Lost on the Bayou

by Rose Pressey

  No one was in the office right now. I plopped down at my desk and looked at a few papers. I shoved them out of the way and leaned my head back against my chair and closed my eyes. It didn’t help though because I couldn’t stop thinking of Chloe and wondering what she was doing or if she was in danger. Being here was doing nothing and was getting me nowhere. There was only one thing I could do to change the current situation, I had to go find her. I jumped up from my desk and back to my truck.

  I retraced my path and made it back into town. When I passed the diner again most of all the police cars were gone. I couldn’t imagine how stunned the diners must have been when they witnessed Gina being killed. What if Chloe had been there when it happened? She might have been shot too. I didn’t even want to think about it.

  I wasn’t sure where to even look for Chloe. I didn’t know what was going on in her head. I turned into the hotel parking lot, but after circling around the whole space I didn’t see her car. I turned down a few streets aimlessly. I was beginning to think that this was a pointless trip. I was thinking about giving up when I spotted a car that looked exactly like Chloe’s. I wasn’t sure, so I circled the block and pulled up behind the car. When I walked over to the window and looked in, I wasn’t sure it was her car. The part that was most upsetting was if this was her, she was parked in front of the inspector’s building. I prayed that she hadn’t gone in there to talk with him.

  I made it around the car and up the steps of the building. Wouldn’t he be surprised to see me again so soon. There was no one around, so I made my way down the hall toward his office. My stomach turned just thinking about Chloe confronting this guy. After the way he’d acted at the bar I didn’t want her anywhere around him. This jerk needed to be put in his place and I was ready to do it. I marched toward his door on a mission. The door was closed and my stomach did a flip.

  I really started to freak out when I heard Chloe’s voice from the other side of the door. She had come here after all. I turned the knob, but the door was locked. The creep had her in there with the door locked. She was telling him to get off of her, so I knew this was a life-or-death situation. Thank goodness I had shown up.

  I didn’t bother knocking because I knew he wouldn’t answer the door. But that left me little choice on what I could do. I had only one option as far as I could tell.

  I moved back away from the door and then ran full force at it. The door broke open in a clean cut. Chloe was sitting at the chair with the inspector with his hands on her. She was attempting to push him away. And based on the position of her leg I thought she was ready to give him a hit to the groin. I closed the distance between us in two steps. His eyes widened when he looked up and saw me coming toward him. I was going to pound him into the ground.

  I pulled my fist back and slammed it into the inspector’s jaw. He stumbled back, holding his face. Chloe jumped up and ran for the door. I grabbed him by his shirt and yanked him to his feet. He stared at me with wide eyes.

  “I don’t want to ever see you touching her again. Do you understand?”

  He nodded, but didn’t speak. I shoved him and he fell to the floor again. He was lucky I didn’t hit him again. I stared at him for a moment longer and then turned for the door. Chloe had already walked out.

  When I reached the hallway, I spotted Chloe. I raced after her. When I called out she didn’t turn around. Finally, I reached her and grabbed her arm. She reached her arm back and smacked me. I groaned and held my face.

  Her hand flew to her mouth. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know it was you.”

  “That’s okay. You’ve got quite a punch.”

  She shrugged. “He had me cornered back there or I would have punched him.”

  “No need to worry about him, I don’t think he’ll bother you again,” I said.

  “What did you do to him?” she asked.

  “I just told him the way that it was going to be. How I expect him to treat you from now on.”

  She nodded.

  “Why did you go there?” I asked.

  She shook her head.

  I crossed my arms in front of my chest. “Come on, why don’t you tell me?”

  “I just feel like he knows about my uncle. I wanted to know why he told me to get out of here,” she said.

  “What did he say to you?” I asked.

  “He told me to mind my own business. That was the extent of the conversation before he decided to turn violent.”

  I touched her arm and a shiver went down my spine. “Come on, let me drive you back to your hotel. You don’t need to drive right now. You’re too stressed. I’ll bring you back to your car later.”

  She stared for a beat and then nodded. “Okay.”

  I hoped she didn’t think I had suggested taking her back there because I expected anything to happen between us. Nevertheless, she had agreed and that was all that mattered at the moment. We walked to my truck and I held the door open for her.

  “Thanks,” she said softly. She leaned her head against the truck’s seat and released a deep breath. “I can’t believe that guy. Has he always been that way?”

  I turned onto the side street. “He has been an ass since he got to town.”

  “Why does he still have a job here?” she asked.

  “That’s a good question,” I said.

  We pulled into the hotel parking lot and I shoved the truck into park. She stared straight ahead for a moment.

  “I can come back and get you when you need your car,” I offered.

  She looked at me. “Would you like to come in?”

  Maybe I sounded crazy, but I was almost ready to say no. I didn’t want her to think that I was just trying to get a kiss from her. Not that she was inviting me in for that reason. Hell, this whole thing was too damn confusing.

  Finally, I shut off the ignition. “Yes, I’d like that.” What could I say? After all, I was a man and I wasn’t going to turn down her invitation.

  “I just need to take a shower and then you can take me back to my car. I need to wash off the awful feeling he left on me.”

  I followed her into the room. In spite of the sun outside the room was dim.

  She set her purse on the table. “I’m just going to take a shower.” She motioned over her shoulder. “You can watch TV or something if you’d like.”

  I smiled. “Thanks.”

  She disappeared into the bathroom and I tried to distract myself with the TV. Flashes of her body ran through my mind. The water running didn’t help to stop the thoughts either. I imagined the water running over every curve of her body. I shook off the thought. I needed to take a cold shower. I had to stop thinking about Chloe, but that was virtually impossible.

  After a couple more minutes Chloe appeared from the bathroom. She was wearing a pink fuzzy robe and her hair was wet. She looked just as beautiful as ever.

  She smiled and shrugged. “You like the bunnies?” She pointed at the white rabbits on her robe.

  “Cute,” I said with a smile.

  She sat on the edge of the bed and I moved closer to her.

  “What are you thinking?” she asked.

  I touched her hand. “About how beautiful you are and what a fool I am for letting you go.”

  I leaned close and pressed my lips against hers.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chloe wonders why she wasted all this time

  I couldn’t believe that his lips were on mine again. He moved his mouth over mine with ease and it was as if this was where I belonged all along. I had missed out on this for the past ten years. He was definitely making up for that lost time now.

  Grant ran his hands through my hair as his tongue traveled along with mine. I’d never had a kiss like this before. Grant nibbled on my bottom lip. I felt him smile and then he brushed his full lips over mine again. I couldn’t have stopped for a million dollars.

  As his mouth moved across mine, his hands traced along my arms, and then he caressed my face. His hands gently caressed the expose
d parts of my skin, all the while moving his lips down to my neck and back up to my lips. I released a soft moan and he kissed me hard again. He leaned his head back and stared into my eyes, then pressed his mouth against mine again. His lips were soft and warm and I hoped he wouldn’t stop. Grant pulled me closer and pressed his hard chest against my breasts. His body felt so good next to mine and all I wanted was to feel him naked.

  As he pulled me closer, we moved back onto the bed. I tossed the cover out of the way and Grant moved his body on top of mine. His hands were in my hair as he moved his lips on my neck and then down to my cleavage. His luscious lips wandered over my body, licking, sucking and teasing. My hands roamed over his chest and down to his hard stomach. Grant’s low groan of approval vibrated through my body. What would it feel like to touch his bare skin? I wanted to find out and I wanted to rip his shirt off right then. Grant’s hands had found their way to my breasts. He lightly caressed them through my robe.

  Grant watched me, gauging my reaction. I gave him the silent signal that we should remove the clothing right away. He slowly untied my robe and released a deep breath when he looked at my exposed skin. Our eyes were locked on each other. I tugged at his shirt and he pulled it the rest of the way over his head. I unbuttoned his jeans and he pulled them the rest of the way off. Grant was fully aroused. He tossed the jeans on the floor and came back to bed, lying on top of me again. We kissed again with our bodies intertwined.

  The feel of his naked body against mine sent me into overdrive. I’d forgotten about all the reasons I didn’t want this to happen. His hands traveled across my body and I closed my eyes and enjoyed the feel of his hands. We didn’t speak, but no words were needed. I wanted him and I knew that he wanted me too. Our bodies fit together and we moved in sync.

  The time slipped away as we enjoyed each other’s bodies. Grant held me in his arms and we drifted off to sleep.

  *

  I woke when a sliver of light splashed through a crack in the curtain. My mind was foggy, but when I looked over at the other side of the bed, I realized that it hadn’t been a dream. The old feelings kept trying to come back, but I’d loved every minute that we had shared last night and I wanted to finally push the past away for good. The emotions of what had happened over the past few days overwhelmed me and I’d found comfort in Grant’s arms.

  Maybe Grant and I really could have a fresh start. Last night could have been just the beginning for us. Would he feel the same way? By the smile on his face I could tell the answer was yes.

  “Good morning,” he said as he touched my cheek. “How are you?”

  I smiled. I was giddy, but I couldn’t admit that to him. “I’m good,” I offered instead.

  He leaned up in bed. “What time is it?”

  “It’s eight,” I said.

  “I’m late for work and I still need to go home, shower, and get my uniform.”

  I frowned and he touched my face again.

  “I wish you didn’t have to go.”

  “I’ll see you tonight after work?” he asked.

  I smiled and nodded. “I’d like that.”

  I couldn’t keep myself from smiling. He climbed out of bed and retrieved his clothing. I couldn’t take my eyes off his muscular body.

  “I should take you to your car,” he said as he touched my arm.

  I grabbed my robe and hurried into it. “Just let me get dressed,” I said as I hopped up.

  He pulled me close to him and kissed me again. I pushed him away. “You’re going to be late.”

  He groaned playfully as I grabbed my clothing and headed for the bathroom. After a couple minutes, we were in his truck and headed toward my car.

  “Last night was the most amazing night of my life,” he said.

  I couldn’t stop smiling.

  He pulled behind my car and jumped out when I opened my door. He rushed over and helped me out of the truck.

  “I had a great time,” I said.

  He touched my face. “I’ll call you soon so we can make plans for tonight.”

  I wanted to see him, but I hoped he hadn’t forgotten that I was still on a mission to find my uncle. I nodded. “Have a great day.”

  “I will as long as I’m thinking of you,” he said.

  I waved and then climbed behind the wheel of my car. I tried not to look over at the inspector’s building. I had to decide what to do from here. Things had definitely changed between Grant and me. What would I do? As wonderful as it had been last night, I couldn’t change the fact that I lived in Arizona now. I wondered if Grant would leave Belle Grove? No way. His life was the bayou and last time I checked there were no bayous in Arizona. I couldn’t just move because of one night, but the thought of not seeing Grant again made me sick to my stomach. I tried to push the thought out of my mind and just enjoy my time with him right now.

  I drove back to the hotel and when I walked in all I could think about was Grant’s body in my bed. Maybe if I grabbed breakfast I could shake the thought. There was no way I could go back to the diner after what had happened to Gina, but for all I knew the place wasn’t even open today.

  I jumped in the shower and then dressed. When I stepped over to the window, I noticed Grant’s wallet on the table. He’d forgotten it. I supposed he would need it today which meant that I’d have to take it to him.

  I grabbed my purse and keys and headed toward his office. I still couldn’t wrap my mind around what had happened. Maybe he’d left the wallet there so I’d have an excuse to come and see him while he was at work. That was fine with me, although I needed to spend the day trying to find my uncle. I’d give Grant the wallet and then hurry out of there. We would see each other tonight. My stomach did a little dance just thinking about it. When I glanced in the mirror, I saw the silly smile on my face, but couldn’t make it stop.

  I reached the parking lot and pulled in. I spotted Grant’s truck, so I pulled into the spot next to him. I shoved the car into park and then headed around the car toward his office. I walked up the path. When I glanced over I spotted my uncle’s boat was in the same spot as when I’d taken it out on the water. I hadn’t been back here since that night when we’d seen the man at Grant’s door. It seemed that we would never find out who that was, or who the men had been on the boat. I knew one of them looked a lot like the inspector, but it had been far away so I wasn’t sure.

  I focused my attention on his office again, but I stopped in my tracks when I saw him. Grant wasn’t alone. He was talking with a woman. Her back was facing me and Grant hadn’t noticed me. There wasn’t anything odd about that until he reached out and hugged her.

  That wasn’t what I’d wanted to see. Who was this woman? The embrace was more than I could handle, so I turned around and hurried away. I didn’t want him to know that I’d been there. When I reached his truck, I tossed his wallet into the open window.

  Now we had no reason to see each other again. What had I been thinking by allowing myself to get wrapped up with Grant Kenner again? I truly was a fool for falling for him again. It was still the same and nothing had changed. I should have known better, but I was too stupid to see. One trip back to Belle Grove and I’d fallen into his trap again. I hoped he didn’t hear my car as I turned the key. What did he care if I was here anyway? The sooner I got out of there the better off I’d be.

  I pulled the car out and took off for the street. When I glanced in the rear-view mirror, I noticed Grant running toward my car. There was a car driving by, so I couldn’t pull out right away. I hoped that I could pull out before he reached my car. He was calling out to me, but I didn’t want to talk to him. Finally, the car drove past and I pulled out onto the street in a hurry. When I glanced back, Grant had stopped running. He threw his hands up in the air, and then I drove out of sight.

  I headed back to my room to pack. Maybe it was the wrong thing to do since I hadn’t found my uncle, but I didn’t know what else to do at this point. The police wouldn’t report him missing and now Gina was dead. Th
ere was nothing else left for me in Belle Grove. I would try to find him from my house in Arizona. I shoved my belongings into my bags and headed out to my car. I shoved the bags in the trunk and then looked around the room one last time to see if I’d missed anything.

  Flashes of the night before went through my mind. I cursed under my breath. A curl of anger whirled in my gut. A crimson haze surrounded my vision, but at the same time, tears burned the back of my throat. They were tears of sadness and disappointment, not from anger. The anger I felt was mostly frustration at myself for falling for Grant’s act. Just then my cell phone rang. I looked at the number and saw that it was Grant. There was no way I was going to answer his call. I had to get out of there because he might come to my room soon. What did he care if I left anyway? He needed to leave me alone for good. There was nothing left for us to say to each other.

  I closed the door behind me and headed to the office to turn in my key. Disappointment rushed through me that I couldn’t help my uncle. I had let him down. I’d come to Belle Grove to find him, not get involved with the likes of Grant Kenner. When I stepped into the office the woman was behind the desk. She smiled as if she had a secret.

  “Is everything okay?” she asked.

  I nodded. “I’m checking out now.”

  Her eyebrow shot up. “So soon?”

  I nodded, but didn’t offer an explanation. She could ask Grant the reason behind my sudden departure.

  After handing over the key, I got out of there before she had a chance to ask any more questions. As I walked back to my car, my cell rang again. I felt like tossing the phone into the nearest trash can. Why did he even bother calling when he should have known that I wouldn’t answer? I groaned as I looked down at it again. That was when I realized that it wasn’t Grant’s number this time.

  I recognized the number right away. It was my uncle.

  My hand shook as I answered the call.

  “Is it you?” I asked.

  Chapter Thirty

  Grant doesn’t want history to repeat itself