Page 66 of Beau
“We will,” Beau took the bag of medications and left with Aurelie.
Once out in the truck, he turned to her. “What now?”
She stared at the vet clinic. “I don’t know. I feel like I should be meeting with my team, working on ad campaigns and lining up interviews with local celebrities to get their buy-in for saving our natural resources.” Aurelie turned to Beau. “But right now, I just can’t. All I want to do is hole up in the cottage. Out of sight.” Her brow furrowed. “Two hitmen? Wow. I guess I should feel special.” She snorted. “All I want to do is what Lady did and disappear into the woods.”
Beau’s heart pinched hard in his chest. He wanted to make the world right again for Aurelie. The only way he could help would be to take out two hitmen and the leader of the Cajun mafia. How difficult would that be?
CHAPTER 13
Lady settled on Aurelie’s lap and fell asleep for the short ride back to the cottage.
Aurelie tried to look at the bright side of the day so far. They’d determined Lady had belonged to the Pearsons. She was as healthy as a dog could be that had been running wild for the past couple of months, foraging on whatever she could find to survive. And she hadn’t been eaten by an alligator, coyote or larger dogs.
They had medicines to help her regain her health and were taking her back to the only home she’d ever known.
Aurelie found it helped to focus on someone else other than herself. It was pointless fixating on the fact she had a target on her back with experienced hitmen taking aim.
Caring for Lady helped. But how much of an effort would it be if the dog slept all day?
Aurelie needed to keep moving. She needed a task to occupy her mind, or she’d fall down the rabbit hole of what-ifs.
Beau parked his truck behind the house. “Just in case someone comes looking for us, it won’t be as obvious that we’re here,” he said.
He’d carried his handgun in the console of his truck on the drive to and from town. As soon as he parked, he took it out of the console and tucked it into the waistband of his jeans.
“Isn’t that awkward?” Aurelie asked.
He nodded. “Yeah. I’ve got a shoulder holster in my backpack I plan to wear now that we’re here.” He helped her to the ground and walked with her up the porch steps. After he unlocked the door, he stepped inside and waited for her to enter. He closed the door and flipped the lever for the deadbolt.
“You know the drill,” he stated.
She nodded. “Stay just inside the door while you run a security check.”
Beau nodded and winked. “I’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere.”
Aurelie stood still, following the sound of Beau’s footsteps as he moved from room to room. He came back with a smile.
“Let me guess,” she said with one eyebrow cocked. “All clear?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said with a grin.
She set Lady on the floor.
The dog raced toward the kitchen where Aurelie had left a bowl of water on the floor earlier.
Aurelie’s gaze followed Lady until she disappeared around a corner.
Beau laughed. “I think she feels safe.”
“Agreed.” She shifted her gaze to meet Beau’s. “I can’t just sit around waiting for something to happen. Your mother said we could earn our rent by sorting through the Pearson’s belongings.”
“She did say that.” Beau walked with her into the living room and stood looking around. “Do you want to tackle it today?”
She laughed. “It’ll take more than a day, but yes. I need to keep busy. Sorting and boxing would give me something productive to do, and staying here at the cottage will make your job of keeping up with me easier.” She gave him a crooked grin. “It’s a win for both of us.”
He clapped his hands together. “I’m in. I think I saw a stack of empty boxes in one of the bedrooms.”
They started by labeling three separate boxes as Donate, Family and Trash and went to work in the spare bedrooms first.