by Rebecca Deel
Remy turned down a familiar dirt road, guided the SUV around tight curves until finally the gravel drive to the Doucet homestead came into view.
“I should have left a trail of bread crumbs,” Lily muttered.
He chuckled. “When did I lose you?”
“After the first turn off the asphalt.”
Remy parked behind his father’s old Sierra and his mother’s Fusion.
“They have something against foreign cars?” his companion asked, her gaze fixed on the vehicles.
“The Doucets only buy American transportation.”
Her gaze locked on his. “All of them?”
“All.”
“I love my Beetle.” Her tone sounded a tad defensive.
Remy turned his head to hide his smile as he unlatched his seatbelt. “Suits you. It’s small and cute, like you.”
“Cute?” Lily scowled at him. “Puppies and babies are cute.”
“That they are.” He pointed out the windshield at the approaching pack of baying beagles. “There’s our welcoming committee. Watch out, sweetness. If they knock you down, they’ll lick you to death.”
She stared at the leaping and barking dogs, her expression wary. “Do they bite?”
City girl, he reminded himself. “With twelve grandchildren coming and going all the time, Dad wouldn’t allow an aggressive dog to stay in the family. Don’t get me wrong. Aiden Doucet loves his sons, but he adores his grandsons and granddaughters.” He opened his door and the pack surged his direction. “I’ll come around to get you.”
As soon as her feet touched the ground, the Doucet dogs all vied for his attention. Laughing, he scratched bellies, backs, and behind ears. An ear-splitting whistle turned the pack around and sent them scrambling toward the porch.
Remy’s father smiled. “Welcome home, son.”
“Thanks, Dad. I have someone I want you to meet.” He rounded the nose of the SUV.
“Bring her in the house. We’ll bring in your gear shortly.” Aiden led the pack of dogs around the corner of the house.
Good. Knowing his father, the pack was headed for their pens for a while. No doubt Lily’s trepidation was obvious. Remy hoped she had her game face on when she interacted with his family. They were pretty sharp. Wouldn’t take much for them to realize his feelings were a whole lot more involved in this relationship than Lily’s. If they asked about it, he planned to tell them this was very new, which was the truth.
He opened the passenger door, lifted her from the seat to the packed ground.
Lily frowned. “You got running boards for me. Let me use the things.”
“Just treating my girlfriend like a delicate flower.”
“You have lost your mind if you think I can pull that off. I’m a street rat, Doucet, not a debutante.”
Remy shook his head. “You, Lily Stanton, are an intriguing woman.” With that, he threaded his fingers through hers and led Lily to the front door. Before he touched the knob, his mother yanked open the door, a wide smile on her face.
“Remy! It’s been too long, baby. I began to think you forgot me.” She wrapped her arms around his neck, kissed his cheek, before turning to a wide-eyed Lily. “And who is this little one?”
“This is Lily Stanton, my girlfriend. Lily, Marie Doucet.”
“Such a beautiful name for a beautiful woman. Welcome to the Doucet home, little one.” His mother wrapped Lily in a tight hug.
At Lily’s panicked expression, he laid his hand on the small of her back. A simple, small gesture, but one that must have helped because the wild look left her eyes.
“Come into the kitchen. Are you hungry, Lily?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Good, good. Remy here is always hungry. Big growing boys need much food to fill their bellies and keep up their strength.”
“Mom, I haven’t been a growing boy for a long time.” His cheeks burned.
“But I am still your mother and I know you like to eat.”
“As long as you do the cooking, you bet.”
“I hope your appetite is good, little one.” Marie drew Lily through the living room into the spacious kitchen.
Nothing had changed in the months since Remy had last been home. His mother still had top-of-the-line equipment. When he and his brothers were teenagers, Aiden had learned to buy the best appliances unless he wanted to spend a lot of time fixing the cheaper models. With six boys growing up in the Doucet household, the appliances got a workout daily.
Marie waved Lily to the large table. “Sweet tea to drink, Lily?”
“That’s perfect.”
“Sit, Remy. I haven’t been able to feed you for a long time.” A reproachful look from his mother. “Too long, baby.”
“Been busy. How is everybody?”
“The same, except Jessica is asking when you will finish her doll house.”
Remy smiled. Jessica, Noel’s youngest daughter, was a very sharp five-year-old. “I’m working on it as I can, Mom. The White House is finished. I’m still working on the furniture.”
Marie lifted a lid from the pot on the stove, stirred, sniffed. After a nod, she ladled the contents into two bowls and set them in front of Lily and Remy.
His mouth watered. Oh, man. Gumbo. Nashville had many fine restaurants, but none held a candle to his mother’s Cajun cooking. Remy dug in, closed his eyes as the flavors hit his taste buds. “Fantastic.”
“This is amazing,” Lily said. “You should open your own restaurant.”
Marie laughed, patted her on the shoulder. “Thank you, little one, but I spend too much time in the kitchen already. Why would I want to add to my kitchen duties by cooking for other people?”
“Don’t let her fool you,” Remy said. “Mom does some catering on the side.”
“I share good food with friends and family, but don’t lose the joy of cooking by making a living from it.”
His father opened the door to the mudroom. “Glad you’re home, son.” He brushed a kiss over his wife’s mouth before washing his hands at the kitchen sink. “Introduce me to your friend.”
“This is Lily, my girlfriend. Sweetness, meet Aiden Doucet.”
“Welcome, Lily. Make yourself at home. We don’t stand on formality around here. You want something, help yourself. If you can’t find it, ask.”
“Thank you, sir.”
His eyebrows rose. “She’s a polite one, Remy. We expected you sooner, son. What kept you?”
“Stopped by James and Christine’s place on the way in.”
Aiden frowned. “Bad business, that.”
“What do you know about Christine’s disappearance, Dad?”
“Did James call you?” Marie asked.
“He did. Said the sheriff and his boys have zip.”
“That’s the truth.” His father shook his head. “Can’t see they’re trying real hard, either.”
“Beau thinks Christine’s taking some time for herself. He’s convinced James and Christine had a fight and she’s cooling off and getting back at him by not getting in touch.” Marie handed Remy and Lily iced tea. “Pure idiocy.”
“Why do you say that?” Lily asked as she scooped up another spoonful of gumbo.
“She’s gone off before.” Her gaze slid toward Remy. “Never this long, though.”
Yeah, she had taken off when they were dating. Twice during their senior year. Both times he’d made her mad by not giving in to what she’d wanted. Shouldn’t have been the case with James, though. He said he dug into savings to get money for her. Nothing made Christine happier than spending money. That was one of the reasons she dumped him. The Doucets were rich in family but not in the bank account.
“Are you looking into her disappearance, son?” his father asked.
“That’s part of why we’re here, Dad. Officially, I’m here so you can meet Lily. When people ask, that’s what you tell them. We don’t want possible kidnappers to know we’re looking into Christine’s disappearance.”
“Are y
ou sure it’s wise to drag this young lady into something potentially dangerous?”
Remy grinned at the lady in question. “Lily can take care of herself. We’ve trained together and she can toss me around like a five-pound bag of flour.”
Marie’s eyes widened. “Little one, you work with my Remy?”
“That’s right.”
“Dynamite comes in small packages, they say.”
Remy chuckled. “In this case, that is one hundred percent accurate.”
“The rest of the family will be curious, son,” his father said. “They will ask questions, lots of questions.”
Didn’t he know it. Gossip was the Doucet family pastime. “We know, Dad. While I show Lily around the area, we’ll talk to people, see if we can get a line on what’s been happening with Christine and James.”
“You think he might be responsible for his wife’s disappearance?”
“The sad truth is, most murders and disappearances can be traced back to spouses or significant others. Those are the first people I looked at when I worked homicide.”
“He seems like a good boy,” Marie murmured.
“They all do.” Remy’s lips twisted. “Until they don’t.” He just hoped they weren’t too late. Christine had already been gone too long. Chances were high his former girlfriend was dead.
CHAPTER FIVE
After they finished lunch, Remy’s father stood. “Your brothers and their families will be here for dinner tonight, son.”
Lily’s stomach knotted. Oh, man. All five brothers and their families? Dinner was bound to be a circus. Never one for crowds, this was sure to test her grit. Though she could make nice with the best of them when on the job, she didn’t like it. She supposed if the chaos became too much, no one would notice if she stepped out for a little fresh air.
She glanced at the back door. Or maybe not. Remy said Lucifer lurked around the backyard. Would he crawl around to the front? Sweat trickled down her back. She should have brought a bigger gun.
“Whatever you’re thinking, Lily, it must be bad.”
“Why?”
“You look like you’re about to grab your gear and run.” Remy’s eyes twinkled. “So which was it? The Doucet clan or Lucifer?”
“Both,” she muttered.
“Don’t you worry about the boys,” Marie said, patting Lily’s shoulder. “Their wives keep them in line.”
Remy snorted. “Don’t let her fool you. Mom is the one who rules the roost here. All she has to do is send us The Look and we quake in our shoes.”
“Where you headed until dinner, Remy?” Aiden asked.
“Back to the bayou. We found Christine’s Escalade.”
Marie gasped. “Abandoned? She loves the SUV. I can’t imagine her voluntarily leaving it behind.”
“We would have been here sooner but I called the sheriff’s office and waited until an officer arrived.”
“Who responded?”
“Mouton.”
“Surprised you’re here at all,” Aiden said. “Beau is none too fond of you.”
Understatement from what Lily had seen out in the swamp. If the sheriff could have found a reason to haul Remy in, he’d be languishing behind bars right now. “He warned me off.”
His eyes narrowed. “Did he now?”
Marie leaned over, kissed his cheek. “Lily is too smart to listen to anything Beau has to say about our boy.”
Still, Aiden frowned. “One day, Mouton will go too far. Remy, you watch yourself out there. Wouldn’t put it past the sheriff to come back by, see if you returned to the scene. In the meantime, I’ll be working on my truck.”
Lily straightened in her seat. “Something wrong with your ride?”
“Nothing a good swift kick in tires might fix.” He scowled. “Maybe. I’m a sweet potato farmer, not a mechanic.”
“What’s it doing?”
“Won’t start. Battery was dead yesterday. Noel came by, charged me up. This morning, the engine won’t crank.”
“Sounds like your alternator might be bad.”
Aiden’s mouth dropped. “You fix cars?”
Heat burned Lily’s cheeks. She was better at boosting them, but she preferred staying out of jail. “I fix a lot of things. It’s sort of my hobby.” She slanted a steely-eyed stare at Remy. He’d better not spill the beans about her pitiful piano playing. He winked at her. Muscles loosening, she turned back to Aiden. “Do you have tools I can use?”
“A complete Craftsman set.”
Tool envy hit hard. Her hands literally itched to hold those babies. “If you’ll get them, I can remove the alternator for you. While Remy and I are gone, take it to the nearest auto parts place or a gas station. They can test the alternator. If it’s bad, buy another one and I’ll put it on for you when we return.”
A wide grin stretched the mouth of Remy’s father. “Son, this one you keep. She doesn’t mind working and getting her hands dirty. Definitely a keeper.”
“That’s the plan, Dad.”
She shot Remy a sharp glance. Role playing was one thing. Leading his parents to believe they were a lot more involved than they were left her with a heavy feeling of guilt. She didn’t want to deceive these nice people, even for an op. Lily liked them and that said something. She didn’t trust easily.
“My tools are in the barn. I’ll get them and meet you around front.”
Marie laughed. “Well done, Lily. My Aiden is hard to surprise, but you’ve managed to do just that.”
“How long will it take you to remove the alternator?” Remy asked.
“A few minutes.”
He glanced at his watch. “Gives Mouton more time to clear out, which suits me fine.” He motioned for her to follow him outside. Once the front door was shut, Remy stopped her from stepping off the porch with a hand to her arm. “What’s wrong?”
Lily blinked. “How do you know anything is wrong?”
“You almost passed out at the idea of my family showing up tonight, elf.”
“Yeah, well I’m not exactly used to large gatherings, okay? I don’t have family.” No matter what that email claimed. “I spend most of my time alone and I like it that way.” Sort of. Most of the time.
“Is that all that’s bothering you?”
“Zane hasn’t gotten back to me yet, if that’s what you’re referring to.”
“Good to know, but not what I was talking about.”
Lily scowled, glanced around to be sure they were still alone. “I don’t like lying to your parents,” she whispered.
“About what?”
“Our relationship. It’s all pretend.”
“Is it?”
She stilled, hardly daring to breathe. Remy couldn’t discover how much he distracted her, even in her dreams. Talk about a disaster waiting to happen. People didn’t choose to spend time with her. Maybe it was her choice of career, her confidence in her own skills. Whatever it was, it intimidated most of them. “Of course it is.”
“I don’t think so, sweetness.”
Aiden came around the corner of the house. “Tools, Lily. Let’s see what my Remy’s girl can do.”
She blew out a breath. Nothing like adding pressure to the situation. It almost felt like she was doing a job interview or something. Or an interview as a potential spouse for his son. Yeah, way to go, Lily. Thinking like that was a surefire way to sabotage herself and her relationship with Remy, whatever that was.
She popped the hood, propped it up, looked around a little, and located the alternator. “Do you have a step stool I can borrow? Shut up, Remy.”
He held up his hands, palms out. “Didn’t say a word, did I, Dad?”
“You were thinking it pretty loud, son.” His father grinned, patted Lily on the shoulder and strode toward the house.
“You are a woman of many talents, Lily Stanton.”
“Trying to dig your way out of the dog house, Doucet?”
“I’m innocent,” he protested.
“Ha! Your mouth t
witched like you were fighting not to laugh your head off. I can’t help it if I’m height challenged and this is a big truck. I need a few extra inches to get to the alternator.”
He nodded toward the engine. “What’s an alternator?”
She studied his face. All she saw was interest and genuine curiosity. “You’ve never worked on a vehicle?”
“That’s why I become very good friends with mechanics in every city where I live. The only things mechanical I can work are weapons and simple fixes around the house. All the Doucet boys can change light bulbs and tighten screws, hard stuff like that.”
She rolled her eyes. Who knew someone so skilled as a field operative couldn’t work a wrench or screwdriver?
Aiden returned with a step stool in hand. “Here you are, my dear. Tell me what you need and I will hand you the tool. My Remy is all thumbs with anything mechanical.”
Lily examined the alternator. She unhooked the positive battery cable, asked for a serpentine belt tool. When Aiden stared down at the tools, a blank expression on his face, she hopped down from the step stool and located the tool she needed. With her head back under the hood, she loosened the belt and moved it off the pulley. Using a socket and ratchet, she loosened and removed the bolts, pulled out the alternator and unplugged the electrical connections.
She hopped off the stool again. “Here you go, Mr. Doucet. Take this to an auto parts place.”
“Aiden, please.” He studied the alternator in his hands. “My Emile is gifted with mechanics, but he hasn’t been able to look at my truck. He was planning to check it tonight.” Remy’s father grinned. “It will be a pleasure to tell him that Remy’s girl fixed the old truck.” With that, he strode to Marie’s car, climbed in, and drove onto the dirt road.
She glanced at her partner. “Emile won’t mind, will he?”
“Why would he? One less thing to fix. Every time he comes home, Mom has a list of things for him to repair or replace. Believe me, he’ll be thrilled to enjoy the family for once without having to earn his supper.”
“How long before your father returns?”
“Ninety minutes or so.”