She should have known her mother would realize something was going on. She quickly outlined the situation, telling her mother about how they made it to the cabin and the visitor they’d had this morning. “So we need to keep the truth quiet. If Charles finds out we were there, he’ll check the bid and find out we switched it.”
“I can hex that boy,” her mother promised.
“I’ll handle it, though if you want to try to send some bad luck his way, I wouldn’t mind. Is Cricket all right?”
Her mother looked like she wanted to get back to her original point, but she sighed and started walking toward the house with Sylvie. “She was very worried. She’s lost a lot. Louis calmed her down considerably. Is he in on this secret? Because he said he went out early this morning and didn’t find you. He was going to the old fishing cabin to see if you made it there.”
That was news to her. “When did he go?”
“He left early this morning but he said he didn’t find anything. It was after the storm settled down, but before dawn,” her mother explained. “Cricket begged him to go. She was worried the two of you had drowned. Lucky for us by the time he got back, Armie had called.”
Sylvie didn’t like the sound of that and thought Rene wouldn’t like it, either. “What do you know about Louis?”
Her mother stopped short of the stairs to the front porch. “I know he’s been in love with Cricket for most of his life, if that’s what you’re asking. They were childhood friends, but they never connected that way. She married Rene’s father after Louis introduced them. If what I saw last night is any indication, they’re getting closer. He hugged her for far longer than was friendly, and he’s been holding her hand. I suppose it could be for comfort, but that wasn’t what it felt like to me.”
“Rene isn’t going to like that.”
A brow arched over her momma’s eyes. “Why? They’ve been close for years. He can’t expect his mother to be alone for the rest of her life. I know she’s been fragile since the cancer diagnosis, but she came through.”
“Rene has been through a lot of change in the last three years, and it’s been hard on him,” Sylvie admitted. “Rene views Louis as family and can’t think of him as a romantic partner for his mom. He used to call the man his uncle.”
Her mother snorted at that thought, a sound she always seemed to make elegant. “And he used to call your brother his brother, so maybe I need to explain the word hypocrisy to my son-in-law.”
“Don’t. Something’s going on with Rene, and starting an argument won’t help me figure it all out. I think he’s confused about a lot of things. Like I said, it’s been a hard couple of years for him. He’s still getting used to the idea of his dad not being around, and then he almost lost his mom, too. He’s faced a lot of death lately.” She’d thought about it on the boat ride back. Her husband was trying to find a way out of his dark places. If she could get him to trust her fully, she might be able to help.
They might have a real shot at making this thing work.
Her mother sighed, her expression softening to worry. “Baby, you know I love Rene, but I’m worried he’s going to break your heart. Not because he’ll walk away from you. I’m worried he’ll make you walk away from him. He’s always been reserved. He’s not cold, but he can be unemotional, and that’s not what you need. I know that you had to help him out, but if you’re sleeping with him, you won’t be able to hold your heart back.”
“He’s not exactly in touch with his emotions. That’s not the same as not having them.” Sylvie felt the need to defend him. Rene’s trouble wasn’t not feeling. It was feeling far too much and not understanding how to express himself. He’d been taught to be smooth and polite to a fault. He’d been trained to hold all strong emotion inside.
“And he’s suspicious,” her mother countered. “I understand that part. That family of his is toxic, but he won’t leave them. His father ingrained that responsibility in him from a young age. His father was an interesting man. He was generally known as a kind man, but he could be quite ruthless when it came to business. There are a lot of people who believe he married Cricket because he needed money.”
That wasn’t how her husband had explained it. “According to Rene, they loved each other, but they weren’t very demonstrative.”
Her mother nodded. “I would certainly say they were restrained. That’s the funny thing. A marriage can look one way on the outside and be different behind closed doors. I would hate to have you in that position.”