The Heirs Daughter

Chapter 1

My mornings usually consist of going straight to the voodoo shop around the corner from my place after grabbing two coffees from the corner store. The voodoo shop is where my best and only friend Zaline lives upstairs and owns the shop downstairs.

Zaline is a kind woman, but if you didn’t know her, she could come off as weird, well as weird as any normal person in New Orleans.

She is five-feet tall, has a small frame, tan skin that is almost brown, short brown hair, and has always dressed in pure bright fashion.

Her dresses make my head spin with the colors and designs, the bangles added on her arms daily, and the glamorous sandals that match her dresses.

She is my rock in this crazy world and I wouldn’t ever change a thing about her.

I’m about to knock on the back door in the alley that leads to her apartment above the shop when it swings open. I startled and jumped back a bit before exhaling a breath of relief at seeing my best friend.

Zaline stood there with a frown on her face “I felt you coming” she says, while wiping the sleep from her eyes and turning back inside.

I walked in behind her with a smile, handing her the extra coffee when we are up the stairs.

“How do you always do that? I would never be able to play hide and seek with you” I told her, and she stifled a laugh as we walked into the kitchen.

She takes the coffee then goes into her room to change for the day, since I obviously woke her up from her beauty sleep.

I looked around her two-bedroom apartment. She had jars of herbs littered around, dark curtains on all her windows, and candles everywhere. All of her furniture was passed down the family line as her mother before her and so on. Her family has owned this shop for generations.

“So, what was the night terror this time?” she asked as she stepped out of the room in a strapless bright green dress that flowed down to her knees, bangles on her arms, wrists and ankles and with her hair in a bun on her head.

“Oh you know more about death, and death, like always” I snorted.

She turns and looks at me with that, it’s too early to be a smart a*s, look.

“Did you see this one clearly? You know I can help you with those dreams, or try another herb to make them go away” she responded.

“No more herbs please, last time I thought I was going to pass out from the smell” I laughed and gag at the memory.

We sit on the couch with our coffee as it hits five am. I have to be at work in an hour, so I keep an eye on the time.

“This dream was like the others, I don’t remember much, but I do remember seeing the most beautiful blue eyes staring at me, the only highlight in all the gloom” I told her as I remembered some of it.

Cocking her head to the side “Oh, hhmmmm was he cute? It’s about time you start looking at other guys, not that Jackson wasn’t super bad looking, but you know”

Narrowing my eyes at her, she had to bring up my one and only boyfriend of six months. He was not the most faithful, and I was not ready to lose my virginity to the guy. He couldn’t hold out long enough, apparently.

“He was a loser anyway, that’s what I get for thinking a nice smile, nice outfits, and just plain sweet was a sign of a nice guy. I know better now. Maybe I’ll lose it to some random guy just to get it over with” I laughed, then winked at her.

“Sure, maybe, to blue eyes in your dream” she replies, smiling back at me.

I never had the urge to try with anyone because I was too worried about getting out of the foster system to think about boys, not that I didn’t get my share of attention.

Zaline says I’m oblivious to the looks and hints of flirting from people. I guess I don’t understand it, I’ve never been close to anyone expect Zaline, and the thought of being alone is comforting for me.

Maybe one day I’ll meet someone that I deem worthy of joining my makeshift family of two, but until then, it's just us and the world.

We sit and talk for a bit longer about how her shop is doing, her family, which all retired and moved down the bayou, and how the new guy she is dating is holding up so far.

It’s time for me to get ready for work, so I change into my blouse and skirt, and then throw my other clothes in my backpack.

It’s a habit from growing up to always carry a bag with extra clothes, makeup, food, and water, mainly with a few other items. One habit I have never gotten rid of because you never know when you will up and move, or be stranded because your foster parent forgot to pick you up.

I told Zaline bye and hoped she had a good day, then I head back into the streets towards the office, which is only a fifteen-minute walk from the shop.

My job for the past two years is located on the fifth floor of a five-story building filled with other professional offices, and I will admit there was a nice view of the city from up there.

I got off the elevator on the fifth floor, which is the busy law office of Nolan-Murphy and associates. I see that today is as busy as any other day, so I hustle to my desk and shove my backpack under it before getting ready for the day.

Of course it's busy though. Who wouldn’t want the handsome Buford Nolan to represent you in any way? His lean and muscular build with that light brown hair, and those sexy green eyes to complete the package... Yeah, my boss was hot.

There is also his cousin Kelvin Murphy as his partner, and good looks absolutely run in the family.

Not those gorgeous eyes of Buford’s that will have you daydreaming if you don’t catch yourself kind of looks though.