Read Online Under the Cajun Moon by Mindy Starns Clark - Free Book Online Page A

to keep it quiet a bit longer. Time passed, and your father’s restaurant did so well that he was no longer hurting for money. Naquin, on the other hand, was getting up in years and was tired of waiting for the treasure’s big payoff. He tried to convince your father that it was time to make a decision once and for all.”
    “What was the problem?”
    “They couldn’t agree on how to get that payoff. All along, your fathermaintained that the smartest move was to melt down the gold and sell it as ingots, saying a bird in the hand was worth two in the bush. Naquin, however, couldn’t stand the thought of destroying what might be an important historical find, especially given that it would be worth far more money intact. He wanted to take the treasure public and try to sell it, even with the risk that a foreign government might swoop in and take it all away and leave them with nothing. Given how much time had already passed since they first found the treasure, it seemed to Naquin it was a chance worth taking.”
    “I have to agree with him.”
    “Yes, well, your father didn’t. The two men argued about it for years but never reached a solution. They finally had a parting of ways last year. Gold was selling at almost eight hundred and seventy dollars an ounce at that point, so the gold alone was now worth more than four and a half million dollars. I can’t even imagine the value of the treasure intact. Twice that much? Three times? Ten times? Regardless, your father wouldn’t budge. Naquin had had enough and cut all ties.”
    “How sad, that such good friends would allow money to destroy a relationship.”
    “I know. Adding fuel to the fire was the fact that your father was just about to buy Paradise from Naquin when they had their big blowup over the treasure. In retaliation Naquin canceled the sale on the land. Even though his family doesn’t even want Paradise anymore, Naquin stubbornly hangs onto it. To be honest, I think the only reason he still lets your father go down there is just to torment him by hanging it over his head like that. That land is Naquin’s biggest weapon in their fight over the treasure.”
    “Sounds like two stubborn old men, both digging in their heels,” I said. I was still trying to wrap my head around all that I had learned. “So now that I understand the situation with the treasure, go back to what you were saying earlier. What was the deal clincher my father told you this morning, the one that would finally make Naquin willing to sell him the land?”
    “Believe it or not, your dad decided to let Naquin win the battle over the treasure. He wants Paradise so badly that he’s giving in. If Naquinwill sell him the land, in return your father will allow Naquin to have his way with the treasure and take it public.”
    “After all these years of fighting, my dad’s the one who surrendered? That’s not the Julian Ledet I know. He once gave Sam the silent treatment for an entire month just because he didn’t like the way Sam had the staff folding the napkins.”
    “I was as shocked as you, but when we spoke this morning, your father sounded very happy about it, almost jubilant. He was ready to wave the white flag with glee.”
    “Did he give you a reason for this uncharacteristic hundred-and-eighty-degree flip?”
    “No. He just said that he loves Paradise so much he wants to own it for himself, even if it means risking the treasure. After we hung up, I thought about it some more and finally decided that maybe he’s ready to retire and wants to build a house down there or something. That was the only explanation I could think of.”
    “Are you kidding? My mother would die before she’d let that happen. She’ll never live anywhere except New Orleans.”
    “Well, whatever your father’s reason for the about-face, he was excited about it. He wasn’t resentful at all.”
    “Knowing him, he probably found more buried treasure there or something and wants to buy the land so he