Page 13 of Sweet Home Louisiana

It wasn’t a lie.She didn’t want the business.She really didn’t.What did she want with a swamp boat tour and fishing company?She had the Pacific Ocean.The massive, gloriously beautiful Pacific Ocean.She didn’t need the dirty, kind of creepy bayou.And owning it from afar wasn’t a good option, either.She definitely didnotwant to keep getting those checks in the mail.

Plus it washothere.Not hot.Butholy-shit-it’s hot.And the humidity—God, the humidity.Then there were the bugs.There were lots.Big ones.Also, Cora’s gumbo was going to give her heartburn.She couldn’t handle the spices anymore.She hadn’t had a single drop of Tabasco in a decade, and she hadn’t eaten any breaded, fried meat in almost seven years.

This was just not her place anymore.

But she was going to have to convince them of that whiletheywere trying to convinceherthat she missed all of this and wanted to get back to her roots.She didn’t doubt for a second that Owen, Sawyer, and Josh loved the Boys of the Bayou.They got to boat on the bayou, fish, hunt, laugh, tease, and be outdoors in the sun and fresh air.And now they got paid for it.It was the perfect job for them.But she also knew that fifty-percent of their love of the company was that it was a part of the family.In their minds, all it would take was her being here for a month, being a part of this life, to never want to let it go.She didn’t know if they thought she’d actually move down here and start over, but it was clear they thought they could tap into her loyalty and love for Autre and the Landrys, and that would keep her from cutting ties.

She really needed to cut those ties.She needed to use these thirty days to show them that she didn’t fit here and that they didn’t want her here.

But there were more of them.

And they had pecan pie.

This was definitely going to be a battle.

“I think I might have already dropped a couple pounds from the sweating,” she told Sawyer.“I guess that’s one perk of this trip.”

He chuckled softly.“California isn’t really the arctic.”

“No, but it’s not a sauna in an oven on the surface of the sun, either.”

He lifted a brow.“That’s dramatic.”

“So is insisting that I come over two thousand miles and stay for a month-long staff meeting.”

His smile grew.“Thanks for coming.”

“I didn’t really have a choice, did I?”

Of course, that was thanks to Leo and Kenny more than it was Sawyer’s doing.The two old men had drawn up a partnership agreement that was, even according to Maddie’s lawyer, legal and binding.Even if it was unconventional.

Unconventional.What a word.Everything about this town and her situation here was un-freaking-conventional.

If she wanted to get rid of her share of Boys of the Bayou, she not only had to sell it for fair market value or greater, she had to jump through a few hoops.Crazy, only-Leo-and-Kenny-would-come-up-with-this hoops.

A thin line of sweat trickled down her spine just then reminding her that yeah, no matter how tempting the pecans and laughter and…okay, Owen…were, it was too damned hot to live here now that she’d gotten used to the San Francisco Bay area.

“Madison Evangeline Allain!”Josh, the third of her partners and Sawyer’s younger brother, pushed to the front of the little crowd, cutting off any argument she and Sawyer might have gotten into about him coercing her into coming.Josh pulled her into a big hug and said softly in her ear, “Sawyer’s a pretty great big brother, if you need one.”

And she was suddenly at risk of crying again.She did need one.Hers was gone.And while Tommy had been damned stubborn over the last twelve years about cutting her off and letting her start fresh in California, she knew that he’d done what he thought was best.Being an asshole to her had been his way of taking care of her.But dammit, he’d given her sixteen pretty great years before that.

She sniffed and pulled back, giving Josh a wobbly smile.“Yeah, I guess you turned out pretty good.”

“And I’m happy to fill in, too.”He gave her an affectionate grin.

“Thanks.”

“And the camping trip is going to be fun.I promise.”

Right.The camping trip.One of the stipulations in the partnership agreement.Apparently Leo and Kenny had decided that the only reason one of them would be trying to get out of the partnership would be because they’d had a fight and that any conflict between them could be settled the way it had been since they were eight—with a camping trip.

The camping trip that she wasnotgoing on.She’d sit around a campfire in Cora’s backyard or something, but no way was she spending the night in Leo’s old cabin.

Sawyer knew that.At least she assumed he knew that.She didn’t camp anymore.She didn’t get on airboats—which was the only way to get to the cabin.She didn’t sleep in bunkbeds—which were the only things to sleep on out there.She didn’t go without internet access—which was a complete joke out there.Yeah, there was no way in hell she was going to stay out there in that ramshackle “cabin” with Sawyer, Josh, and Owen overnight to work out their business problems.

But she’d agreed to come to Autre, hoping to placate them by at least showing up in person to discuss all of this.Besides, she was going to meet with Bennett Baxter, the guy who was interested in her share, and it made sense to meet him in person.And be here when he came to check things out.Because God knew what these guys—hell, the whole group of friends and family—would do or say to dissuade him from buying.

“Okay, time for the partners’ meeting,” Sawyer interrupted, pulling Josh back.He smiled down at Maddie.“Come on.Let’s head over to the office.We have a lot to talk about.”

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