“I wouldn’t call it dating,” Hallie argued in a whisper. “It was more like he would pick her up after her shift at the strip club and they would screw for hours. It’s not the same. Sera’s a real girlfriend. Harry takes her out to the grocery store. A man is not truly committed to a woman until he’s pushed a grocery cart full of actual food, and not beer and chips.”
Harry had been the perfect boyfriend for the whole week they’d been dating. Not only did he come by to pick her up every morning to take her to Guidry Place, but he often sat down and had breakfast with the family. Her mom fawned over him and had taken to making pancakes or French toast every morning, much to Zep’s chagrin since breakfast was his favorite meal of the day and his momma would toss a box of cereal his way. Not for Harry, though. Harry, she’d been told, did a man’s work and needed a man’s breakfast.
“That still doesn’t explain why Celeste is having her sworn enemy over for a family event,” Sylvie whispered. “You know how she is about family occasions.”
“Unless she wants to lull her sworn enemy into a false sense of security before she thrusts the knife in,” a new voice said.
Seraphina glanced back, and Lila Daley LaVigne was moving from downward dog into cobra pose with flawless grace. “You think Celeste is going to stab me?”
“I don’t think Celeste would get her hands dirty,” Hallie whispered. “She’s always telling me my nails make me look like I’m the oil rigger instead of my husband. I don’t have time to spend all day in a salon. I’m a young mother. We’re lucky I took a shower three days ago.”
Sylvie sent her a shake of her head. “I’m going to have to hose you down, girl.”
“I will welcome it,” Hallie admitted. “And if you put some wine in that hose, that would be even better. I definitely think Celeste is probably planning on poisoning you at the brunch. But it will be one of those poisons that kills you outright with no vomiting because I’ve heard those rugs of hers are worth more than Johnny makes in a year.”
“She doesn’t have to worry about the rugs,” Sylvie argued as they all moved into a lunge. “She would definitely put down tarp.”
“Yeah,” Hallie agreed. “If you see tarp, do not step on it. Do not let Celeste trick you into stepping on it.”
She brought her feet together, completing the sun salutation. If Celeste was going to do anything, it would likely be this afternoon. She still wasn’t sure this meeting of hers wouldn’t include the offer to write a fat check if she would stop dating Harry. “I don’t think she’s going to kill me, but she might be trying to make me run.”
“I don’t know. The tarp thing is solid advice,” a masculine voice said.
“You’re supposed to stay quiet,” Lila whispered back at her husband.
Armie LaVigne sat on a bench a few feet away from his wife. The sheriff of Papillon was wearing sweats and a T-shirt, a book in his hand and a dog lounging at his feet. The big golden retriever mix was named Peanut and he was snoozing, his head resting on Armie’s sneaker. “I’m supposed to be working undercover, but I also have a duty to the public. I absolutely believe Celeste Beaumont could kill a man. Now, I’m pretty sure she could do it with that stare of hers, but I wouldn’t step on tarp around the woman, either.”
“Armie’s undercover?” Sylvie asked as they started another sun salutation.
Sera knew exactly what was going on. “Kenny White’s in town again. He moved back in with his momma because he lost that job packing boxes in Houma. He showed up last Wednesday with a camera. He said he was taking pictures of birds. Not our butts in leggings.”
“Yeah, I got the whole Audubon Society argument,” Armie admitted. “I don’t buy it. He’s a pervert. Every town has a couple. I’m going to let Peanut attack and then I don’t even have to write up an incident report.”
She didn’t think Peanut had enough energy to attack. He might lick the criminal to death, but he wasn’t a police dog. Shep had been a working dog. She often sat with him and wondered at all the things that dog had seen and done. And then she gave him an extra treat. Like his owner, Shep was a warrior who could also be so tender it made her ache inside. The big German shepherd was sweet with Luc, following him everywhere like it was his job to ensure no harm came to the baby.
She’d brought Luc with her a couple of days when they were working on safe parts of the house. Luc was corralled in a playpen, and Shep made sure he stayed there. Every so often, they would take a break and go out to the yard and sit and have a snack in the sunshine. Luc would laugh and run around, Shep always behind him.