Bayou Baby

by Lexi Blake

  He would offer it all to Sera. He would show her what he could give her.

  But he had to get to New Orleans first because his roofer friend was coming in this afternoon and he needed a ride. He would pick up Jimmy and rush back to hopefully find better lodgings for all of them. His aunt had left a message, but he couldn’t listen to it yet.

  Of course, he might be sitting here forever. How long did gators nap?

  He honked his horn but the gator simply opened and closed his mouth as though yawning and settling in.

  What the hell was he supposed to do? The gator was across the entire road, and the sides sloped off at a pretty steep grade, so there was no going around him. The last thing he needed to do was roll his truck. He needed every dime he had to help Sera.

  He sat for a little while, staring at his phone and then back at the gator. Shep had stopped barking, curling up on the seat beside him like if the gator got to nap, at least he could do the same.

  His phone buzzed again. A text from his aunt.

  I’m sending a gift your way. Stay put, my darling boy. I’ll make this right.

  What did that mean? Knowing his aunt, it meant she would have Luc Guidry installed in Wes’s room at Beaumont House by tomorrow. And what would she send his way?

  He wished he hadn’t promised Sera he wouldn’t call her. It had been the right thing to do. If she said she wanted space, not giving it to her made him every bit as bad as all the other jerks she’d ever dated, but he wanted to call her, to hear her voice.

  He wanted to find out if there was any way she could ever forgive him because there was no way he could forget her.

  Shep’s head came up two seconds before Harry heard the sirens in the distance.

  He sent a small thanks to heaven because the sheriff probably knew how to deal with a gator. He glanced back, and sure enough, a parish vehicle was tearing up the road. The big SUV stopped and the door came open and the deputy swung herself down and opened the passenger door.

  Sera slid from the back, her blond hair tumbling around her shoulders.

  She was here. She was here and so was a gator. She was running toward the gator, who might swallow her petite form in two quick bites.

  He had that door open in no time flat, and shut it before Shep could rush out and try to battle the reptile.

  Sera was running his way.

  “Baby, there’s a gator. I need you to get in the truck.” He wasn’t about to let her get hurt.

  She stopped a few feet from him, looking around to get a glimpse. “Oh, it’s no big deal. That’s Otis. He’s a sweetheart. I need to talk to you.”

  “Come on, Rox,” a deep voice was saying. “She’s my sister. Shouldn’t I be allowed to watch her get her man?” He looked up as the deputy hauled Zep out of the back by his cuffed hands. “Hey, Harry!”

  He was so confused. “Why were you in a squad car? Sera, if my aunt had you arrested . . . Deputy, you can’t arrest her. She’s done nothing wrong.”

  Roxie tipped her hat his way. “I wouldn’t arrest Sera. She’s obviously a saint since she’s this one’s sister and he’s still alive. I would have surely killed him by now.”

  “Roxie gave me a ride because I went to the motel but you weren’t there,” Sera said, looking up at him with big blue eyes. “My car died in that parking lot. I don’t think I can resuscitate it. I think it finally passed on.”

  “But I called you. Why didn’t you call me back?” What was she here for? And were they really doing this in front of the deputy, her brother, and a basking gator?

  Shep barked from inside the car.

  And his dog.

  Sera bit her bottom lip. “I forgot my phone. After Celeste came by, I had to see you. I didn’t want to talk to you on the phone. I needed to see you in person.”

  “Celeste came by?”

  She nodded. “She wanted to bring me Wes’s medical records. She apologized and then she begged me to give you a second chance, but it’s not really a second chance. We both made mistakes, but I love you, Harry. I can promise you I won’t ever keep a secret from you again. Please don’t leave town. If you’re still upset, I’ll give you time, but I think we should work it out here.”

  Leaving town? “I wasn’t leaving.” It was time to come completely clean. He’d meant to spring it on her when everyone was already here so she couldn’t turn him down. “I know how much you need to get the house done and keep costs down, so I called in a bunch of favors from my friends in the industry. I need to pick one of them up from the airport. I know I didn’t talk to—”

  He couldn’t finish his sentence because his arms were suddenly full of Seraphina. She threw herself at him, her arms circling his neck, and there was no way he didn’t catch her. He held her close, wrapping his arms around her, and her words finally sank in. “You love me?”

  Her smile warmed his whole world. “I do. I love you and so do Luc and my mom.”

  “I don’t love you, man, but I approve,” Zep yelled.

  Harry ignored her brother. All that mattered was her. “I love you, too. I want to stay here in Papillon and build something real with you. You should understand that I’m going to keep asking you to marry me, Seraphina Guidry.”

  “You should understand that I’m going to say yes,” she replied. “But I come with some baggage.”

  “Yeah, I’m going to want to make your baggage mine, too. I want to adopt Luc, and I’ll want to give him siblings.”

  She held him tight. “I want all those things, too. I want a whole life with you.”

  He kissed her in the middle of the road, that kiss promising everything he wanted to give her. A life with love and family, a man who would always stand beside her, who would be the best husband, father, and friend he could be.

  He kissed her until he heard a mighty snort and realized they couldn’t get married if they were the victims of a gator attack. He shoved Sera behind him.

  Her arms wound around his waist. “It’s okay. He’s just done resting. He’ll move on now.”

  “You would almost think that gator knew what he was doing,” Zep shouted. “Who would have thought the old guy was such a romantic? Hey, okay. I’m going to jail now, sis. Harry, you treat her right.”

  Roxie tipped her hat again as she shoved Zep in the back and drove off toward the jail.

  He would make an interesting in-law.

  He was going to marry her.

  “So we’re going to pick up a friend in New Orleans?”

  “He’s a roofer.”

  Her eyes lit up. “I’ve been wanting to learn that. Let’s go. The road’s clear now.”

  The road was clear and he could see his whole future.

  epilogue

  Three weeks later

  Harry smiled down at his aunt as the Rolling Stones’ “Wild Horses” began to play. They were in the backyard of Beaumont House, though it had been utterly transformed for Angie’s wedding. Twinkle lights made the whole place gauzy and romantic. Not two hours before, Angie had made her vows to Austin and he’d sat with Sera, Luc in his lap as he watched the proceedings.

  This dance was the first time he’d had a chance to talk to his aunt in a week. She’d been crazy busy, and Sera had spent more time with Aunt Celeste than he had since there was a lot of woman-only stuff associated with a wedding. But he’d gotten to spend an awful lot of time with his little buddy. He and Luc were settling in nicely to the newly habitable Guidry Place.

  “Hey, I thought you looked good walking Angie down the aisle,” he said.

  Celeste smiled and looked far freer than he’d ever seen her. He could see his mom in her smile. “I was surprised when Angie asked me, but it felt good.”

  “You’re the head of the Beaumont family now,” he said. “Even more since you took the CEO job.”

  So many things had changed in t
he last few weeks. He and Sera were engaged and had moved into their future bed-and-breakfast. They were still working on the place every day, but it felt so good to be creating a home. Sera was already trying out every recipe she could, and all their friends were complaining they would gain weight because it was all delicious.

  His aunt had taken over the CEO position at Beaumont Oil after Cal stepped down. Her first decision was to hire her daughter. The Beaumont women would lead the company into the future.

  And Cal was moving to Dallas, where he’d taken a job in marketing. He was looking forward to making his way in the world.

  “I finally figured out that the name means nothing. The people are all that matter,” Celeste replied. “For so long the Beaumont name felt like a chain around my neck, but you can change the meaning of a word if you try hard enough. It’s a different Beaumont family, one I think my son would have loved. And my sister.”

  “She would be proud of you,” he whispered. “She would love the fact that you are finding your real place even after all these years.”

  She reached up and smoothed back his hair. “You, too. She would love Sera. Speaking of Sera. I wanted you to know what I’ve done.”

  The tiniest bit of trepidation flared through him. “What?”

  “When Ralph died, I took all of the stock he owned and split it three ways. I kept a third, Cal a third, and Angie a third. We sat down and made a decision. We would like very much to cull a fourth piece of stock from ours. It’s Wesley’s share, and we’re putting it in trust for Luc.”

  If what she said was true, Luc had just become a wealthy man. “That’s amazing. I think Wes would have wanted that, but Luc might not want to work at Beaumont.”

  “He doesn’t have to. It’s his stock to do what he wants with. It’s his legacy from his father. Well, from one of his fathers,” she said. “Wes would also be happy that Sera found you. You’re going to make an amazing daddy to that boy. Watch Delphine. I think she’s already planning to bring Luc into those short cons of hers. That woman is a menace.”

  Yet he’d seen his aunt laughing with Sera’s mom. They bickered and laughed and argued over their shared grandson. He’d learned to stay away from the book club because it was more like a drinking club. “I’ll do what I can. Sera will be happy Luc has something from Wes.”

  Celeste winced slightly. “There’s a little more to it, and that’s why I want you to tell her. He’ll need someone to be his proxy at board meetings until he’s old enough. I’ve made Seraphina the guardian of his trust.”

  That made him stop in his tracks. “What?”

  His aunt looked up at him. All around them couples were dancing. “Sera now has the right to vote Luc’s shares. She’ll be invited to all the meetings, and she’s going to need to learn some of the business. It will be up to the two of you to invest what you make off the stock, but I’ve made sure there’s a generous stipend because the trust is going to take some work. The first check is for twenty thousand.”

  “That’s exactly what it’s going to take to finish the house and get ready to open the bed-and-breakfast. Someone read my business plan. You know we were going to the bank on Monday,” he said, but there was a warmth in his heart.

  “Now you don’t have to. And it’s not a loan. It’s payment for all the work you two will do,” she assured him. “Unless you just want to let me vote his shares. That would be helpful.”

  He shook his head. Sera would want to learn all about her son’s inheritance. “I think Sera will insist.”

  “I do, too. She’ll be a breath of fresh air at those stuffy meetings. She, Angie, and I are the only women on the board. We’ll have to drag those men into the modern age.”

  If anyone could do it, those three could. “I look forward to it.”

  Celeste stepped back, her eyes on something behind him. “Well, I’m going to go and make sure your future brother-in-law stays away from the punch. I swear I would spank that boy but I think he would like it.” She winked. “You two have fun, and I expect to see my grandson tomorrow afternoon. Bring Shep, too. I miss him and he makes such a good nanny.”

  Sera waved as she stepped up to Harry. “She doesn’t really leave Luc with Shep, right? It’s not like the dog nanny in Peter Pan.”

  She always made him smile. “I don’t think so. I think she barely lets Luc’s feet touch the ground while she’s around. Dance with me.”

  She moved easily into his arms. “I will admit I like all the babysitting. How about we work on the house tomorrow? Specifically the bedroom.”

  “The bedroom’s done . . .” Ah, that’s what she meant. He leaned over and kissed his almost bride. She didn’t mind that he wasn’t the most graceful dancer. All he could really do was sway. There were plenty of people in his position who taught themselves how to dance, but he hadn’t been that great before he’d lost his leg. None of that mattered because there was one place where he moved with perfect harmony. “Yes, we need to work on the bedroom. All afternoon. Come here.”

  He kissed her again. He had a story to tell her, but for now he let the music flow over him.

  He’d roamed the world, but Papillon would be his home.

  acknowledgments

  As with any book, there are so many people to thank, because while I might write the words there are many people who make those words truly shine. Thanks to Kim and my team of beta readers who remember all the things I forget—Stormy, Riane, and Kori. Liz Berry helped launch this series and continues to support it in amazing ways. Thanks to the women who help me maneuver my way through social media and publicity—Jillian Stein and Jennifer Watson and her team at Social Butterfly. Thanks so much to my agent, Kevan Lyon, and everyone at Marshall-Lyon. And to the team at Berkley, including my editor, Kate Seaver, who is always there for me.

  Look for the next Butterfly Bayou novel

  Bayou Dreaming

  Coming from Berkley in December 2020!

  about the author

  Lexi Blake is the New York Times bestselling author of over seventy titles. She lives in North Texas with her family and two of the most adorable rescue dogs ever. She's a big city girl who married a small town boy and loves visiting his hometown. Except when the bears show up on the porch.

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