Love Found a Way (Hell Yeah! Book 0)

by Sable Hunter

  …At Wildwood, T-Rex sat on the front verandah with Revel Lee and Waco Rainwater. He’d only met Waco once before at a party Harley and Beau LeBlanc had thrown at their home in St. Martinsville. “You still defusing bombs for a living, Rainwater?”

  The big man, almost as tall as T, nodded solemnly. “Harley is still the major stockholder in Soccoro, but I run the business now. We still get a lot of government jobs. We were called into several of those Isis bomb scares in New York and New Jersey lately.”

  “You know, the whole fuckin’ world is going crazy,” Revel mused as he drained a beer.

  T, who wasn’t drinking beer, of course, agreed. “I know living in the middle of nowhere like we do isn’t everyone’s ideal, but at least we don’t have to worry about a bomb being left next to a stump in the swamp.”

  “I hear you.” Waco nodded. “We’ve hired a whole new crew; business has been so good.” He walked to the big washtub cooler Harper kept filled with ice and drinks. “You want a cold one, T-Rex?”

  Before answering, T glanced at Revel. “Did you get me any Yoohoos?”

  “Yes, you big baby, I did.” He motioned at Waco. “Throw him some chocolatey goodness.”

  Waco did and T caught it. “Thanks, man. I needed this.”

  “I figured you’d need several after you found out what Harper has done.”

  T frowned. “What did Harper do? She’s not trying to set me up with Tammany again, is she?”

  Waco laughed. “No, she’s trying to set me up with Tammany. But the beautiful Ms. Benoit couldn’t be here tonight. I think Harper’s found two new partners in crime to foist us onto.”

  “You two will just have to go with the flow. My lovely wife has all of those pregnancy hormones flowing through her body, she’s on a mission to romanticize the world.”

  T took a swig of the chocolate soda, fortifying himself for the night ahead. “Well, as long as she didn’t invite…Glory Bee…dammit to hell, Revel!”

  Revel and Waco swiveled their heads just in time to see Glory climbing down from the old rattletrap truck with her arms full of goodies. “I see a lady who needs a helping hand,” Waco announced as he set his drink down on the banister and took off to meet her.

  “You gonna let him get his foot in that door?” Revel asked T, who looked like a disgruntled grizzly bear.

  “Not my call, Jones. Glory and I have agreed on an amicable parting of the ways.”

  “Huh, I didn’t think you were dating her. How can you part ways if you were never together?”

  T frowned even more. “Well, we were together…once. Just once. A sex thing, not dating.”

  “Aha!” Revel pointed at T as if he’d just proved his point.

  T grabbed Revel’s finger and twisted it. “Don’t point that damn thing at me.”

  As Revel laughed and Waco escorted Glory up on the porch, Harper and another woman emerged from inside. “Hey, everyone. This is Lily Bastian, my new friend I met the last time Savannah and I went to New Orleans. Lily owns an art gallery on Royal. Lily, this is Glory Hudson, a wonderful woman we met while Revel and T were helping a film crew get some shots of the swamp.” She pointed at the men one by one. “This is my amazing husband, Revel and our friends, T-Rex Beaumont and Waco Rainwater.”

  Lily greeted everyone. “Hello.” Then, she greeted Glory. “You’re an actress?”

  T laughed and Glory shot him a glare sharper than a razor. “No, not even close. I merely catered their meal.” She held T’s eyes. “I operate a rundown excuse for a bait shop, but I promise the brownies I made are edible.”

  Lily sidled up to Waco, who was still holding the platter. “I’m sure they are.” She raised the foil and snuck one, taking a big bite. “Chocolate is my weakness.”

  “Want some Yoohoo?” T held up his drink.

  “Thanks, handsome.” Lily checked out T, and then Waco. “Wow, you two are built like giant redwood trees. I’m impressed.”

  “Shall we go inside? Dinner’s served.” Harper held the door open and Revel led the way.

  “Allow me.” Waco held his arm out and Glory took it gratefully. She noticed T watching them, then he offered to escort Lily. Glory felt her guts clench in response.

  When she entered Harper and Revel’s home, Glory was enchanted. “This is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen!” She turned in a circle, admiring the woodwork, the antiques, the special touches that bespoke of the pride of generations past. “I love it!” Everyone stopped to watch her gush and Glory realized how gauche she was being. “You can take the girl out of the trailer park…”

  “Nonsense!” Lily came to her rescue, joining Glory to examine the beautiful carving on the posts at the bottom of the staircase. “Look at the handwork, they just don’t make things like this anymore.” As Harper showed the men to the table, Lily bent to her and whispered, “I know you, don’t I?”

  Her question took Glory by surprise. She’d been so dazzled by the woman’s effusive and buoyant personality, that she hadn’t really looked at her – which made no sense at all. Lily wasn’t a classical beauty, but she had an inner radiance which drew people like a moth to a flame. “I’m not sure. How?”

  “Our Lady of the Lake.”

  Lily’s five words brought back a hailstorm of memories to Glory’s mind. Once more she was a scared little girl in a lonely hospital room, hooked up to a bunch of machines. Just when she thought she’d go nuts from boredom, a chatty cherub had been rolled in to share the space, not a hair on her round, bald head. “You’re my Lily?”

  Lily’s face transformed with a dazzling smile. “I am! How are you?” She threw her arms around Glory.

  “I’m making it. I beat leukemia, then got stuck with PAH.”

  “At least you’ve got a fighting chance, my glioma’s back and inoperable.”

  “Oh, no.” All their whispered midnight conversations came back to Glory. Little Lily had been born with a brain tumor. She’d defied the odds, but like Glory, was living on borrowed time. “I’m so glad to see you.” Hugging Lily tight, she vowed to get her priorities straight. T-Rex might not want to be her reason to live, but there were many others.

  “I’m glad to see you too. We’ll have to get together and visit.”

  “Hey, you two. Are you coming?” Harper stood at the arched doorway into the dining room, looking elegant and poised. “Grub’s on!”

  Her new friends laughed at Harper’s redneck phrase, which was in sharp contrast to her elegant persona.

  As they followed their hostess, Glory whispered urgently, “If we tell the group we know one another, let’s just don’t tell them any details, Lily. I don’t like people feeling sorry for me.”

  “Gotcha!” Lily squeezed her arm. “Me either. We’ll just tell them we knew one another from school.” She winked at Glory. “Which is true, we did our lessons together when we were too sick to leave the hospital.”

  When the newly reunited friends entered the dining room, it was to find all eyes on them. Two vacant chairs presented themselves, one across from T and one next to T. Glory made no move toward either, she let Harper tell her where to sit. “Come sit by Waco, Glory.” This put her across from T. Oh hardship, she’d have to look at the rascal. “Lily, you sit by T-Rex.”

  The next few minutes were well spent filling their plates and sampling Harper’s home cooking. “This smells heavenly.” T took a deep whiff as he ladled crawfish and chicken jambalaya onto his plate.

  “Thanks.” Harper beamed. “Have some blackened redfish, pan roasted asparagus and over here is some beef tenderloin.”

  Revel groaned at all the good food. “Lord have mercy! I have it made. Here’s some French bread and potatoes to round out the meal.”

  Waco began filling his plate. “This looks wonderful, Miss Harper. I do appreciate the invitation. Being on the road all the time makes eating a hit and miss game.”

  “Well, eat your fill, Waco. I’m just thrilled you agreed to come. When I found out what we had in c
ommon, I just had to get to know you better.” Harper lifted her glass to him. “Waco is a frustrated artist like me.”

  “Really?” Lily exclaimed. “You paint, Waco?”

  Waco looked embarrassed. “I draw, charcoals mostly. I’m nowhere near as talented as Harper. She’s phenomenal.”

  “Don’t listen to a word he says,” Harper insisted. “And I have proof.” She held her hand up and pointed over the fireplace.

  All heads turned and Glory was flabbergasted. “How lovely.” There was an amazing framed piece depicting Wildwood and the surrounding swamp. “The details are so clear; I feel like I could just walk into the scene.”

  “I am impressed; I’d love to talk to you about showing a few pieces.” Lily pointed at Waco, then Harper. “Maybe we could do a show and use the wildness of this area as a theme. Would either or both of you be game?”

  They both said they would.

  As the meal progressed, Lily turned her attention to T-Rex. “And what are your talents, Mr. Beaumont? Or should I guess.”

  T blushed and Glory had an urge to kick him under the table. “I am basically without talent.”

  “Oh, contraire!” Revel protested. “He’s an authority on the region, he does everything from lectures at universities on Louisiana legend and folklore, to speaking at events like festivals. Where are you going this weekend?”

  “The Houma Rougaroux Festival,” T said, then went on to answer several questions from Lily and Waco.

  While they were talking, Harper met Glory’s gaze. “I want you to go with me to the festival,” she mouthed.

  Glory shrugged her answer. “Maybe,” she whispered back as an answered.

  “I would love for you to tell me some of those tall tales, T.” Lily batted her eyes at T-Rex, who smiled like a mule eating briars.

  Glory was extremely glad to see her old friend, but she didn’t like to see Lily flirting with T. To combat the absurdity of her feelings, she turned her attention toward Waco. “I can’t believe you disable bombs for a living. You must be terribly brave.”

  She heard T cough loudly, but Glory refused to look at him.

  “Believe me, I get scared. Anyone would be a fool not to.” He took a few minutes to explain a typical job to Glory.

  From across the table, T almost missed his mouth, watching Glory make over Rainwater. She looked so damn beautiful, the dark green dress she had on molded every mouthwatering curve. “Fuck,” he whispered as he felt his cock grow hard.

  “What did you say?” Lily leaned close to him.

  His eyes widened. Glancing at his plate, he raised his fork, which held a piece of chicken. “Duck, this tastes like duck.”

  Lily bent closer and took the meat from his utensil into her mouth.

  Glory picked up her tea glass, considering dousing them both to cool their ardor.

  “More tea?” Revel asked, lifting the pitcher full of amber liquid.

  “No, I’m good.” Glory brought the glass to her mouth, a little embarrassed he’d caught her with malice on her mind. “You want to hear something weird?”

  “What?” Waco asked as he passed Glory more bread.

  “This isn’t the first time that Lily and I have met. We were friends when we were younger.”

  “Really?” Harper was amazed. “Where? When?”

  “When we were children. A long time ago, Harper.”

  Her announcement intrigued everyone, yet they managed to share enough personal antidotes to entertain without exposing their true connection.

  And so, the meal continued through dessert, a dessert so spectacular that Glory was embarrassed by her homely brownies.

  Baked Alaska.

  When she’d eaten all she could, Glory excused herself to go to the restroom.

  “Upstairs, first door on your right, Glory.”

  She thanked her host, making her way out of the dining room and up the stairs. When she reached the landing, she had to move to the side to let a woman go by. The seemingly distraught female went by so fast, all Glory had time to do was get out of the way. “Hmmm, I didn’t know Harper and Revel had other company.” As she took care of her business, she wondered why the other guest hadn’t come down for dinner.

  This bothered her so, that when Glory returned to the table, she decided to ask. “Harper?” She got her hostess’ attention who was deep in conversation with Lily. “Who was the dark-haired lady upstairs? I almost crashed into her on the way to the restroom. She seemed upset.”

  Harper looked at Revel, who looked at T.

  “What?” Glory asked. The other two guests were watching the exchange closely.

  “Glory, there is no other guest,” Harper said evenly.

  “Sure there is.” Glory pointed upward. “I just saw her. She has dark hair and was wearing a long white gown.”

  T held up his hand. “Glory, Revel and Harper’s house is haunted.”

  “Get outta here!” Glory exclaimed, chill bumps skating all over her body. “I won’t be sleeping worth a flip tonight!”

  Harper and Revel laughed. “No, T-Rex is right. Wildwood has several ghosts.” She began to tell Glory about the most recent experience. “Right after I returned to Wildwood, I kept hearing a baby crying and a woman screaming. We brought in Savannah O’Rourke and she helped us solve the mystery. It wasn’t pretty. Murder, infanticide, and suicide. Since we found the baby’s body and gave it a proper burial, the haunting has subsided.”

  “If the haunting subsided, who’s the ghost upstairs?” Glory asked, trying to swallow the lump in her throat.

  Harper shrugged. “I haven’t seen it, myself. Others have. From what I can tell by the description, I think it’s my mother.” Her voice had dropped to such a level that Glory had to strain to hear it.

  “I’m sorry, Harper.” She’d been about to make light of the whole thing, but her hostess’s demeanor told Glory this was a sad, touchy subject. “My mother is alive, Harper. But I haven’t seen her in years. She abandoned me when I still a teenager.” As soon as Glory made her admission, she felt her cheeks grow warm. “I’m sorry, that was inappropriate.”

  “No, no,” Harper assured her. “You’re among friends. We’ve all got our own story to tell.”

  After Glory’s moment of confession, there were a few moments where the conversation was subdued. She glanced up and her eyes collided with T’s. Glory couldn’t read his expression. Seeing him here, under these circumstances, was surreal. They’d been so close, she’d slept in his arms, he’d been buried deep inside of her - - and now, now they seemed little more than strangers.

  “Are you guys ready to try out my compound bow?” Revel asked the men.

  “In the dark?” Waco wondered, turning his head to look out the window at the gathering gloom.

  “I’ve got a target range set up in a field out back.”

  Harper laughed. “He’s got lights like they have on a high school football field. When he flips them on, you’d swear it was daylight back there. He’s got the wildlife so confused, they don’t know what time of day it is.”

  “Well, sure, I’d love to try your bow.” Waco stood, then turned to Glory. “After this, could I possibly take you for a walk along the bayou?”

  Glory tensed, taking a millisecond long opportunity to meet T’s eyes. He was watching her like a hawk. “I’d love to,” she told Waco. As much as she’d like to be, Glory felt no attraction for this handsome man. Unfortunately, she was only drawn to the big lug who’d deemed her worthy of only one night of his time. After seeing him respond to Lily, she no longer believed he didn’t date. He had nice friends, a good job, and a bright future. The type of woman he didn’t date was a girl like that. She still remembered how he’d referred to her the morning after she’d sleepwalked to his bed.

  As soon the men were gone, Lily and Glory helped Harper do the dishes. They cleaned the table, put up the leftovers, and turned on the dishwasher. When Harper left to carry a tray of drinks out to the men in the field, Glory and Lily t
ook the opportunity to catch up. Glory put aside her jealousy and concentrated on her friend. Who was she to stand in the way of a woman seeking a little happiness when her world was falling apart? “So, what’s the prognosis?”

  “Dire to dismal,” Lily laughed. “How about you?”

  “Oh, I’ll be fine so long as I don’t do anything stupid, you know, like lead a normal life. And, God forbid if I get pregnant, that would be the end of the road for me. My heart couldn’t handle the stress.” She laughed. “Sometimes it can’t handle the stress of an upset stomach.”

  “Well, my time is limited, Glory. I’ve seen the handwriting on the wall.” Lily propped her chin on her hand. “Or in my case, the X-Ray on the wall. Barring some miracle or new procedure, I won’t be here this time next year.”

  Glory covered Lily’s hand with her own. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Oh, I don’t intend to just lay down and die, Glory. I’m going out with a bang.” She pulled some brochures from her purse. “I’ve already informed my sister that I’m going to take a road trip next year, if I live that long. I plan on just driving until I get tired, then finding some little island somewhere and just lay on the beach.”

  She seemed so excited about her plans, that all Glory wanted to do was cheer her on. “Will you send me some post cards along the way?”

  Lily laughed. “I’ll do it.” She elbowed Glory. “And I plan to pick up a man along the way. I figure I’ve got about a thousand or so orgasms left in me before this ticking time bomb goes off.”

  “I hope they’re wrong, Lily. I hope you live to be ninety.” Glory was sincere.

  “I hope you do too.” She dug in her purse. “Here’s my number.” She handed Glory a card. “If you’re ever down near New Orleans, look me up. I’d love to spend some time with you before I kick the bucket.”

  “I’d like that too. We could compare our living wills,” Glory said laughing, wiping tears from her face. They were both on the verge of getting maudlin when Harper burst through the door.

  “Come outside, girls. The guys are showing out!”