Page 4 of Beauty and the Bayou

He looked her up and down, this time not trying to hide it.She’d practically invited him to.“Whydoyou have hip waders and a life jacket on?And a hard hat?”

“Because I thought I might need to wade into the water or walk through mud.”

“You don’t know how to swim?”

“Isn’t it always safer to have a life jacket on around water?”

Sawyer opened his mouth.Then snapped it shut.Having a life jacket on around water was, of course, safer than not having one on.That was just common sense.

He supposed he was used to a lack of common sense around here.

He and his brother, Josh, and cousin, Owen, owned and operated one of the most popular tourist attractions outside of New Orleans.Boys of the Bayou Swamp Boat and Fishing Tours offered airboat tours as well as fishing and hunting expeditions.They took hundreds of strangers out on the bayou every week.The majority of those people had never been to the bayou before and had very little practical knowledge of things like alligators and snakes, and many had a surprising lack of knowledge of boat and water safety.At least in Sawyer’s estimation.Added to that, the fact that many of the groups were bachelor and bachelorette parties, fraternity and sorority groups, spring break revelers, and other similar gatherings, who had decided to step out of New Orleans for a little more unique experience, there was also a general party air—and often blood alcohol levels above “totally sober”—that contributed to people not taking his safety talks as seriously as they should.

His family and other people in Autre, Louisiana didn’t take things as seriously as Sawyer would like, either.They’d grown up here and thought they knew everything.But familiarity led to complacency and a feeling of invincibility that could be damned dangerous.

That’s what had happened to Tommy.

A shaft of pain went through him, as it often did when he thought of Tommy, his business partner and best friend.He and Tommy Allain had been inseparable since they’d been born.Their grandfathers and fathers had been best friends, too.They hadn’t really had a choice but to like one another, but it had worked out that they’d had everything in common and disagreed on nothing that a bottle of whiskey and some fishing couldn’t fix.

Most days, he still couldn’t believe Tommy was gone.It had been nine months but it hadn’t gotten less painful.The only thing that felt better was the gash on his face and even that still twinged sometimes.

So yeah, Sawyer overreacted when it came to safety.

He didn’t give a fuck how everyone else felt about that.

“And the hard hat?”he asked when he couldn’t come up with anything else to say about her life jacket.

She lifted her chin.“I think head protection is incredibly important at all times.”

Okay, that was a weird answer.Who thought about head protection “at all times”?

But damned if he didn’t like it.

He was the last guy to fault someone for being prepared.Even overly prepared.

He realized that he really liked that this gorgeous creature was also cautious.

Was he developing a little fetish for protective wear?Well, that was fucking weird.But he supposed there were worse things.

“So why can’t I go down there with all of this on?”she asked, waving her hand down her body to indicate everything she was wearing.

“There are cotton mouths down there.”It was true.He’d burned one nest, but there was a good chance there were more.One thing they were never short on down here was critters.

Her brown eyes widened.“Those are snakes, right?”

“Yep.Nasty ones.Very poisonous.”

“Damn,” she breathed.“I didn’t look up snakes.”She squinted up at him.“Can they bite through rubber boots like these?”

He eyed her footwear.No, they probably couldn’t.But he didn’t like the idea of her tromping around where those fuckers might be.“What if you slip and fall on one and it bites your arm?”he asked.

Her arms were bare.She was clearly wearing a tank under the life jacket.There was a lot of exposed skin.

Smooth, silky, tan skin…

“Ugh.”She looked like she was going to be sick.“Yeah, okay, I’m not going down there.”

A really strange, surprisingly strong surge of satisfaction went through him.Someone was listening to him.Someone was believing him when he said something wasn’t safe.Damn, that felt good.He didn’t have to argue, or get firm, or glare.She just said, “Yeah, okay.”

---