Beaux took in her words, making mental notes to file away for later then leaned over and nibbled on her bottom lip. “I’m glad you found Sara again because we found each other in the process”.
“Mmhmm” she hummed too aroused by the simple feel of his lips on hers to form any words. She let him tease her before parting her mouth allowing him in. Their lips danced and hands roamed until a singular need led them to the bedroom. Lying on his bed, Beaux reached over pulling out protection and they again consummated this burgeoning new love they had found. When they exhausted their energies, they laid facing each other, two new lovers locked in an impassioned gaze full of ardor. Time passed as the immediate heat cooled down returning them back to reality.
“Do you think Sara has told Justin?”
“I guarantee it. They tell each other anything and everything.”
“Did you know she wanted us to be together?”
“I figured it out pretty quick. Justin doesn’t ask for much and never pushes, but he was pretty insistent I play tour guide to you.”
“In that case we should probably send them a thank you note.”
They laughed and rolled into each other’s arms. Their eyes drifted closed as they gave in to fatigue from their love making combined with lack of sleep. Beaux was the first to wake up and took advantage of the opportunity to watch Lacy without observation. Sleep gave her an appearance of innocence and she slept with her lips slightly parted curved upward in a smile. Reluctant to leave her side, but even more reluctant to disturb her, he quietly stepped out of bed and went in search of his phone.
First he called Sara letting them know they’d be late for dinner. He could hear the amusement in her voice as she told him to take their time and just call when they were on their way.
Next he had to make the phone call he was dreading. Instinct told him something added up to no good. He argued with himself that it wasn’t his place to do this but justified it because he cared deeply for Lacy and wanted to protect her.
His heart raced as he tapped the numbers into his phone. No answer. He breathed a sigh of relief that he didn’t have to deal with it right now. No sooner had he sat his phone down on the table did it ring. The number told him his call was being returned much sooner than he expected.
“What’s up Beaux?” Jared’s voice rang through the phone.
“I need to call in a favor.”
“Anytime, what do you need?”
“Will you be in your office today? I need to see what information you can dig up on someone.”
“Not at the moment. I’m out taking care of some business, but I can go in first thing tomorrow.”
“Find anything you can on a Neil Landon from Charleston, South Carolina.”
“Do you have any other information to go off of?” Jared didn’t question Beaux’s motives. He knew if he was asking for this, he had a good and valid reason, but he would probably need some more information to go off of.
“He has a brother Sam that lives a little north of here. They had a business together back in South Carolina but Sam sold his share about thirteen years ago.”
“That should be enough to get me started. Is there any particular information that you are looking for?”
“Just anything you can find.”
“Sure thing. I’ll get back to you as soon as I have something.”
“Thanks Jared, I owe you one.”
“No problem. I have to get going. Have a good one.”
Beaux hung up taking a deep breath. His gut told him he had just opened a poisonous can of worms.
Beaux went to rouse Lacy, but she was already awake, sitting in bed stretching.
“Dios, you’re sexy even when you first wake up,” he growled fighting the desire to jump back in bed with her.
Lacy smiled sleepily. “What time is it?” she asked still in a fog of conscience.
“Time to get back to Sara’s for dinner. It’s six o’clock. I already called and told her we’d be late.”
“I’m sure she had a field day with that one.”
“Eh, she just told us to take our time.”
“If you don’t stop flashing the damn smile, we’ll be taking the whole night.”
“Is that a promise chère?”
The easy banter continued as they cleaned up and dressed. By the time they made it to dinner, they were pushing seven o’clock and famished. A niggle of guilt crept through Lacy, but Sara had assured her she wanted to be in charge of the meal tonight. The four friends sat around in light conversations reliving memories, sharing stories and telling jokes. If Justin was surprised at the budding romance between his best friend and wife’s cousin, he didn’t let it show.
“How are your parents doing Sara? I haven’t seen them in quite awhile.” Beaux detected a subtle flinch from Lacy but something wasn’t right and he had to find out what. He didn’t know the questions or the answers he was looking for, but he would find out.
Sara sat sadly for a moment. “They’re getting a divorce,” she announced then broke into tears.
Everyone, including Justin sat in astonishment.
“I’m sorry Sara. I had no idea or I would never have asked.” Beaux felt like a cad making Sara cry, but in his defense he hadn’t expected that news.
Justin moved to comfort his wife as she continued speaking.
“I don’t get it. After all they have been through I don’t know why they are giving up now. Neither will speak to me about it. The only answer they have given is that they’ve drifted apart. Every time I have seen them in the past year, they’ve been arguing, but I thought they’d work through it. I guess not everything is meant to last forever.”
Justin sucked in a noticeable breath while Beaux and Lacy looked at each other squeezing the other’s hand tighter under the table. Sara still had tears streaming down her face and Justin looked at Beaux and Lacy feeling helpless to stop them, silently pleading for help.
Lacy stood and nudged a hesitant Justin away. Beaux and he discreetly left the room, leaving the females alone. Lacy hugged her cousin until the flow of tears ceased.
“I’ll be okay Lacy. Pregnancy hormones must be making me all kinds of dramatic.”
“There is no shame in crying Sara. Goodness knows that I cried my fair share when my parents split.”
Sara was silent, trying to find the words to ask what she was thinking.
“They overcame so many obstacles. Nothing seemed to faze them, and with the exception of my mom’s indiscretion years ago, they had a picture perfect marriage. If they can’t make it work, how can anyone? Why even bother?”
“I’m no expert, but I do know marriage takes work and compromise. You can’t look at one marriage and except the same for yours. No one knows the full dynamics of a marriage, except the two members bound to it. Justin loves you more than anything. He is your soul mate and you know that. I remember even as a teen, I became disillusioned with love and life when my parents divorced and they had every reason but me not to stay together. But I worked through it, just like you will with Justin at your side.”
Sara sniffled and Lacy handed her another tissue. “You’re the best Lacy. Thanks.”
“That’s what friends are for right? I’m going to send Justin back in.”
“Okay.”
Lacy found Justin and Beaux outside engrossed in a very serious conversation. Both looked very worried and concerned, but Lacy passed it off to concern for Sara without a second thought. She let Justin know Sara wanted to speak with him, while Beaux and she lingered outside to allow them privacy.
“I’m sorry for ruining the night Lacy. I had no idea.”
“You couldn’t have known, Beaux. Sara will be fine once she can adjust to the idea. Of course, being pregnant it may take longer since she is competing with the extra hormones.”
“Do you think we should leave or go back in?”
“I was thinking of getting a hotel room for the night. I think it’s best to leave them alone for the even
ing. They have a lot of talking to do.”
“You don’t need to get a room Lacy. You can stay the night at my place.”
“Are you sure?” The idea actually held a great bit of appeal, but she didn’t want Beaux to feel obligated to house her.
“There’s nothing I would like more.”
“Let me go and gather some clothes and tell Sara.”
Lacy walked back into the house and poked her head in the kitchen. Justin and Sara were deep in thought so Lacy cleared her throat to get their attention. “I’m going to go home with Beaux for the night so you two can talk in private. I’ll call you in the morning Sara,” she told them when they looked up. They didn’t attempt to change her mind and Lacy knew she made the right decision.
Up in her room, she frantically dug through her suitcase. Hooking up with someone, let alone falling in love, was that last thing she had expected to happen on this trip and her wardrobe reflected it. She desperately wished she had some sexy lingerie, or at the very least something sexier than her pull on shorts and tanks for sleeping in. Giving up, she just pulled the top outfit and pajamas from the pile and put them in her overnight bag. She stopped by the bathroom on the way out grabbing her hygiene care bag then went back down to meet Beaux, who was pacing back and forth in front of his truck. For a split second, she was afraid he regretted his offer of spending the night and wasn’t sure how to rescind his offer, but when he spoke she laughed with relief.
“Do you mind if we stop by the store? I‘m not sure how to ask this without sounding presumptuous, but just in case, we’re out of protection.”
Warmth filled her that he wanted to be considerate, quickly replaced by a jagged heat at the possibilities.
Chapter 4:
Lacy stood in Beaux’s kitchen fully clothed feeling vulnerable and exposed, an odd set of feelings considering not once during their ardent love making hours before did she feel like that. Knowing that she would be spending the entire night with him felt entirely too intimate and she wasn’t sure of how that made her feel. Everything she had ever wanted and longed for was right at her fingertips, but reaching out to grab it seemed too easy.
Sensing her unease, Beaux offered to draw a warm bath for her and she gladly accepted. After a long day and the emotional scene at Sara’s she needed some time alone to gather her thoughts. She stretched out in the tub, letting the lavender scented bubbles mixed with the warm water soak into her body. Her nerves floated away and she allowed herself to relax, determining this night would be special. Before her skin could prune, she stepped out of the tub drying off with the towel Beaux had left. She stared at her pajamas and although she had wished for something more alluring, another part of her welcomed their familiarity.
Her heart melted at the scene awaiting her in the living room. The lights were dimmed and the flames of soft candlelight danced against their shadows. A path of rose petals led to a single red rose resting against a glass of wine and the music of lovers softly filled the room. Beaux walked in directing her to sit down then handed her the glass of wine. He kneeled before her taking her ankles into his hands. Slowly, he began to massage them, rubbing away any tension that remained. Working his way up her body, he stopped at her shoulders easing out the remaining apprehension. At her sigh of ecstasy he poured them another glass of wine then lifted her into his arms.
“May I have this dance mon amour?” he asked.
“Forever and always,” she whispered so softly he barely heard.
They danced long into the night, content to sway in the arms of their lover. The wine flowed freely and with it the words lingering in their hearts escaped to be heard. For now, their entire world existed in that single room as they devoted themselves to whatever the future held for them. As they continued to dance, the night turned into day. The young couple moved outside to watch the sun rise on the horizon, still wrapped in the arms of the other. The sun cast hues of orange and yellow over a landscape scattered with morning dew. A bird chirped as it searched for its breakfast and squirrels ran the lengths of trees in a game of chase.
Beaux and Lacy turned to face each other whispering the final words of their first night spent together. Using his thumb, he rubbed circles on the inner palm of her hand, creating a highly erotic sensation after their intense night together. In fact, this had been the most erotic night of both their lives, a high feat considering they hadn’t needed that protection they stopped for.
“Are you hungry?” he asked.
“Yes. Actually I am starving now that I think about it.”
“I’ll make us breakfast. How do omelets sound?”
“Perfect.”
She followed him back inside. In the light of day, last night seemed like a dream and she may have thought so if not for the empty bottles of wine and the music still playing. She switched the music off and began cleaning up the mess. Breakfast was ready soon and they sat at the dining room table. Beaux lift his glass of orange juice toasting Lacy’s, “to many more nights together.”
The next few days passed in a blur with Beaux and Lacy spending most waking moments together. They maneuvered as much alone time as possible while still allowing Sara and Lacy their time together. Justin and Sara planned a large crawfish boil for Saturday to celebrate the culmination of the season and Lacy’s trip. Beaux and Lacy had volunteered to do much of the work since Sara still wasn’t cleared for anything but resting. Although excited to experience her first crawfish boil, something she had increased interest in as the week progressed, it would be bittersweet. Since tomorrow would be filled with preparation and activity for what had turned into a small community event and her flight left first thing Sunday morning, today would be her last day with just Beaux. Her heart broke just thinking of leaving him, and they hadn’t realistically discussed their future together. All conversations and promises of the days ahead had existed in a realm where Lacy did not live a thousand miles away. Today, she would give anything to have the power to freeze time.
She looked at her watch and saw that Beaux would be here soon. Last night she had talked with Sara about staying with Beaux for the night again. Lacy didn’t want Sara to feel ignored, but the pull towards Beaux was too strong. Fortunately Sara was the biggest advocate to their union and encouraged the overnight stay with Beaux. Lacy had packed her overnight bag including a special something she had slipped out to the store to buy. This could be their last night together and she intended to make it memorable, not that any moment shared with Beaux could ever be forgotten. Soon she heard that familiar sound of Beaux’s truck rambling down the street. This week had taught her just how sexy a vehicle could be, and she would be lying if she said she wasn’t just a bit turned on by his four wheel drive crew cab truck with the diesel engine.
Lacy was waiting for him out on the porch, but always the gentleman, he still popped his head in the house to greet Sara. He had been very secretive of his plans for the day, despite Lacy’s many requests for clues. They were driving in a direction that was new to Lacy and once again she fished for information.
“I’ll tell you the first place we’re going Lacy, but only because I don’t want you to be surprised in a bad way. If you are not comfortable with it, please tell me and we don’t have go.”
Lacy fought back the pinch of anxiety. “Where are we going Beaux?”
“To meet my mother.”
She gasped in surprise, never expecting that as his response.
“What is she going to think Beaux? Everything has moved so fast and we haven’t even discussed our future in certain terms. How much does she know about us?”
“One, she will love you like I do. Two, I thought that matter was settled. Three, she knows all she needs to know. Jared spilled the beans before I even had the chance and I’m glad she knows. It would mean a lot to me if you were able to meet her, but I understand if it’s too soon.”
“What was that first thing you said?”
“She will love you like I do.”
“Do you
mean it Beaux?”
“Yes. Of course she will. How could she not?”
“No, not your mom, you?”
“Isn’t it obvious Lace?”
“That was the first time you used the word.”
Beaux zipped the truck off the road and put it in park. He turned to Lacy and with smoldering eyes, stared her directly in her gaze. “Lacy Katelyn Landon, as sure as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west I love you. I don’t care if we’ve known each other a week or a year it wouldn’t change that I love you now and forever and don’t you ever forget or doubt that”
“I love you too Beaux. Now let’s go meet your mom.”
He flashed her that irresistible smile then continued the drive to the home he grew up in. They drove for miles passing few signs of civilizations beyond some scattered farms. Beaux’s mom was working in her garden when they arrived and with one look at her, it was obvious whom Beaux got his dark features from. Mrs. Chauvin had jet black hair, with a strong chin and facial features. Though she shared the same coal black eyes as her son, hers were filled with a merriment and zest, where Beaux’s were often dark and stormy. His height must have come from his dad as his mom was petite in stature with a generous roundness. Lacy decided right then she adored his mom as she became more animated with each word spoken and epitomized the Joie de Vivre so prevalent in this culture.
Wrapping her arms around Lacy, Mrs. Chauvin threw out instructions to her son.
“Bring that basket of tomatoes in please Beauregard and set them on the table. I’ll make tomato sandwiches for lunch.”
The Best Laid Plans (Brothers of the Bayou) Page 5