Shadows (Bayou Magic 1)

“Maybe she changed her mind. I could tell she wasn’t thrilled to be talking with me.”

“One of the things we need to clear up tonight is this stupid fight y’all have been having for more than a year. It’s ridiculous.”

“I—”

“Sorry I’m late.” Daphne hurries to the table and sits in the empty seat next to Millie. She looks amazing. Her red, curly hair is weaved into a simple braid, and her golden eyes look tired.

She’s a sight for sore eyes.

“I’ve missed you—” I begin, but she holds up a hand, stopping me.

“I’m not here to talk about the issues we have,” she says. “Let’s get that straight right now.”

She moves to shove a piece of paper into her bag, but I stop her.

“Where did you get that?”

She frowns and glances down at it. “A lady on the street gave it to me. Asked me if I’d seen her before.”

“Let me see.”

She passes it to me, and I stare down at a photo of Tammy. Her last name is Holmes. She was only twenty-four, visiting New Orleans from Wisconsin.

“This is one of the girls.”

“I didn’t recognize her,” Daphne says, looking at it again. “Of course, I wouldn’t. She didn’t look like this last night.”

I swallow hard. “No. She didn’t.”

“Two things need to happen tonight,” Millie announces, taking control of the conversation. “One, you will figure out a way to get past this stupid fight.”

Daphne starts to argue, but Millie shakes her head, shutting our baby sister up.

“And two, we need to figure out what’s happening to these poor girls and decide what we’re going to do about it. Where’s Cash?”

“Who’s Cash?” Daphne asks.

“He’s a new person in my life,” I reply. “I told him I was going out for dinner with my sisters, and that I’d see him later.”

“So, you’ve already moved on from Jackson, then?” Daphne asks, glaring at me from across the table.

I reach over and hold Daphne’s hand in mine. “I need you to talk to me, Daph. We can’t get past things if you keep shutting me out. I did not do anything inappropriate with Jackson.”

Her eyes fill with tears at the mention of his name. Jackson was Daphne’s high school sweetheart. They broke up when he went into the military, and when he returned, he asked me to meet up with him for lunch.

Daphne walked in on us and immediately assumed the worst.

“I saw it with my own eyes.”

“You saw us having lunch.”

“He had his damn hand on you!”

“You acted like a child,” I counter, completely frustrated with my little sister. “You threw water in his face and stormed out as if you’d found us in bed together.”

“Oh, trust me, I’m relieved that I was spared that much.”

“Ew.” I lean back and stare at her in horror. “Jack has always been like a freaking brother to me, Daph. I would never do that, no matter what. He’s for you, and I’m not the least bit attracted to him. How could you even think that? We’ve gone more than a year without speaking, all because you assumed I jumped into bed with your boyfriend?”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” she whispers and dabs at the tears on her cheeks. “And even if it was just a simple lunch, it doesn’t matter. He came back, and rather than reach out to me, he reached out to you. Do you know how horrible that feels?”

“It wasn’t the right time,” Millie says calmly.

“For the love of the stars, Mill, just let me be a woman for five minutes, okay? It hurt me, and I’m entitled to feel that way.”

“Sure, you are,” I agree, surprising her. “You feel betrayed. But you let it fester all this time and wouldn’t even let me explain. You assumed I was bouncing all over the man you love, and that’s pretty harsh, Daph.”

“I’m not sorry,” she says softly. “You should have called me right after he asked you to meet.”

“He’s my friend.”

“He’s my everything.”

I sit back and study her. If the tables were reversed, and we were talking about Cash, how would I feel?

Hurt, certainly.

But I like to think I’d give them both the chance to explain.

“So, even though we didn’t do anything inappropriate, you’re going to continue taking your anger out on me? That’s not fair.”

Daphne pouts for a moment, then sighs and wipes the last of her tears away. Daphne’s always been the most dramatic of us, but she’s never behaved like this before.

“You’re right,” she says at last. “It’s not doing any good. And, frankly, being angry all the time is exhausting.”

“I can only imagine. I don’t want you to be mad at me.”

“Let’s table this for now,” Daphne says.

“Wait. Does that mean you’re speaking to her again?” Millie asks.

“Yes, I’m speaking to her.” Daphne rolls her eyes. “Now, let’s get to the real reason we’re all here.” She points to the paper still sitting on the table.