Page 21 of Beauty and the Bayou

“And you know Sawyer.”

Juliet faced Ellie again.The woman was watching her closely, clearly trying to gauge Juliet’s thoughts about Sawyer through her expression or tone.

“I assumed Maddie and Owen were together by the way they acted last week when we met,” Juliet said.“But what about Josh?He’s not an option?”

She wasn’t interested in Josh.He was very good-looking and had been very nice last week.But no, it was Sawyer who was the Landry occupying her attention.Just Sawyer.

“No, Josh is not an option.”The vet with the piglet that peed on floors was the one to answer.

Ah.He was taken.By the vet.Juliet gave her a smile.“Got it.”

“So I guess the question is if you’re into the flirty, troublemaker type or the broody, bossy type.”

Broody and bossy.No question.At least as of Sawyer Landry saying, “What the hell is going on?”and then grabbing the back of her shorts.

“Honestly?”Juliet asked.“The brother I’m here to bail out of the mess he caused?Flirty, troublemaker type.I think I’m full-up on those.”

Ellie gave her a satisfied grin.“No broody, bossy brothers?”

Juliet sighed and was surprised to find herself taking another sip of sweet tea and not hating it.“No.Just impatient, selfish brothers, other than Chase.”

Ellie frowned.“I’m sorry to hear that.Are they impatient withyou?”

“Oh yeah.I’m four and six years younger than them.And I had…trouble keeping up with them.”Lord, she’d almost said, “I had a stroke when I was ten.”Sheneverlet that spill.But with this woman, it was so easy to just talk.It seemed that everyone here was just accepted as they were, and Juliet was shocked by how quickly she’d relaxed around them.“They’re into things like kayaking and hiking down into the Grand Canyon,” she said of her brothers.

“And they didn’t want to take you to the Grand Canyon?”Ellie asked.

That one hurt, she had to admit.Some of the things they’d wanted to do, surfing for instance, she hadn’t regretted being left out of, but the Grand Canyon…yeah, she’d wanted that one.She shook her head.“They like to go hard and fast.Just not my thing.”

Ellie was studying her eyes, and Juliet could tell that the sharp older woman could see that it wasn’t because staying home had been Juliet’s preference.But Ellie didn’t call her on it or press with more questions and Juliet appreciated that.

They were all adults now.Ryan and Rhett were both in their early thirties and Ryan had a serious girlfriend, who went on their ski trips with them.It wasn’t just the sports that they’d decided Juliet couldn’t keep up on.They’d assumed that a three-week trip around Europe would be hard for her, too.

The truth was, it would have been hard forthembecause she would have needed to research everything and plan a pretty strict agenda and haul along a lot of paraphernalia for all of the what-if scenarios.She could bike around Italy, dammit.She just needed elbow and knee pads.And a helmet.And a first aid kit.But then, she took first aid supplies wherever she went.

“Well, we don’t go hard and fast down here,” Ellie said.“Long and slow and laid-back is more our style.”

Juliet smiled at that.“Sounds like my kind of place.”

Just then the door to the bar opened and again everyone turned to look.Juliet wondered if they did that no matter what, or if everyone who was usually here for breakfast was present and accounted for, so they knew it was a stranger coming in.

This time it was Chase.

He was on time for a change.Already a positive difference.

He sauntered in, seeming to not notice that everyone in the place was looking at him.

“Good morning,” she greeted him as he stopped behind her stool and she swiveled to face him.

“Hey.So, I saw your car.Where’s all the stuff?”

“Being delivered in about a half hour.”

“The stuff?”Leo asked.

“The wood and some of the tools I rented and…” She shrugged.“Stuff.”

Brandon had helped her by sending a list of materials and tools she’d need and she’d ordered everything from a lumberyard and supply company.She’d bought a few things.It probably didn’t hurt to own a power drill and a hammer and that electric handsaw, for instance.Those seemed like things she could have use for again possibly.But there were wrenches and a nail gun and other tools on Brandon’s list that seemed excessive for a woman who was less than perfectly coordinated even with steak knives.

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