Page 10 of Cajuns. Love. Curves.

chaptersix

Ava

True to Remy’s word, we leave his parents’ restaurant and head to Houston. Since we have a couple of days before we have to be there, I convince him to drive me by the beach.

“I don’t understand this. So you’ve seen the ocean and been to the beach, just never in Texas, but you’ve lived here all your life?” he says while he’s driving.

“Yes. My mother always said that Texas beaches were ugly and the water was dirty and murky. So we vacationed in the Florida Keys and Hilton Head. Never on the Gulf of Mexico.”

“That’s weird, Ava. We’ve got perfectly decent beaches here. Is the sand white like Cancún? No, it’s not. And the water isn’t that clear Caribbean blue like the Bahamas. But it’s still the beach. You’ll also find some of the best seafood you’ve ever eaten in some hole in the wall restaurants down here.”

“I bet that’s true. Hard to believe it’ll be better than your parents’ cooking though.”

“That’s true. Admittedly, I grew up spoiled where food was concerned. Well, really where everything was concerned. My parents are great.”

“Tell me about your siblings.”

“I’m the dreaded middle child. Which really just means that I’m the most awesome.” He shoots me a wink. “My brother Wade is five years older than me and all I ever remember is wanting to be just like him growing up. He was this bigger than life guy. Not in personality because frankly he’s kind of shy. But he’s big, like our dad and so strong. No one ever picked on me because I was Wade’s little brother.”

“It’s hard to imagine anyone picking on you anyways. You’re not a small guy,” I say.

“It took me a while and a lot of work to grow into this. The Navy helped.”

“Your mom mentioned something about an accident with your brother?”

He blows out a low breath. “It happened several months ago. He was on a mission and things went sideways. They lost four team members that day. And Wade lost one of his legs. Thankfully two of his team members drug him to safety until they got a chopper in to evacuate them. Right now he’s finishing up rehab learning how to walk again using a prosthetic.”

“How dreadful, but y’all must be so thankful that he came home. Maybe not in one piece, but he’s here.”

“Yes. I’m more concerned with the emotional toil it’s taken on him because the only thing he ever wanted to be was a SEAL. Having that ripped away from him…” Remy shakes his head.

I reach over and pat his thigh. “I’m sorry, Remy. I take it you became a SEAL because of him?”

“Initially, yeah. But we have different skills. Wade was a hostage rescue specialist. He could get in and out before people even knew he was there. I do intelligence. We’re all trained to do everything, but that’s my skill. Tech and computers.”

He points out the window. “You can tell that we’re getting closer to the coast because you can see how the ground is getting sandier. And the landscape is getting flatter.”

I look out the window and see what he’s talking about and he’s right. “I’m so excited. Thank you for doing this for me. I know it’s probably a silly thing.”

He reaches over and threads his fingers through mine and my heart nearly explodes.

“It’s not silly at all.”

“Okay so tell me about your sister, Cassie, right?”

“Right. She’s the youngest and the smallest, but I’m pretty sure she could still kick mine and Wade’s asses. She’s ridiculously smart. A lawyer in Austin. But I suspect she might be moving to Coronado where I live pretty soon.”

“Why is that?”

“I might have played matchmaker with her and my best bud. He’s been in love with her over email because they hadn’t actually met in person until last week. But just make a move already.”

She laughs. “That’s a surprising attitude. Most big brothers are all, ‘don’t you touch my sister!’”

“Meh. I mean if I could hand pick someone, I’d totally pick Nick. He’s a great guy. He obviously has skills to keep her safe. He’s nuts about her so I know he’ll be good to her. I’d rather know she’s with a stand-up guy than some asshole who will cheat on her and jerk her around. Which by the way totally happened earlier this year.”

“That’s terrible.”

“Yes, which is why it made perfect sense to send Nick on her work vacation to be her pretend boyfriend in front of her stupid ex.”

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