Page 84 of Sweet Home Louisiana

Josh helped dock her boat and after everyone had disembarked, she asked, “Owen texted and said you all needed to do something to smooth the feathers of the people who thought I was about to shoot them?”

He grinned.“Something like that.”

“And we’re avoiding giving out the stickers so that later, when their dad goes to write a review of the tour on a travel site, he doesn’t look across the table, see the alligator on the sticker, and get all riled up again?”

“Exactly.”

She blew out a breath.“That was bad.”

“Owen thought it was great.”

She glanced over to where he was talking to the older couple after having helped the woman off the boat.“Yeah?”

“He’s been wondering when you’re going to do something really crazy for him.”

Her heart thumped at that.“Crazier than inventing a typhoid fever outbreak?”

He laughed.“Yep.”

It was a freaking miracle she hadn’t done something stupider because of Owen before this and they all knew it.“I kind of thought the shed would carry me for a while.”

Josh chuckled.“Guess today was the expiration date.”He gave her a little side hug.“Go on and get out of here.We’ve got this.”

“This?”

“The complaints.”

She groaned.

But she did make her way to the office.She just wanted to shut the door between her and everyone else for a little while so she could breathe and figure out what the hell was going on.

No, she knew what was going on.She was losing her mind.As usual in Autre.But she’d pulled aguntoday.That was next level.

Maddie made it around the far side of the building and into the office, before she really started shaking.She closed the door and leaned back against it.

The chances of her shooting anyone on the boats had been slim.She’d shot a rifle before.She knew basically what she was doing and the barrel had been pointed away from them.

But it had been pointed at Owen.

NotatOwen, but near him.And she hadn’t shot a gun in over a decade.She easily could have missed her target—the dirt next to Wilma/ Betty/ whoever-the-fuck-that-was—and shot Owen.

She dragged in a deep breath as her chest tightened.What thefuckhad she been thinking?

Someone turned the knob, and the door she was leaning against pushed inward.She stumbled forward, barely missing knocking a huge stack of papers to the floor, and turned as Owen came through the door.He didn’t look surprised to find her, which meant he’d come looking for her.He wasn’t smiling, but he didn’t look mad, either.

He shut the door behind him firmly and locked it.

12

Maddie felt her heart start pounding without even knowing exactly why.

He took the two steps to where she stood, grabbed her elbow, and pulled her in.

She went into his arms gratefully.As his arms wrapped around her, she started shaking.Adrenaline coursed through her and she felt jumpy and like crying and like she needed to push him away even as she slipped her arms around him and squeezed.

His arms tightened around her and she felt him kiss the top of her head.

And the tears started.

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