Her Chance Encounters (3 page)

Later that night, Adrienne climbed into a hot tub and savored the steaming streams of water pulsating against her skin. Her wayward thoughts drifted and before long, she was daydreaming about a tall, devastatingly attractive man. Shaking her head, she wondered, yet again, what the hell she saw in him? Even his not so veiled threats of spanking her seemed to turn her on. "I definitely need a vacation," she muttered.

Suddenly the stench of burning metal filled the room, a cool breeze accompanying it. Despite the warmth offered by the tub, Adrienne instinctively reached for her cotton robe. The gust fluttered around her as Adrienne stood up in the water. It seemed to cling to her body, twirling up toward her head. As it passed her ears, it almost sounded like a whisper, beckoning her to follow it somewhere. Shaking her head, Adrienne reached down to let the water drain.

Pulling on an old t-shirt, she was surprised to see the map to River Oaks sitting on her nightstand. Strange, she looked around at her purse lying on the dresser. She could have sworn she left the paper there. Picking it up, she smiled at the pelican drawn there. It seemed to be foaming at the bill. The breeze whipped up again. It made the map flutter in her fingers.

"Come home," the air seemed to hiss. Circling around, Adrienne was sure someone was in the room with her. It was almost like someone was watching her, trying hard to communicate. "Is anybody there?"

The map in her hands seemed to grow warm, drawing her attention back to it. Fear took hold of her swiftly, not at the possibility of an intruder, though. Without really understanding why, Adrienne knew she had to get to River Oaks immediately. Someone was there waiting for her to arrive. There was not much time. She had to get dressed and leave now.

Less than a half hour later, the principal was pulling off the Hale Boggs exit toward Hahnville, Louisiana. Chance's map sat on the seat beside her, offering her a guide. Somehow she knew she would be able to find her way to River Oaks even without it. Someone or something seemed to be directing her.

The River Road followed the winding path of the Mississippi River. A thick fog blew up from the man made levee which protected the surrounding land from the whims of the fickle river. Panic started to grip Adrienne's heart. Now she would never be able to find River Oaks. The damn fog covered all the landmarks. Visibility was down to mere feet. She would have to pull over until the fog passed.

The breeze filled her car now, bringing with it the burning metal smell. Both seemed to urge Adrienne to keep going farther. Pushing the gas pedal down harder, she listened to her instincts. She needed to hurry up, or she'd be too late to help. The clock on her dash indicated midnight was seconds away.

In the distance the lively music of a riverboat drifted her way. The light melody filled Adrienne's heart. Slowly she found herself being mesmerized by the very sound. For a moment, time seemed to stop as Adrienne quickly approached the music. Her eyes impulsively turned toward the levee. To her astonishment, the man made structure disappeared. The fog parted, revealing a magnificent, three-level riverboat, complete with a huge turning paddle at the rear. Bold letters on its top deck proudly proclaimed it was the
Cajun Spirit
. At the front of the vessel, a sole man stood, his uniform indicating he was the captain.

To Adrienne's amazement, he turned to look straight at her. She could see his sad eyes searching. "Wynona," he called.

A deep, mournful horn sounded in the distance. Without warning, a Russian ship plowed through the image of the riverboat. A silent scream escaped her lips, as the ship continued down the river as if nothing had stood in its way. Looking back to where pieces of the riverboat’s wreckage should be, she found the
Cajun Spirit
floating along its path, seemingly untouched. At that moment, the fog returned, bringing the levee back with it.

An ear-piercing scream penetrated the car. Adrienne's eyes shot back to the road. A small child was standing directly in her path. At the speed the car was traveling, it would be impossible to stop in time. Yet in her heart, Adrienne knew she had to at least try. Slamming on her brakes, the car veered off to the right. Soon she was sliding across the grassy side of the levee. Her green eyes instinctively closed as the tires protested her efforts to stop. Finally, the vehicle came to a stop a few hundred yards from where she applied the brakes.

"Oh, dear Lord, please let this be a horrible dream," Adrienne prayed, fumbling to open the car door. The air was filled with the strong odor of burning metal. The fog appeared to crowd around her, blinding her view. Moisture quickly penetrated her thin shirt and denim jeans. Even her thick eyelashes were heavy with dew.

Not bothering to see if there was any damage to her car, she rushed to find the child. A part of her wanted to turn around and rush home to the safety of her apartment and pretend nothing had happened. Another, stronger part of her needed to do everything possible to help the child. "Please let her be okay," she prayed over and over again.

Following the skid marks, Adrienne attempted to prepare herself for the worst. The child was probably dead. All the praying in the world could not erase that fear. Why had she turned her head away from the road? Adrienne cursed herself for even coming here in the first place. If only she had waited to meet Chance tomorrow, the poor girl would be safe right now. Adrienne wished Chance were with her right now. He might be able to help her deal with this. Maybe she could call him for help.

The principal expected to see the crumpled body of the child every few feet. The farther she rushed down the road, the more convinced she was that she had somehow missed the body. She almost gave in to the urge to start back tracking, when she spotted the area she had first encountered the child. A small figure clad in a long, flowing nightgown waited for Adrienne there.

Adrienne stood transfixed for several moments. There was no logical explanation for what she was seeing. Her car had to have struck the child. She might not have actually seen it, but Adrienne knew it was inevitable. The girl was standing directly in her path. The car had been going far too fast to avoid her. But there the child stood, looking straight up at her.

"Are you alright?" Adrienne finally found her voice. Slowly moving toward the little girl, she tried not to frighten her away.

"Are you hurt, honey? I would like to help you, if you will let me." Inching her way closer, she bent down directly in front of the little girl. Giving her a friendly smile, Adrienne's eyes ran across the child's small frame, looking for any signs of injury. The girl seemed pale and cold, but unharmed by the whole incident.

"Will you help me find my mommy?" The pitiful plea forced Adrienne's eyes up to the girl's white face. "Please help me find my mommy."

"Are you lost, honey?" Adrienne asked, reaching over to run her hands across the girl's shivering arms. The girl's skin and clothes were soaking wet. Worse, her skin was deathly cold. "What's your name, honey?"

"Cherice," the girl answered, her eyes never leaving Adrienne's face. Her small hand hesitantly reached up to touch the principal's cheek. Adrienne was a little startled by the gesture, but she forced herself not to grimace at the child's icy touch. "I need to find my mommy. He's trying to keep me from her."

"Who's trying to keep you from your mother, Cherice?" Adrienne looked around the dense fog for a possible threat. She realized they were still standing in the middle of the road. Taking the child's freezing hand, she walked toward the levee.

"My daddy," the child whispered. "He does not want me to be with my mommy, but I have to. I have to find her!"

"Why don't we go and sit in my car, Cherice? Then we can try to figure this whole situation out." The poor child must be the victim of divorce. Countless students at her school suffered the same fate. Marriages that lasted were few and far between these days.

"It is too late now. Mommy is already gone."

Adrienne smiled gently down at the child. "Why don't you tell me where you live so I can bring you home? I am sure your father is worried sick about you."

While allowing herself to be placed in the front seat, the child still looked forlorn. "I do not want to be with Daddy, Adrienne. I want to be with my mommy."

Pulling the seatbelt across the child's cold frame, Adrienne stopped when she realized the child called her by name. "I don't remember mentioning my name. How do you know who I am, Cherice?"

"I heard my daddy talking about you."

Mulling over her answer, Adrienne walked around and took her own seat. "Your daddy was talking about me?" Talk about confusing. This night had more twist and turns than the Mississippi River. How could the child's father possibly know her? Her school was forty miles away. As far as she knew, only one person from this parish even knew her name.

A sharp pain filled Adrienne's heart as a new possibility occurred to her. "Cherice, is your father Chance Breaux?" Damn the man, surely he would have mentioned if he had a daughter. Then again, why would he do that? He only contacted her to discuss River Oaks. Until this afternoon, he never actually attempted to pursue a personal relationship with her.

Cherice giggled, "Chance is not my daddy. My daddy does not even like Chance very much. He makes my daddy even madder than my mommy did."

Adrienne sighed. "Chance makes a lot of people mad."

"You are very pretty, Adrienne." The child reached over and touched her long, thick hair. "My mommy had hair like this..."

A faint blush warmed Adrienne's cheeks and neck. "Thank you. You are very pretty yourself."

"I look like my mommy. Even daddy says I do. Will you promise to help me find her, Adrienne? I miss her so much."

"I promise to try." The pleading tone in the young girl's voice tore at Adrienne's heart. It was impossible to turn her back on this child. Despite being May, the chill in the car made Adrienne switch on the heater. The smell of burning metal was so intense, she nearly started gagging. Driving slowly, they searched for the child's home. The fog outside was so thick. Visibility was nearly impossible. Again she considered pulling over and waiting for it to clear up.

"There it is!" Cherice pointed to a dirt road a few feet ahead.

Pulling the car into the drive and following the dusty trail, Adrienne finally saw the outline of a large house emerge. Even through the fog, she found something very familiar about the place. Impossible, she told herself. Until tonight, she had never even been to this area before. "I don't see any lights on, Cherice. Are you sure this is your house? It's so foggy and dark right now."

Surely the child's father would be up looking for her. Then again, maybe he did not even realize the youngster had snuck out. The closer they got to the house, the clearer it became in the headlights. No matter how impossible it seemed, there was something very familiar about it.

The car came to a stop and the lights lit up the structure. It was two stories, very old and in shabby shape. Even the gutters were rusty and looked ready to fall down. There was an ugly statue of a pelican on the front porch. The bird looked creepy. The beak looked oddly shaped, almost as if it was oozing with bubbles.

Gradually it downed on her where she had seen this house. Reaching down to fetch the map Chance had drawn, Adrienne groped for the interior light. As she did, Cherice mumbled something about Adrienne promising to help her. Then the child quietly opened the door and disappeared in the fog.

Adrienne looked down at the map with astonishment. This had to be a bad dream. Reaching down with her left hand, she pinched her right arm. All she got for her trouble was a red mark. Cherice's laughing voice called out to her from the front porch. "Are you coming, Adrienne?"

"Wait a second," Adrienne muttered, concentrating on the map in her hands. "There's something weird going on, Cherice. This can't be your house.... I think it's mine."

The sound of a slamming door warned her the child had already disappeared into the blue structure. Stepping out of her vehicle, Adrienne was astonished to discover the fog had completely vanished into the night. The cold breeze and musty smell left, too. Cherice was nowhere to be found.

Knowing the child was probably hiding somewhere in the broken down old house, Adrienne decided she should find her before the child got hurt. "Cherice, where are you? It's too late to play games, honey. This isn't your house. Come back outside. Your poor father is probably going crazy with worry looking for you. I have to get you home."

When no reply came, Adrienne took a step toward the house. Stopping short, she opted to study the structure first. The plantation style building was old and decrepit. If Cherice was hiding inside, she certainly was well concealed by the blackness. The child must not be spooked easily. Even though she was a grown woman, Adrienne could not help but feel threatened. It was almost as if a powerful force was guarding the house, warning off all strangers.

Adrienne made herself push past her concern. There was a young child roaming around the old house. She had to find her. The lumber of the rickety old front porch groaned as she ventured up its stairs. Half expecting to fall through a rotten piece of wood, she let her eyes adjust to the light provided by her car.

"Cherice, this house does not look safe. You really need to come out of there right now, before you get hurt." She used her principal tone, honed from years of training to deal with children.