Burning Love (Hell Yeah! Cajun Style), page 5
“Well, that’s just sad, Mon Cher,” he took her by the hand. “We’ll have to remedy that.” When they walked into the large room, Harley was hit by several things at once – the smells of fried seafood, the sound of a French Cajun wailing about a lost love, and the raucous laughter and conversation of an excited, happy clientele. A waitress asked Beau where he’d rather sit – near the band or in a more secluded area at the back. He pointed to a darkened section lit by hurricane lamps where couples sat enjoying one another’s company.
It only took a few moments for the waitress to seat them, get their menus and take drink orders. Soon, they were alone. “It all looks good,” Harley mused. “What would you suggest?”
“I’m going for the crawfish platter. If that’s too much food, you might try the etouffee. It’s a savory dish that consists of crawfish cooked in a roux and flavored with the holy trinity. The holy trinity is. . . .”
“The holy trinity is celery, onion and bell pepper. I cooked at a restaurant in New Orleans when I was younger.” Younger – that was an understatement. She had started out washing dishes at some of the bars on Bourbon Street. Gradually, she had hung around until some of the managers let her help out in the kitchen. Nada had been a quick study and it wasn’t long before she was preparing poboys, muffalattas, jambalayas and beignets. That was when Captain Thibodeaux had offered her a job on the tugboat. Of course the Captain had assumed she was a boy – since that was the guise she had lived under for almost a year. Nada had hated to trick him, but she had needed the job and being a boy was the safest way of existing she could think of.
“You’ll have to cook for me sometime. I bet I’d love anything you did for me.”
Again, his expression told her he wasn’t referring to food. Harley bit her lower lip and prayed she wasn’t making a mistake. “Okay, it’s a date.” Those were brave words for her.
Damn, the way she looked at him, licking her lower lip with that little pink tongue – if they hadn’t been in a public place, Beau would have swept her up in his arms and ravished her. The waitress interrupted his fantasy time, so he ordered quickly – just to get rid of her. “We’ll take an order of crawfish etouffee, a crawfish platter and a pitcher of beer,” he looked to Harley for affirmation, which she gave. But the waitress wasn’t in any mood to leave.
“Hey, aren’t you the guy who goes around catching alligators?” She leaned in real close, and stooped over so Beau couldn’t help but see down her blouse.
Harley was a bit amused, but she was also a tad jealous. Beau, however, handled the woman with polite dismissal. “Yes, I own the game preserve. I appreciate you taking our order so promptly; my date and I are looking forward to the wonderful food.”
When he covered Harley’s hand with his own, the waitress sighed and winked at him. “Got it – too bad. Your food will be right out.”
“Sorry about that.” Her hand was so soft; he took advantage of the chance to trace sensual patterns on her silky skin. He heard her gasp. She tried to slip her hand away, but he held on to it and after one more small tug – she relented. Neither of them acknowledged the tiny war of wills. “So – tell me about the lucky guy who’s getting the sniper rifle for his birthday.” Beau hoped he was hiding the jealousy factor, keeping it casual was hard. God, he was hard. Damn! Beau wasn’t sex-starved, but he was particular and since meeting Harley, he knew no other woman was going to satisfy him. He wanted Harley. Period.
Honesty, she would practice it as much as possible. “The gun is for me.”
“What?” He couldn’t keep the amazement off of his face or out of his voice. “Well, that surprises the hell out of me; you are just so damn dainty. I don’t think you can handle a rifle that big, Baby.”
Oh, boy. She had a lot of explaining to do. “I can shoot,” she admitted, carefully.
“Really? I’d like to see that,” he admitted. “One day soon we’ll do some target practice.” Any excuse. He had it bad. He’d take any excuse to spend time with her. He didn’t care if she couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn. He’d love to play with her – anyhow – anyway he could.
“We’ll make a date out of it. Okay?”
“What will you do if I outshoot you?” she teased. ‘Was she flirting?’ Harley asked herself. Surely, not. She was so out of practice, it was pathetic.
Oh, this was going to be fun. “If you outshoot me,” he pretended to ponder the question; “I’ll let you have your wicked way with me.” When her mouth opened and her eyes got big – he cracked up. “God, I’m going to enjoy you. You are absolutely precious.”
While she was trying to figure out if he was serious, he stood up, “Now, make me happy, Baby. Dance with me.”
He held his hand out and she placed hers in it. The gesture felt momentous – it was as if she were agreeing to more than just a dance. At that moment, she knew – she was going to tell him everything. Eventually – when the time was right.
The band was playing a French song, one from the 60’s, Ma Belle Ami. It wasn’t fast, but one that gave her the chance to enjoy the novelty of being held close. He was holding her lightly and they were surrounded by people. So far, so good. Harley hummed with the music, it was a beautiful tune. And when it came to the part where the song said, ‘my beautiful friend, I’m in love with you’, a lump came into her throat. This was Beau – her Beau – and he didn’t even know. “Beau, I need to tell you something.”
“I’m listening, Baby.” He rested his chin on the top of her head. How long had it been since he enjoyed being with a woman so much? The song was almost over, and the final thought it left you with was hope. Whoever the woman in the song had walked away from – for whatever reason – was history. And the man who would take his place - was ready, willing and able to do so. Beau didn’t know who Harley had been with before; it didn’t really matter – because the man after him was here. He buried his face in her hair and breathed her in, “God, you smell good – like brown sugar and cinnamon. I could just eat you up.” The music died down and he didn’t want to let her go.
But the crowd wasn’t in the same romantic bubble that Beau lived in. Someone called out the name of a song and the band ripped into a fast number that woke the whole room up. Beau spun her out and pulled her back so fast it made her head swim. “Beau!” she gasped as she made a grab for him, trying to regain her balance.
“I’ve got you. Don’t worry. I won’t let you fall.”
“Okay, I trust you, Beau-ray.” Harley said the words automatically. She hadn’t meant to use the term of endearment that Nada has coined so many years ago, but it had slipped out.
In his mind, the sounds of the music died away, the noise of the crowd dissipated – it was as if they were alone. Beau froze in his tracks and stared at her. Now, he was the one that looked like he was seeing a ghost. “Nada?” On all sides, couples danced around them. They stood in the midst of happy people like an island in a fast moving stream. Harley stared at him like she was afraid he was going to strike her; then, she tore away and ran from the restaurant as fast as she could.
“Nada? Harley?” Shit, he didn’t know what to call her. He was flabbergasted. Beau didn’t know what to think. The only thing he knew was that he had to go after her. “We’ll be right back,” he hollered at the waitress, as he ran to the door. Out in the parking lot, he glanced around. There just wasn’t that many places she could go. “Harley?”
She leaned against his truck, trying to catch her breath. It had been stupid to run. For Beau to be shocked was perfectly normal. He was probably put out at her because she hadn’t revealed herself to him right away. Instead, she had pretended they were strangers. And in a way, they were. Sixteen years was a long time to be apart. They had both changed, in many ways, she, most of all. But the one thing she didn’t want to be was a coward. “I’m over here,” she called to him. Harley stood there, her arms wrapped tight around herself – head lowered, waiting to see what his reaction would be. “I guess you’ll want to take me home.” She didn’t have long to wait.
Beau walked up to her, stood right in front of her - close. “Damn, right, I want to take you home. Look at me.” She did, and what she saw made her heart jump in her chest. She meant something to him. How long had it been since she knew that to be true of anyone – the answer was easy – sixteen years. At that instant she lost her fear. Beau would never hurt her. Now, all she had to do was convince her body of that fact. Taking her by the shoulders, he pulled her in his arms. “I thought you were dead.” Cradling her to him, she could feel his heart pounding. “My God, I can’t believe I’ve found you.”
Standing on tiptoe, Harley buried her face in his neck. “This was what I was about to confess. And I wanted to tell you, before – so much. When you walked into your shop and I saw you for the first time, I almost died. It was so hard to pretend I didn’t recognize you.”
“I can’t believe you’re alive!” My God, he couldn’t get close enough to her. Beau picked her up and swung her around. “Why did you pretend? Why didn’t you just tell me?” His voice was deep and husky with emotion.
She clung to him. “I don’t know. It had been so long, I didn’t know how you’d react.” She knew that sounded lame. “I was afraid, I guess.”
“Afraid? My God!” He pulled her up even tighter. “Do you realize how much I longed for you? I have longed for you a million times. I came back for you, you know. But Pell told me he murdered you. And, Goddammit! I believed him.” Lord, there was so much he wanted – needed – to know. “How about if I go back in and get our food to go? I need to be alone with you. I want you to tell me everything.” Unlocking the door to his truck, he picked her up and set her on the seat. “You sit here and I will be right back.” He kissed her quick and hard – “and don’t you move.” He took a step or two, and then looked back as if to make sure she was still there.
Harley put her fingers to her lips. He had kissed her – on the mouth. She could still feel his heat. “My stars and garters,” she whispered. If she wasn’t careful she was going to fall head over heels in love with her Beau. As she sat there and waited, Harley rehearsed what she was going to say. A short nervous laugh escaped her lips. He seemed as thrilled to be with her as she was with him. “Lord, please let this work out,” she prayed. She wasn’t exactly sure what she meant by that – but she knew she didn’t want either one of them to be hurt.
“Thanks,” he paid the cashier and left a generous tip for the waitress. His heart was thumping like a jackhammer in his chest. Nada was sitting in his truck. And she was beautiful and safe and he knew he was grinning like an idiot – but this was the best gift he could ever dream of getting. “Thank you, God.” He breathed a prayer as he carried the two Styrofoam containers filled with fragrant crawfish. Oh – he had been attracted to Harley – big time. But Beau was awed at the difference it made in his heart to know that she was Nada. Before he had been lust-struck, anxious to know everything he could about sexy Harley Montoya. Now he still felt that same hunger, but it was sweetened by the knowledge that he had prior claim to this woman, they were bound by ties that could not be easily broken.
He peered through the darkness and let out a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding. She was still there. Balancing the food in one hand, he opened the back door of his double cab truck and sat the containers on the floorboard. “I’m back, Baby.” He couldn’t stop looking at her. “Are you okay?” he asked as he climbed into the truck beside her.
“Sure,” she smiled back at him. “There’s just so much I want to say to you – so many questions I want to ask and I’m not sure where to start.”
“Start anywhere – at the beginning if you need to. I’ve got as much catching up to do as you.” He turned the key, put the truck in gear and pulled out on the highway. “We didn’t get to talk that day – it all happened so fast. I saw an opportunity and I took it and you covered for me – didn’t you?” There was no doubt in his mind that she had, and he was almost afraid to ask what happened next.
“Yes,” she answered quietly. “You came back to Brownwood?” Even in the excitement of their discovery, she hadn’t missed that startlingly wonderful information. He had returned – for her.
Had she doubted he would? That thought made him pause. Even though they had talked about escaping Pell’s clutches, there had been no definite plan. That night, circumstances had just worked for him. Pell had been busy with a new guy that was causing problems and both of his cronies, Ron and Lonnie, had been picking up a load of drugs that Pell was about to coerce them into pushing. That was one of the reasons he had felt the urgency to act when he did. Once drugs were involved, the danger factor would increase tenfold. So when he got the chance, he took it. Beau had just assumed she would understand that he would move heaven and earth to return to her – with help. “Of course, I came back. I came back for you. Don’t tell me you thought I was just going to abandon you there?” He was driving carefully, but glancing over at her at every opportunity. All he cared about was looking at her – being with her – understanding what had separated them so long ago.
For the moment, she savored what he said – the momentous fact that he had come back for her. That was almost too much to take. It hurt to think about what might have been. “When Pell discovered you were gone, he was furious. He was about to take out after you, and that terrified me. I wanted to give you as much time as possible to get away.” Harley could feel him looking at her, but at the moment, she couldn’t bring herself to meet his gaze. “So, I went into his room and broke his jazz records.”
She didn’t have to say anything more. Beau felt his heart contract. Those old 45’s had been Pell’s prized possessions. “What did he do to you?” He could just imagine the beating she received – for him.
“Just more of the same, really, he beat me.” Harley refused to tell him about the rape. Maybe someday. Maybe not. Once again, Jed and Sonny’s repulsed faces came to mind. And the thought of seeing that same look on Beau’s countenance was the worst thing she could think of.
Beau could tell she was holding something back. He didn’t know what that could be, but he could tell the memory haunted her. “So, what happened? When I got back you were gone. I tore into him, demanding to know where you were.” The police had pulled him off the sleazebag. After Beau had testified, the detectives had felt Pell was probably responsible for several unsolved murders; all they would need would be to compare his DNA to samples they had extracted from the victim’s fingernails. So knowing he was going to be charged with multiple murders, Pell had chosen to torture Beau. “He told me he had knocked you in the head and threw your body off the river bridge. I died a little that night, Nada.”
She couldn’t resist, Harley covered his hand on the steering wheel, offering him comfort. “I’m sorry. Not too long after you left, I got a chance to escape. He was – uh – preoccupied and I slipped out the kitchen door. It was a fluke chance, really. Everyone was out on the take and Cook had gone to refill Pell’s liquor cabinet. We were all alone.” She swallowed hard, remembering that she had ran with torn clothing and virginal blood running down her thigh. But at least she had gotten away.
“There’s so much I want to know.” He might be pushing things, but he had no choice. There was no way he was letting her out of his sight – not for a while – hopefully, not tonight. “Can I take you to my houseboat, Nada? For some reason I just need to get you on my home turf. It’s a man-thing. Okay?”
Beau knew how to pull her heartstrings. “That sounds wonderful, Beau. I would love to spend some time with you.”
As soon as she agreed, he made the turn to head to where his boat was docked. He wasn’t about to give her time to rethink her decision. “You won’t be sorry.” As he waited at a stoplight – he leaned over toward her, looking into her eyes. “God, I’m happy. But, it’s funny - I’m not sure what to call you.”
“Call me, Harley. I haven’t been Nada for a long time.”
“Harley, it is.” He knew what he wanted to call her – mine.
Chapter Three
“Beau, did you know there is an alligator walking up the gangplank?” Harley couldn’t help herself; she backed up against the wall as the huge reptile lumbered onto the boat. She wasn’t armed and didn’t know if she could shoot the monster if she had the opportunity. He didn’t look hungry, he looked - sort of happy. Still, she wasn’t going to stand still and get eaten. “Beau!” she called. “Please come get me!”
“Awwww, come here, Baby.” A door she hadn’t noticed opened up behind her and a strong arm pulled her close to the safest place she had ever known. Harley turned in his arms and nestled close, finding his closeness much more preferable than facing the alligator.
“That’s my gator, Harley. His name is Amos Moses and he doesn’t have a tooth in his head.” Beau planted kisses all over the top of her hair. “I didn’t mean for him to scare you. He doesn’t usually come aboard this time of day.”
Harley turned her head slightly, peeking around. “He doesn’t have any teeth. Why?”
“I’m not real sure, I found him half-starved when he was about three foot long. Somebody had pulled all of his teeth, probably thought they would keep him as a pet. He would have died, if I hadn’t taken him in. He’s lived on ground meat for almost ten years.”
Harley turned in his arms and smiled as the big gator ambled to the back of the boat to a place where he could bask in the sun. “So, he comes and goes as he pleases?” Gradually her heartbeat returned to normal. She became aware that he still held her tight, and she was holding on to his arm like it was her soul’s anchor.
“Yea, he keeps the burglars scared off.” Beau closed his eyes and celebrated the miracle of having Nada, Harley, in his life again. “Come on in, I want to talk. I need to know everything you’ve been doing since I lost you.”
