Rene sat back, his gut in knots.
He wished Andre was here. Dre would advise him.
Dre might kick his ass.
There was a brief knock on his door and then it was opening and Louis walked through. He had changed into a suit, his silver hair slicked back.
Rene couldn’t forget the way his mother had looked at Louis. It made him wonder what had been going on between the two of them, and why his mother hadn’t mentioned it. She talked to him all the time. They’d gotten closer during the long hours he’d sat beside her as the chemo treatments had been administered. He’d been there when she couldn’t talk, when she’d been far too sick to do anything more than lie around and look like she was going to die.
Of course, Louis had been there, too. He’d been there for both of them.
God, he wished he could believe without needing the receipts.
“I wanted to make sure you’re really all right,” Louis said, concern in his eyes as he took the seat in front of his desk. “It felt like you were holding back something this morning. I was worried something happened that you didn’t want your mother to know about. Are you and Sylvie all right?”
The fact that Louis knew he’d held something back didn’t make him feel any better. “Sylvie and I are fine. We’re better than fine. We had a good afternoon, though we promise next time we’ll listen to you about the weather.”
“I didn’t think it would be as bad as it was or I would have argued harder,” Louis replied. “Your mother was very upset when you didn’t come home. She had no idea you were out with Sylvie. You have to tell her when you’re not going to keep a schedule. She worries. You can’t do that to her.”
The fact that Louis was lecturing him rankled. “I didn’t intend to not be home. I don’t typically call my mother to tell her what I’m doing all day. I certainly didn’t mean to worry her. The cell service is terrible out there, but after a couple of hours my battery died, so it wouldn’t have mattered.”
“The storm didn’t hit until almost five,” Louis pointed out. “Even if it hadn’t hit, you would have been late for dinner. You have to let her know these things. She’s lost a lot in the last couple of years.”
“I know exactly what she’s lost. I was there.” Rene felt the chill in his own tone, but he couldn’t force himself to warm up.
“Then you should know how fragile her life feels right now.” He sighed. “I’m sorry. I had a long night. I was worried about you, too.”
“I didn’t mean to worry anyone.” And the truth was Louis was right about one thing. “I did lose track of time, but I tend to do that around Sylvie.”
Louis’s gaze softened. “You’ve been sweet on her since you were kids. There’s something special about having history with a woman.”
“Like you have with my mother.”
“Yes,” Louis agreed. “It feels different when you’re older. I don’t see my family anymore. Haven’t for years. Your mother is a touchstone for me. We remember the same world. When you’re old like we are, sometimes the world you live in seems foreign because it feels like it’s passed us by. But when you’re with friends, friends who’ve been with you for a long time, it feels like you belong. It might not seem important now, but when you’re older, it’s going to mean something that you have a partner who remembers what the world was like when you were a child.”
Was that why his mother looked at Louis the way she did? Like he was a light she could follow in the dark?
Maybe he was being hasty. Maybe there was nothing here but two people with a long history clinging together after tragedy.
“I’ll be more careful. I promise.” He didn’t want to upset his mother. He also didn’t want to cut her off from her friends. He would let Remy look into Louis, but he would keep an open mind. “I don’t want to worry her.”
“That’s impossible right now. She knows about the situation with Charles, so she’s going to worry. I’m afraid that was part of the problem last night. She wanted to call the sheriff and send him out to make sure Charles hadn’t killed you.”
She’d worried about that? “Charles is an asshole. He’s not a killer.”
“Well, she didn’t think he would do it himself. She was more worried about an assassin,” Louis explained. “Apparently the Darois family doesn’t handle its own murders. Far too messy.”
“We don’t like to get our hands dirty.” As he’d just proven by getting Remy to do his dirty work.
He didn’t like the queasy feeling, but told himself he wasn’t doing anything wrong. He was looking out for his mother. It wasn’t wrong to check.