Chapter 19
Gage alternated pounding on the door and ringing the bell. “Open the damned door!”
He was poised to knock again when the door opened and he came face-to-face with Hannah.
“Have you lost your mind? Come in before you wake up the entire neighborhood.”
“I’m sorry I woke you up. I’ve been calling Tonya and leaving messages, and she hasn’t called me back. I thought maybe she was here.” He slumped down in an armchair.
“What the hell . . .” St. John walked into the living room in a bathrobe. “Come now, kezen, why are you here so early in the morning?”
Gage gave St. John a death stare. “I’m looking for Tonya.”
St. John’s mouth twisted in a sneer. “If you don’t know where your woman is, then I can’t help you.”
Perched on the arm of the chair, Hannah patted Gage’s head. “She was here last night but left early this morning to go back to the guesthouse. The gates are still open, so you’ll be able to get in. Someone from the security company will ask you for ID. I should let you know now that Tonya plans to live at the guesthouse until the workmen tell her she has to leave.”
Gage stood up and kissed Hannah’s forehead. “Thanks, cousin. I love you.”
Hannah shared a glance with her husband. “Your family is crazy.”
St. John smiled. “They’re your family, too.”
* * *
Gage felt less anxious when he drove from Marigny to the Garden District. It was an early Sunday morning, and the traffic was light. He maneuvered through the open gates and came to a stop feet from an unmarked dark-colored sedan. A stocky man dressed entirely in black got out and came over to him.
“ID please.” Rising slightly, he removed the case with his driver’s license from the pocket of his jeans. The man peered closely at his photograph and then returned it. “You can go.”
Gage parked near the garages and walked to Tonya’s guesthouse. He rang the bell and waited. He was poised to ring it again when he heard Tonya say, “Go away, Gage.”
“I can’t, Tonya.”
“If you don’t go away, I’m going to call the police.”
“Call them. And right now I don’t give a damn. I want you to hear me out, and after that if you don’t want to see me, then I’ll go away and never bother you again.”
The door opened, and Gage’s heart turned over when he saw Tonya’s face. She’d been crying. He didn’t give her the opportunity to react; he just he swept her up in his arms, carried her to the bedroom, and gently placed her on the bed. He lay next to her, making certain they weren’t touching.
“I apologize for everything. For you witnessing me at my worst. I had a very confrontational marriage to a woman who raised cuckoldry to an art form. The first time I suspected she was cheating on me I forgave her, but when it happened again I moved out of the bedroom into the one with Wesley. I only stayed because Wesley needed a father. I knew I had to leave when she threw it in my face that Wesley wasn’t mine. That she was six weeks pregnant when she slept with me. I thought about going to court to take Wesley away from her, but a paternity test would prove the boy wasn’t mine, so I continued to send her money for his support.
“Wesley had just celebrated his fifteenth birthday when his mother told him I wasn’t his father. That’s when he began drinking and drugging. I didn’t see him for years until he was in high school. He told me he wanted to go to college, but his mother wouldn’t sign the forms so he could get financial aid. I told him I’d pay his tuition with the proviso he maintain at least a C average. I was the beneficiary of one of my father’s insurance policies and my mother was the other. I had invested the proceeds because the money I earned working at the restaurant and playing gigs covered my day-to-day expenses.”
“Wesley’s mother is a meth head, and the only way he’s going to stay clean is if he gets away from her,” Tonya stated.
“I know that. I’ve already called my attorney for his advice. I know I could ask Hannah, but I don’t want to involve her in my mess.”
“Once he comes out of rehab, he can move in with you. And if he stays clean, I’ll hire him to work in the restaurant. He can start as a dishwasher and eventually work up to a busboy.”
“Why would you do that for him?”
“Because I had a brother who was strung out on drugs. You’re lucky, Gage, because your son is still alive. This past Tuesday would’ve been my brother’s fifty-fourth birthday if he’d lived. He had everything going for him, yet he couldn’t resist selling and taking drugs, and in the end it cost him his life.”
Gage reached for her hand and laced their fingers together. “Now I know why you were in a funk earlier in the week.”
“I’m a lot better than I used to be. I’m sorry I judged you without hearing the whole story.”
“I never told anyone about it. Even my mother still believes Wesley’s her grandson. I appreciate your offer for Wesley to work in your restaurant, but we Toussaints have a rule that—”
“We won’t work at another restaurant unless it’s owned by a family member,” Tonya said, finishing his statement.
“How do you know that?”
“St. John told me.”
“But there’s still the possibility that he can work for me. Your son deserves to get his life together before it’s too late, and I’m willing to do my part.”
Shifting slightly, Gage stared at Tonya. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
Her dimples winked at him when she smiled. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Yes, you do.”
Her eyebrows lifted questioningly. “Do I?”
“Do you recall us talking about the word marry?”
“I believe I do recall that word.”
Gage moved over her body, supporting his greater weight on his elbows. “I think we were moving so quickly we didn’t take the time to really get to know each other. It was different for Hannah and St. John because they met each other in high school. I still want to marry you, but I’m willing to wait until you’re ready. And if you agree to become a Toussaint, then be prepared to have two Toussaints working for you: me and Wesley.”
“You would really come work and with me?”
“Hell, yeah. I’m even willing to work two jobs—one in the kitchen and the other with the band.”
Tonya sat up. “Oh, my word! I just came up with the names for the supper club and café.”
Gage eased her back down to the mattress. “What are they?”
“Toussaints for the supper club and Martine’s for the café.”
“How very French,” he crooned. “Now, when do you plan to become an official Toussaint?”
“June. I’ve always wanted to be a June bride.”
“Then a June bride you’ll be.”
“Please let me up, Gage, so I can shower and change. I’m ready to go home so my fiancé can serve me breakfast in bed.”
“I’ll be in the garden whenever you’re ready.” He didn’t want to tell Tonya that he needed to be alone—alone to pray for his son, to pray for forgiveness, and pray in gratitude that he had met a woman who has restored his faith in love.