Evie felt as if her cheeks were six shades of
fuchsia. The last time she’d let a man in her panties, she’d lost
her damn restaurant. And though the thought of Matt there made her
body tingle in ways it hadn’t in a very long time, there was no way
she was going to repeat the mistakes of her past. They might not be
teenagers, and she might not give a damn what anyone said these
days since she was no longer vulnerable, but sleeping with Matt was
just a bad idea all around.
Her feelings for Matt had always been a giant
tangle, like a ball of Christmas lights buried in the garage all
year, and she really didn’t want to start sorting them out
again.
“He won’t be there, Jules. Mark my
words.”
Julie sighed. “Fine. But he will be in town
for a few days, so do yourself a favor and don’t push him away when
he comes around. You definitely need to get laid.”
Evie shook her head. “Maybe so, but he’s the
wrong man to do it.”
Julie snorted. “Well, I can promise you one
thing. If he looks at me that way, I’m not saying no.”
“Go for it,” Evie said, though a little
twinge of jealousy speared into her at the thought.
“There’s always Jimmy Thibodeaux, if you
insist on saying no to Matt. He’s been asking after you since he
got back.”
Evie frowned. Jimmy had been one of the worst
back in high school after Matt had left. Always calling her Easy
Evie and grabbing her ass. She’d hated him then. She didn’t much
care for the idea of him now since she’d heard he hadn’t changed
much. Thankfully, he’d been away in Montana on a hunting trip for
most of the month and she hadn’t yet had the dubious pleasure of
running into him again.
“I’ll pass.”
Julie shrugged. “Probably best. Jimmy’s not
been quite right in the head lately. He pulled a knife on Ginny
Temple a couple of months ago.”
Evie’s heart somersaulted. “What do you
mean?”
“She said something about his hunting dog
crapping on her lawn and Jimmy waved that knife around like he was
some kind of avenger. But nothing came of it.”
Evie shook her head. Damn crazy Cajun
redneck. She hadn’t missed that about Rochambeau at all. “And you
were seriously suggesting I should sleep with him?”
Julie’s mouth turned down. “Of course not! I
was kidding. Geez, you’ve lost your sense of humor lately.”
“It hasn’t been a good few months,
Jules.”
“Which is why I said you should get laid.
Take your mind right off it. But no Matt and definitely no Jimmy.”
She patted Evie’s arm. “We’ll find someone.”
“I’d rather we didn’t.”
Julie grinned. “We’ll see. Now let’s stop
talking about it and get going.”
Evie’s little sister looked up from her
position in front of the television as they walked through the
living room. Evie’s heart twisted at the look on the girl’s face.
Evie had been home a month now, and Sarah was still sullen and
withdrawn.
Not that she could blame the kid. There was
ten years difference in their ages, and Evie hadn’t exactly been
around for the past few years. No, she’d been off doing her own
thing and calling home on occasion rather than making an effort to
be a part of her little sister’s life. She hadn’t thought of it
much at the time, but being home and seeing the effects—well, it
made her feel rotten every time she saw that wary look on Sarah’s
face.
“Where are y’all going looking like that?”
Sarah was curious, but her tone said she couldn’t care less.
“It’s a party.” Julie put her hands on her
hips. “For adults.”
Sarah snorted. “Yeah, I figured that.”
“I don’t have to go,” Evie said, though Julie
made a noise when she did. “Is there something you want to do
tonight? We could go for pizza, or maybe a movie?”
Sarah turned back to the TV and pressed the
channel button. “I ate pizza for lunch. And there’s nothing at that
lame theater I want to see.”
Evie sighed. “Mama’s at the Moose Lodge for
the evening. Are you sure you don’t want me to stay?”
Sarah’s eyes flashed. “I know where Mama is.
She’s been going to bingo every week for the past four years. Not
that
you
would know that.”
Julie bristled. “You need to lighten up,
little girl. Your sister’s had a bad time of it and she could use
your support.”
Sarah shot to her feet. “Yeah, well why do I
have to be nice to her when she’s never thought twice about me and
Mama? Went off to that fancy cooking school and forgot all about
us. Now she’s back and thinks we’re supposed to care? Like hell.”
Sarah tossed the remote onto the couch and stalked toward her
bedroom.
Julie’s dozen or so bracelets clinked as she
popped her hands on her hips again and stared after Sarah. “That
little brat. You want me to go get her and make her apologize?”
Evie shook her head, even as she swallowed
the lump in her throat. “No, forget it. She didn’t get mad
overnight, and she won’t get un-mad that way either.”
“Your mama’s been too indulgent with her. She
would’ve paddled your behind for acting that way, no matter how old
you were.”
“Mama’s busy, Jules. And I doubt Sarah acts
that way toward her. Me, on the other hand…” She sighed. “Maybe if
I
had
been here, she wouldn’t be so hostile. I can’t really
blame her for not trusting me.”
Julie snorted. “Don’t kid yourself,
girlfriend. She’s a teenager. Brattiness is practically a
requirement.” Julie tossed her hair over her shoulder and peered up
at Evie. “C’mon, you ready to go get laid? That’ll certainly help
your mood, I promise.”
Evie laughed, though inside she still stung
from Sarah’s rejection. But there wasn’t much she could do about
it. Even if she stayed here, she’d get nowhere with the kid. Sarah
would hide in her room until Mama came home later. “God no. But
I’ll go out to the lake with you and have a beer or two. Then I’m
coming home.
Alone
.”
Julie rolled her eyes. “Your loss. Especially
when Matt Girard shows up.”
“He’s not coming, Julie.”
“Bet he does. And when I win, you have to
cook your famous gumbo for me.”
Evie rolled her eyes. “He won’t.”
Julie looked smug. “We’ll see…”
* * *
Rochambeau Lake had a split personality. One
side—the side with picnic tables, charcoal grills, and a big
pavilion—was clear and calm. But the farther you went across the
lake, moss-draped cypress trees crowded together like shadowy
sentinels and the lake became a bayou. Gators swam deep in the
cypress, down the long winding fingers of murky water that branched
and stretched for miles throughout the parish. Snakes coiled in the
trees overhanging the water, sometimes dropping in on unsuspecting
anglers.
Evie couldn’t see the people splashing in the
dark, but she heard them laughing. Crazy to go swimming in the
middle of the night, even if it was hot. A flash of murky water and
the black S-curve silhouette of a snake flowing toward her were the
most vivid memories of her last foray into the bayou.
Evie shuddered. She wasn’t getting into—or
onto—the bayou ever again. She’d never been particularly squeamish,
but that afternoon when the snake had fallen out of the tree and
into the little canoe—which she and Julie then proceeded to
overturn in their panic—had seared itself into her memory.
Just then, Jimmy Thibodeaux reappeared with a
beer and a wine cooler, and Evie gritted her teeth. So much for
avoiding Jimmy. He’d made a beeline for her the minute they arrived
and he hadn’t let her out of his sight in the fifteen minutes
since. He’d been nothing but polite, however, so she couldn’t
exactly get away from him without being rude.
And she wasn’t prepared to be rude just yet.
She kept thinking of him pulling a knife on Ginny Temple, but she
didn’t think he was crazy enough to do something like that here
with so many people around. The other guys would tackle him if he
tried it.
Evie craned her neck, looking for Julie, but
her cousin had slipped into Steve LaValle’s arms and didn’t look as
if she was slipping out again anytime soon. She didn’t think Julie
had meant to leave her with Jimmy, but that didn’t change the
current situation.
“I know you said beer, but I thought you
might like this better.” Jimmy handed her a wine cooler and sat
down on the bench beside her. “I know how you ladies like foo-foo
drinks.”
Evie’s jaw felt like it might crack.
“Thanks.” She scooted down the bench as much as possible. The crowd
closed to hide Julie and Steve from her view.
Damn it.
She turned and tried to smile politely at
Jimmy. He wasn’t bad-looking, with his dark hair and dark eyes, but
she’d never liked him. He was loud, brazen, and a bit too macho.
Always had been. If she had to hear another story about him bagging
a gator—or a moose in Montana—she’d probably scream.
“So,” Jimmy said, his hand skimming across
her bare knee and up her thigh. “You back in town for good?”
Evie pushed his hand away and kept smiling.
There wasn’t an ounce of friendliness in it, but she knew Jimmy was
too dumb to see it. No, he leered and groped like they were back in
high school and she was still Easy Evie. More than anything, it
made her mad. Livid.
“Nope,” she replied through clenched teeth.
“I’ll be leaving again soon.”
She didn’t know that for sure, but it was
definitely the plan. The sooner, the better. She felt a pang of
guilt when she pictured Sarah’s sullen face, but that was life.
Her life
dictated that she had to get out of Rochambeau or
go crazy.
“That’s a shame. Maybe we could get together
before you go.” He leaned in a little more, his fingers skimming
the side of her breast.
Evie shot to her feet, and Jimmy barely
managed to catch himself before he fell into her vacant seat. “No,
thanks.” She said it politely when what she really wanted to do was
sock him. “I’m not ready to start a relationship.”
“Who said anything about a relationship?”
Jimmy blinked up at her, clueless as usual. But there was something
in those eyes, something cold and mean. It made her shiver. “You
got time for sex, ain’t you?”
Warning bells rang in her head as she faced
him down. Her smile could have cut glass. Maybe she should have
socked him anyway. “Oh darn, I took a vow of celibacy two days ago.
Look, there’s my cousin.”
She spun on her high heels, thankful she
didn’t trip and make a mockery of her grand exit, and walked away
without waiting for an answer. She didn’t turn around to look at
Jimmy, but she could feel his eyes on her as she stepped into the
pavilion. She’d pissed him off, that was for sure.
Evie breathed a sigh of relief as she skirted
the makeshift dance floor where couples gyrated to the music
someone played using an iPod and two great big speakers. She didn’t
think Jimmy would pull anything, but she liked having a crowd
around her just in case.
She searched for Julie, finally spotting her
again. Julie leaned back against Steve, her head on his shoulder,
her lips tilted up to accept a lingering kiss.
By the looks of it, Julie wasn’t going to be
willing to leave just yet. Julie had probably had sex with Steve a
thousand times, but they still had to go through this
ritual-courting thing first. They got together, broke up, then made
up a few days later with wild monkey sex. This looked like a
monkey-sex night, but there was a protocol to follow. Why they
couldn’t just admit they were hot for each other and go for it,
Evie would never understand.
Evie set the wine cooler she’d nearly
forgotten she was still holding on top of a table as she skirted
the crowd. She’d go hang out in Julie and Steve’s corner until they
were ready to leave. If she were lucky, it’d be a matter of minutes
before they couldn’t keep their hands off each other and wanted to
go back to Steve’s place. Before they did, she’d get Julie’s keys
and drive herself home.
“I think you lost your drink.”
Evie knew that voice. It slid over her like
hot silk and she spun to find Matt Girard standing behind her,
holding the bottle she’d just ditched. Why did her heart skip the
second he showed up? And why did he have to look so
delicious
?
“I didn’t lose it.”
He stood there in faded jeans and a dark
T-shirt that molded to his hard pecs and biceps. But it wasn’t his
clothing that got her attention so much as his eyes. There was
something in them, something she didn’t remember seeing when he’d
been seventeen. He’d been part of this crowd long ago, much more
than she had, but he no longer looked like he belonged—in spite of
the longing looks some of the women were casting in his
direction.
His gaze dropped over her before rising
again, slowly, and her body reacted as if he’d brushed his fingers
over her. There was something hot, sharp, and thrilling in that
gaze—and she was way more susceptible to it than she wanted to
be.
Once, she would have given anything for him
to look at her like that. Now, she wasn’t certain she’d survive the
experience.
“Great dress.” His voice was silky.
Evie swallowed. She was tingling, and that
wasn’t a good thing. The last time she’d tingled over this man, it
had not turned out so well. “Thanks. I think.”
He grinned. “It’s definitely a
compliment.”
Evie crossed her arms and tried to look cool.
“Thought you weren’t coming tonight.”
“Now what made you think a thing like
that?”
Her blood slogged like molasses in her veins.
“I believe you said ‘probably not’ in response to Julie’s
query.”
His teeth flashed. “Yeah, but that’s before I
knew you’d be here.”
“What do you want, Matt?” Her heart thrummed
like she was sixteen again.
His gaze dropped once more. “Maybe I’d like
to see what’s under that dress.” His voice sounded low and sexy. It
pooled in her belly and sent hot waves of need spiraling
outward.