Page 33 of Beau

Beau nodded. “Very different in many ways.”

“Was it hard to transition back to civilian life?” Aurelie asked.

“Yes.” Beau laid his fork on his plate and looked at his mother. “How soon can we check out Robbie Pearson’s house?” He had effectively ended that conversation.

Aurelie suspected he had a reason for not wanting to talk about his time in the army or his transition out. This only made her that much more curious about him.

Helen had finished her breakfast. She collected her plate and pushed back from the table. “I can be ready in five minutes,” she said. “I just need to grab my purse and my car keys.”

“No hurry,” Beau said, but there was no mistaking the tension in him. He collected his plate and Aurelie’s and carried them to the sink, where he rinsed them off and placed them in the dishwasher.

“Don’t worry about the dishes,” Genevieve said. “We’ll take care of them. You go with Maman.” She smiled at Aurelie. “Nice to meet you.”

“If you two move into the Pearson house,” Elise said, “can I come visit?”

Helen was halfway out the kitchen door when she paused and looked around at her youngest daughter, a frown denting her forehead. “Now, Elise, don’t bother Miss Anderson.”

“I won’t bother them,” Elise said. “It’s just that Old Man Pearson’s house has a dock on the bayou. It’s a great place to swim.”

Aurelie blinked. “Aren’t you afraid of swimming in the bayou with the alligators?”

Elise grinned. “I enjoy a challenge.”

“Elise!” Her mother looked at her with a stern glance.

Elise rolled her eyes. “People up north don’t quit going into the woods because of bears. They have a whole campaign on being ‘bear aware,’” she said, her eyes narrowed. “We have a similar attitude in the bayou,” she said. “We just don’t have a cute slogan like bear aware. I’ve been working on it, though.” Elise grinned. “What do you think of ‘gator radar?’”

Having just had an encounter with an alligator, Aurelie wasn’t inclined to use gator radar and tempt the deadly creatures by swimming in the bayou.

Beau directed a narrow-eyed glance at his youngest sister. “I hope you’re not swimming in the bayou alone.”

Elise gave him an exasperated look. “I’m not that dumb. I usually swim with friends, and we are very aware of alligators.”

Helen Boyette re-entered the kitchen, carrying her purse and keys. “I’m ready when you are.”

Beau dipped his head. “We’ll follow you there.”

He hooked Aurelie’s elbow, and together, they followed his mother out the front door.

Aurelie liked the way his hand felt on her arm, strong but sensitive to her needs. He walked her to the passenger side of his truck and opened the door, waiting for her to climb in before he closed it behind her.

He slid into the driver’s seat, started the engine and pulled out behind his mother’s graphite-gray SUV. He followed her through town to the opposite end, where the road curved along the shore. She pulled off the public road onto a private driveway leading to a small cottage perched on the bayou’s edge.

A plain, white clapboard house with a deep front porch stood in a clearing surrounded by colorful hydrangeas and towering cypress trees. Rocking chairs beckoned visitors to sit and enjoy the morning sunshine. The house reminded Aurelie very much of her little cottage in Bayou Miste.

“It’s got good clearance around it,” Beau said. “No one can sneak up without coming out into the open. If you stay here long, I can install some security cameras.”

Aurelie shook her head. “I really don’t think I’ll be here that long.”

“You might consider staying here while your cottage is being repainted.” Beau pushed open his door and dropped to the ground. He rounded the front of the truck to open her door for her.

Aurelie stared at the cottage, not liking the fact that her own cottage had been violated. She itched to get back inside of it and clean up the mess that had been made. “I’ll probably do my own painting,” she said, thinking out loud. “It was on my list of things to do after I bought the house. I just hadn’t gotten around to it yet.”

“You might hold off painting until you know for sure who did the damage,” Beau suggested. “You don’t want to paint and have them come behind you and damage it all over again.”

Aurelie’s lips pressed into a tight line. “Why do people have to be such assholes?”

Beau chuckled. “I don’t know. Hopefully, whoever is causing you grief won’t find you anytime soon here in Bayou Mambaloa.”