Page 39 of Sweet Home Louisiana

It was sudden and an overreaction and kind of ridiculous.She had no claim on Owen.But…she didn’t want him to be with anyone else, either.At least until she went back to San Francisco and could pretend that he wasn’t with anyone else.And where she definitely didn’t have women requesting she make it easier for them to entice him back to their hotel rooms.

“What about Owen?”Natalie asked.

“Oh, Owen.”Maddie gave Kennedy a look and they both shook their heads sadly.“Well, youcouldhook up with Owen but I woulddefinitelynot go back to his place,” she said, thinking quickly.

“Why not?”Lacey asked.

“Rats,” Maddie said.

Lacey’s eyes grew round.Maddie nodded.“Yeah, he’s got a rat problem.It’s probably because he never does dishes or anything.Total pig.”

“Oh…wow.”

“Thankfully he’s now symptom-free.”

“Symptom-free?”Lacey asked.“What symptoms?”

“From the typhoid fever.”

Kennedy had just taken a drink of her soda and immediately started coughing.

6

“Typhoid fever?”Lacey repeated.

Kennedy hit herself in the chest trying to stop coughing, and Maddie struggled to keep a straight face.She knew nothing about typhoid fever.For all she knew, it had been eradicated with small pox.But she was gambling on Lacey and Natalie not knowing anything about it, either.

“Yeah.From the rats,” she said.“But he’s better now.He’d probably be up for some fun in New Orleans.”

“Oh, wow, I don’t know,” Lacey said quickly.She straightened.“That’s all too bad.Him getting sick and stuff.He was a great guy.”

He was.Still was, in fact.And Maddie knew she should feel guilty about all of this.But she didn’t.

Of course, she had to hope that Owen wouldn’t find out about this.Which meant keeping Lacey and Natalie from seeing him until their tour with Sawyer left.The girls might just avoid him.But he might recognize them.If they’d spent the kind of time together Lacey and Natalie had implied, Maddie sure as hellhopedhe’d recognize them.And what if he did?What if he invited them to stay or invited himself to New Orleans for a repeat?And then the girls would have to turn him down.Which would make no sense unless they told himwhy.Then not only would he want to know why Maddie had lied about the illness, but he might convince the girls it wasn’t true and still end up in one of their beds.Or in a bed with them both since Josh wasn’t an option.Or he might figure out why she’d lied.Becauseshewanted him.

Maddie forced herself to take a deep breath.She was freaking out over nothing.Owen was out with another tour and should be back after these boats left.Then she’d either send him out on another before they got back, or she’d find something for him to do in the office.Or at Cora’s house.Yeah, he could…clean the gutters at Cora’s house.Gutters always needed cleaned out.And those gutters were several blocks from here.

Was she actually coming up with ways tohideOwen from other women?

Yes, yes she was.

“Okay, so I guess we’re with Sawyer?”Natalie asked.

“Oh, Sawyer,” Maddie said, putting a little gushing into her tone.It wasn’t hard.Sawyer was great, too.Of course, he was not really himself right now.He hadn’t been for almost nine months.But maybe a couple of pretty girls flirting with him would help.“Nowhe’samazing.”

“Yeah?”Lacey asked.

Sawyer was a big guy.Bigger than the others.Taller, broader, bigger hands and feet.She could only assume the rest of him matched.“Talk about a big…boat,” Maddie said with a nod.

Kennedy started choking again, whacking her chest.

Oh yeah, he was her brother.Maddie grinned.Oops.“Sorry,” she muttered.

“Is this Sawyer?”Natalie asked, pointing to a photo of the four guys, their arms around each other, that hung on the wall next to the computer.

“Yep.”

“Nice.”Natalie studied the photo for a moment, then turned back to face Lacey.“Yeah, very nice.”

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