by Lexi Blake
“It’s only rain, Daddy,” LaTonya argued. “The weatherman said there was only a fifty-fifty chance.”
“It’s coming.” Jerry rubbed his right elbow. “I feel it in my bones and they’re far more reliable than some degree from a university. Like I said, you kids these days depend far too much on technology.”
He walked away grumbling about how computers were taking over the world.
LaTonya shook her head. “Don’t listen to him. Although he might be right about the weather. That elbow of his should be granted a degree in meteorology. Keep an eye on the forecast. The bridge into town floods this time of year. You two be safe.”
Sera had to make a decision. What was more important? Getting the flooring or having to explain to her family that she wasn’t dating Harry Jefferys?
The lunches they’d had while they were working were not dates. Talking to him on the phone late at night because she had a question about the best tile to order wasn’t a date, even though it ended up with her talking to him until two in the morning about everything from his favorite movies to why she was genuinely afraid of birds. They were rats with wings, and they attacked from above.
Not dates. Not at all.
“We’ll stop by my place.” They were friends. Nothing more. Her mother would understand that.
“Good.” Harry was back to smiling. “And we can grab dinner in town. I haven’t been in the French Quarter in years. I’ll call and make us reservations someplace nice.”
She hurried after him and swore she was going to keep the whole day platonic.
* * *
***
Harry knocked on the door to their motel room as the rain poured down, beating against the roof. He huddled under the awning and hoped Sera would let him in. After all, he was the reason they were stuck outside Papillon. If he hadn’t insisted on dinner in the Quarter, they wouldn’t have gotten stuck in traffic. If they hadn’t gotten stuck in traffic, they would have been safely home before the road into town flooded.
They wouldn’t be here in a cheap motel where there was only one room left and he was going to end up spending the night sleeping on the floor.
If she let him in at all.
He knocked again. He’d run over to the convenience store across the street and procured toothbrushes, some snacks, and a bottle of wine as an apology.
The door came open and she stood there, her eyes rimmed red.
“I can’t get a cell phone signal.” There was a panicked look in her eyes.
“Okay. I’ll see if I can get one.” He walked inside and made a beeline for the bathroom. He was soaked through.
“There’s two bars, but the call won’t go through,” she insisted. “It’s got plenty of charge. I always make sure it’s charged. I wouldn’t leave my mom without a way to get hold of me if something were to happen to Luc.”
He put his hands on her shoulders. He knew the start of a panic attack, had had a few himself. “Sera, it’s all right. Everything is going to be okay. Take a deep breath with me.” He stroked his hands down her arms. She’d relaxed a bit the minute he’d touched her.
She took a long breath. “I’m sorry. I’m acting crazy.”
He shook his head and smoothed her hair back, not missing the way her eyes closed at the contact. Zep had told him she hadn’t dated in a long time. She’d been deprived of much-needed affection. “You’re not. You’re acting like a mom. There’s a landline here. Your mom has a landline at her place, right?”
He was pretty sure he’d seen one on the wall of the kitchen. He’d liked Sera’s home. It was comfortable. It wasn’t a museum like his aunt’s house, and yet it had been beautifully decorated. There had been pictures all over the place, and plants and books. He’d stared for a long time at the picture of Seraphina in her majorette uniform. She’d practically shone in that picture, a light in her eyes that couldn’t be denied.
Life had dimmed her light, but he often saw it sputtering back to existence as though her spirit could only be dark for so long.
Her shoulders were right back up to her ears. “I can’t remember the number. How stupid is that? I push a button on my phone. Mom. The landline doesn’t have a button for my mother.”
She’d been on edge ever since she’d realized they wouldn’t make it back to Papillon and she was separated from her son. It was more than that. She’d gotten to the flooring place and they’d tried to jack the price up on her. They’d seen a pretty blonde and figured they could take advantage of her. Harry had set them straight, but he would bet that hadn’t been the first time Sera had to deal with men who thought pretty meant dumb, and dumb meant they could do whatever they liked.
He pulled his shirt over his head and set it on the sink before grabbing a towel and drying off as best he could.
She took a deep breath. “Or I could calm down and look it up in my contacts. I’m sorry. I do know how a phone works. I didn’t think about the landline. I never use it. I’m panicking. It’s my first real time away from Luc and this storm looks nasty.”
She picked up the phone and dialed the number.
“Hey, Mom,” she said. “I’m afraid Harry and I got caught on the wrong side of the bridge. I’m so sorry. I should have been home hours ago. Is Luc okay?”
He stepped back in the bathroom to give her some privacy. He could hear her talking quietly but he shut the bathroom door and leaned against it.
He was falling madly in love with this woman and he was blowing it. He should have thought about her and what she needed, but no, he’d made the selfish choice to have her all to himself. He’d known exactly when she was renting that truck. She’d made a note of it on that endless list of hers and he’d used it to his advantage. He’d gone in and rented the truck right out from under her, though the wood had come in days ago. He’d done it because he’d wanted to spend the day with her. He’d spent most afternoons with her lately, but being on a road trip together was different. She couldn’t ignore him in the truck. He’d been able to turn on the radio and talk to her about the kind of music she liked. He’d had hours with her without the fear of getting caught. That hadn’t gotten past him. He knew why she’d taken him into the kitchen at Guidry’s when there had been plenty of open tables in the dining room. She was nervous about his aunt finding out they were spending time together. He could have told her that he didn’t intend to lie about what he was doing. His aunt hadn’t asked where he spent his afternoons. She was far too busy working on the wedding or the business. She’d been going into the office the whole time Harry had been here.
But when she eventually asked, he was going to tell her because he wasn’t ashamed of Sera.
He was kind of ashamed of himself, though.
“Harry? Are you okay in there?”
He opened the door. “Everything all right at home?”
She nodded. “Yeah. Luc and Shep are getting along great. Lila’s going to bring over some food for him. Zep is there in case anything happens, so they’ll all be fine. I’m sorry I freaked out. I don’t spend much time apart from Luc. I haven’t ever spent the night away from him. He’s in a climbing phase and I worry a lot.”
“I’m the one who’s sorry. I should have brought you home sooner. I shouldn’t have made you have dinner with me.”
“You didn’t make me do anything,” she said. “Is that wine? Because I could use it.”
“Yeah. I figured I got you into this situation, the least I could do was try to make you comfortable. I’m sorry there wasn’t much of a selection. I did get toothbrushes, and I found a T-shirt for you to sleep in. I’m going to warn you, though. It has a big beer can on it.”
She picked up the bag and took it out to the king-size bed that dominated the room. “Big beer can it is, then. Beggars can’t be choosers.”
He stepped out as she opened the bottle. Naturally the selection had been weak, to say
the least. He’d gotten her a screw-top bottle. “Sorry about the cheap wine. I assume you grew up around the good stuff. My choices were red or white or pink. The red needed a corkscrew.”
She sniffled and held up the bottle. “My brother is the wine snob. The older one, that is. Zep is more of a beer guy. Don’t feel bad about it. Feel bad that this place doesn’t even have glasses. Cheers.”
She held the bottle up and took a healthy swig.
“Sera, I’m sorry. I didn’t listen to you. I was selfish and I sincerely apologize.”
She seemed to think about that for a minute. “You knew I had rented that truck, didn’t you? You walked in knowing full well I would have a problem and you could solve it.”
Well, he’d never thought she wasn’t smart. “Yes.”
“You set this whole thing up so you could get me alone in a place where I wouldn’t put you to work.”
“Well, in my defense, I did not arrange the storm.” If he had, he would have been smart enough to put an extra set of clothes in the truck. He was going to be stuck in cold, wet boxers all night. He could wait until Sera turned off the lights and strip down. He wasn’t going to have her think he would take advantage of her.
“But you got out of your shirt fast enough.” She looked him up and down. “You do that a lot, you know.”
He felt himself flush. “It’s hot around here. I can certainly stop doing that.”
“And interrupt the daily entertainment? My friends would be upset at the thought. Did you notice that Hallie and Sylvie show up every day to check and see if I need anything? Neither one of those women has ever picked up a hammer in her life but suddenly they’re all about home repairs.”
“They’re your friends. I’m sure they’re only trying to help you out.”
“Yeah, no, they come over to catch a glimpse of all that.” She moved her hand around, indicating his chest. “You know every woman in this town is either crazy about you or thinking about setting you up with their daughter or sister or unattached friend. I heard you caused a fuss at Dixie’s the other day. Momma said you had two women fighting over who got to bring you coffee.”
He winced. It had been embarrassing, but two of the younger waitresses at the café had taken a shine to him, and they were quite aggressive in their attentions. “I’ve found that being single in a small town has its disadvantages. Of course, I also get invited to dinner a lot. A lot.”
And he’d turned them all down because he only wanted to be with one woman.
“Has Josette asked you out yet?” Sera asked, her tone deceptively bland.
He knew a minefield when he walked on one. He had the half leg to prove it. Josette Trahan had been at several of the events he’d attended. She was lovely, but there was something cold about the woman. “She asked if I wanted to go out to her place for drinks. I declined.”
“She used to be my sister-in-law, you know. She was married to Remy until she found a better prospect.” Sera took another drink. “She’s probably the most beautiful woman in town.”
“She is not.”
“Really?” Her brows rose. “Is this the moment when you say I’m the most beautiful woman in town?”
“I don’t have to say it for it to be true.” He’d screwed everything up. Maybe it was time for outright honesty. “I’m not interested in anyone but you. I sat in that café getting my coffee mug refilled every three minutes and thought about the fact that if you had been there with me, I’d be safe.”
She set the bottle down on the nightstand. “You wouldn’t be safe at all. Your aunt would throw a fit.”
“I’m a grown man. I don’t let my aunt tell me what to do.”
Her blond hair shook. “And if she kicks you out of the house? Have you thought about that at all?”
He shrugged, the thought not bothering him much. He felt far more comfortable in that ramshackle place of Sera’s, and something was always falling apart there. “I’ve lived in my truck before. I can do it again. I’ll put the camper on top, park on your land, and stay until you don’t need me anymore. With all the bedrooms in that place, I can fix one up and stay there. I sometimes can’t sleep and find work soothing.”
She stood up and grabbed the T-shirt he’d bought for her. “It can’t work, Harry. I’m not going to lie. I’m incredibly attracted to you but I don’t think it’s a good idea. You’re an amazing guy. The funny thing is if you were willing to have an affair, I might do it. I want you that much. But you would want to get involved.”
Honesty could sometimes hurt. “I’m only here for another couple of weeks, but yeah, I would want to get to know you.”
She stared at him for a moment. “If you get to know me, you might not leave, and then I’ll be the one to cost you the only family you have. Hell, I don’t know if I can do it to Celeste after everything she’s been through. I know I’m supposed to hate her, but I also kind of understand her. She put everything she had into Wes and she needs a reason he’s gone. She needs a villain she can pin it on. It’s too much to understand that some things are random and we can’t control them. The world gets infinitely more scary when you have a child. I can’t imagine losing Luc.”
“You are being so much kinder to her than she is to you.” He wanted to kiss her. He wanted it so badly he ached with the longing.
“Yeah, well, I’ve thought about it a lot. I know she wouldn’t believe it, but I miss Wes, too. He was my friend for so long it was hard to move on without him.”
“Did you love him?” He’d wanted to ask the question for days, but it was a touchy subject all around.
Her eyes came up, a depth of misery there. “I did, but not the way he needed me to. I think that I might have ruined two lives when we fought that day.”
“It didn’t ruin your life at all. It might have made it harder, but you’re going to be okay.” He was starting to understand her. “You feel guilty, but you didn’t force him to leave school.”
“No, but I didn’t ask him to stay, either. I was angry with him, too. I never expected him to do what he did. I can’t imagine him in the Army. Wes was gentle.” She seemed a bit shaken. “Not that you’re rough, Harry. I didn’t mean anything by it.”
“I went into the Army because I didn’t have anywhere else to go,” he explained. “I’m glad I did. It helped me a lot. I think it might have helped Wes, too, but the truth is the world can be random and unsafe. Even if he hadn’t gone into the Army, he could have gotten killed. He could have gotten into a car and taken a wrong turn one night and ended up in the same place. We can’t know these things. I understand Celeste needs someone to blame but that shouldn’t be you, and it shouldn’t come between the two of us. I can’t promise you where this is going. I’m not supposed to stay past the wedding, but you’re right. If I want to, I will stay. I don’t know what the future is going to bring. I only know that being with you feels right to me. If my aunt doesn’t like it, that’s her problem. We make decisions in life and we live with them. I can live with this decision. I want to try with you but I don’t want to hide it. Nothing flourishes in the shadows. Especially not you. You should be in the light.”
There were tears in her eyes as she looked up at him. “You might not think that if you knew the truth.”
“Then tell me.”
She took a deep breath and shook her head. “I’m going to take a shower. You should try the wine.”
She slipped into the bathroom and closed the door between them.
Harry stared at that closed door. What had she meant about the truth? He didn’t understand any of it. Cal was spiraling. His aunt had the worst priorities he’d ever seen. Only Angie seemed to have moved past Wes’s death.
Sera definitely hadn’t, and despite the fact that she said she hadn’t been in love with him, the man was still standing firmly between them.
And now his leg ached. Well, his stump ached.
He’d slipped on the wet floor and banged into the front desk of the motel. He was screwing up a lot today.
He grabbed the bottle of muscadine wine and took a drink. It looked like sharing a bottle was going to be about as close as he would get to Seraphina.
chapter seven
Seraphina stepped out of the shower and knew she would regret not spending the night with Harry for the rest of her life, but did she honestly want to wreck another of Celeste Beaumont’s relatives?
She moved in front of the mirror, looking at the girl reflected back. Girl? She wasn’t a girl at all anymore and hadn’t been from the moment she’d realized Luc was growing in her belly.
Or maybe it had been that moment that she’d realized she would have to let Wes go, that minute she knew she’d gone too far and they couldn’t go back. She’d finally understood it wasn’t fair to him to even try.
Did she have to pay for that one mistake the rest of her life? She stared at herself in the mirror and wondered who she’d become. Was she the woman who peaked in high school and never quite found her footing after? She’d watched most of her friends start their lives, find careers, get married, leave for brighter prospects, but she felt stuck. It wasn’t that she wanted to leave. She didn’t, but she wanted something that made her feel like she was moving forward. Purpose.
She’d found it in restoring that old house. The last week had been the best she’d had in a long time. She wanted to get up and get to work. There was a bounce in her step and the place was starting to look good. It was starting to look like a place that could really work as a B and B.
Harry was a part of it. He didn’t pat her head and tell her to call a man in to do all the work. He taught her. He was patient with her. She’d started to think about what she would do with the money from the house. What if she took that money and bought another place, a place that needed work? She was damn good at making a place look pretty. Harry was good at the practical stuff. She could study real estate. Maybe get her license. They could build a business out of their skills, and she would do something she genuinely loved.
