Bayou Dreaming (Butterfly Bayou 3)

Her mother also reminded her regularly that her eggs were shriveling up in her ovaries and all her shots at grandchildren were going with them. It didn’t matter that her brother would likely procreate at some point. All that mattered was Roxie was the daughter and should have already produced another kid for her mom to dote on and screw up with her insistence on perfection.

She took a deep breath and turned the phone over. She couldn’t deal with this now. In a couple of hours she would call back and explain again that she didn’t want to go home to celebrate something she didn’t have any real part in beyond being expelled from her mother’s womb. As her mom would point out, she’d even gotten that wrong since she’d been an emergency C-section and had ruined her mother’s ability to wear a much smaller bikini than anyone should wear.

Nope. She couldn’t handle all that judgment right this moment.

There was a loud bark and she moved to the window, drawing back the utilitarian curtains that had come with the place. Zep was in her backyard, wearing nothing but a pair of jeans. He hadn’t even put on his shoes. Daisy was bouncing around the yard and generally being super cute. Zep had a frown on his face and his hair was tousled in a way that should have been messy, but simply made him all the sexier.

She opened the window, ready to call out to him, to let him know she was awake, and his duty was done.

“Come on, girl. I can’t go back in until you do your business,” Zep said with a yawn of his own. “And she’s going to wake up and toss us both out. We have to get back in there and prove our worth. Your job is to look adorable and not leave gifts on her floor.”

He wanted to stay? When would he get that she wasn’t some conquest? That’s what it had to be. Zep Guidry wasn’t used to women saying no to him. He’d wanted a second night with her and she’d refused. He was going to get that night even if he had to charm it out of her.

Would it be so wrong? Maybe they could keep it quiet. If they didn’t cause a bunch of gossip, why would it be wrong to see him again? Not see him. That would imply they were dating. Sleep with him again. Have sex with him again because he was good at it and she wasn’t seeing anyone and she was a healthy female with needs.

Yes, that was a good reason. It was practical when she thought about it. Her job was stressful. She needed to let off some steam every now and then, and the gym wasn’t cutting it anymore. There wasn’t anyone else in town she was attracted to. She’d seen Zep and couldn’t think about anyone else.

He wasn’t good for her. He was too charming, too good looking, too smooth. He was an ex-con, though doing a couple of months in county years before wasn’t exactly hardened criminal material. Armie was willing to hire him.

She shook her head. She wasn’t going that far. But she might think about a mutually satisfying arrangement. It was clear to her that this odd fascination with him wasn’t going to go away.

And hey, if she was right and he had no interest in her if she was actually interested in him, then all her problems would be solved.

Well, all the ones that revolved around him. Her family was another story entirely.

Her cell buzzed again.

“Daisy, come on, girl. She’s never going to like us if you poop on her carpet. It’s a very clean carpet,” Zep cajoled. “I don’t know if you noticed, but she’s kind of a clean freak. We have to respect that. Clean is good. You’ve been some of the places I’ve been and you come to realize clean is way better than dirty.”

The puppy merely dropped down in that playful way puppies did and gave a cheerful bark.

Daisy was a lot like the man she was currently running circles around. She was going to do her thing, and despite all the trauma she’d been through, she obviously expected the sun to shine on her no matter what. She was adorable and she knew it. Just like Zep.

The cell kept buzzing.

He’d been so good with both the dog and her the night before. She’d seen a different side to him. So often she saw him at his worst. He had a bad habit of getting in fights. It seemed to be a form of entertainment out here.

He was so gentle with Daisy, and apparently he’d risked his life on the off chance they needed the snake that had bitten her. Now he was pleading with the puppy not to pee on her carpet. Most people she knew would have left the dog outside.