“No offense, Ms. Dawson, but I don’t know that I believe your carpentry skills are quite up to that level.”
Juliet tucked her hair behind her ear and smiled at Bennett. “Of course not. I’m much better with depositions than drills. But we’d like a chance to work off what we can and then talk about paying the difference.”
Okay, so she was realistic about her skills. And she was a pretty quick thinker. Maddie liked her.
“I think it’s great,” Maddie said.
“You do?” Owen asked.
She elbowed him again. “I do.”
Bennett gave her a look. “I think we need to talk about it.”
Juliet dug through her accordion file and pulled a page out. “Here we go,” she said. “There was a case in Oregon where a couple of twenty-one-year-olds stole a car and drove it into a play structure in a public park. The judge ruled that they could do jail time or rebuild the structure.” She looked up. “So there’s some precedent.”
“No judge is ruling in this case, though,” Bennett said.
“We were hoping to avoid that,” Nate said. “If we can settle this and Boys of the Bayou drops the charges, then there’s no need to involve a judge. Saves us all time. And money.”
“I think we need to—” Bennett started.
But Maddie interrupted. “Guys, can I talk to you in the hallway for a second?” Maddie stood and started for the door before they’d even answered.
“Wha—” Bennett started, but then he got up and followed when he saw that Josh and Owen were already out of their chairs.
They all stepped into the hallway and Josh pulled the door shut behind them.
“This is a…surprise,” Owen said, pushing a hand through his hair.
Maddie nodded. “I know. We should totally do this.”
Josh frowned. “Do this? You mean let them come down and work off the damages?”
Maddie nodded. “As much as they can in two weeks anyway.”
“Why?” Bennett asked. “Why would you want that?”
“There’s no way they’re going to be any help at all,” Josh said.
“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Maddie said. “I think she’s perfect.”
“She’s perfect?” Owen asked. “What the hell for?”
“Sawyer.”
They all just stared at her for a second.
Then Josh asked, “What?”
Maddie nodded, completely sure of her plan now. “Look, Sawyer is going to insist on overseeing, hell, helping with the rebuilding, no matter who does it.”
Since the accident at the dock, Sawyer been even worse about trying to keep an eye on everything and everyone in line. Maddie hadn’t thought that was possible.
“He’s talked to Skip and Tanner about it already,” she went on. “But they’re charging us extra because they know he’s going to be a pain in the ass and we all know they’ll end up quitting on day one when he starts bitching at them. But Juliet and Chase will need his help. They know that. They’ll listen and let him be bossy and they can start right away.” Skip and Tanner couldn’t start the project for at least two more weeks.
“But they don’t know what they’re doing,” Josh pointed out.
Maddie shrugged. “Come on. It’s not brain surgery. Sawyer can show them what to do. And,” she added. “Juliet seems really serious about wanting Chase to make up for his mistake. We all know how it feels to mess something up and not be able to make it right. Let’s let them do this.”
They all stood, clearly thinking it through.
“You know,” Josh finally said. “That’s not crazy.”
“It is crazy,” Bennett said, shaking his head.
Owen blew out a breath. “I don’t know. You’re not there every day, Baxter. Having Sawyer paying attention to someone else for a while sounds nice.”
Bennett sighed. “He’s gonna be pissed. He doesn’t even know we’re meeting with them.”
Maddie nodded. “Yeah. But I’m worried about him. He needs a break from…everything. We all know he won’t take two weeks off and get away, but this could be a nice…distraction.”
“Oh, I think he’ll find Juliet Dawson very distracting,” Josh agreed.
Maddie grinned.
Bringing Juliet Dawson to Autre might be a disaster.
But they’d survived disasters before. And they’d come out stronger on the other side. She was sure this would be no different.
Besides, in her opinion and experience, there was a fine line between disaster and destiny.
Thank you so much for reading Maddie and Owen’s story! I hope you loved Sweet Home Louisiana!
* * *
And we’re not done in Autre, Louisiana yet! Up next is Sawyer and Juliet in Beauty and the Bayou!
* * *
Grab it now!
* * *
Sawyer Landry knows he’s been beastly to be around for the past few months. But the beauty who just showed up on his boat dock doesn’t seem a bit intimidated by his growling.
* * *
The big, gruff boat captain is the first person in a long time to want to watch out for her and Juliet finds that hotter than his grandma’s jambalaya.
* * *
But Sawyer doesn’t need any more people to worry about long-term and the things that make him feel protective of Juliet aren’t going to go away. So this two-week adventure can’t be anything more than a fling. With Juliet around, there’s an even bigger risk than snake bites and hurricanes. There’s the very good chance of someone of ending up with a broken heart.
* * *
You can grab it now!
Learn more at www.ErinNicholas.com
under the BOOKS menu!
* * *
And if you loved the Boys of the Bayou, you’ll also love the Boys of the Big Easy! Sexy New Orleans guys who are also single dads!
More from Erin Nicholas
If you loved Sweet Home Louisiana, don’t miss the rest of
The Boys of the Bayou
* * *
My Best Friend’s Mardi Gras Wedding
Sweet Home Louisiana
Beauty and the Bayou
Crazy Rich Cajuns
And there’s more Louisiana fun in the
The Boys of the Big Easy
* * *
Easy Going (prequel novella)
Going Down Easy
Taking It Easy
Nice and Easy
Eggnog Makes Her Easy (Christmas novella)
If you’re looking for more sexy, small town rom com fun, check out the
Billionaires in Blue Jeans series!
* * *
Diamonds and Dirt Roads
High Heels and Haystacks
Cashmere and Camo
About the Author
Erin Nicholas is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over thirty sexy contemporary romances. Her stories have been described as toe-curling, enchanting, steamy and fun. She loves to write about reluctant heroes, imperfect heroines and happily ever afters. She lives in the Midwest with her husband who only wants to read the sex scenes in her books, her kids who will never read the sex scenes in her books, and family and friends who say they’re shocked by the sex scenes in her books (yeah, right!).
* * *
Find her and all her books at
www.ErinNicholas.com
* * *
And find her on Facebook, BookBub, and Instagram!
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