Page 6 of Sor

“I don’t know how. I never told him where I was going to buy my dress or when. Besides, those men were looking at a site that had all kinds of photos from changing rooms.” She grabbed one more suitcase and put her jewelry, perfume, and makeup inside.

“This is all for now,” she said. “My laptop and other things I need for work are downstairs.”

“Is there nothing in the house that belongs to you?” he asked.

“Nothing I need. Why are you doing this? You don’t know me; you don’t owe me anything.”

“Let’s just say we’re somewhat in the same boat. Cara let me know she was leaving me today to move in here.”

“Th-this was planned,” she whispered.

“Do you have anywhere to stay?” he asked. She shook her head, unsure of what she should do. “It’s alright. I own a fishing cabin out in the bayou. There’s air conditioning, electricity, even wi-fi. I like quiet, but I need to be connected.”

“That’s fine. Anything is fine, thank you. Thank you, Mark,” she said as he picked up the three massive suitcases beneath his arms. She grabbed a duffel bag and tote and followed him down the stairs.

“Sor.”

“Sor? I thought your name was Mark. Is Sor a nickname?” she asked.

“It’s a long story, Nelly. Let’s just get the fuck out of here before I kill your soon-to-be ex-husband.”

“You don’t know that we’re going to divorce,” she said, hitting the bottom step. As she did, Craig was standing there with a folded stack of papers.

“Just make it easy on both of us, Nelly. Sign the fucking papers and get out of my life.”

CHAPTER FOUR

“Sor, this is really nice,” she said nervously as he set her bags down.

“It’s home. At least, it will be once I’m out of the service permanently. That’ll be about six weeks or so,” he said, looking around. “It probably needs a good cleaning. Sorry about that. I didn’t think I’d need it right away.”

“It’s not a problem at all. Cleaning is very cathartic for me. This place will be pristine by tomorrow,” she said with a sad smile.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“I’m not sure. On one hand, I’m shocked. On the other hand, I am not. I’m upset about what happened there and what was on that website, but even more upset that none of those people defended me.”

“I noticed,” he said, nodding at her.

“They were all his friends and colleagues,” she said. “I’m more introverted than he is, obviously. I have a few friends, just not enough to fill a Garden District mansion.”

“If you ask me, that’s too many people to keep track of anyway,” he smiled. “Listen, I’m going to be working with some friends at an investigation and security company when I get out. I’m going to have them come by and add some security for you, just to be safe. They’ll probably check on you while I’m gone.”

“Do you think he’ll try something?” she asked. Sor stared at her, noticing for the first time how beautiful she was.

“I don’t know, Nell.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

“It’s not a problem at all. Let me just get my things out of your way.”

“Oh, please don’t,” she said, holding up her hands. “I’ll just take the spare bedroom, and everything will be fine like it is.”

Sor nodded, making sure she had the Wi-Fi password, knew the address of the cabin, the names of everyone at Belle Fleur that might come by, and an emergency contact. For some reason, he wanted to help this woman, and maybe, in the process, they could heal one another.

“Well, I guess I have everything,” he said, nodding at her. “I’ll keep in touch and be back soon. I’ve left all my contact information over there. Don’t hesitate to e-mail or call if you need me.”

“I won’t bother you. I promise,” she said.

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