Page 6 of Bayou Sunset

Watch over Daisy Mae? Would he still have feelings for her? Oh, how he’d wanted to take her up on her offer the night before he’d left town. But she was part of the reason he’d been going.

What was she like now? Those questions and more ran through his mind. He knew he should turn tail and run, but he couldn't let something happen to her. “I'll watch her.”And those damn brothers of hers,he secretly promised.

The good news was that Pierre wasn't his best friend anymore. That meant Daisy Mae wasn't his best friend's sister. He couldn't decide if that was good or bad. All he knew was thathe craved to see her. He hoped she was married with ten kids by now so he could easily walk away this time.

“I needs sleep,” his father told him. “Glad ya be home.”

Romeo nodded, stood, walked to the door, and stopped, turning to his tired-looking father. “I've missed ya too, Papa.” He had missed his parents, but with video chat, it was like he was home. However, Romeo didn't have to hide his feelings for Daisy Mae.

Seeing the smile on his father's face, Romeo exited the room, intent on finding his mother so they could chat. He knew she'd be a mess of worry. And from what his father had said, she had every right to be in such a state.

Had he really almost lost his father? Without spending time with him lately? Romeo's heart broke at the thought of his father dying on the table during his heart attack. He wasn't ready to lose a parent. Then again, who was?

Deep in thought, Romeo approached the ICU waiting room, not paying much attention. His step faltered as he closed on his mother, and his heart leaped. A woman sat holding his mother's hand, whispering to Barbara. Even with some of the woman's hair shadowing her face while she bent down to his mother, Romeo knew the woman. He'd craved her for years. He thought he'd finally let her go in his heart, but the way it beat now, he knew that to be a lie.

He wondered what kind of trouble her brothers were getting her into. Romeo didn't want her embroiled in one of their schemes. Yeah, his mom had kept him updated on his old friends and their antics. In his mind, they'd turned into nothing but trouble.

He continued walking to his mother, his eyes on Daisy Mae. Would she recognize him like he'd recognized her? Indeed, he hadn't changed as much as she had.

The women stood as he approached. He couldn't keep hiseyes off Daisy Mae. In his peripheral, he saw his mother wipe the tears from her eyes with a tissue. Romeo couldn't stop staring into the bright blue eyes of his old love. Old? He mentally laughed at himself. With the way his body came alive with her around, he expected her to still be the one he loved. Maybe now they could have a shot. She wasn't the bumbling teenager following him and her brothers and trying to play with them. No, this Daisy Mae was all woman in her shorts with tanned legs, a T-shirt showcasing what he assumed was her charter service and the ever-present baseball cap in her hand.

“How he be?” Barbara asked.

Romeo never took his eyes off Daisy Mae's. “He be resting.” He needed to say hello to Daisy Mae, but, as usual, his tongue got tied around a beautiful woman. It hadn't been that way when they'd been growing up. At least, only when he'd realized he liked her more than a friend.

“Steve, ya ’member Daisy Mae?”

His heart wanted to scream, “Oui!I thought about her often,” but his mind shut down. So, he nodded.

Daisy Mae's jaw tightened. “It ’bout time ya came home.”

Taken aback by the venom in her voice, Romeo grappled for a suitable response. “Hi” was all that came out. He wanted to slap himself on the forehead. “Hi,” was all he could say. This was Daisy Mae. He didn’t want her to see him as a bumbling fool now that he was older. He knew he could talk around her, so why had he clammed up?

Narrowing her eyes, Daisy Mae put her ballcap on her head and turned to Barbara. “I gotta go. Please keep me updated.” She turned and left without another word or glance to Romeo.

Watching her walk away with her magnificent ass, Romeo wondered what the hell had just happened between them?

Chapter Four

DAISY MAE REMOVED her baseball cap, revealing a mop of unruly blonde hair. With deft fingers, she carefully threaded her tousled locks through the small back loop of the cap. After securing her hair, she firmly replaced the cap on her head, the worn fabric feeling familiar against her fingertips. She knew he would eventually return. How could he not when his father had a heart attack? Well, he'd waited way too long to return. She was over him.

Her anger stemmed from the pain of his constant absence, which caused his mother great emotional distress. Yes, that was it.

Groaning at the lie she told herself, she started her pickup truck and left the hospital parking lot. If things worked out, she wouldn't have to run into him again. She didn't need to visit Barbara while he was in town. Barbara would have enough on her hands with her husband's health and her son's return.

Daisy Mae gazed off into the distance, her mind swirling with questions about the duration of his visit and the last time she’d seen him. Embarrassment flooded her system. She’d thrown herself at him to keep him from leaving or that he should consider taking her with him. That turned out beautifully. He’d left without a thought to her, and she’d remained stuck in their small town.

Realizing Steve would dominate her thoughts, she turned the truck toward her friend's house. At least there, she could talk it out. Shelly Tibidoux had been her friend since preschool. Her only problem with Shelly was that Shelly had asked Steve to Prom, and he'd said yes.

Daisy Mae had yearned to muster the courage to ask him, but her nerves always eluded her. She and Shelly hadn’t spoken for almost a year back then. Still, Daisy Mae hadn't tossed awaytheir friendship over that since they'd been teenagers then, and Steve hadn't made any advances toward Shelly at Prom—not even a quick peck goodnight.

To avoid her thoughts on the long drive, Daisy Mae turned on the radio to her favorite country station. After a while, she turned the system off. She couldn't listen to one more sad love song when her life had turned to epitomize one.

When her phone rang, she welcomed the distraction. Pushing the hands-free button on her steering wheel to answer the call, she tried to sound happy to hear from her brother. “Bonsoir, Pierre.”

“We like ta go out tomorrow.”

No “Bonsoir,Sisit” or “How you be,Deyzee Mè?” It irritated her that they ignored her feelings, not that she shared her feelings with the two of them either.

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