The Good Luck Charm (The Good Luck Series) (10 page)

“Exactly. I’m no different. I want the same success.”

“Then I want you to have it. I’m not going to stop you. Just do it with me in your life.”

He made it sound so simple, but she knew it wouldn’t be. She’d be risking everything she’d worked toward. And she wasn’t sure she wanted to do it even for love.

He stepped closer, a little too close, but he still looked hopeful. “Is that a yes?”

She smiled, feeling her defenses slip.

Wuss.

She backed up afraid he’d try to kiss her and found herself against her car. She didn’t like being backed into a corner.

“No. As much as I’d like to say yes, I can’t, Darren. I’ve worked too hard for my independence. I’ve made a name for myself in this town. I’m not ready to give that up.”

“I’m not asking you to give up anything,” he protested.

“But you are,” she countered.

He shook his head. “I’m not going to argue with you. But we can both have our careers and still see one another.”

He stepped forward and placed his hand at the nape of her neck and pulled her to him. His lips brushed lightly across hers.

When he stepped back she saw regret in his tempting, blue eyes.

She swallowed hard, afraid she’d give in to her feelings.

“Good-bye, Keely.”

Good-bye?
Her insides knotted. Surely he didn’t mean that?

His words hung heavy in the air as he walked away from her. A part of her wanted to stop him from going, but the career-oriented side of her prevented the words from spilling forth when she opened her mouth. Running after him wasn’t an option. Her pride wouldn’t allow it. She’d been doing fine before he tumbled into her life, and she’d continue after he slipped away.

A frustrated sigh escaped her lips and she closed her eyes, then opened them again quickly when a stinging, frosty sensation burned her chest.

The gris-gris.

Instinctively, she reached for the chain. The coldness spread so quickly she couldn’t touch it, yet she couldn’t leave it in place either.

“LUCINDA!” she groaned, opening the passenger side door. She dug in the glove compartment and found a stash of yellow fast food paper napkins. With deft fingers, she unlatched the chain and removed it from around her neck. Then wrapped it in the napkins before tossing it into the compartment so she didn’t have to look at it again. 

Duke watched the episode without making a sound, and he didn’t protest when she urged him to get into the backseat of her car.

She drove them home in silence, thinking of what she’d like to say to Lucinda when she saw her again. Duke howled as they pulled into the drive. A shiny white Cadillac SUV with gold trim was parked near the house.

Keely parked, then spotted Lucinda sitting in the swing on her front porch as if her ranting had conjured the woman to appear. Getting out of the car, she put Duke in the fenced backyard and retrieved the wadded napkins from the glove compartment before she finally headed to the porch. She noted the five suitcases and medium-size trunk near the door. It looked like Lucinda planned to stay a while.

“Just the person I wanted to see.”

“I’d say so.” Lucinda didn’t bother to get up. Instead, she patted a spot beside her and stopped the swing’s movement with her feet. “Come. Tell me what you been up to.”

Keely hugged her. Then she sat beside her. “My life’s a mess, Lucinda, and it’s this gris-gris’s fault.”

“Tsk tsk,” Lucinda clucked, taking the wadded napkins. She opened them and looked at Keely. “Why’d you take this off?”

“You never told me it would give me frost bite.”

A mischievous grin spread across the Cajun woman’s regal face. “You’ve been dishing out a cold heart. No love can be found when you treat others this way.”

“What?” Keely shook her head in disbelief and crossed her arms.

Lucinda’s rich laughter filled the air. “Come child, let’s go inside and light a candle or two. We need to talk.”

Keely hesitated. “I don’t want to hear any more of your voodoo, Lucinda. I’ve worn the gris-gris like you asked, and what do I have to show for it?”

“Indeed, what do you have?”

“Nothing. I almost lost my job because I went out with Darren. He lied to me, Lucinda.”

“Tsk. Tsk. Are you going to let a little career conflict prevent you from pursuing a relationship, child? A relationship you want, whether you’re willing to admit it.”

Keely frowned and pursed her lips together. “Lucinda, I know you dabble in voodoo, but do you also see the future? What makes you so sure I want a relationship with Darren?”

“Come inside, and I’ll tell you.”

Keely unlocked the front door for Lucinda to go inside while she struggled with the heavy luggage. “How long are you planning on being here?”

“As long as it takes, dear.”

“What’s in the trunk?” Keely asked once she’d trudged through the door with it.

Lucinda smiled. “Bring that one over here. We’ll need it.”

“I get the feeling I’m not going to like this,” Keely mumbled to herself.

“I have perfect hearing so don’t go mumbling, thinking I don’t know what you’re saying.”

Keely smiled tightly, lugging the trunk into the middle of the room.

In a ceremonial production, Lucinda opened the trunk and removed items Keely could only assume were going to be used to try and straighten out the mess that was otherwise known as her life.

The woman draped a thin black shawl over the trunk and arranged incense, candles and even a flawless crystal orb in a semi-circle facing her.

Keely arched a brow and sat down.

“When did you become such a pessimist, child?”

“I’m not a pessimist. I just don’t believe what I’m seeing. A crystal ball?”

“It’s not for telling the future. One of my fans sent it to me as a light source. See how it shines. The clarity is amazing.”

Keely nodded, waiting for Lucinda to settle on the other side of the trunk.

“Now, since you are a non-believer let me start over. Give me your hand, child.”

Keely stuck out her left hand.

Lucinda pointed her painted nail along Keely’s lifeline. “As I told you before, we were meant to walk this earth with another. Even Noah brought the animals into the Ark two by two. Life will get very lonely for you, ma Chérìe, if you persist in going it alone.”

“I believe after meeting Darren that he is your
Vous Deux
. Your soul’s mirror.”

“But how? You didn’t speak with him other than to be introduced.”

“Your mama told me.”

“Say what?” Keely pulled her hand back. “Lucinda, my mother is dead. I don’t find that in the least bit funny.”

“Who’s joking?” Lucinda smiled sweetly, holding two fingers up side by side. “
Vous Deux
. We are like twin souls, your mother and I. Even though I live in this world, and she lives in the hereafter.”

Keely covered her face with the palms of her hands. “Enough.”

Lucinda struck the tip of a match. The scent of sulfur hung in the air until the smell of burning incense replaced it. When Keely removed her hands from her face, she continued.

“Now whether you believe any of this or not, you did believe enough to wear the gris-gris. No?”

Keely nodded.

“Then you must continue wearing it. Go on, put it back on,” Lucinda instructed, handing the amulet to her and discarding the yellow napkin. “Wendy’s. Tsk. Tsk. Do I need to look at your diet as well, child?”

“They have good salads,” Keely defended.

“But the preservatives. I’m sure it still wasn’t as fresh as growing your own vegetables?”

“Give me a break, Lucinda. I’m a career woman. I don’t have time to grow a garden.”

“Very well. But I will show you before I leave. And your neighbor, Mr. Brubaker, he can help you.”

Keely rolled her eyes.
Yeah right. I can see Mr. Brubaker agreeing to that.

“Stop that. It’s disrespectful.” Lucinda frowned and cleared her throat. She reached for Keely’s hand again.

“You spent time getting to know Darren, didn’t you?”

Keely nodded.

“You enjoyed his company. No?”

“Yes. Yes. And Yes. I enjoyed myself. But that still doesn’t change the fact that he lied,” Keely’s voice rose as she spoke. “He lied and made me look like an idiot. My co-workers are still whispering about me behind my back.”

“That is unfortunate. But there’s no need to shout. You are frustrated. That is good. You are also a strong woman. And you know the truth. You did nothing wrong. Trials and tribulations are part of life. We must endure them in order to appreciate what we receive. If you did not have to fight for what you want, then it wouldn’t be worth it.”

Lucinda lit a candle. “Do you want Darren?”

“Want him? In my life? That isn’t an option. My career goal is firm. I must stick with my plans.”

“Tsk. Tsk. That isn’t good. There must be change in your life if you are going to grow as a person. What does Darren want?”

“He thinks we can have a relationship and I can continue with my career goals, but I can’t do that and work for Jackson and Jackson. They were not happy about my dating him in the first place.”

“And who made them God of all creation?”

Keely shook her head. “It’s their policy.”

“Then find another job. One that will allow you to have a career and the man you want in your life,” Lucinda instructed.

“Who said I want him?”

Lucinda narrowed her eyes and stared into Keely’s. She shook her head. “You are so stubborn. If you were my child –"

“Well, I’m not.” Keely got up and walked across the room, staring out the picture window. She focused on the passing cars zooming down Cedar Lane. Anything that would distract her from thinking about Darren. Her job. This whole mess.

Her heart raced. The gris-gris chilled her to the bone, but she didn’t try to remove it. This time the icy chill was welcome.

She quickly turned and stared at Lucinda. “Why should I change my plans? Is it really necessary for me to claim my
Vous Deux
? I’ve struggled with the idea for two weeks. And I finally made a decision, but I feel like I’m wedged into a sharp corner with nowhere to turn. I’m miserable, Lucinda.”

“Excellent.”

Keely shook her head. “No, not excellent. Horrible.”

Lucinda got up, walked across the room and put her hands on Keely’s shoulders. Looking deep into her eyes, she shook her head. “Darlin’ you’re denying your heart. And for what?”

Keely didn’t need the woman to tell her the obvious. She wanted Darren in her life regardless of the impact on her job, regardless of his lie of omission. Yet he’d walked away because she wouldn’t allow herself to see what was right before her eyes. How smart was that?

She covered her face with her hands again, shaking her head. “What am I going to do?”

Lucinda snapped her fingers and Keely jerked her head up. “First things first. Keep that gris-gris on. Second, purify yourself. Get rid of all the confusion within and stop beating yourself up for not having the strength to do the right thing when you had the chance. Go take a long hot shower. I’ll make you a wonderful dinner that will help you relax. Third, you’ll get a good night’s sleep. Darren isn’t going anywhere. He’ll be there tomorrow.”

Keely took a deep breath. “Tomorrow.”

“Now scoot.”

Tomorrow
. She’d take care of things tomorrow. Feeling like Scarlett O’Hara as she went upstairs to shower, she hoped Darren didn’t repeat Rhett Butler’s famous last words,
“Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.”

“Stupid. Stupid. Stupid,” Darren muttered for the thousandth time that weekend as he drove to his mom’s for dinner.

“What did you say?” Jama asked, riding shotgun. She looked up from the Sunday edition of the
New York Times
.

“Nothing.”

She put the paper down. “Don’t give me that. You did say something, even if it was undecipherable.”

“It’s Keely. She still won’t see me. Why am I destined to love a woman who hates me?”

Jama grabbed his upper right arm and squeezed, almost causing him to run the car off the road. “Whoa, now, little brother. Did you just say the “L” word?”

He pulled his arm away from her grasp and corrected his driving. “I guess I did.”

“Do you mean it?”

He grinned, thinking about Keely. Her smile, the way she laughed, and the warmth he felt in his gut whenever she was around. He’d never felt like that before. “Yeah. I love her.”

“Darren, that’s wonderful!”

He half-laughed at his sister. “Wonderful? It’s murder. Or have you already forgotten she works for the competition.”

“I haven’t forgotten.”

He slowed the car and turned into their mother’s driveway. “Then tell me how I’m going to make this work.”