Page 42 of Beauty and the Bayou

“You don’t remember him being laid-back?Unconcerned about the little things?Levelheaded?”he asked.

“I don’t remember him being willing to walk away from a gorgeous woman.”

Sawyer gave her a quick grin.“You might have a point there.”

“Though you dolooka little like him,” Kennedy said, studying him.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.You don’t look…”

“Stressed?Uptight?Angry?”

“Constipated.”

He gave a short bark of laughter.He should have expected that.

She chuckled.“God, it feels good to tease you again.”

He focused on her.“What do you mean?”

“You haven’t been in a teasing mood for a long time, big brother,” Kennedy said.“And there hasn’t been much to tease you about.I mean, I’vewantedto tease you about your freak-outs with the tourists and with Owen, but…it hasn’t felt funny.”She looked at him seriously.“It’s been scary.”

Sawyer’s heart twisted.“I’m sorry, Ken.”

“I know.”She reached out and covered his hand with hers.“I don’t blame you.I just want you to be happy.”

He nodded.He knew that.Losing Tommy had been hard on them, too, but it was even harder because they’d also lost Sawyer a little bit.

“Can I tell you something?”he asked.“About Juliet?”

Kennedy, predictably, perked right up.“Yes.”

Okay, he could do this for her.It might get him more teasing, from her and from the guys who she would undoubtedly tell, but he understood that would make them all feel better.To feel like theycouldtease him would help.

And what he was about to say was true.He just hadn’t intended to share it.

“I’m actually a little worried about…” He trailed off, aware of how this would sound.Yeah, Kennedy was going to really enjoy teasing him about this.

“Yes?”Kennedy asked, leaning in, clearly eager.

“I’m a little worried that maybe Juliet’stoocareful.”

It was true.It had been in the back of his mind since he’d first met her.At first it had been funny.Then it had given him some peace of mind.Then he’d found out that she’d not only never skinny-dipped, but she was adamantly against it.For safety reasons.Reasons that made sense.

Natural water, be it bayou, river, lake, or ocean, was dirty.Full of critters.And critter poop.He grinned thinking about that.Had a woman ever turned him on talking about if snakes pooped or not?That would be a very definite no.

But the point was, skinny-dipping was fun.Spontaneous.Not something to be over-thought.He wondered if Juliet ever did anything like that—just did something because it felt good without a whole accordion file for it.

He wanted to take Juliet Dawson skinny-dipping.

More specifically, Juliet Dawson was making him want to go skinny-dipping again, in spite of the possible dangers.

That was huge.Really huge.

Kennedy blinked at him.She leaned in.“Excuse me?Could you repeat that?”

Sawyer felt satisfaction slip through his chest.He was making Kennedy happy.Could he give her this much?For that smile?Absolutely.

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