Joe tossed the towel aside, ran his fingers through his damp hair sending it laying down in an appealingly mussed-up look, and sat, and after taking Joey from Anne, he placed Joey against his legs and said to him, "I hope your momma has the answer I need, Tee Joe, because you and Momma are my family and families need to be together."
Anne forced herself to concentrate on what she was about to say instead of the well-muscled arm and lean solid torso of the man sitting beside her, but his hands seemed to overshadow things. Large square hands. Bear paws, except when those hands were on her they were magic…
"Darlin', I'm thinkin' you're havin' trouble tellin' me what you want to say so just spit it out." He looked askance at her and waited.
Anne snapped out of her momentary distraction. "It happened when I was sitting on a bench at the cemetery while looking at Joyce's headstone, and a conversation we were having just before the accident came back. I guess I'd blanked it out of my mind along with the accident, which I still don't remember beyond an image of the car sliding off the road."
"According to the doctor you may never remember, and I'm thinkin' it's best left at that," Joe said. "But back to this conversation you were having with Joyce. Go ahead."
"We were talking about why I was putting off marrying you. It was an odd conversation to be having in the middle of a rainstorm with towns flooding and the road about to wash away. But we were stuck in a string of cars waiting for a road crew to clear away some debris, and it helped relieve the tension of the stressful drive, though we had no idea what lay ahead. It still doesn't seem real to me, Joyce is dead, only that I saw her grave and know she is. But what had been worrying me was giving my unborn baby to the Catholic Church."
"That's it?"
"Basically. It started about the time I learned I was pregnant, which was also around the time I learned while taking PreCana that I'd have to give my baby to the church."
"It's not set in stone," Joe said. "Joey can decide what he wants to do when he goes through confirmation. I'm hopin' he'll stay with the church because it's been good for me and my brothers and Mary. We all learned early on there's right and wrong, good and bad, and none of us dared cross the line because we knew the consequences would be a lot worse than what Momma or Daddy would dish out, and our godparents also made sure we didn’t stray. Does that help you decide?"
"I'd already decided when Joyce explained confirmation, but it's a non-issue now since I gave Joey to the church when he was baptized. It's odd because I remember all my fretting and stewing over it before the flood, but after going through Joey's baptism ceremony, and that followed by the celebration and spending time with your entire family and Joey's godparents, I'm fine with it. Not one iota of doubt."
"Marriage is for life, darlin', so you need to be absolutely sure. I don't want Joey to ever be the product of a broken home. That's not an option in this family, so you really do need to search your soul because you won't be able to get rid of me."
"Honey, I am sure. I was sure all along that I wanted to marry you and spend the rest of my life with you. I just had this uncertainty about my unborn baby and the church, but I have absolutely no uncertainties now."
"What about the feud between our families?" Joe asked. "Your father's bent on seein' me out of your life and I don't imagine he'll just shrug it off if we marry."
"He probably won't right away, but I'm confident he will eventually, but before that time he'll want at least one question answered."
Joe looked askance at her. "Okay, hit me with it."
"He keeps insisting the match races your grandfather holds are illegal. Is it true, or is he just trying to put another wedge between us?'
"A little of both," Joe said. "If there was gamblin' goin' on during the races I suppose the sheriff would be honor bound to report it, so to keep it on the up-and-up, everyone gets together here on Friday night and makes their bets, and Pépère keeps the tally and they divvy up on Monday, but no money changes hands the day of the races, so it's all legal."
"And the sheriff? Does he show up on Fridays?" Anne asked.
Joe gave her a sheepish grin. "On occasion, but not in uniform."
"Well, like I said before, if my father wants to see me, he'll have to accept you, even if he doesn’t quite buy into the notion that your grandfather's races are completely on the up-and-up. As for Mom, she kissed Joey before she left and told me not to stay away too long, so she's coming around, and I'm sure my grandmother will eventually come around too. Part of the problem with my grandmother was probably my attitude, always quick to condemn a man she holds in high esteem, never mind that Charles Lawrence is responsible for what happened to the Acadians, but she does descend from the man so she'd hardly want to acknowledge the truth. But I see her in a different light now. I remember how pleased she always was when Georgia, Piper and I helped with her teas. Even if we were married, I'd still want to help. It's a good cause, raising money for the women's shelter. I know firsthand."
Her mind flashed back to her stay at the homeless shelter in New Orleans and the mission where she went for meals. The mission was an old building that had been renovated with funds donated by volunteers who not only worked there, but financed the project with money they'd raised, much of it donated by people like her family. That didn't excuse her family's prejudice against Cajuns, but in time, when they got to know Joe, they'd come to accept him, and maybe even accept Joey's name too.
"I still couldn't afford to buy the kinds of clothes you'd need for those teas," Joe said in a glum voice.
"Don't worry, honey. My mother and grandmother would always make sure I'm outfitted in the proper attire. They'd just be glad I'd be involved."
"Then maybe after one of those teas I could take you to a fais do-do. You looked real pretty in the dress you wore to the rodeo that day."
Anne laughed. "As long as you wouldn't expect me to wear the hat and gloves."
Joe smiled. "Okay, I'm thinkin' this might work, but what about your horse? She's a luxury we'd never be able to afford."
Anne felt a warm glow because Joe was talking about a future again, even if he was pointing out things they couldn't afford. "I know Jolie's a luxury we can't afford and she's a non-issue too. I enjoyed showing her when I was a kid because my father was enthusiastic and encouraged me, but after I met you, my world of showing horses and all it entailed wasn't important anymore. You were my focus. I still like riding Jolie but I can ride her at my folk's place. Besides, what I need here is a good quarter horse for riding down at the marshes."
"You'd come home splattered in mud like before," Joe said, in a teasing voice.
Anne couldn't help smiling on remembering the incident he referred to. It was the day he'd asked her to marry him and she'd said yes. Joe arrived unexpectedly at her apartment that day, telling her to change into old clothes because he was taking her for a horseback ride in the marshes. She'd never ridden with him before because of their feuding-family circumstances, and she was eager to go. He had the horses saddled and waiting at a friend's ranch, and they headed for the marshes, returning later, splattered with mud. They even snuck into her apartment so no one would see them.
"It all washed off," she said in reference to Joe's comment.
Joe grinned. "I know. We went in the shower and that was the first time we made love."
"Except we didn't go into the shower. I went in, alone," Anne reminded. "When I was halfway through you barged in claiming you were dripping muddy water all over the floor and needed to rinse off, and I told you that was a poor excuse to be in the bathroom, and you laughed and agreed and stripped off your clothes and stepped into the shower anyway."
"I'd also been chewin' alligator jerky and that was the first time you tasted it."
Anne laughed. "That wasn't what was on my mind at the time."
"I'm aware of that, darlin'. You let me know in a dozen different ways. I think we also went through a whole bar of soap scrubbin' each other clean before we finally got the
job done."
"The job done as, we were clean?"
"No, sugah, the job done as, what I want to do as soon as Joey's bedded down for the night."
"He only beds down for a few hours at a time," Anne said.
Joe grinned. "Then we'll do the job again in the middle of the night."
"Are you talking about having me in your bed tonight?"
"Tonight and for the rest of our lives. We can pick up a marriage license tomorrow and get the process going again and get married next week, as long as you're sure you want to do things the way we planned before your parents knew anything about us. Things are different now that they know."
"Different if you mean I should give my family the option of sending out embossed wedding invitations announcing the marriage of their daughter to a Broussard, and giving my sisters the option of being bridesmaids opposite a lineup of Cajun cowboys, and giving my father the option of walking me down the aisle in a long white gown and turning me over to Joseph Broussard, direct descendant of Joseph Beausoleil Broussard, and all that folderol. No thanks. I'm fine with the original plan, and we'll spare my family that troubling ordeal. Later on, of course, they'll regret not having had that option when they get to know what an incredible man I married, but for now, I know what an incredible man he is and that's all that matters."
"Then darlin' I'm ready to bed down Joey for the night right now and get on with things."
"Except the church frowns on unmarried couples getting on with things, and we need to honor that."
"Are you serious?"
"Of course. We're not going to start our life together by having to go to confession the Sunday before we marry."
Joe eyed her with uncertainty. "You're not just teasin' me, darlin? You really are serious?"
"Absolutely." Slipping her arms around his neck, Anne kissed him lightly. "But as soon as we return home after reciting our vows, I'll make it worth your while for this sacrifice."
"Sugah, you make it worth my while just being here with me, and you're right, of course. Daddy drummed in our heads long ago that when a woman makes a house rule, that's the way it is, and since this is your house, I'll go take another cold shower. Meanwhile, we'd better stock up on soap because there's gonna be a whole lot of scrubbin' goin' on starting next week."
Anne laughed. "You always liked pine scented soap so be sure to pick that up, and while we're in the shower, I'll belt out the words to Jambalaya while scrubbing you up and down to the rhythm, kind of like making you into a big, handsome, muscular musical scrub board." She kissed him again, this time extending the kiss until Joey started squirming against Joe's knees.
Breaking the kiss, Joe said to Joey, "Tee Joe, we've got a hot momma on our hands."
"Not as hot as she'll be if you pick up some lavender soap, and your big bear paws do what they do best when coming in contact with a soapy woman in a hot steamy shower. I remember well. In fact, I just might have to take a cold shower after you're done in there."
Joe looked askance at her. "We could save time and water by showering together."
"Or we could show extraordinary self-restraint and go to confession next Sunday and tell Father Thomas what we did not do, and make ourselves and him proud."
Joe looked at her with all the love Anne could imagine a man having in his heart, and said in all sincerity, "Darlin', there's no sacrifice too big for me to have you for my wife, and keepin' me on the straight and narrow the way you are right now tells me more about your love for me than words. I just hope I'll live up to your expectations."
"Sweetheart, you've been doing that for years." Anne held out her hand with the ring. "You're also stuck with me because this little gold knot guarantees we'll be tied together forever."
EPILOGUE
Wedding Reception - one week later
Anne sat cuddled against Joe in a lawn swing that Mary had decorated with swags of white crepe paper and pairs of silver wedding bells that opened outward like bell-shaped accordions. She looked across the cane field and wondered what was going on over there. They'd certainly know what was happening at the Broussard Ranch this afternoon, though after several hours the crowd of well-wishers had dwindled to immediate family and a few close friends.
She'd love to be a mouse in the corner and hear what her father and Nana would be saying, or if her mother would have scolded them for not attending the small ceremony. She knew her father and Nana wouldn't show up, but she hadn't expected to see her mother and sisters. That had been a complete surprise. They left the chapel before the other guests started filing out, so she didn't have a chance to invite them to the reception, though she knew they wouldn't come.
"Darlin' are you havin' second thoughts about the size of the wedding?" Joe asked when he caught her staring across the field.
Anne looked at Joe. "Are you kidding? It was perfect. Having the wedding in the chapel was like getting married in a tiny country church, and with Leona and Zenon as witnesses, and only the family present, everyone could focus on the commitment we were making to each other, not on all of the unnecessary fluff and folderol of a large wedding." She lifted her hand, along with Joe's, displaying their rings. "I feel very married now. Finally."
Joe laughed. "Sugah, I honestly thought this day would never come." He kissed her hand and held it against his thigh.
"I'm still surprised my mother and sisters showed up. At least that's a start." Anne looked across the medley of card tables and folding chairs, and at the long tables with their assortment of platters and bowls. She truly did feel married, and very much a part of the Broussard family. And the cake Mary and two cousins baked and decorated was more special than any cake they could have picked up at the bakery, with its three rectangular tiers of spun icing, frosting flowers, and with a china couple on top, which Anne would treasure above any fancy porcelain figurine that might have topped the cake if she'd married what her parents considered the right man.
She rested her head against Joe's thigh and imagined her life with him. An image came, of Joe walking toward the house from the barn, mud splattered on his face, Joey trotting along beside him, also dotted with mud, and maybe a scrappy little sister, the apple of her daddy's eye, tugging on his hand, anxious to tell Momma what they'd been doing down in the marshes. Then another image came, that same little girl scrubbed clean and wearing a frilly dress, and wanting to go to Nana's tea party.
Looking at Joe she said, with a trace of apprehension, "How would you feel if we had a little daughter who'd rather go to Nana's teas than to the marshes with you and her brothers?"
Joe eyed her with bafflement. "That's an odd thought."
"I know. It just came to me. But how would you feel?"
"Like you'd better give me lessons on what utensils to use before I make a fool of myself in front of our daughter."
"Are you just saying that or are you really serious?"
Joe kissed her on the forehead. "'Course I'm serious, sugah. House rules go for table manners too. Then maybe I'd send you out to buy new dresses for those teas so afterwards I could take the two of you to a fais do-do and show you off."
Anne looked into a pair of teasing eyes. It was all coming back. His light-hearted nature. His faithful devotion to those he loved. His strength and determination to provide for his family. She rested her head on his shoulder again and smiled in satisfaction.
Yes, she'd definitely married the right man, a man worth keeping, a man she'd stand by for better or for worse, till death do they part, and with absolute certainty she'd take those words to her grave, and beyond.
###
Thanks so much for reading
I hope you enjoyed Tall Dark Stranger. If you did please consider leaving an online review to help spread the word about my books, then email me at [email protected] and let me know so I can personally thank you. Here's the link to Amazon for Tall Dark Stranger.
Following are the first three chapters of The Final Turn, which is Book 2 in my CAJUN COWBOYS series. At the en
d of the chapters is a link to Amazon if you want to keep reading.
ACE AND PIPER'S STORY: When female jockey, Piper Harrison, challenges Henri Broussard, patriarch of the Broussard family, to a match race, while also offering to exercise his racehorses for free, she has one goal. To be the jockey to race the filly under his training. But there's one glitch in her plan. Henri's grandson, Ace, who owns the filly. He's against any dealings with a Harrison. Still, he finds himself watching Piper during her workouts, and while a multi-generational feud between their families raises more than hackles between the pair, unwanted passions draw them together, and before long, Ace sees more in Piper than just a workout rider. In fact, she might just be the jockey to take his filly to the Fair Grounds, a move that would pit the filly against Piper's father's horse. That is, if Piper's willing to chance her father's wrath when he learns exactly who's riding a Broussard horse to potential victory.
CHAPTER 1
Love does not consist in gazing at each other but in looking together in the same direction. ~ by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Fair Grounds Race Track – New Orleans, Louisiana
Piper Harrison scanned the paddock where trainers were saddling their horses in preparation for the race. While jockeys stood waiting for a leg up, her focus was on Ragamuffin, her special baby, the thoroughbred filly she'd brought to life by breathing into her nostrils after her dam gave birth to what appeared to be a lifeless foal. And now it was all for naught.
For weeks her father threatened to dispose of Rags if the filly didn't start to show some promise, and time had run out. Within the next half hour Rags would be running in a maiden claiming race where none of the entrants had won a race so they'd all be seeking their first win in the company of culls. And all were up for grabs at a set price. Prior to this day, no amount of pleading could change her father's mind, and their last argument still stung…
Tall Dark Stranger (Cajun Cowboys Book 1) Page 19
