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Had Luc become such a selfish bastard, he didn’t care who got hurt any more as long as he got his own way?
Crucified once more by Yves’ tortured plea, Luc went back to her bedside to say goodnight.
When he left the hospital, he passed by the nursing station to let them know he was on his way out. They had his cell-phone number and knew to call him day or night if there was any change in her condition.
Luc left the hospital aware there was no change in Paulette.
There would never be a change.
That was what everyone was telling him, including his sister’s husband.
Jean-Marc was a good man, but he and Giselle never missed an opportunity to remind him it was Paulette’s family who had the last say in the matter.
Her parents had brought her into the world and raised her. They wanted what they felt was best for their daughter. It was their God-given right after all.
Rights.
How Luc hated that word.
Yves had spoken the truth when he’d said Luc had no legal grounds to fight their family.
But wanting Paulette to wake up from that coma didn’t have anything to do with rights.
At the core of his anguish lay the need to rid his soul of a burden growing increasingly heavy.
He’d had three years to come to terms with the divorce. What haunted him was the inability to go back to the day of her accident and prevent it.
Ever since he’d found out she was lying unconscious in the hospital, he hadn’t ceased begging her forgiveness. But he didn’t know if she’d heard him.
Once her family made the decision to turn off the machines, there wouldn’t be a possibility of her hearing him, let alone forgiving him.
He hit his fist against his palm.
Once again it all got down to what he wanted, as if the universe revolved around him.
One word from him to the Brouet family and everything would change for them.
On the surface he had to admit life would change for him, too. No more daily trips to the hospital.
But inwardly nothing else would be different. Remorse over the accident that didn’t need to have happened stifled life’s possibilities.
Once back in his Wagoneer, his pain and frustration were further aggravated by the faint smell of roses that still lingered in the car’s interior. Sensitive to fragrances all his life, he was haunted by Ms Valentine’s scent.
It appeared this visit to the hospital hadn’t rooted her out of his system the way he could prune a vine and make a clean cut of the unwanted cane.
Part of him resented her intrusion at this critical period in his life. Just the thought of her opened the floodgates to his private thoughts.
Once again he was bombarded by unbidden pictures he hadn’t been able to expel from his consciousness.
He revved up the engine, and his tires squealed as he left the parking lot. In a few minutes he reached his mother’s home where he’d been living temporarily. But he was so conflicted by feelings and emotions tearing him apart, he knew there’d be no sleep for him tonight.
Because of a certain enigmatic Frenchman, Rachel tossed and turned during the long, dark hours of the night. Relieved when the light of dawn crept into the room, she showered and got dressed in a silky cream blouse and tan skirt for her work day with Giles Lambert.
He’d phoned her last night to make the arrangements, promising her a thorough tour of the winery.
Like her grandfather, he had a zest for life and possessed so much charm she was already predisposed to like him.
She could only hope a productive day spent with him would take away her disappointment that it wasn’t Luc Chartier doing the honors. Part of her feared that, when she left Alsace, no ploy would be able to banish him from her thoughts.
Like a comet that only passed near the earth once in a lifetime, he’d left his indelible impression on her, then hurtled on into deep space supposedly out of mind and sight.
Maybe when her grandfather had recovered from his latest bout of illness, the two of them could come back to Alsace so she could legitimately meet with the owner of the Chartier vineyards again.
Legitimately…
Good heavens—she was as bad as a teenager plotting ways to get the most gorgeous guy in the world to be interested in her. It seemed her attraction to him was so intense, she wasn’t above using her grandfather to accomplish her objective.
Filled with self-disgust, Rachel grabbed her cell phone to put in her purse before going downstairs to eat breakfast. To her surprise it rang before she could leave the room.
For one foolish moment she thought it might be the man whose image had haunted her all night. Just the thought of hearing his deep voice caused her heart to leap. She clicked on eagerly, not bothering to check the caller ID.
“H-hello?” she answered, sounding out of breath, because she was!
“Rachel—”
Her spirits dropped like hot rocks.
“Dad—
“Something must be wrong for you to be calling me this early in the morning.”
Normally he didn’t show up at work until ten-thirty or later. But evidently a problem had arisen and he needed someone to bark at, mainly her.
He always sounded impatient when he was at the restaurant he managed with her half brother Max. Since every day was hectic behind the scenes, she supposed he could be forgiven.
But being this far away and hearing him so abrupt with her caught her off guard.
“What’s this I hear about you traveling to Alsace? I don’t recall us discussing a stop there. Today’s the fifteenth. Your itinerary says you’re supposed to be in Champagne.”
Uh oh. Somehow her grandfather must have let it slip. Not that it was a secret.
Clearing her throat, she said, “Grandfather asked me to look up an old friend in Thann as a special favor.”
“So I’ve heard, but I don’t want you spending too much time there. We can’t afford to slight our other suppliers.”
Her temperamental father knew her better than that, but he had to say it because she hadn’t obtained his seal of approval first.
“I wouldn’t do that, and I’ve already contacted Monsieur Bulot to let him know I’ll be there in a few days.
“The point is, now that I’m here I’m doing a little research, so please don’t worry.”
“You’ve been to Angers, then?”
“Of course, and St Emilion. They’re filling our orders as we speak, so you needn’t be concerned.”
Her explanation appeared to mollify him somewhat because his curiosity finally won out enough to ask, “Have you come across anything interesting?”
Rachel’s eyes closed tightly.
It wouldn’t be possible to answer his question with one succinct answer. Too much had happened since she’d met Luc Chartier. Getting to know him had done something to her. But it was too soon to find the right words to describe what was going on inside her.
“I’m discovering that Alsace is a land of enchantment. I’ll tell you all about it when I get home.” She needed to change the subject. “How is Grandfather? What about his pulse-ox level?”
“I never got the chance to find out. Last night John barged in, so I left.”
The rivalry between her dad and his half brother reminded her of her own unwitting problems with her sister. They lived too far apart with Rebecca working in New York as a highly successful advertising executive.
Though they were unidentical and conducted different lives, they were alike in dozens of small ways. Rachel knew instinctively Rebecca would be enamoured of Alsace too. How sad they couldn’t have shared a trip like this.
She heaved a troubled sigh. This morning she didn’t want to think about insoluble family problems.
“Dad? I have to go, but I’ll call you when I get to Champagne.”
“Don’t stay in Alsace too long.”
“I won’t.” She frowned. “What else is bothering you? You sound more upset than usual this morning.”
“Titan stepped on a rusty nail. The vet took care of him, but he’s not himself yet.”
Translated, the Dobermann had been well sedated. Too bad that couldn’t be his permanent condition.
“I’m sure he’ll be back to normal in no time.”
Her father’s dog made everyone nervous, even Rachel. She preferred Saffy, the miniature poodle who belonged to her father’s wife, Bev. The poor little thing cowered every time she saw Titan coming.
That was exactly what Rachel did when her father felt threatened by John and became difficult, which was most of the time these days.
“I’ll talk to you soon, Dad.”
She hung up the phone, thankful to have found a small corner of paradise here in Thann where she could put that seething cauldron of tension aside for a little while.
A few minutes later she entered the hotel dining room. During those times when she had to sample wines, she always ate a good meal first, even if she wasn’t hungry. Today was a case in point. Luc Chartier’s stranglehold on her feelings seemed to have affected her appetite as well.
Luc couldn’t swallow the croissant, let alone his coffee. He pushed himself away from the breakfast table and got to his feet, startling his mother.
“Where are you going at this early hour?”
“To the hospital. Where else?”
“But you were there late last night—has something happened to Paulette you haven’t told us about?”
“Maman—” Giselle blurted impatiently. “Surely if there’d been any change in her condition, we would all know about it.”
She switched her dark gaze to Luc, “But I have to admit I’m curious why all this extra vigilance over her. What’s going on with you, mon frère?”
That was a question he couldn’t answer yet.
“I’ve been so busy lately, I decided to spend quality time with her. Dr Soulier says the more stimulation, the better.”
“As you should do,” his mother remarked.
Giselle threw her napkin down. “Why do you encourage him, Maman? After three years, we all know she’s not going to wake up.”
“None of us knows that,” Luc countered. “As long as there’s a chance, I’m going to do everything in my power to make it happen.”
“I don’t understand this obsession,” Giselle cried in frustration.
“I do,” their mother snapped. “Despite a piece of paper, Luc is still married to her in the eyes of God, and don’t you forget it, ma fille!”
At this point Giselle was on her feet. Her eyes looked suspiciously bright as she turned to him. “I can’t stand to see you go on like this.”
He and Giselle had always been close, but the situation with Paulette had strained their relationship.
“After today you and Jean-Marc won’t have to. I’m sleeping at my new house from now on, starting tonight.”
“So soon?” his mother questioned. “I was hoping you would stay here a little longer. Since your papa died, I love having my children around.”
He kissed her cheek. “We all need our space, Maman.”
“But you have no one to cook for you.”
“That’s the least of my worries.”
“Well, it’s one of mine! I’ll be by to bring you some food so you won’t starve to death.”
Giselle eyed him soulfully. “Paulette’s not going to wake up. You do know that, don’t you?”
“Enough!” their mother cried, pointing her finger at Giselle.
“You have your hands full taking care of your own husband and children. I would like to see how you would react if it were Jean-Marc lying in that hospital bed.”
Giselle’s cheeks went a ruddy color. “If we were already divorced, I can assure you I wouldn’t have stayed at his bedside three years waiting for the impossible to happen.”
“Nothing’s impossible,” their mother said firmly.
Giselle continued to look at Luc. “Remember what Papa always said? There comes a time when we must laissez-le de se faire.”
Trust his vintner sister to remind him of the old expression their father lived by.
