Bayou Dreaming (Butterfly Bayou 3)

He was about to argue when the front door opened and Major stepped out. He was a fit man only slightly shorter than Zep himself. Major was the all-American hero type, and Zep had to wonder if he had any interest in Roxie. Was this the kind of man who would work for her long term? Major practically had a halo.

Major stepped up, relief obvious on his face. “Rox, I’m so glad you’re here. We’re having a night. I’ve got a freaked-out mom. Patsy Howell checked in on her son and he wasn’t in his bed. She’s sure he’s been kidnapped. I have no idea why anyone would want to kidnap a sixteen-year-old boy who never shuts up, but I gotta check it out.”

“He’s likely out drinking,” Roxie said. “But stranger things have happened.”

“I’ve got someone checking the teen hangout spots, but I need to go and calm Patsy down.” Major was already off the porch steps and walking past them. “I’ll let you know if this turns into something serious, and then we need to be all hands on deck.”

Roxie nodded. “I’ve got my cell. Zep and I can handle this.”

Major turned and his brows had risen, his lips curved up. “You and Zep? You know I only called him.”

Roxie’s hands went to her hips. “He’s new. I thought I should be here to make sure it all goes smoothly.”

“Uh-huh, we’ll talk later,” Major promised. “Again, thanks for coming out.”

He jogged down the path to his SUV.

“Zep, is that you?”

He looked up and his momma was standing at the entrance of Dixie’s porch wearing her bathrobe, her hair up in her nighttime turban. It was a brilliant yellow that, combined with the black velvet robe, made her look a little like a giant bumblebee, but then that was his mom. She lived three doors down. They lived three doors down from Dixie. It wasn’t like he was moving in with Rox. Hell, he wasn’t sure he would even be staying with her after tonight.

“Hey, Mom. You remember Deputy King, right?”

His mother moved down the steps, her arms open. “Of course I do. Roxanne, we’re so glad you’re here. And so glad you’re all right after coming so close to the monster last night.”

He sighed. “Mom, you know there’s no monster.”

Roxie looked a little surprised but she gamely gave his mom a hug. It made him think about the fact that she hadn’t hugged her own mother or father at dinner.

His mom let her go and turned his way. “Now you hush, disbeliever. I’m already on it. Marcelle and I are working on a spell that will keep the rougarou away.”

He couldn’t help it. His eyes rolled whenever his mother started in on the woo-woo. “How much you going to charge for that, Momma?”

His mother drew herself up, her shoulders straightening. “Just a nominal fee, of course. Though not for the tourists. We have to upcharge them a bit. Mysticism isn’t free, you know.”

“It is,” he replied. “It is absolutely free. Now, where is Dixie and how did you get involved?”

“I called over to the house.” Dixie stepped outside. She was a person he’d known all his life. Dixie’s family had owned the diner in town since she was a child. It had been named after her. Dixie’s had been the place his dad had taken him every Saturday morning. He and Remy and Seraphina would eat pancakes while his dad let his mom have the morning to herself. Dixie’s very presence was practically comfort food. “I was trying to get hold of you. I misplaced your cell phone number. I know I was supposed to put it in my phone, but I’m better about writing things down.”

And then losing them. “I’ll put it in for you before I leave. So tell me what’s going on. You saw something?”

She nodded and waved for them to come inside. “Yes, it was out back. I got up for a glass of water. I didn’t turn on the lights because there was enough moonlight that I could find my way. I was standing in front of the kitchen sink and that’s when I saw something moving out in the oleander bushes.”

He moved through Dixie’s small home, through the living room and into the kitchen. Her husband was standing there, a shotgun in his hand.

Roxanne merely sighed. “Tell me you didn’t take a shot at something, Gary.”

Gary Halford hadn’t been born in Papillon, but he’d moved here after he fell in love with Dixie. It hadn’t taken him long to get used to the culture. “Naw, but I let that thing see I’m not unarmed.”

Zep wasn’t sure how some animal looking for food was going to understand the whole armed versus unarmed thing, but he let it go. “So all that happened was some bushes shook?”