Michelle gave a throaty laugh as they fell onto the mattress together, arms and legs entwined. “You don’t like my taste in bed linens?” she asked, amused.
Gator began unbuttoning her shirt. “It’s a bit fussy.”
As soon as they were naked, Gator captured Michelle’s face in his hands and kissed her deeply. He did not take his time as he usually did, and Michelle, trying to follow his lead, was as unrestrained as him. She wondered if it was Gator’s way of saying goodbye, of wanting to leave her with a memory of him that she was not likely to forget. They climaxed together.
He kissed her then, tenderly, stroking her bottom lip with his tongue, their warm breath uniting just as their bodies had a moment before. Michelle felt a lump in her throat.
Without a word, Gator rolled off of her, captured her in his arms, and pulled her close. He stroked her hair and stared at the ceiling long and hard, as though it held the answers to the questions bouncing around in his head. He wished things could be different, but Mic had built a life for herself that was very much unlike what he would choose for himself. He could not envision Michelle living on a houseboat or picking up and moving whenever the urge hit him. She belonged in a nice house with a perfectly manicured lawn and a husband who came home to her every night. She deserved babies and fresh flowers and a place to store her delicate treasures.
She deserved a better man than he could ever be.
For a long time they merely lay there, each of them caught up in their own thoughts. Finally, Michelle drifted off to sleep. She was vaguely aware when Gator climbed quietly from the bed and stepped into his clothes. She feigned sleep when he kissed her tenderly on her forehead, and she didn’t budge when she heard the front door close behind him. She got up to lock it, only to find the key on the floor of her laminated entry, only inches from the door. Gator had locked the deadbolt from the other side and shoved the key beneath the door to her side. She picked it up and put it on the table next to the door where she normally kept it. Finally, she headed back to bed.
She lay in bed for more than an hour thinking about Gator. At sixteen, she had run away from him, fearing what might happen if she let down her guard. Later, she had fantasized what it would feel like to lie naked in his arms. She had lived the fantasy, and it had been even better than she could have imagined.
She reached for the alarm clock on her nightstand and mentally closed that chapter in her life.
#
Gator’s mood was dark when he parked in front of the sheriff’s office the following morning, having slept only a couple of hours the night before. He had arrived home after midnight and gone to bed with hopes of catching up on his sleep. It had proved fruitless. Every time he closed his eyes he saw Michelle’s face.
His office was a hole in the wall, with two jail cells and a couple of battered metal desks. He stepped inside and was surprised to find several kids sitting on the hard plastic chairs in the waiting area, none of them more than thirteen or fourteen years old. His deputy came to attention at the sight of him.
“You got visitors, Sheriff,” he said.
“So I see.” Gator regarded the group of boys with an obvious lack of interest. He recognized them. They were refugees from the pool hall he’d closed down. “What can I do for you?” he asked, going over to his desk and sitting down. He propped his legs up and waited as all three approached him.
“You’re Sheriff Landry, ain’t you?” one of them said.
“That’s right.”
“My name’s Billy Wilcox. This here is Ted and Bart Johnston.”
“I know who you are,” Gator said curtly. “What do you want?”
“You closed down the pool hall.”
“Yeah, I did.”
Billy folded his arms over his chest. “Mind telling us why?”
“Because I felt like it.” He did not bother to add that it was a roach-infested dump or that he knew the owner served under-aged teenagers. He didn’t owe them or anybody else an explanation. “Any more questions?”
“Yeah,” Billy said. “Mind telling us where we’re supposed to go now without a pool hall?”
Gator shrugged. “Not my problem, kid.”
Billy Wilcox’s face reddened. “Look, we didn’t touch your old lady. The guy responsible for messin’ with the old people in this town is long gone now, moved up north. It ain’t fair to punish the rest of us because of what he did.”
Gator didn’t know whether to believe him or not, and he was almost sorry to hear that his mother’s attacker might have left town before he could get his hands on him. But it would explain why there hadn’t been any recent robberies of the town’s older citizens. “Thanks for the tip,” Gator said. “Now, go on home because I’m busy.”
“We want the pool hall reopened.”
“No.”
“We’ll clean it up, get rid of the roaches.”
Gator was clearly surprised. He studied the boy for a moment, thinking he was kind of gutsy for coming in to talk to him. He could almost see himself in those defiant eyes, the stubborn tilt of the chin. “Then what? Go back to drinking when you’re not anywhere close to twenty-one? I don’t have time to mess with you kids.”
“You could always get one or two of your deputies to come by from time to time to make sure nothing illegal is going on.”
Gator scoffed at the idea. “My deputies and I are not babysitters. Besides—” He paused. “I’m officially resigning in a few days. You’ll have to wait and talk to the new sheriff.”
The boy grunted. “It figures. Folks said you’d never stay. They said you would never be the man your daddy was.”
One of the younger boys stepped forward. “Nobody cares about this town, and they sure don’t care about us. There ain’t nothing to do. My mama said that’s why so many girls get into trouble.”
“Is that so?” Gator said. “Well, you can tell your mama that the reason so many girls get pregnant is because they don’t take precautions.”
Billy Wilcox looked at his friends. “Let’s go. We’re wasting our time.” He yanked open the door, and they filed out, one-by-one.
Gator’s deputy shook his head. “Smart-aleck kid. Somebody needs to take a hickory switch to his hide and teach him some manners.”
“I don’t know,” Gator said, staring at the door through which the boys had just exited. He felt as though he’d been kicked in the gut. “Maybe the kid knows what he’s talking about.”
#
Michelle eyed Jeffrey over the rim of her coffee cup as she sat across from him in the hospital cafeteria. He hadn’t stopped whining and complaining since they’d taken their seats. Her head ached. They’d had bus-accident victims in early that morning, and they had just finished with the last patient. She’d been too tired to eat, so she’d taken only a cup of coffee from the line, hoping the caffeine would revive her.
“… I just can’t take it anymore, Michelle,” Jeffrey said, covering his eyes with one hand. “I don’t know what I saw in the woman in the first place. All she does is cry and complain. Her ankles are swollen, she can’t sleep at night, and she has indigestion all the time. It’s driving me up the wall.”
“Pregnant women are very emotional, Jeffrey,” she said. “You’ll just have to be patient.”
“You wouldn’t act like that, Michelle. You’re always so cool and calm. You’d just accept it and try to make the best of it.”
She offered him a wry smile. “Don’t be too sure about that. I’ll probably do my share of complaining when the time comes.”
Jeffrey didn’t seem to be listening. “I thought I’d go crazy while you were gone,” he went on. “Please don’t up and leave like that again without telling me.”
Michelle frowned. Leave it to Jeffrey to forget a dangerous hurricane had sent her to Temptation, Louisiana, and that he had no right to expect her to get his approval before leaving town. She had been as patient with him as she could, but she was fast losing it.
“Listen up, Jeffrey,” she said. “If y
ou and your wife are having marital problems that’s between the two of you and has nothing to do with me. I can’t help you. Take her to dinner or a movie. Do something nice for her. You’d be surprised how far a little kindness goes.”
“Yeah, right.” His tone was sarcastic.
“You made the decision to marry her.”
“I had no choice.”
“Everybody has choices.” Michelle was surprised by her own words. Now where had she heard that before? She ignored Jeffrey’s hurt expression. “There is an opening in the OR,” she said. “I’ve applied for the position.”
He was clearly shocked. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I only learned about it this morning. We didn’t have time to chat once the bus-accident victims arrived.”
“You just decided to leave the ER without discussing it with me first?”
“I saw no reason to discuss it.”
He leaned forward. “But, Michelle, I need you in emergency. You’re the best nurse I’ve got. How can you do this to me?” He sounded desperate.
Michelle was clearly surprised by his response. The man acted as though her decision was a personal attack against him, when, in fact, it had absolutely nothing to do with him. He obviously hadn’t listened all those times she’d told him she needed a change, all those times she’d shared her goals with him. But then, he’d always been so wrapped up in his own problems, how could he have possibly heard?
“I’m sorry, Jeffrey, but I can’t put my life on hold simply because you need a shoulder to cry on from time to time. Again, you should be talking to your wife, not me.” She pushed her chair from the table and stood. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll get a sandwich before I head back to the ER. Would you care for anything?”
He looked like a child who’d just had his favorite toy taken from him. “No thanks. I’ve suddenly lost my appetite.”
Michelle smiled and patted him on the shoulder. “It’ll come back. And tomorrow you’ll have a whole new set of problems to fret over.” She hurried to the serving line, leaving him slumped in his chair.
#
Gator slammed the telephone down so hard that both deputies glanced up from their paperwork in surprise. One of them grinned.
“What’s s’matter, still can’t reach her?”
Gator shot him a dark look. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
The deputy chuckled and ran one meaty hand over his balding head. “You ain’t fooling nobody, Sheriff. We all know you’re chasing after some woman from Baton Rouge. What’s the problem?”
Gator crossed his arms over his chest. He was making a fool out of himself over Michelle, just as he’d known he would. How could she have done this to him, reduced him to a sniveling, lovesick adolescent? She’d been gone one week now, and he was half crazy missing her. He was certain the whole town was having a good laugh over it, especially the folks at the Night Life Lounge, since he never stopped by anymore. Twice now he’d driven six blocks out of his way just to keep from passing it. If his friends found out he was going home every night to pine away over some woman, he’d never live it down.
“She’s never home,” Gator finally said. “That’s the problem.”
“Oh, so she’s got a busy social life, eh?”
Gator shrugged. “I figure she’s working. You know how nurses are, dedicated and all.”
The deputy snickered, but swallowed his laughter when Gator glowered at him. “Yeah, you’re probably right, Sheriff,” he agreed.
“And she’s involved in some youth program up there. It takes a lot of her time.” Gator didn’t know who he was trying to convince, his deputy or himself.
He shoved his chair from his desk and stood. He had no idea why he was trying to call Michelle in the first place. What would he say? As for her, he wondered if she would hang up on him.
He needed something to take his mind off her, he thought, until he made some decisions. Decisions that he should have made a week ago. Getting her out of town hadn’t helped. All he did these days when he got off work was sit on the deck of his houseboat and stare off into space. His mother had asked him twice if he was coming down with something.
Every time he closed his eyes he saw Michelle as she’d looked the last time they had made love, and the way she’d pretended to be asleep when he left. She had not bothered to contact him because she was too proud, and because, unlike him, she had a full life. Why he ever thought she might try to fence him in was beyond him. She was more subtle. She would make it so damn good for a man that he couldn’t stay away.
Damn woman! What did she think she was doing? She had no right to step into his life after sixteen years and turn it upside down and inside out. She had no right to make him fall head over heels in love with her.
“I’m leaving for the day,” he said, rounding his desk, “and I don’t want nobody to come looking for me.” Gator slammed out the door a moment later, leaving the deputies grinning at their desks.
He drove for close to an hour, measuring the town’s progress as he went. He’d busted his butt over the past week; once again putting off his resignation when he saw how much there was still left to be done. It made him feel good in a way to know he had a hand in the recovery.
Gator pulled up alongside the brick building that used to house the pool hall. Pitiful-looking building, he thought. Nobody had ever tried to take care of it. The back door was torn completely off its hinges, a result of the storm, no doubt.
Gator stepped inside and squinted against the darkness. It was a big room, but about as shabby as they came. Heaven only knew when it had seen its last coat of paint. The pool tables were worthless, revealing rotting wood where they’d been stripped of their stained green felt. Somebody ought to do something about the place, he thought.
“What’cha doin’ here, Sheriff?”
Gator almost jumped out of his skin at the sound of the voice. He turned quickly on his heels and saw someone sitting in the shadows. There was movement, and a second later, a young boy stepped into the light streaming in from a broken window. Gator recognized the boy who’d come into his office a week ago, Billy Wilcox.
Gator sighed his relief. “You sneak up on me like that again, and I’ll lock you in the back of my patrol car,” he said, although he was half smiling.
The boy smirked. “Aw, you ain’t so tough, Sheriff. Not as tough as my old man. He could whip your ass in a heartbeat.”
“Watch your language, kid,” Gator said. He studied the young face before him. “Did your daddy give you that black eye?” When the boy didn’t answer, he went on. “Is that why you’re hiding out here with the roaches?”
The boy looked partly embarrassed, partly scared. “Naw, I fell.”
“Sure you did.” Gator paused. “That’s what I used to tell folks when my old man got rough with me,” he said.
“Your daddy hit you?” Billy said in disbelief. “I thought he was supposed to be the greatest sheriff in the whole danged world.”
“Yeah, that’s what everybody thought.” Gator looked around the room, then returned his attention to the boy. “I think I know your daddy. He hangs out at the Night Life Lounge. Drinks a little, huh?”
The boy gave a hoot of a laugh. “My old man ain’t never drank a little of nothin’.” His look sobered. “He don’t like a damn thing I do. He says I ain’t worth killin’.” He touched the bruise lightly and winced. “Sometimes I think he’d like to do it personally.”
“Yeah, well, that happens sometimes between fathers and sons. That doesn’t mean you’re bad. It just means your daddy doesn’t know how to be a good father. Trust me, I know what I’m talking about. Besides, I think you’re a pretty neat kid, and I don’t particularly like kids, so that’s a compliment.”
“Why should I give a flip if you like me?”
Gator suppressed a smile. The kid was tough for his age. “‘Cause you and I got a lot in common and ‘cause I can get your old man off your back. If I feel li
ke it,” he added.
“What do I got to do in return?”
Gator crossed his arms over his chest and rocked back and forth on his heels. “Several things,” he said. “You could check on my mother for me while I’m out of town. See that she has what she needs. Do some chores. And when I get back, you can be in charge of fixing up this dump.” A look of incredulity passed over the boy’s face. “I’ll work on getting the money for it in the meantime.” Gator had already decided he would go along with his plans for the town with or without the help of a bunch of tight-fisted politicians.
The boy didn’t speak for a minute. In fact, he looked about ready to cry. “You can really get my old man off my back? How?”
Gator grinned. “All I have to do is talk to him, man-to-man. Is it a deal?” He held out his hand. He wondered for a moment if the boy would take it. When he didn’t make a move to do so, Gator shrugged and started to pull it back. Without warning, the boy grasped his hand tightly and pumped it with more enthusiasm than Gator was prepared for.
“All right, Sheriff!” he said. “You got yourself a deal. Just tell me where your mother lives, and I’ll be out there first thing tomorrow.”
And then Gator knew the boy had not been responsible for hurting his mother, and that he’d probably told the truth about the real perpetrator leaving town. Gator had accomplished more than he’d expected.
#
Gator’s business at the Night Life Lounge took less than five minutes. He called Billy Wilcox’s father outside and shoved him hard against his truck. The man covered his face and begged Gator not to hit him.
“What’s wrong with you, Wilcox? You scared to fight a man?” Gator ground out through tightly clenched lips. He knew a moment of rage that shook him to the core. He had to stay cool. He released the man, who fell to the ground.
“I ain’t done nothin’!” Wilcox cried. “Why’re you picking on me?”
“‘Cause I don’t like grown men beating up little boys, that’s why.” Gator reached for the man and dragged him to his feet. “I’m only going to give you one warning,” he said, his tone menacing. “You lay another hand on that boy or anybody else for that matter, and I’m going to make you wish you’d never slid from your mama’s womb. Do you understand what I telling you? I’m going to make you wish you had never been born.”
Welcome to Temptation: A Romantic Comedy Page 13
