Page 50 of Beauty and the Bayou

But it bothered him that she was.

Hewantedpeople to be cautious around the bayou and to recognize its threats.Even before Tommy had died but definitely since then.Now there was a gorgeous, worry-wart here, and he was bothered because she was afraid of the water anddidn’twant to go out on an airboat?

He was going crazy.That was the only explanation.

He turned on his heel and headed to the kitchen, grabbing to-go boxes and filling them with the night’s special.Yes, he was going over to Cora’s to check on Juliet.He was going to insist she eat something substantial, ask about her sore muscles, and tell her she didn’t need to finish the dock.

He was going to do what he’d have expected all ofthesepeople to have already done.

Ellie waved at him as he came out of the kitchen and Cora blew him a kiss.He gave them both a little wave, but he was annoyed with them.He wasn’t going to get into it, but…

Wait, fuck that.Yes, he was.

He crossed the room to his grandmother first.

“Hey.”

She looked over her shoulder at him as she slid two mugs of beer across the bar.“Hey.”

“Why haven’t you been taking care of Juliet?”

Ellie turned to face him fully, propping a hand on her hip.“Pardon me?”

“She’s been working her ass off and then going back to Cora’s alone and you’re all fine with that?”

Ellie narrowed her eyes at him.“What makes you think we’re fine with it?”

“Well, she’sover there right now alone,” he said, sweeping his hand in the general direction of Cora’s house.

“You wanted us to hog-tie her and bring her over here against her will?”

He was aware that the nonchalant answer was not “yes.”Still he said, “Let’s just say that wouldn’t have surprised me.”

Ellie studied him for a moment and then said, “Juliet is something we don’t see a lot of around here.”

“What’s that?”

“Fully independent.”

Sawyer frowned.“Come on.”

“She’s also a bit of an introvert.That’s a rare breed here,” Ellie said, lifting a shoulder.

“Tori’s really quiet.”He cast a look at his brother’s girlfriend.Tori was sweet and much preferred animals to people.

“She’s quiet, but she loves to be loved,” Ellie said, the look on her face as she looked at Tori full of affection.“She loves to be with all of us, surrounded by the noise and the crazy, even if she’s not as loud as the rest of us.”Ellie looked back to Sawyer.“Juliet takes care of herself.Not only does she not need to be taken care of, it makes her a little uncomfortable to be fussed over.”

“Maddie is really independent and doesn’t need to be taken care of,” Sawyer pointed out.“She takes care of us more than we do of her.”

Ellie again got a loving look in her eye when she glanced over to where Maddie was laughing with the group.“Madison was like a flower that hadn’t been watered in far too long when she got back down here to us.But how long did it take her to bloom?Two or three days?”Ellie asked.“She cansurvivewithout us, but she wasn’t really living.She needed to be loved our way, too.”

“You don’t think Juliet needs to be loved?”Why was he having this conversation with his grandmother anyway?Juliet was leaving in a week and a half, and he was simply concerned that she wasn’t alone to face her fear of the water, not whether or not all of her emotional needs were being met.

“Of course she needs to be loved,” Ellie said with an eye roll.“Everyone does.But she needs to be lovedherway.Which is not exactly what we’re all used to.”

“And what’s her way?”Sawyer didn’t doubt for a second that Ellie knew what she was talking about.Juliet had only been here for a couple of days but Ellie was amazing at reading people.She’d been around a lot of them over the course of her life and she seemed loud and like she was always commanding the room, but the truth was, she was an observer.She watched people and their interactions and reactions.She definitely tested those reactions with the things she said and did, too.

“We need to let her take care of herself.”

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