Page 11 of Sweet Home Louisiana

She didn’t, however, react to seeing Maddie.Surprised, Owen looked over his shoulder to find that Maddie had stepped to the side, out of sight.She better not run.He would definitely chase her down.Throwing her over his shoulder was far too tempting.

“That’s because real men useduct tape,” Mitch, another cousin, told her.

“You can’t hang a welcome home banner up with duct tape,” Cora told him.

“Why?Guarantee it wouldn’t be lyin’ on the floor right now,” Mitch said.

“Because it doesn’t look nice then,” Cora said.

“Well, if you’re tryin’ to make this place look nice, you’re gonna need a few more banners to cover stuff up.Big ones,” Mitch said.

The other guys, including Owen’s grandpa, two uncles, and a few stray guys who were just always around, all laughed.

Ellie slapped Mitch on the back of the head.

Owen sighed and lifted his fingers to his mouth to blow out a sharp whistle.

Blessedly, everyone stopped what they were doing and pivoted to face him.

He turned around, reached around the corner, grabbed the front of Maddie’s belt and pulled her through the door.“Look what I found.”

Everyone stared.Not saying a word.For three whole seconds.Which was truly a miracle.

Then Cora cried, “Oh.My.God!”

And the whole place went wild.

Maddie had rehearsedthis moment a million times over the twelve years since she’d been gone.She knew exactly how she wanted to smile, what she wanted to say, how she wanted to dress.This was the last time she was ever going to be here, so she wanted to go out happy.Or happy-ish anyway.

“Hi, everyone,” she said with a smile that was Miss America wattage.

“Oh myGod,” her grandmother said again, almost running toward Maddie, her eyes sparkly with tears.

Maddie braced herself.Not only for the impact of Cora’s embrace, but also for the wave of emotion it would bring.

Cora pushed Owen out of the way and enfolded Maddie in a hug that, sure enough, made Maddie’s throat tighten and her eyes sting.Cora smelled like Cajun-spiced pancakes—a mix of cayenne, garlic, and maple syrup.Maybe not a great combo in actual pancakes, but on her grandmother, it was perfect.

Maddie let Cora hold her, rocking her back and forth, just absorbing it all.Her other grandmother, Patrice Johnson, her mother’s mother, was not a hugger.She had always been kind and encouraging to Maddie.Patrice told her that she was proud of her and loved her.But she wasn’t as warm and openly affectionate as Cora Allain.Of course, very few people were.

Finally Cora leaned back, her cheeks wet with tears.“I’m so happy you’re here.”

“Hi, Gran,” Maddie said, using the name she and Tommy had always used.

“She might have your blood, but she’s got a lot of my pecans in her, too,” Ellie Landry said, pushing in next to Cora, moving Owen even farther away.

For a second Maddie felt a little bit of panic at her ally drifting away.But that was stupid.Because Owen Landry represented as big a risk as anyone or anything to ruining Maddie’s good feelings and memories of Autre.And this was Ellie.The woman had been a second grandma to Maddie and Tommy.

Ellie could work magic with pecans, that was for sure.Her pie had once led men to literally fight over the last piece, and she made amazing spicy pecans that Maddie could eat by the bushel.“I haven’t had a decent piece of pecan pie in forever,” Maddie told Ellie, her voice soft because of the tightness still afflicting her throat.

Ellie took Maddie’s face between her hands and peered into her eyes with a solemn but affectionate look.“We will fix that, my sweetheart.We will fix a lot of things.”

Oh boy, there was that threat of tears again.Maddie blinked quickly and gave Ellie a wobbly smile without answering.

Ellie pulled her into a quick hug and then turned her over to Owen and Sawyer’s grandpa, Leo.

“This old man hasn’t seen anything so pretty in a long time,” Leo told her.

“Thanks, Grandpa!”Kennedy called from somewhere at the back of the crowd.

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