Bayou Dreaming, page 8
“You’re out at the B and B?” Zep asked. Sera had mentioned someone had rented all the rooms they had ready. “My sister runs the place. And Harry is definitely not as handsome as me.”
“Is everything all right?” The man who had to be Roxanne’s dad stepped out. He had silver hair and looked to be on the thin side. He was dressed almost like his wife, though his slacks were dark and he’d tucked his button-down in. His shirtsleeves were rolled up. “You must be Armie. Somehow I thought you would be older. You’re the sheriff around here?”
“No, I am not.” That was another reason why he couldn’t pretend to be Armie. He was far too young and pretty to be a grizzled sheriff. Why the hell had she told her parents she was dating Armie? Armie was too old for her. Armie was too much like her in some ways. They would never be compatible.
Did she have a thing for Armie?
“This is Zéphir—” Pamela began.
“You can call me Zep.” He held out his hand and shook Mr. King’s. “I was explaining that Roxie hasn’t dated Armie in a while. He’s gotten married and we’re together now.”
“He’s living with her, Tony,” Pamela explained. “Living together and she didn’t even mention it to her parents. She’s gone wild since she moved down here. I told you. But he seems like a fine young man.”
Roxie stepped in front of her father. “Dad, it’s nice to see you, but I’m a little unprepared. I had no idea you were coming.”
“Because we wanted it to be a surprise,” her father replied. “Though we did try to call.”
“I was working the late shift. I turned off my ringer.” She directed the comment to her father as though she knew her mother wouldn’t care.
“Sorry. We don’t know your schedule,” Tony King replied, though his tone was a bit disappointed. “You don’t talk to us much. You haven’t even congratulated Brian on his engagement.”
“I sent him a text,” Roxie shot back.
Oh, she needed someone to smooth the way or this whole visit was going to go poorly. “We hadn’t decided on what to get them yet. We were debating on what to send them as a couple.”
“A coupon for a good lawyer,” Roxie said under her breath.
His fake girlfriend was a little overstimulated. It was time for some honesty. “Mr. and Mrs. King, we’re so thrilled you’re here, but Roxie and I were working late last night and she took a little tumble. Hit her head pretty hard. She needs some more rest. Why don’t you let me take you all out to dinner at my family’s restaurant tonight?”
“She hit her head?” Pamela’s eyes had gone wide.
Roxie sent him a death stare. “It’s fine. I’ve already seen a medical pro. Lila says I’m good. I just need a little rest.”
“Isn’t that the woman who stole your boyfriend?” Pamela asked. “I don’t think we should trust her. She might let you die so you can never get him back. I saw it on Dateline. The same thing happened to a woman in Yonkers, though the other woman was a dental assistant. I don’t trust them. They’re always young. Why are there no older dental assistants? Because they marry the dentists. That’s why.”
“Mom, Lila isn’t trying to kill me,” Roxie said with a sigh. “But I do need to rest and I’m not even dressed and Zep isn’t dressed. I wasn’t ready for any of this.”
“Well, you would have been if you—” Pamela began.
Her husband put a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll head back to the B and B, sweetheart, but we will take your boyfriend up on his dinner invitation. Will you be all right by then? Or would you like me to drive you into a bigger city to see a doctor who didn’t marry your ex?”
“Lila’s solid,” Zep explained. “She’s connected to my family. See, her sister married my brother, so we’re all good. It’s a small town. Everyone’s connected, but Lila’s excellent at her job. Roxie’s fine, but I stayed up so I could make sure she didn’t get sick. I could use a nap before we all get together.”
Tony nodded as though he’d made his decision. “Come along, Pamela. It wasn’t fair to ambush her like this. Roxie, give your boyfriend my number so he can text me where and when to meet you for dinner tonight while you get some rest. We’ll take Brian and Shawna back to the B and B with us. I think we could all use a nap. It was a long trip to get here. Don’t forget that, Roxanne. We came a long way to see you. We went to a lot of trouble, and we expect you to spend some time with us. We’ll talk at dinner tonight. Zep, it’s good to meet you. I intend to get to know you while I’m here.”
“But I—” Pamela stopped when her husband took her hand. “Fine. I’ll see you tonight, dear.”
Zep followed behind Roxie as she showed her parents the door. It did not escape his notice that the brother’s fiancée stayed far from Daisy. So did the brother. Apparently he was once peed on, twice shy.
The place was deadly quiet as she shut the door behind them and took a moment before she turned around.
He was prepared for the death stare she sent his way. “Now, Roxie, let me explain.”
“You live with me? You had one job, Guidry. One. All you had to do was answer to Armie’s name, explain you’ve got to go to work, and leave.”
“That’s actually three things, and you know I can get confused.” He sighed and shook his head because he had a shot with her now, and he wasn’t going to play around with the truth. Charm hadn’t worked on her. It was time to see if being real would. “It wouldn’t have worked.”
“How do you know?”
“Because Seraphina told me the B and B is booked for the whole week,” he replied. “They aren’t simply here for the afternoon and they’ll be gone tomorrow. You have to deal with them for a full week. Do you honestly believe they won’t talk to people around town?”
Her jaw tightened, a sure sign that she was frustrated and on the edge. “They could have been handled. And they’ll still talk. What happens when they casually mention you’re my boyfriend? People will laugh.”
Had she learned nothing? Papillon residents stuck together. They had to because they didn’t have anyone else. He pulled his cell out of his back pocket and dialed his sister’s number. “Sera, I need you to do me a favor. I’m putting you on speaker. I’m here with Roxie.”
“Of course.” Sera’s voice came over the line. His sister always sounded chipper these days thanks to her marriage to Harrison Jefferys. “Is she okay? I heard she nearly got kidnapped by a rougarou. You should know that particular rumor has already gotten to Gene, and he will be watching her the next full moon.”
Roxie’s eyes had gone wide. “What? It was a snake. And it only got my boot. Does Gene actually think I’m going to turn into a werewolf?”
“Yes. Harry told me there was a spirited discussion about your fate at Dixie’s this morning. Gene argued his werewolf position, but Herve and his brother claim a witch sent the rougarou so she can take control of Roxanne’s body and arrest whoever she wants, even innocent people. Now, I think Herve is setting that whole scenario up in case anyone finds out that he and his brother set up a fight club in his garage. Don’t worry about that, Roxie. No one is dumb enough to actually join in, so it ends up with Herve and Louis punching each other a couple of times and then everyone drinking some sketchy wine. But Herve’s girlfriend is worried about witchcraft ever since they got Wi-Fi out there and they started using Louis’s Netflix account. So he’s setting himself up an alibi. Harry, did anyone mention a snake? No. The snake must have gotten lost somewhere in there. But I will tell you there’s a rumor going around that Caroline caught Roxie trying to get Archie alone in the barn in the middle of the night.”
Roxie groaned. “I did not. I was investigating a call. I checked out the barn but Archie wasn’t with me. Zep was. We heard something out back and found a dog tied to a tree, and then I fell and got bitten by a snake. I also hit my head on a log and have a minor concussion.”
His sister sighed over the line. “Poor puppy. Is he okay?”
“He’s a she,” Zep corrected. “And her name is Daisy, and Roxie is okay, too.”
“Oh, sorry. I knew that, though,” Sera admitted. “I saw Lisa earlier and she’d already talked to her sister. She said Lila said Roxie was okay and that you had taken it on yourself to make sure she stays that way. Roxie, is he bugging you?”
“No,” he said.
“Yes,” Roxie replied at the same time.
“Do you want me to help you?” he asked.
“I wanted you to help me when I thought you were going to help me the way I wanted you to help me. You went rogue,” Roxie accused.
“No, I pivoted,” he explained. “Listen, Sera, I need your help. Those folks who checked in today are Roxie’s family, and her mother is a lot to handle.”
“Don’t I know it,” Sera replied. “She’s already had me change the sheets, ensure all the bathroom equipment is functioning properly, and prove we have Internet out here. She asked if I knew what the Internet was. But the dad seems pretty nice.”
“I’m sorry,” Roxie said with a wince. “My mom is a lot. And she caught me unaware.”
“See, Roxie has been telling her momma she has a boyfriend so she wouldn’t worry.” He didn’t completely understand, but he thought that was the gist of it.
“Oh, I bet worry was the least of her problems. I bet that woman would matchmake.” Sera proved she understood far better than he did because Roxie was nodding as his sister continued. “I get it. If I hadn’t been living with my momma when I was single, I would have tried the same thing. I would have totally made up a spectacular . . . Oh, no. Her momma’s going to want to meet the boyfriend. Who doesn’t exist.”
“Well, see, I’m not so great at making stuff up.” Roxie bit her bottom lip.
“She told her mom she was dating Armie.” It was best to put it all out there. “So when Momma King showed up this afternoon, she got me instead of Armie. Luckily I wasn’t wearing a shirt at the time and I distracted her with my manly chest, but we need a plan in place now.”
“Does Armie know you fake dated him?” Sera asked.
“No.” Roxie had gone the sweetest shade of pink. “So if we can leave that out, it would be great.”
“Do you honestly believe your mother won’t mention him? She won’t complain about how he treated you even though she has no real idea about how he treated you?” Her silence was his answer. “So here’s the play. Sera, I need you to get on the emergency line and let everyone know we’ve got a citizen in extreme trouble. Here’s the story we’re putting out. She and Armie dated for a while. It fizzled out because he’s obviously too old for her, and then he married Lila, who he is perfect for.”
“I don’t think Armie will like that,” Roxie interrupted.
But he wasn’t about to stop now. They were on a timeline and it was short. All that had to happen was the Kings deciding to stop at the local convenience store where Effie Charles would ask for their whole life story and inevitably blow their cover. “Roxie and I fell for each other a couple of months ago, and we recently moved in together and adopted a dog we named Daisy. We’re very happy and I consult with the Papillon Parish Sheriff’s Department on situations involving animals. So we live together and work together.”
“Does Armie know that?” his sister asked. “The working at the station part, or are you just planning on hanging around there?”
His sister didn’t always have faith in his work ethic. “I’ll have you know Armie did ask me to be on call. So there.”
Sera was quiet for a moment. “Just like Dad?”
“Yeah.” He straightened up because he couldn’t get emotional right now. “So you’ll do it?”
“Roxie, you want me to do this?” Sera asked because she had some girl power thing going.
“I don’t even know what you’re doing but I’m kind of at a loss here, so yeah,” Roxie admitted.
“Then I’m on it. I’ll text you when it’s done.” His sister hung up.
“What did I agree to do?” Roxie was still looking at him like she wasn’t sure if she was going to murder him.
“Sera will call Dixie and our sister-in-law Lisa. She’ll tell them our cover story. Dixie and Lisa will then call two others each, and before the hour is up, everyone will know the story we want them to tell. Don’t worry. Whoever calls Gene will go over the story ten times to make sure he doesn’t shove something weird in there. In a few minutes we’ll be bulletproof.” It was not the first time the town had come together to protect one of their own. “I think you should call and talk to Armie, though.”
“Yeah, I’ll call him in a minute.” She looked a little shocked. “Why would they do that for me?”
He shrugged. “Why wouldn’t they? Everyone’s told a little lie from time to time. Especially to keep a momma calm. In the beginning they’ll do it because we asked them to, but you’ll get some lectures about being honest with your momma. Then they’ll meet your momma. Unless you think your momma will come off better in public.”
Roxie shook her head. “She won’t. She’ll be awful.”
He’d been planning on that. “Then they’ll do it because you’re one of us and we protect our own.”
“But I’m not from here. I don’t even have many friends here.”
“So? Do you think anyone really likes Celeste Beaumont? She’s mean. Nicer in the last few months but mean, and yet the whole town came out to help her when her husband died. I’m sure she tossed every casserole brought to her door, but they were brought.” Did she think people around town didn’t like her? She always seemed so confident, but he knew that could often hide insecurity. “Roxie, the people here know what you do for them.”
She waved that off. “I break up bar fights. I hand out tickets.”
“And you risked your own life to save three people caught in a flash flood a few months ago. No one’s forgotten that.” It had been the night his sister had gotten trapped on the other side of the highway with Harry. The storm had been sudden, and the sheriff and his deputies had done heroic things that evening. Roxie had risked getting swept away by fast-moving flood waters. She’d put herself out there and gotten all three of the passengers in that car to safety.
“It’s my job.”
He shook his head and moved in. “It’s more than that. It’s who you are. You’re the one who runs in when everyone else is running out. You put yourself between people and danger, and you don’t think twice about it. You might be a little standoffish, but that’s the only thing keeping you from having a bunch of friends. How many people in town have invited you to supper?”
“A lot. I thought maybe they wanted me to not give them tickets or something.”
He should have found a way to get in her life earlier. It would have saved her so much trouble. “No. They’re trying to offer you hospitality. And some of the mommas are probably trying to see if you would do for their sons.”
She groaned. “Well, then I’m glad I didn’t go. It’s weird, right? Inviting someone you don’t know to dinner.”
She only thought that way because she hadn’t gotten used to small-town life yet. The odd thing was, this current crisis might force her to face some of the good things that could come from living in Papillon. “Not around here it isn’t. After all, how would you get to know a person? All I’m trying to say is they’ll help you. You don’t have to worry. It’s already in motion.”
“I know I should thank you.”
He wanted her to rely on him. “You don’t have to. I would do this for you no matter what.”
She stood there as the moment lengthened. He could practically feel the air crackle between them. He knew what chemistry felt like, and this went far beyond the mere physical. They worked on so many levels. He had to find a way to make her understand.
She huffed suddenly. “You know you didn’t have to live here. The story works perfectly fine without you living here. In fact, it would have worked best if you’d been a guy I just started dating. That would have been a good scenario.”
But then she would be able to keep her distance. “How would you have explained me being at your place with you in your PJs and me without a shirt on? We’d obviously spent the night together.”
One side of her mouth tugged up in an adorable smirk. “Since you outed me for the concussion, we could have been coworkers who are barely dating and you did me a favor.”
“Wouldn’t have worked. There’s no way your parents would’ve believed that.”
She frowned suddenly. “Well, we could have said anything at all since my mom couldn’t see past your chest. Do you ever wear a shirt?”
Sweet jealousy. He could work with that. “I’m more comfortable this way. And you need to follow my lead on this one. I’m excellent at crafting a fiction. I’ve got the whole thing down. See, in my head, we’re real close. We’re definitely a very affectionate couple.”
“No, we’re not. We’re super casual. Almost like bros.”
He moved in again and noticed she didn’t move away. “Nah, we’re definitely in that ‘crazy in love, can’t keep our hands off each other’ stage.”
She turned her face up and put her hand out. She touched his chest, her palm open. She didn’t push him away, merely kept her hand there, right over his heart. “Is that what we are? Fake us, that is?”
His whole body started to hum. That was what being close to her did to him. He felt parts of him that had been dead so long come to life. It was about far more than his body. “Absolutely. And think of all the benefits.”
“Oh, there are benefits to you getting your hands on me?”
“Yes. So many benefits, the chief one being you can’t talk to your mother if you’re too busy kissing me.” He leaned over, coming close. “We’ll be that couple everyone avoids because we can put on a show, if you know what I mean.”
