CHAPTER THREE

Questions flew Irene’s way as to how Billy finally went home. The ghosts just sat around her as if protecting her from the men and women. There was no protection needed, just explanations would be nice.

“I don’t understand any of this,” said Marie. “Why would Billy want to leave us, Mama?”

“Why? Honey, he missed his family. Billy was stuck out on that island for two hundred years all alone. Then suddenly he was inundated with more people than he’d ever seen. It was too much for him. Given the chance to see your family again, wouldn’t you take it?”

“I guess I would,” said Marie. “He was such a sweet kid, though.”

“That kid was as old as me,” smirked Martha.

“Do the rest of you want to leave us?” asked Lauren. The look of sadness on her face made the specters grin at one another. They were loved, even in ghostly form.

“No, child,” said Franklin. “I have no desire to leave any of you at this point in time. I feel as though you’re my children. This is my destiny in life. Being here, still helping my sweet friend Martha.”

“Franklin, we both know I’m the one helping you. You were the strength that helped this place survive. I was just your partner.”

“We’ve all become so fond of you, loving you, we would hate to see you leave,” said Erin. “But if you were sad, I wouldn’t want that either.”

“I think we’re just fine, my beauty,” smirked Marcel, hearing Nine’s growl behind him. He turned, laughing out loud. “I’m a ghost. You have nothing to fear. If I had a woman such as this, my life here would be complete. It’s a wonderful life, or after-life, but a woman. A woman would make me a very happy man.”

“We’ve heard you had plenty of women in your day,” grinned Rafe. Marcel stared at his ancestor, smiling.

“As did you prior to your marriage, my dear Raphael. In fact, I believe you had at least…”

“Okay, okay!” shouted Raphael. “Point taken. There are no innocent ones at this table. I get it.” His brothers laughed, Savannah grinning at her handsome, sexy husband.

Irene listened as Marcel spoke about having a woman. He was a fine-looking ghost. Strong, tall, a full, thick beard. His hair the trademark auburn of a Robicheaux, his eyes with the glow of whiskey. Yes, indeed, he was a looker.

There were plenty of women within reach for her to choose from, but they were all alive. Marcel needed a woman who was gone from this earth. More importantly, one that could walk this property. Those in the family cemetery would be family. That wouldn’t work out well for them.

Any who were not family would be men.

“I wonder,” whispered Irene.

“Wonder what, Mama?” asked Adele. She looked at her daughter, the history professor.

“Well, I was just wonderin’ if we had any women buried on the property who weren’t family. I was just sittin’ here thinkin’, other than Yori and Nathan, everyone has died here, but we’ve had no women other than Martha and Claudette.”

“It’s a good question,” said Adele, nodding at her mother. “I think we’ve had a few Robicheauxs, obviously, but I’m not sure about any that were unrelated. I mean, it would stand to reason that on all this land, there would have been indigenous tribes, explorers, soldiers, even as far back as cavemen.”

“Cavemen! No, no, that can’t be true,” said Irene.

“Mama,” laughed Adele, “this land is millions of years old. It’s definitely changed over time, but I would guess there are thousands of people who have died on our property. We believe the pond had prehistoric bones in it. Animals, but still, animals might have been here with humans.”

“I’m just curious about women,” said Irene thoughtfully.

“Why?”

“Why? I don’t know. I’d like to know if there were more women like Martha that had an impact on our family,” she lied. Adele just stared at her mother, nodding in disbelief.

“Well, I’ll do some research and see what I can find if you want.”

“That would be lovely,” said Irene, patting her daughter’s hand. She stood from the table, smiling at Marcel as he spoke casually to Teddy. “Maybe two for one.”

“What did you say, Mama?”

“Nothing, baby. Just talkin’ to myself.” Irene walked away toward the food trays, filling her plate, humming to herself.

“It could be dangerous, my love,” whispered Matthew.

“I’m not gonna do anything dangerous,” she said, kissing her husband. “Besides, we’re a team. You’ll always be there for me when I need you.”

“You know that’s right,” he growled against her ear. “What do you say you and I go for a long walk? I think we leave these children to their business, and you and I take care of some business.”

Irene laughed like a young girl, something only Matthew could do for her. As they walked away, she patted the head of Alvin as he rubbed his nose along her calf. Semu signed that she loved her, the dogs all standing in a row as she walked by.

“I’ve never seen anything like that,” said Sniff.

“What?” frowned Gaspar, looking up to see what he was looking at.

“The animals. It’s as if they bow when she and Pops walks by. She’s always had a great relationship with them, but lately, it seems even stronger.”

“Has she brought more here?” frowned Gaspar. Sniff could only laugh at his father-in-law.

“Well, I won’t lie to you. We’ve had some odd calls about animals needing sanctuary lately. A man in Texas who needs us to take two bison that he can’t care for any longer. That’s not all that hard. I mean, they’re like caring for cattle.”

“A bison? Sniff, they’re not native to Louisiana,” said Gaspar, shaking his head.

“I know, but we think they could adapt. He’s going to have to sell them to a meat factory if we don’t take them, Gaspar. I don’t think we have a choice.” Gaspar let out a long breath.

“What else? What other calls have you gotten?” Sniff thought about it a moment. He didn’t want to lie, but he knew that Gaspar would be reluctant to take the animals. “Sniff?”

“I’m thinking, I’m thinking,” he grinned. “A giraffe, two tiger cubs, and a baby elephant.”

“What!” He screamed so loudly the entire property stopped cold. They all stared at the two of them, watching as Lucy, Violet, and Caroline rushed toward them. Striker, Max, and Dex knew what had happened.

“Daddy. Daddy, listen to us,” said Violet.

“Listen to you? Look, all of you. My job is to ensure the safety of every man, woman, and child on this property. I looked the other way with a gorilla. Hell, I looked the other way with a kangaroo and alligator! Giraffes? Fine. Baby elephants, well, I can live with that. But tiger cubs? Y’all, they grow up to be big tigers. Big, big tigers that eat people.”

“Daddy, tigers don’t eat humans with intent. They do it when they feel threatened or when they don’t have enough food. We’ve already discussed this. Grandpa is going to build a place for them on the eastern island.”

“A place for them. A place for them, Violet, is the zoo!”

“Gaspar, you’re going to give yourself a stroke,” said Alexandra. “You know that we can’t stop this.”

“That’s what pisses me off,” he growled. He looked at his two daughters and their co-conspirators. “What if the tigers eat the other animals as they grow? What if alligators get onto the island and start eating them?”

“Gaspar, they won’t do that,” said Caroline. “As long as the animals are well fed, they’ll be fine. We’ll make sure of it. Besides, we think the tiger cubs could help to control the nutria population, which is devastating the islands.”

Gaspar sat down in front of the small group, shaking his head in disbelief.

“Did you already answer them?” he asked. The group grinned at him, and he could only smile back. Of course. They wouldn’t turn away animals in need.

“Grandpa built a bridge from the animal sanctuary to the island, and Grant has already built the enclosures. We can do this, Daddy. If we don’t, those animals might be put down, or worse, placed in a zoo or enclosure that isn’t right for them.”

“I won’t win this argument, will I?”

“I don’t think so, honey,” said Alexandra, hugging her husband. “We should be proud of them all for what they’re doing for these animals.”

“I am proud,” he said, looking at them. “I really am. Please don’t mistake my uncertainty in all this for displeasure. You’re doing something good, but it won’t stop me from worrying about two tiger cubs growing up to be full-grown meat-eating machines.” Sniff smiled at his father-in-law, giving a hug to his wife at his side.

“It will all work out, Gaspar. I give you my word.”