Cricket flushed. “I’m sorry about that.” She looked back to Rene. “I’m taking half of everything we have now and putting it in a trust for you, and you will be the sole owner of most of our properties. I don’t want to keep up with them. You’re doing all the work so I would like for them to be in your name. We’ve got to go over everything with a lawyer, of course, but this is what I want. What we want.”

Rene shook his head. “You don’t have to do this.”

“I want to. I don’t want you to have another moment’s insecurity over money,” his mother said. “You can do anything you want, son. You don’t have to be your father. I wish you would fight for your place because I hate to see Charles win anything, but if this is the way you want to go, I’m happy for you.”

“I loved my job,” Rene admitted. “I loved that company, but I’m so hamstrung by the way the board works that I can’t do the things I want with it. Maybe it’s time for me to look for a new challenge. I’ve heard I have a bake sale to plan.”

The tension that had been in the room before seemed to deflate, and Sylvie breathed a huge sigh of relief.

“We should discuss that.” Her mother moved into the living room. “Because Delphine and I talked about selling some of our services at the bake sale as well. Specifically spells. I know some of those children need help. And their mommas could use the patience spell I’ve been working on.”

“Not if it includes vodka, like your last patience spell.” It was a good thing Rene was taking over or she would have more protests on her front lawn. There was still an actual Ladies Temperance Society in Papillon. It consisted of three little old church ladies, but they all owned bullhorns.

Her mother shrugged. “Well, it gives me a lot of patience. Lord knows I’m going to need it with my son home. Cricket, my boy got himself shot and didn’t bother to call his momma.”

Cricket shook her head. “That is such a shame, Marcelle. How are you handling it?”

Dre came up behind the couch. “We all know I did not actually shoot myself, right? I did not.”

“But you didn’t call your momma.” Cricket shook her finger Dre’s way. “She knew something was wrong all along.”

Her mother held a hand up toward the ceiling. “The ancestors told me my boy was in trouble. They do not steer me wrong.”