Page 58 of Sweet Home Louisiana

She sighed and tossed her brush onto the counter next to her.

Cora had been great with Maddie setting up her painting stuff in the third bedroom on the second floor of the house.During the day the light was perfect.Of course, Maddie was at Boys of the Bayou during the day.Still, she should be able to at least sketch at this time of night.Orstartsomething.Swipe at least one stripe of paint across the canvas.

But no.

She was feeling feelings.Lots of them.Mixed-up ones.Lust, and longing, and confusion, and irritation—mostly at herself, but also at Owen for keeping his pants zipped up the other day—and confusion, and worry, and confusion.

She should be able to paint.These were the things that fueled her.Being in the very midst of Autre and all the memories and emotions that she’d poured into her paintings over the past few years should have yielded some of her best work.

That wasn’t happening.

Maddie pushed her hair back out of her face as she regarded the canvas with a feeling of betrayal.“Fine.I guess I’ll gotalkto people then instead.”

She’d seen a therapist for a few years after moving to California.She’d lost her mom tragically and her dad was in prison.Yeah, she’d needed therapy.But she hadn’t needed someone to tell her that she painted as a way to express emotions she didn’t have another way to express.

She didn’t have anyone she could talk to in California.Not at first, anyway.And come to think of it, she didn’t really have any close friends in San Francisco even now.Work acquaintances were about it.A couple of women she knew from college.But no one she’d spill her guts to.

So she painted.Got it all out that way.

Here…well, she had people to talk to.Did her subconscious know that?Was that why she couldn’t produce anything?

Well, great.If she couldn’t create here, that was just another reason she couldn’t stay.

She twisted her hair up into a messy bun and pulled a thin knit top over her tank.She checked her legs and the baggy white shorts she wore for paint.But how would they have gotten paint on them?It wasn’t like she’d actually been painting.

Huffing out a frustrated breath, she headed downstairs and out the door, then turned left to walk the block to Ellie’s.She hadn’t spent a lot of time there in the evenings.She’d been going back to her grandma’s house after the tours were done.They did do an evening tour three times a week, but she and Kennedy took turns being there for that.Maddie had used the time at Cora’s to catch up on work in California—the two-hour time difference helped there—and to just have some time alone.She wasn’t used to being with people all day long.The gallery was quiet and when she did have customers come in, it was one or two at a time.She wasn’t used to constant conversation, phones ringing, people shouting and laughing and stomping.Seriously, the Landry boys all stomped and the wooden dock made it all the louder.

Maddie pulled the door open to the bar and was met, as expected, with laughter and conversation and the amazing smell of Cajun cooking.She took a deep breath and felt herself smiling as she stepped inside.She also had to admit that she loved that she was not underdressed.She loved her dresses and heels that she wore to work in San Francisco.She loved her sundresses and sandals that she wore here.But she also loved the comfort of the loose-fitting shorts and baggy top and, even more, the idea that Ellie’s was a come-as-you-are kind of place.That wasn’t just in regard to clothes, either.Everyone who came in here could just be who they were—with the exception of complete assholes, of course—and that was just fine.

“Maddie!”

She looked up to see Kennedy and Tori waving at her from the far end of the bar.

Maddie grinned and started in their direction.She did a quick inventory of people.Cora was probably back in the kitchen and Ellie was leaning on the end closest to the door, talking to Leo—Maddie could swear that Leo was going to have his ass permanently shaped as one of Ellie’s barstools—and a guy she didn’t know.Josh was next to Tori, of course, and Sawyer came through the swinging doors from the kitchen carrying a to-go box as Maddie slid up onto the stool next to Kennedy.

So everyone was accounted for.

Except Owen.

Not that she was looking for him.But didn’t he eat dinner here every night?Maybe he was already done.But by the time the boats were cleaned up and everything stored and the guys headed home for showers before dinner, there was no way he’d already been here.

Maybe he was still coming over.

Her heart flipped and she rolled her eyes.Good lord.She’d seen him all day on and off.Did she feel a little flutter when she heard his voice outside the office just before he walked through the door?Maybe.But she ignored it.Did she peek out the office window at the dock more often when she knew he was out there?Possibly.But she ignored that, too.Just like she was going to ignore any flips and flutters that occurred at the idea of him walking in while she was here.

“What are you doing here?”Kennedy asked her.“Not that I’m not happy to see you, but Cora said you’ve been eating salads for dinner at her house.”Kennedy’s tone made it clear how she felt about salad.Pretty much how most people felt about liver and onions.

Maddie nodded.“I have.The pastries for breakfast and the fried food, grits, rice, cheese, etc.for lunch need to be balanced out.”

Kennedy gave her a look.“It’s not the spices?”

Well, she had started taking an antacid before bed.“Okay, maybe that, too.”

Kennedy shook her head.“Amateur.”

Maddie laughed.

“Hi, sweetie.”Ellie appeared, wiping the bar in front of Maddie.“Have you eaten?”

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