Page 88 of Beauty and the Bayou

Sawyer frowned.Wait, that might not be true.Owen might have introduced them.

It was especially stupid to feel jealous aboutthat, but Sawyer realized that his fear about facing Stella with his scar had probably kept him from seeing her eyes light up over the river otter and had kept Sawyer from her brother Cooper’s litany of river otter facts that he no doubt would have pulled out of his head or immediately off of his mom’s phone.

Dammit.He really didn’t want to avoid Stella and Cooper anymore.Or Gabe, Logan, or Caleb for that matter.

He just hadn’t wanted to scare the kids.If the scar didn’t scare them, the story about how he’d gotten it would.Stella would be morbidly fascinated with the story about a shark in the bayou, but her brother Cooper would have been completely freaked out.The kid worried about everything.

Sawyer grinned thinking about the kids that he was incredibly fond of.They had a little sister now, too, not to mention cousins and friends, like Caleb’s little girl Shay, who would all come down for the day.It would be great.He’d missed them.

That would be great.You serious?Was Gabe’s reply a minute later.

Definitely.You want to bring Logan and his girls, too?

Absolutely.

Gabe’s brother Logan was also his business partner and they were two of Sawyer’s best friends.They owned and operated one of the most popular bars in the French Quarter in New Orleans, and before his accident and Tommy’s death, Sawyer had been a regular.

Next weekend,Sawyer said.Tour’s on the house.

No need for that.But it’s really good to hear from you, man,Gabe texted a moment later.Glad to have you back.Stella is going to be thrilled.

Sawyer smiled.He had good friends.He’d seen the guys since Tommy’s accident.They’d come down to hang out, without their kids.They’d called and texted, trying to pull him out of his funk.He knew that Josh and Owen had shared their concern about his mental and emotional state with the New Orleans guys and that Gabe, Logan, and Caleb had been worried, too.But the first time Gabe had scheduled a trip to Autre with his kids after the accident, Sawyer had insisted Owen take them out.The second time, he’d made Kennedy cancel them.

Stella and Cooper weren’t just some random tourist kids.They were his friend’s kids.More, he cared about Stella and Coop, too.He’d known them for about three years now and had watched them grow up.Watching Gabe and his wife Addison bring their kids together and make a family had been awesome.Watching Stella and Cooper grow closer together and have each others’ backs even while teasing and arguing at times had reminded him of himself and Josh and Owen and Tommy.

He also knew that taking them out on the bayou would be even harder than taking the random tourist kids.He couldn’t stomach the idea of something happening to them.Or worse, scaring them off.

That was actually the bottom line, he realized.

He didn’t want Stella to fear the bayou she loved so much.

Like he did now.

He didn’t want her to know the story of what had happened to his face.And she would ask.For sure.He knew Owen and Gabe had told her he was sick last time because she’d sent him a homemade get-well card.This time, when he saw her, she’d notice the scar and she’d ask.He didn’t want to lie to her.He also didn’t want her to see his true emotions about it all.She was his biggest admirer.He knew that if he showed her even a hint of fear about the bayou, it would make her fearful, too.But if hedidn’tuse this to show her how dangerous the bayou could be, she would continue to love everything about the bayou and the animals there and would possibly not take the necessary precautions.

Which was where Juliet came in.

He needed her to go on this tour with him.He needed her to be there to make him breathe deep through it all.And he needed her to be the one in charge of the safety precautions.She’d wear her life jacket and sit still and keep her hands inside the boat for sure, and he knew that she’d instruct the kids to do the same.He could be the bayou-loving-but-careful guy the kids had always known, while Juliet made sure that everyone stayed safe and secure and that they had a plan B for anything that went wrong.

He could do this if Juliet was there.She’d keep him calm.She’d remind him that whatever happened, they’d handle it.

This have anything to do with the hot brunette I heard has been hanging around down there?Gabe asked a moment later.

Sawyer snorted as he read the message.Clearly Owen and Josh had been up to Trahan’s Tavern since Juliet had been to town.

Yeah, it does, he said honestly.Hell, Gabe had fallen hard and fast for Addison.He could hardly give Sawyer shit for the same thing.

And had he fallen hard and fast for Juliet?

Oh, fuck yeah.

Glad to hear it,Gabe told him.

Sawyer grinned.Can’t wait to see you all, he told Gabe honestly.Thanks for being patient with me.

Hey, we’ve all had our stuff,Gabe replied.

Yeah, everyone had their stuff to deal with.So why had it taken Juliet Dawson’s arrival to pull Sawyer out of his dark place?He didn’t know, but he was grateful that Chase had plowed the airboat into the Boys of the Bayou dock.

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