Page 106 of Beauty and the Bayou

He nodded.“Yeah.Both of my sisters are lucky.And the next one will be, too.”

Juliet looked up at Gabe.He chuckled.“We aren’t really telling people that we’re having another baby yet, but yeah, the next one—brother or sister—will be lucky to have Coop, too.”

Juliet laughed.“Congratulations.”

“Thanks.And it was great to meet you, too.”He paused.“It’s great to have Sawyer back.”

She gave him a smile and headed toward Cora’s again.

Once she was under the shower and the rivulets of water on the tub floor were clear rather than muddy brown, Juliet braced a hand on the wall and decided to let herself cry.

She’d been scared.She’d needed help.And Sawyer hadn’t come through.

She thought about that.She squeezed her eyes shut.She relived those moments in the water.

But after a few seconds, she lifted her head.

The tears weren’t coming.

Because she didn’t need to cry.

Sawyerhadbeen there.Had he pushed her into the water and frozen up for a second or two?Yeah.But she’d had her life jacket on.Her arm and leg had worked for as long as she needed them to.Nothing bad had happened.

And, then, Sawyerhaddealt with it.He’d been the one to swim to her and pull her and Cooper into the boat.It had taken him a few extra moments, but he’d battled his own fears—in seconds—had pulled himself together and hauled her butt out of the water before anything bad had happened.

Juliet turned her face up into the shower spray, letting the water course over her face.

She didn’t love the bayou.She maybe never would.Or maybe, now that she’d fallen off this particular bike and skinned her knee, maybe she’d try it again.

After all, Cooper Trahan, even at age nine, recognized that sometimes you sucked it up and did stuff you didn’t like because the people you loved needed you to.

Her eyes flew open and she almost choked on shower water as she gasped.

Coughing, she shut the shower off and reached for a towel.She dried her face and cleared her throat.

She was consideringstaying?Even after today?

Was that even an option?Would Sawyer want that?Did it make any sense at all?

She was a lawyer.There were plenty of people in New Orleans, if not in the towns and parishes around Autre, who could use a patient advocate, of course.It wasn’t as if she wouldn’t be able to find work.

And she loved the Landrys.All of them.

It was hotter than Hades down here.There were lots and lots of bugs and creepy crawlies, but there was also a big Cajun who seemed happy to hang mosquito netting and deal with things like bats.And, if she did end up bit, Ellie and Cora seemed to have a cream or salve for it, no matter what it was.

Yeah, maybe she could stay.

As long as she didn’t have to go out onto the bayou very often.Or ever.

She honestly couldn’t think of a good reason that she’d ever need to get on an airboat again.There were millions of people that lived their entire lives, happy and fulfilled, without ever getting on an airboat.

Sawyer was the only reason she’d ever considered it in the first place.But he had plenty of people willing to go out there with him.Hell, in a few years, Stella would be taking the business over and Sawyer would be lucky if she lethimtake the boats out.

Juliet grinned.And damn, it felt good.

She could livebesidethe bayou on the dry land.A loud clap of thunder rattled the house and she rolled her eyes.Okay,solidground, if not always dry.

Juliet wiped the steam from the mirror and ran her fingers through her hair.She needed to go find him and drying her hair at this point would not only take more time than she wanted to give, it would also likely be pointless.The rain was still coming down hard and she didn’t have time to search for an umbrella that would probably just blow away anyway.

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