Page 42 of Sweet Home Louisiana

Owen sighed.He didn’t seem surprised.He turned.“What’s up?”

“You werefishingon the north bank last night?”

“I…was,” Owen said slowly.“How did you know?”

Sawyer crossed his arms, his biceps bulging.“I found the poles and tackle down under the far dock.”

The far dock was the least used one.The boats tied up there were mostly those that friends and family used personally.

“Oh, shit, sorry,” Owen said.

“What the fuck?At night?”Sawyer demanded.“There are cottonmouths down there.”

Owen nodded again.“You’re right.”

“Who was with you?”

“No one.Just me.”

“Withthreepoles?”Sawyer asked.

“Yeah,” Owen said.“But slow night.Didn’t catch much.”

“Well, you’re lucky you’re not in the hospital with a snake bite or that you didn’t drown.Tell me the empty tequila bottle I found wasn’t full when you took it down there.”

Owen took a deep breath.“Nope.’Course not.Just had a couple of shots.”

“Well, for fuck’s sake, use your head,” Sawyer said.

“Yep.You got it.Sorry.”

Sawyer stomped back out, slamming the door behind him.

Kennedy gave a low whistle.“Damn.Good thing you’ve got those broad shoulders.”

“Don’t know what you mean,” Owen said as he started for the door again.

“The Benson kid and his two buddies were down there last night,” Kennedy said.

“How do you know?”

“I’m guessing, but I found his hoodie on one of the benches outside.”

Owen frowned.“Well, when he comes in to get it, tell him that getting drunk in the dark where a bunch of cottonmouths live is pretty fucking stupid.”

Kennedy nodded.“Will do.”

Maddie was still frowning over the exchange as she pulled Owen out the door, around the far corner of the building, and into the office before she asked about it.She nudged him inside and shut the door behind them.Then, after only a second’s hesitation, she turned the lock.She didn’t want Lacey or Natalie getting lost and thinking this was the restroom or something.

“Why do you do that?”she asked Owen, turning to face him.

“Do what?”

“Take the blame with Sawyer for stuff you didn’t do?That’s the third time I’ve seen it.”

She hadn’t thought that much about it the first time.Sawyer had found one of the boats had half the amount of gas in it that it should have.Meaning someone had taken it out after hours.Owen had said it was him, and Sawyer had bitched about it, then they’d both gone on their way.

The next time, she’d taken more of a note.Sawyer had been pissed about someone using the cabin and not cleaning it up—as evidenced by the empty beer cans and the trash that hadn’t been taken out when he’d gone out there to grab some boots or something.She hadn’t paid a lot of attention to the details, but she’d definitely noticed that Owen had again apologized for it, and Sawyer had again lectured him about safety and reminded him that he didn’t like the guys going off by themselves without anyone knowing where they were.

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