Cajun Fire

by Cheri Valmont

  ARC

  CAJUN FIRE

  by

  Cheri Valmont

  WHISKEY CREEK PRESS

  www.whiskeycreekpress.com

  This Advanced Reading Copy is for the purposes of review only. This copy is not to be copied, traded or sold. This is an uncorrected proof.

  Published by

  WHISKEY CREEK PRESS

  Whiskey Creek Press

  PO Box 51052

  Casper, WY 82605-1052

  www.whiskeycreekpress.com

  Copyright Ó 2006 by Veronica McCartney

  Names, characters and incidents depicted in this book are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author or the publisher.

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  ISBN 1-59374-776-4

  Credits

  Cover Artist: Jinger Heaston

  Editor: Sue Vetter

  Printed in the United States of America

  WHAT THEY ARE SAYING ABOUT

  CAJUN FIRE

  Add Here

  Dedication

  As always to my two critique partners, Lauren and Sarah, for always being there.

  To my two first readers, Victoria and Dawn,

  for always being ready to read anything I write at a

  moment’s notice.

  To my sister, Jenny, and her honey ‘Bear’

  for becoming my number one cheerleaders.

  To my own honey and Premier Warrior Hunk and Husband for putting up with my muse.

  Chapter 1

  “I hate him, Momma! I swear I do,” Lizabeth Horville’s voice resonated throughout the bedroom.

  “Now, Beth—” Nikki Horville began, only to be interrupted from the doorway by her youngest daughter.

  “Lizabeth hates Daddy. I’m gonna tell,” eight year old Lauren threatened.

  An overstuffed pillow sailed through the air toward the young girl, who ducked in time for the missile to brush the top of her head and go sailing past. “Shut up, you little snot. This is none of your business. Momma, please, make her get out of here.”

  “Lauren, go play with the new puppy. Supper’s going to be ready in a couple of hours. I’ll call you,” she advised her youngest.

  “Ah, Momma, can’t I stay?”

  Nikki stood firm in the face of Lauren’s pleading expression. “Absolutely not, little girl, go on, go.”

  “Go on, Lauren, get!” Lizabeth turned away from Nikki and Lauren.

  To hide her tears, Nikki suspected. The oldest child in the Horville household, Lizabeth, at eighteen, was butting heads with her father about her current boyfriend.

  Lauren huffed away and left Nikki alone with the miserable Lizabeth.

  “Okay, honey, she’s gone. Now let’s discuss this.”

  Lizabeth turned her tearstained face back to Nikki. Tears still swam in her lovely aqua eyes. Even Lizabeth’s distress couldn’t detract from her beauty. With her hip length silver blond hair, her heart-shaped face and pert nose, she reminded Nikki of a fairy.

  “Why can’t he let me live my life the way I want to? I am eighteen now.”

  “Beth, honey, you know your daddy would pull the moon down from the sky to make you happy. But if he has objections about this Daniel boy, I’m sure he has his reasons.”

  “What reasons? Has he told you what his reasons are? He hasn’t told me. He just refused to let me go to the Mardi Gras parade with him. Period,” Lizabeth said, in obvious frustration.

  Nikki shook her head. She would not be the go-between, because this subject seemed too important to both father and daughter. “I think you should ask him yourself, honey.”

  This wasn’t a new occurrence, either. Lizabeth and Jonas had been butting heads since she’d reached the age of sixteen. Nikki longed for the days when Lizabeth adored her father and accepted his guidance without question. She didn’t know what happened to change their relationship but wished she did. Lizabeth was graduating high school in May and was due to start University of Louisiana-Lafayette in the fall. Nikki hated seeing the bickering between two of the people she adored, and prayed father and daughter would come to terms before then.

  Lizabeth had just celebrated her birthday a week prior, so legally, she was of age and could do as she pleased. As a result, Nikki was aware of the fine line they all walked. She was afraid if Jonas put his foot down too firmly, Lizabeth would bolt.

  “He never listens to me. I feel as if I’m talking to a brick wall,” Lizabeth complained. “Can’t you talk to him, Momma?’

  “No, my darling, I’m afraid this is something you and your father will have to work out yourselves.”

  Nikki couldn’t help smiling when Lizabeth pouted those full lips of hers as she usually did anytime she didn’t get her way. When Lizabeth had come to her at the age of sixteen to talk about getting serious with her then boyfriend, Nikki, although still worried, had been relieved. They’d had their mother-daughter talk. She’d impressed upon Lizabeth the dangers of unprotected sex and unwanted pregnancies. A responsible girl, Lizabeth asked Nikki to make her an appointment with a gynecologist to get a prescription for the birth control pill. She wondered...that seemed to be around the time Lizabeth and Jonas began their head butting. Nikki discussed the decision with Jonas, of course. He’d been none too happy about the situation, but he knew Lizabeth was growing up and it was better she was prepared.

  “Well, I guess I’ll try again tonight. I don’t understand him. I think I’m old enough to make my own decisions.”

  Nikki shook her head and smiled ruefully. “Your father will never stop worrying about you, Lizabeth. He can’t help himself. You’re the oldest. He’s been loving you the longest, honey.”

  Lizabeth tried to suppress a sniffle, but rushed over to give Nikki a warm hug. “Oh, Momma, I can always talk to you about stuff.”

  “Sweetie, you know I’ll always be here for you.” Choked with emotion, Nikki rubbed Lizabeth’s back with maternal affection, and, as always, was touched by her adopted daughter’s trust.

  * * * *

  Lizabeth waited for her father, Jonas Horville, to get back from work. She pushed aside the yellow floral curtain for the fourth time in the last fifteen minutes and peered out. Only two vehicles, Nikki’s maroon-colored minivan and Lizabeth’s black Camaro stood in the gravel driveway. No blue company truck yet.

  She’d locked herself in her room to prevent her nosy little sister’s intrusion. For some reason her precocious sister’s antics grated on her nerves today.

  Right now, pacing back and forth, she tried to come up with a plan to obtain her father’s permission about her date with Daniel. She would have preferred to receive permission, but knew she would keep her date no matter what her father said.

  Jumping when she heard a vehicle door shut, she rushed over to one of the windows which overlooked the front drive. Lizabeth watched her father walk toward the house. Lauren rushed from around the house to throw herself into her father’s strong and loving arms. She sighed as she remembered a time when it was her hurtling through the house to reach the front door, her father enfolding her in his loving embrace. With a tiny ache in her heart, she realized she missed those youthful days, back when she and her father always got along.

  Lizabeth blamed herself. She’d never told him she met Ida Mae Dugas, her biological mother, when she was sixteen. Ida Mae devastated her when she informed Lizabeth of the identity of her real father—that old coot Ida Mae had fina
lly married after Jonas divorced her. Lizabeth never asked the woman if she’d informed Jonas and Nikki of the fact. She’d been too frightened to ask, but suspected Ida Mae had been trying to drive a wedge between her and Jonas, the man who’d been a father to her since infancy. Actually, Ida Mae succeeded beyond her wildest dreams.

  From that time on, Lizabeth struggled with the knowledge that Jonas Horville was not her real father.

  She’d always known Nikki was not her biological mother, but the shock of finding out that Jonas was not her real father sent her into a deep depression. Feeling abandoned, even though she still had a family who loved her dearly, she didn’t understand why he’d never told her the truth. She suspected he didn’t know the truth. Her sixteenth year had been the worst in her life. Not only had she found out about that horrible fact, but she also lost her grandmother Fleur, to whom she’d been very attached.

  Jonas and Nikki had taken Fleur’s death very hard, and so had her sister and two brothers. But the loss plagued Lizabeth and deepened her depression. To her everlasting shame, she’d begun experimenting with things to help bring herself out of her funk. Her worthless behavior accomplished nothing and led to her present dilemma. Confused by her sexual appetites, Lizabeth longed for past days when she only flirted. The local boys were too gentle for her taste. The current Daniel intrigued her because he had a reputation for roughness with women. In fact, his reputation could be why her father objected to the guy and refused to let her date him. What would her father say if she told him Daniel’s rough reputation is what attracted her?

  Shit! She’d better get downstairs. She’d forgotten her little sister’s threat to tell their father Lizabeth hated him.

  Lizabeth bolted from the room and ran down the stairs just in time to see Jonas walk through the front door. Lauren trailed behind him, holding his hand.

  “Lauren, you didn’t...” Lizabeth started and then stopped, biting her lip.

  Lauren just gave her sister an irritating grin. “Ah huh,” she said before she turned, scrambled back out the front door, and left Lizabeth alone with their father.

  Lizabeth avoided her father’s direct gaze. “I’m sorry, Daddy, I didn’t mean it.”

  She squirmed when her gaze finally met that knowing fatherly stare. “Sorry about what, honey?”

  Lauren, that little shit! She lied! She hadn’t told her father what Lizabeth had said! Ooohh, Lizabeth would kill her!

  “Oh, it’s nothing,” Lizabeth tried to deny it.

  Jonas Horville’s wise black gaze took in his daughter’s expression, and must have concluded something was going on that he needed to know.

  “Out with it, Lizabeth. What’s going on?” Jonas made his way into the living room.

  She knew he expected her to follow him. Reluctantly, she did so. Well, she guessed this was as good a time as any to ask her father’s permission to go to the Mardi Gras parade with Daniel.

  Lizabeth sat next to her father on the sofa covered with a cottage style floral print. The living room, in fact the whole house, was comfortable thanks to her mother’s wonderful flair for style.

  “I wanted to ask again about going to the parade with Daniel Morrow.”

  Lizabeth saw her father’s face shutter, and he frowned, that uncompromising frown that let her know without words his answer. Oh well, she didn’t want to fight with him today. She would just accept his decision and do what she wanted.

  “Lizabeth, we talked about this. I don’t have a good feeling about this boy. I’ve met him before and he looks like a rough customer. And I’ve heard he smokes pot, so I’d rather you left him alone.”

  Lizabeth couldn’t help saying, “But we’re only going to the parade, Daddy.”

  “I don’t care, honey, I want you to keep away from him.” Jonas began pulling off his work boots, signaling the end to the conversation.

  And as far as she was concerned, it was ended; she wouldn’t broach the subject again. Her father was just being overprotective; she would simply do as she would. Besides, she had plans for Mr. Morrow that her daddy wouldn’t approve of anyway.

  “Okay, Daddy.”

  Her father’s gaze shot to her in surprise. She knew he’d been expecting an argument.

  She would just play it cool. No need to make him suspicious. “You’re probably right, Daddy. I’ve heard a few things myself. I’ll go with my friends. Is that okay?”

  “Sure, honey, as long as Daniel Morrow isn’t one of your friends,” Jonas warned her.

  “No, he’s not one of my friends,” Lizabeth could say truthfully. Her interest in Daniel Morrow had nothing to do with friendship.

  “That’s fine, then.”

  On impulse, she hugged her daddy’s neck and kissed his cheek. “Thanks, Daddy. Love you.”

  It had been so long since she’d shown him any special attention that her father glanced down at her face with surprise and a hint of regret in his gaze. They had been so close once, before she’d found out the truth of their relationship. Lizabeth wanted to cry. She truly adored him, biological father or not. He was the only daddy she’d ever known and he’d always lived up to the job. She couldn’t have asked for a more wonderful father, just as Nikki was a wonderful mother, not only to their real children, but to her as well.

  “I love you too, honey,” Jonas said, kissing her temple, and patting her blond hair.

  “Okay, you two,” Nikki said from the living room door. “Supper’s about on. Lizabeth, honey, can you call Lauren and the boys and set the table?”

  “Sure, Momma.” Lizabeth smiled at both her parents and left to call her siblings.

  As Nikki watched Lizabeth go toward the front door to call the others in, she sighed in relief, because it seemed like everything had gone well. Neither she nor Jonas acted as if it had been one of their usual arguments. When Nikki had walked to the living room door, she’d been happy to witness their hug. She couldn’t remember how long it had been since Lizabeth last made any loving overtures toward her father. For a child who’d once been so affectionate toward Jonas, she’d recently become reserved. Maybe not so recently, now that Nikki thought about it, it seemed more like several years. She turned back and walked into the living room to greet her husband.

  “Did she ask you her question?” Nikki asked as she walked over to sit and snuggle next to Jonas for a moment.

  Jonas kissed Nikki, slid his arm around her waist to pull her close, and asked, “You talking about Daniel Morrow?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then yes she did. It’s hard for me to believe she took it so well.”

  “You said no?” Nikki couldn’t believe Lizabeth had taken it so well either, after her dramatic response earlier in the afternoon.

  “Yes, I did,” Jonas’ voice had an emphatic resolve.

  Nikki’s suspicions about Lizabeth’s reaction remained. She hoped the girl had no plans to defy her father despite his refusal. She knew her stepdaughter very well, and stubborn could well be considered her middle name. Lizabeth and Jonas pushed at each other now, possibly because of her stubbornness. Another talk might serve to change Lizabeth’s mind. She hoped. Nikki dreaded the thought that Lizabeth might get herself into trouble because of her insistence on dating a man her father distrusted.

  Nikki looked up at her husband’s darkly tanned face. “Is she still going to the parade then?”

  “Yes, she said she would call some of her friends to go with her,” Jonas informed Nikki.

  Maybe Nikki’s suspicions were unwarranted. “Hmm, well good. I’d hate to think that she would stay and miss all the fun because she was sulking about that boy.”

  “Yeah, me too. Are we going?”

  “Well, of course, you know Lauren will bug me to take her. The boys are going with their friends. Since Lauren’s out of school for a couple of days, if I don’t take her, she’ll drive me crazy,” she assured him with a soft laugh.

  “I guess Lizabeth wouldn’t want to take Lauren with her?” Jonas leaned back, nib
bled on Nikki’s earlobe as a hint of the directions of his thoughts, and blew in her ear.

  Nikki giggled at the sensations his actions were creating. “Jonas Horville, she’d kill us if we asked her to take her irritating little sister with her.”

  “Oh, well, I thought maybe we could have a little mommy and daddy time. Since I’m giving my crews off for Mardi Gras, I’m taking off work.”

  Nikki turned her head to receive her husband’s kiss. It was quiet for a moment while they got busy. “Mmmm, you sure know how to tempt a girl, Mr. Horville.”

  “I do my best, Mrs. Horville.”

  Yelling and stomping stopped Nikki and Jonas from continuing their pleasant interlude.

  “Momma, can’t I stay out a little longer? I was playin’ with the puppy,” Lauren begged, as she ran in the house, slamming the front door.

  “No, ma’am, it’s time for supper and we’re all gonna eat together as a family,” Nikki insisted. “Now, get yourself upstairs and clean up. I’m sure you’ve got that pleasant puppy smell all over you.”

  The child pouted but didn’t give any more argument. She shrugged her shoulders and shot out of the room and up the stairs. Tall for her age, the eight year old girl could pass for a teenager. Nikki dreaded Jonas’ reaction once the boys started to notice her. Long and lanky, she took after her father with her raven black hair and soulful black eyes. Before long, their worry would start again.

  “I guess I better clean up myself, before I get on your bad side,” Jonas said, laughing at Nikki’s expression.

  “Oh, you.”

  Nikki watched Jonas pick up his work boots as he headed upstairs to wash the sawdust and dirt off himself before supper.

  She headed toward the kitchen to finish the meal, waiting for Lizabeth to come into the kitchen to set the table.