Page 2 of Desire

“I will. You have my word.”

He lets me go, and with a sad smile, I leave the room and find my daughter playing with the secretary. They have a set of cards in front of them and are shouting out ‘snap’. She looks up at me, her eyes are wide with dark shadows around the edges. She’s tired. I’m not surprised. I am as well.

“Is everything all right, Mama?” She instantly gets to her feet and takes hold of my good hand.

“It is now.” I give her tiny palm a squeeze.

“Can we go home?”

I inhale deeply, knowing the place she calls home will never be our residence again.

“I’ve got a better idea. How about we get on a plane and go to visit Grandma?”

“New Orleans?” she questions with excitement in her voice.

We’ve not visited my mother much over the years. Simon wasn’t impressed with the town of my birth, and he constantly tried to rid me of the accent. He succeeded in the end, and I feel the loss acutely.

“Yes. I thought maybe we could move there for a while? What do you think of that?”

Izzy lets go of my hand and looks up at me. I kneel down to her level.

“Won’t Daddy get angry with us?”

My heart breaks, and a lump forms in my throat. I shake my head.

“No, he’s agreed to us going.”

“Is this because I spilled my juice?”

Trying desperately not to cry, I pull her into a hug—not an easy feat with a broken arm. I can feel the tears pricking at the corner of my eyes.

“No, not at all. Sometimes it’s just better for mamas and daddies to live apart.”

“Will he come and see me?”

I squeeze her a little tighter.

“Not at first.” My voice cracks.

My daughter pulls away from me and presses a kiss to my forehead.

“Good. He scares me, and no Daddy should do that.”

“No, they shouldn’t.”

Pushing up onto my feet again, I take Izzy’s hand, and we leave my lawyer’s office together. We climb into the car outside, waiting to take us to a new life.

Chapter 1

Elise

“Tea or coffee?” my friend Natalie shouts from the kitchen of the Inn Vigneau, her stunning old style home and business.

When I first returned to Louisiana, this was where I stayed for several months until I found a place both Izzy and I loved enough to purchase. My mama had offered to house us, but after everything we’d been through, I wanted more independence. Natalie and I became great friends during this time, and our friendship has continued since Izzy and I moved out.

Natalie had a tough time after she fell pregnant at a young age but is now happily married to Lucas Ryan, a professional football player. They have two children, Issac and Maya. Izzy loves them both. She and Maya, who’s five, often play dolls together. Simon never allowed Izzy to have dolls when she was younger. He insisted she spent her playtimes engaged in some educational pursuit or another, so I think she secretly enjoys the freedom to do something she couldn’t before. But everything changes when Issac, who’s twelve, is around. She immediately tries to behave older than her ten years—I’m sure someone has a secret crush.

“Can I have a coffee, please?” I shout back to Natalie, and a few moments later, she appears with the refreshing nectar in a filter and a pair of antique cups. She has the best crockery of anyone I know.

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