than all of us. Besides, you won’t be sorry. Savannah is a wonderful girl.”
“I’ll make this up to you, I promise,” she whispered to Patrick as he steered her to the front entrance. “God, I’m embarrassed! I’m twenty-six years old and I feel fourteen. I can’t believe I put you through this. I am so, so sorry,”
Visions of how she could make it up to him were dancing through his head. “Don’t be sorry. You heard Tammany. There’s no use fighting fate. You may very well be my destiny.” He might be speaking in a teasing tone, but he couldn’t get the notion out of his head. What if he had missed her? What if he had decided not to come here today? The idea was unthinkable.
Savannah gave him an exasperated look. “Don’t let her hear you say that. She doesn’t need any encouragement.”
“Stop worrying. There’s no harm done. I’m flattered to tell you the truth. I have to leave for the base in a couple of hours. My plane leaves for Afghanistan tomorrow and meeting you is exactly what I needed to take my mind off my worries.” There, that sounded innocent enough. He didn’t want to come on so strong that he scared the bejesus out of her. And it was true. As if fighting a war wasn’t pressure enough, he had to deal with a commanding officer that he didn’t trust as far as he could throw. Patrick was collecting evidence on Lucas and as soon as he had exactly what he needed, the man was going down. A traitor was the lowest form of humanity. Everything about the man just reeked of arrogance, selfishness and greed. The way he constantly squeezed on a stress ball got on everyone’s nerves. He was always challenging the others to arm wrestling matches, but Patrick wouldn’t give
