Broken (26 page)

"Ten minutes, tops." They fell onto the sofa.

Fifteen minutes later, they bounded out the door. Neely stopped on the porch. "What's that?" she asked looking at a carrier against the outside wall.

"I was optimistic. That is a golden retriever. The girls can name him."

"I thought you were going to wait until they got here." She gave him a mock scowl. "We can't leave him in that little cage."

"I had no intention of leaving him out here. I meant to bring him in when I got home, but you had other ideas." He danced his eyebrows. "The breeder called and told me he was the last one and someone else was looking at him. I had to get him today." Raif took the puppy out of the travel carrier. The puppy yipped and wagged his tail. "I'll put him in the hall bath with water, food, and some newspaper."

"Hurry."

Three hours later, Raiford, Neely, Lydia, Leah, and Lacey Gautier walked through their front door. They were greeted by a puppy that should have been in the hall bath.

Raif shook his head. "How did you get out?"

"Surprise!" echoed from everywhere. Almost the whole family was there. Only Trista, Townes, and Christine and Dupree, Lindsay, Roxanne, Lucy, and Marley were missing, but they were on the phone. Saul had called everybody, and Larkin had thrown together a welcoming party quickly. Even Patrick had sped in just for the party because he had an exam the next morning.

The party lasted a couple of hours before everyone left the new family to settle in. Leah lugged the puppy, his tail and back paws dragging the ground. "Daddy, what's his name?"

"You girls have to decide that."

"What kind is he?" asked Lydia.

"A golden retriever."

Lydia and Leah whispered conspiratorially. "Nugget," announced Lydia.

"A most excellent name." Raif grinned and put his arm around Neely. "Let's put Nugget in the backyard for a little while so y'all can get ready for bed. Then, he can come in and sleep with you. That room will be a little gold mine."

27

Chief Baker

N
eel
y
was covered in paint. "Well, do we have budding Rembrandts, Picassos, or what?" joked Raif coming in from his evening run with Nugget.

"Lydia has ballerinas all over her screen. They're pretty good for a five year old. Leah is getting the hang of holding a brush. She wants a rainbow, a leprechaun, a pot of gold, and a fairy with red hair. She aims high. Moreover, she has prophesied that we are gonna have a redheaded fairy join the family. Lacey"—Neely laughed—"Lacey has as many handprints on me as on her screen. She pointed to a picture in a book, and we are duplicating it with her handprints. This is so much fun! How is the castle coming?"

"The castle is done. I'm making my little princesses and my beautiful Rapunzel with her hair hanging from the tower window for me to climb…"

Raif put his hands in Neely's hair. "She was blonde. I have a lot of changes to make—pink, purple, green."

Neely touched the old t-shirt she wore and put both hands on Raif's cheeks. "King Raif has psychedelic cheeks."

"Neely Rivers Gautier!"

"You need a shower!" laughed Neely as she headed to the master bedroom. "I'll get there first!"

The Reynolds home bustled with almost as much excitement as the Gautier home. Since Christopher's graduation, it seemed Courtney and Christopher either went to Baton Rouge every Saturday or Kyle and Kimberly came to Eau Boueuse. When the trips turned into overnight excursions, Ray got antsy. Although there were many guestrooms, when the kids were at his house, Ray made sure Kyle bunked with Christopher while Kim stayed in the room with Courtney. He hoped Deanna was doing the same thing at her house.

In August, Christopher left for LSU. His weekends at home became infrequent, but when he did come home, he was always accompanied by Kyle and Kimberly LaFontaine. Courtney's trips to Baton Rouge stopped because Ray would not allow her to drive that far from home by herself yet. Kyle was forced to drive to Eau Boueuse when he could convince his mother to let him drive that far from home alone. Kimberly stayed in Baton Rouge. Kyle's solo overnight pilgrimages prompted a Raiford-Kyle visit to the Reynolds's garage.

The minute they walked in, Kyle preempted Ray's lecture. "Whoa! You don't have to go to your toolbox. Really, Uncle Ray! I'm not that stupid. First of all, I'm waiting like Parker. Second, Saul already gave me this lecture. Third, I'm scared to death of you. I will not be sneaking into Courtney's room."

"Christopher told you about the toolbox, huh?"

"So did Courtney."

"How have I kept it a secret from Larkin all these years?"

"You haven't." Kyle hooted. "She's checked the expiration dates and replaced them. She just let you believe you had."

"And I thought I was the sneaky one," laughed Ray.

"Maybe you should spend more time at home, Uncle Ray."

"I've been thinking that too. You know, I've been a cop for thirty years. Maybe it's time to retire."

"What would you do?"

"I don't know. We're not quite to the point where we could just travel, thanks to Little Miss Surprise, Cherie, my little Firecracker. I guess we could home-school the way Lindsay and Dupree do when Dupree is on tour. That way Cherie, and um, Courtney could get a first-hand historical education with a year at least in Europe."

"I think Courtney would balk. This is her senior year."

"Yes, I know. Yours too. Where are you going to college?"

"Where else?"

"LSU is a great school!"

"I know that, and I'm a legacy. Dad wasn't
all
bad."

"I told you," Ray said, putting Kyle in a headlock. "Let's get inside before Larkin comes looking for us."

After Kyle left Sunday afternoon, Ray sat down with Larkin to watch the Saints on television. "I've been thinking," he said.

"About what?"

"Retiring."

"And do what? Drive me insane? Maybe you could design an even better engine. Today's hemp-oil engines are quite fuel efficient. Maybe you could give them more power."

"That's an idea." He slapped his leg.

"You're serious."

"I am. I was thinking maybe at the end of the school year. You, Cherie, and I could spend a year abroad. You speak Spanish, German, and French. I can get by on my Cajun French. It would be great. You could gather intel and get Rusty embroiled in some sort of foreign intrigue. I just love Rusty Rose. He's the coolest cop ever!"

"Ray! I haven't written a
Rusty Rose Caper
in several years."

"It's time for his revival. He's been on hiatus too long."

"I know something else that has been on hiatus for a while."

"What's that?"

Larkin grinned and began to count off on her fingers. "Clue one—Our daughters just went to visit their new cousins. Clue two—Our son is in Baton Rouge. Clue three—Our other son and his family are at the Johnsons' this weekend. Unless Rusty has gotten too rusty, he should be getting my drift."

"The Saints are playing."

"That would never hinder Rusty. Unless," Larkin said coyly, "he's too
rusty
at that, too."

Ray gazed at Larkin. "As I recall, Rusty's partner in crime keeps him sharp!" He hit the pause button on the remote and grabbed Larkin's hand. "Let's go!"

On Monday morning, Ray drafted his resignation. He brought it home for Larkin to read.

"You really are serious," she noted. "I thought you were joking."

"Well, I'm not. I want you to take a sabbatical from the university next year. Let's take Cherie to Europe for a year. You can home-school her for that time, and she'll get a wonderful historical baptism."

"What about Christopher and Courtney?"

"They'll be away at college, and Raif will take care of them when they're not. Parker will also watch out for them. It could be like a second honeymoon; only this time, you won't get pregnant."

"Ray!"

"Come on, Larkin! Let's live!"

She laid the document to the side and thought for a moment. "All right. Let's do it!" she agreed with a quick nod.

The next day, Ray handed his resignation to the mayor. "Ray, you can't do this to me," whined the mayor.

"I'm not doing anything
to
you. I'm doing this
for
me. I don't even remember the last time I had a vacation."

"Who can I get to replace you?"

"Brian Baker. It's time. He's earned it, and you can probably keep him behind the desk, unlike me. I hate all the paperwork and political pressure."

"Baker? Yes, he's very organized. The officers will respect him. Yes. Very good suggestion, Ray."

"Well, I'm with you until the end of the year. I'm starting next year as a civilian."

"I wish you all the best, Ray. I'm just not sure it'll last."

"Well, if I get bored, I can always become a P.I. or open my own security business. That way I can play by my rules to a point."

"You could. So, when do we tell Baker?"

"Call him in. We'll need to do some working together to ensure a smooth transition anyway."

"The city council will still have to approve him"

"They will."

"I'm sure." The mayor picked up the phone.

Lead Detective Brian Baker came into the mayor's office a little concerned. He had never been summoned before. Fully recovered from his injuries in the car bombing, he walked in to find both the mayor and Ray. He felt sure something must be amiss, but he shook hands confidently with both men. He asked with a quizzical look on his face, "Mayor Richards, Ray, is something wrong?"

"No," said Ray, "something is right."

"Sit down, Baker," requested Mayor Richards.

Baker sat in the chair beside Ray. The mayor handed him Ray's resignation. "Baker, Ray gave me this."

"You're retiring?" Baker said in total disbelief.

"I am."

Baker cackled, "It won't last. What does this have to do with me?"

"Brian," the mayor said, "you're my nominee to replace Ray. How do you feel about being Chief of Police?"

"Seriously?" asked Baker. "You don't want to go looking around?"

"No. I believe in promoting from within. You're the most logical, most qualified candidate unless you don't want it. To be honest, I'm surprised Ray ever took the job after Gerard retired. I'm sure Larkin influenced his decision."

"Not want it? Honestly, I wanted it when Ray got it, but I would never have said that I thought Ray was too young at the time." He looked toward Ray.

"Of course, you did," said Ray. "Brian, I've always respected your work, and I consider you a friend."

"I meant no disrespect, Ray. A tad of jealousy, I'll admit. I guess it's sort of like sibling rivalry. I love you no matter what, though."

"And I, you, Brian. Take the job."

"Chief of Police Brian Baker. I do like the sound of it. Olivia will too. Yes, I'd like to start next year like that."

"Then, congratulations, Chief Baker," said the mayor.

Baker arched an eyebrow. "What if the city council doesn’t approve me?"