Lost on the Bayou

by Rose Pressey

  I’d pulled out of the parking lot in a hurry. When I glanced back in the rearview mirror, Grant was standing in the same spot, but still on his phone. I’d really dodged that one. What had I been thinking? Going for a drink with him was definitely not the right thing to do.

  I was headed back into town, but I couldn’t go back to the hotel. I was restless and I knew that I wouldn’t be able to relax for some time. I kept replaying the day’s events over and over in my mind. How could I relax with all that going on in my head?

  Maybe Grant’s idea of having a beer to cool off wasn’t such a bad one. I’d just go by myself. There was a bar not far from my hotel. It was close enough to walk. I could park my car and walk over for a drink. It would give me a chance to clear my thoughts.

  I wasn’t much of a drinker and I couldn’t even remember the last time that I’d been in a bar. I hoped that I didn’t see any familiar faces when I got there. I didn’t feel like walking down memory lane tonight.

  I navigated the streets through town. The ice cream shop was still across from the high school. I’d hung out there more times than I cared to admit. Grant and I would sit and talk until the sun set and the stars popped out. Finally we’d have to go home and I’d walk the short distance.

  I still hadn’t been by my old house since I’d been back in Belle Grove. The memories and pain were just too much for me to handle. I felt pulled though because I dearly wanted to see the house. I wanted to remember and I wanted to forget at the same time.

  When I pulled up to the curb in front of the two-story red brick house, the memories played out as if on a movie screen. Playing with my father in the yard, helping my mother water the flowers that she’d tended to as if they were her children. Inside those walls we’d had many happy memories, but that was also where my mother had died. Hopelessness opened in my stomach, but then it hit me that my mother would have only wanted me to remember the good times. I hated the despair that I had allowed to settle in my soul. Was it too late to get rid of it? That brought me back to Grant and what had happened between us.

  On more than one occasion I’d spotted Grant with my best friend Debra. The day I saw Grant and Debra hugging while sitting in his car was the day that I’d decided to leave Belle Grove. I had written Grant a letter, packed my bags, and taken off for Arizona. A friend from college lived in Phoenix at the time and had let me stay at her place until I found a place of my own. Now that I’d matured, there was some regret that I hadn’t confronted Grant and Debra. There was a sliver of doubt in my mind, wondering if there had been an innocent explanation for what I’d seen. It would have been more rational of me if I’d given Grant a chance to explain. But that was in the past now and there was nothing I could do to change it. I pulled away from the curb, vowing to make some kind of change in my life.

  Finally I wheeled into the hotel parking lot. I was almost sure I was the only person staying at the hotel. Unless of course there were a few couples who were just sneaking in during the middle of the day. I locked my car and headed down the sidewalk. I didn’t bother going into my room before I headed out—I’d already decided that I was having one drink and then coming right back.

  A breeze hit me as I walked along. It didn’t last long and the humid air surrounded me again. Darkness had completely engulfed the area now.

  I finally arrived at the little bar. It wasn’t much more than a hole in the wall. But I knew all the locals loved the place. I walked in and the place was packed. The bar was to my left and pool tables were to my right. People were mostly by the tables, drinking, playing and talking. I had hoped that I could just head on over to the bar and blend in with the crowd. No one would even notice me or know that I was around. That was probably too much to ask. What had I been thinking?

  Every head turned to look at me when I stepped through the door. I’d grown up in Belle Grove, but it felt like I was a stranger in town now. They looked at me like I was an outsider. I supposed that I was now that I’d been gone for so long. You could never really go home. For a moment I thought about turning around and running out of there, but I figured once these people got an eyeful that they’d go back to their own business. At least that was my plan.

  I passed a couple men who were watching me, but I just smiled and nodded as I walked by. After a couple seconds, they offered a half-hearted smile back. That was better than nothing, I guessed. It was too late for me to run away now though. I’d just go to the bar, get my drink and be done. It wasn’t like they were going to eat me alive. I just hated being the center of attention.

  I approached the bar and took a seat. There was another man sitting at the end of the bar. Other than that, I was alone there.

  The bartender approached. He didn’t seem to think twice about my presence in the bar.

  “What can I get for you?” he asked.

  “I’ll take a beer,” I said.

  He nodded and turned around. After a couple seconds he returned with my drink. He placed it down in front of me and I handed him the cash. I took a drink, but couldn’t help but feeling that eyes were focused on the back of my head. I grabbed my beer and spun around on the stool, looking out over the crowd. Much to my relief, no one seemed to be watching me now. Thank goodness that was over.

  But I knew that I’d felt eyes on me because when I looked across the room, I spotted the men. I recognized one of them. It was Porter Brennan. He was the last person I wanted to see after the way he’d acted at the diner. It made me feel extremely uncomfortable. I took a drink and pretended like I wasn’t interested in the fact that the men were watching me. After a couple seconds, I had to look over at them again. They were still watching and I was sure they were talking about me.

  Okay, maybe if I turned around they would take a hint and stop watching me. I spun back around and focused my attention on the bottles of liquor on the shelves in front of me. I would take a few more drinks and then just leave. The beer wasn’t that good anyway. I should have just gotten chocolate instead. Maybe I could stop by the little store on the corner on my way back to the hotel for a chocolate fix.

  I took a couple more drinks and decided that was enough. I’d hung around long enough and it was time for me to get the heck out of there.

  Just as the thought had entered my mind, I felt someone walk up to my left and then someone was on my right. When I looked to my left, Porter Brennan had slid onto the stool next to me. His eyes were focused on me. To my right, the other man had taken the other stool. I was now surrounded and my anxiety increased. This wasn’t the situation I wanted to be in. I looked straight ahead, as if I ignored them they would go away. I knew that was too good to be true though. They weren’t going anywhere.

  “How are you this evening?” Porter’s words dripped with sarcasm.

  I glanced to my left and said, “I’m fine.” I didn’t ask how he was because right now I really didn’t care.

  “So what brings you here tonight?”

  That was kind of a dumb question. Wasn’t it obvious that I was here for a drink?

  I avoided looking his way. “Just came for a beer.”

  He leaned over closer to me. “A pretty girl like you shouldn’t be in here all alone.”

  Gosh, I wanted to push him off that bar stool. Who did he think he was? What a creep. I needed to get out of there. I wondered if I got up to leave if they would try to stop me. I would use the self-defense moves that I’d learned if I had to. He had no right to talk to me this way.

  “What brings you back to town?” he asked.

  That was none of his business. “I’m from Belle Grove,” I said.

  “Oh, yeah. Are you here looking for your uncle?” he asked.

  I cut a sharp look his way. What did he care if I was looking for my uncle?

  He reached over and touched my arm. I yanked my arm away and glared at him.

  “Is everything okay here?” the voice said from behind us.

  The three of us whipped around all at once. Grant was standing behind
us. Was I glad to see him. I guess he’d decided to come for that beer too. Now I was kind of embarrassed that I’d come here. He’d think that I was here for him. That certainly wasn’t the case at all. The men glared at Grant.

  “We’re just having a drink and talking with the young lady.” Porter leaned back against the bar and crossed his arms over his chest.

  “I wasn’t talking to you,” Grant snapped.

  The men frowned in unison, but didn’t say anything in return.

  I nodded and said, “I’m fine.”

  My voice didn’t sound so sure though. By the look on Grant’s face, he sensed that too. The men turned around and took one last drink from their bottles. Then they stood and walked away, not before giving Grant one last dirty look though. Grant didn’t seem to let their glares intimidate him. I’d never seen this tough side of him before.

  He met my gaze. “I’ll be back in just a moment.”

  I nodded and watched as he took off toward the men. Whatever happened, I hoped they didn’t start a bar fight. I didn’t know what I’d do. I couldn’t let Grant fight these men alone, but I was pretty sure I would need more than self-defense moves to take part in a bar fight. I envisioned picking up one of those pool sticks and hitting the guy over the head.

  Grant followed the men back to the spot where they’d been standing before. He talked with the men, but there wasn’t a fight. They didn’t look happy with him though. They nodded and then Grant turned and walked back across the bar.

  Before Grant had even made it back to the bar, they started walking behind him. I wanted to rush out and push them away. Instead I pointed when Grant looked at me. He turned around and took a defensive stance. The men didn’t stop though, instead they continued walking and went out the door without looking back. They hadn’t even looked over at me when they left. I wasn’t sure what Grant had said to them, but I was glad he did. There was no telling what would have happened if he hadn’t shown up.

  Grant closed the distance between us and was standing in front of me. “I don’t think they’ll be bothering you any longer.” Oh, wow, my knight in shining armor.

  I guessed I should be thankful though, so I said, “Thank you. I don’t know what their problem is.”

  “Do you mind if I sit down?” He gestured beside me.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Grant wouldn’t tolerate anyone messing with Chloe

  Closing the distance between us, I sat on the stool next to her. It was strange being in this setting with her. It was more relaxing, and we were drinking.

  “Would you like another drink?” I asked her.

  She shook her head. “No, thanks. One is enough for tonight.”

  The bartender approached and I ordered a beer. Chloe didn’t say anything as the bartender came back with my drink. I took a drink and contemplated what I should say. The last thing I needed was to stick my foot in my mouth. I placed my bottle on the counter and looked over at her. She finally looked at me and smiled.

  “So what did they say?” I gestured with a tilt of my head.

  She shook her head and waved her hand. “They wanted to know why I was in town. I got the impression that they didn’t want me here.”

  That made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. It had sounded a lot like what Gina had said to me. Was there a connection? The man who was with the inspector didn’t look anything like the man we’d seen at the office. Besides, Chloe would have recognized him too. I had to tell her about Gina’s call.

  I took another swig and let the words settle in my mind. Finally, placed the bottle down and said, “There’s something I came to tell you.”

  She quirked a brow. “Oh, yeah? What’s that?”

  I hated to worry her, but how would I forgive myself if something happened to her and I hadn’t shared every detail with her? I couldn’t go on knowing that I’d let her down twice. This was my chance to make everything up to her and I was going to give it my best shot. She was staring at me and I knew I had to say something soon.

  “Gina called me. She was the call I received when we were together earlier.”

  Chloe scrunched her brow. “Okay? What’s wrong with her?”

  “There’s nothing wrong with her exactly.”

  The bartender approached. “Another round?”

  Chloe nodded. “Maybe I’d better have another beer after all. Something tells me I’m not going to like what you have to say.”

  I held up two fingers. “Bring us a couple more.”

  I took the last swig from my bottle. I knew Chloe’s stare was on me and that she wanted to know what I had to say. I was just stalling at this point.

  “Are you going to finish telling me about the call?” she asked with frustration in her voice. “What did Gina want?”

  “There was a man who approached her earlier today. I think her description of the guy sounded a lot like the one we saw at my office door.” I watched for Chloe’s reaction.

  Her expression darkened. This was a bad sign and I knew right away that Chloe was thinking the worst. How could she not? The bartender brought the beers over and Chloe immediately took a big drink. If she wasn’t careful I’d have to carry her out of here. She never could hold her liquor.

  I took a drink and then said, “I guess I should remind you that we don’t know for sure that this was the same man.”

  She waved her hand. “Oh, of course it is, that’s just the way my luck goes. I wouldn’t expect anything less. What did he want?” she asked.

  “The man was asking about you. He wanted to know why you were in town and about your uncle too,” I said.

  “I can’t believe you don’t know who this man is. I’ve been gone for ten years so it’s understandable that I wouldn’t know him, but you should.” She pointed her bottle at me.

  “Well, the population has doubled in the past few years. If I saw his face I’d probably know who it was.”

  “So what does that mean?” she asked, then took another big drink.

  I watched her pretty face in the light and longed to know what she was really thinking. In one sense it was as if an eternity had passed since I’d seen her, and in another it was as if all those years in between had never happened. I liked having Chloe back and I wished there was a way that she would stay. It wasn’t just Chloe’s good looks that got me, but her smile, her laugh, her personality, all of it pushed my buttons in a very good way. Her beauty held a sweetness that completely sucked me in.

  Finally I said, “I think your uncle didn’t leave on his own.”

  She stared at me for a moment and then said, “I’m glad you finally agree with me. It seems like no one else really cares about him. Other than Gina. I’m just glad she called me when she did.”

  “I’ll help you any way I can.”

  Chloe offered a little smile. “I appreciate that. What does anyone care if I’m looking for my uncle, anyway? They should have expected that family would come to town if he didn’t answer calls.”

  “Maybe they didn’t think he had family since you don’t live here anymore.”

  She looked at me out of the corner of her eye. I’d just reminded her that she’d left town—that was probably not the best choice of words. “What can we do?” she asked, not mentioning what I’d just said.

  “I suppose we need to find out who this man is,” I said.

  “Where do we even start that? Can you ask around town?” she asked.

  I nodded. “I’ll find out who he is. It’s still a small town and I know someone will know him.”

  “Thanks,” she said softly.

  “I know your uncle will appreciate that you came all this way to look for him,” I said.

  Chloe picked at the label on her bottle. “Yeah, well, he’s been wanting me to come back to town anyway.”

  “You didn’t want to?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

  She didn’t look over at me. “I was too busy to come back.”

  I took another drink. “You’ve been v
ery busy writing, I see.”

  “It’s what I love to do,” she said.

  I decided not to pressure her into talking about anything that made her uncomfortable so I steered the conversation back to her uncle.

  “I left a message for my brother,” I offered.

  “What can he do?” she said a little harshly. “I’m sorry,” she said immediately after. “I mean, the police didn’t seem to want to take it seriously that he didn’t leave on his own. So what do you think your brother can do?”

  “I understand that you’re frustrated, but he’ll listen. His hands might be a little tied on what he can do officially, but that doesn’t mean he won’t help any way that he can,” I said.

  She nodded. “I truly appreciate it. I don’t want to get him in trouble though.”

  “He’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”

  Silence settled over us. I’d been so consumed in our conversation that I’d almost forgotten that we were in the bar surrounded by a lot of people. No one was paying attention to us though. They were all focused with their games of pool and drinks. We drank our beers in silence as I tried to think of what to say next. There was a ton of questions I wanted to ask, but didn’t know if she wanted to answer. I felt her glancing over at me several times as if she wanted to speak.

  I knew I had to break the silence. Finally, I turned to her and said, “Would you like to go for a walk?”

  If she said no then I’d have to walk out of there with my head hung low, but what did I have to lose? The silence had settled over us again and I was having doubts on whether I should have asked. She took a drink from her beer and didn’t look over at me. I wondered if she’d even heard me. At that moment I decided I would ask again if she said no.

  Just when I was about to ask again she turned to look at me. A little grin slid across her face. “Sure, I’d like that. The smoke in here is getting to me anyway.”

  I honestly hadn’t expected her to say yes, but I was glad that she had.

  “Do you want to finish your beer first?” She gestured toward the counter.