Maybe that’s what those trespassers had been up to?
Who would want to play such tricks and why? That mambo woman? Nonsense, she was too old and frail.
No,Sweet Dreamswasn’t haunted, and Grace wasn’t the target of some unknown criminal. She was simply more stressed than she imagined. Good thing she never hoped for better. Hope brought nothing but misery.
She spent the rest of the day installing rails on the fence. When she finally made her way to the dock, it was near dark. Grace had considered taking her rifle, but even if Flynn returned, she didn’tthink he was any real danger. As for predatory night creatures—gators, snakes, and all. They’d not bothered her to this point, so the dock at this time of night was probably not a part of their routine movements.
That scent—cinnamon and spent powder—filled the air.
“Good evening, Miss Thibodaux.”
Grace glanced to her right. Lucien Flynn stood less than two yards distant.
Where had he come from?
How had he gotten so close without her hearing?
If she wanted any chance to learn the answers, she’d have to invite him to stay. Did she want that?
***
“Would you like to sit with me a while?” Grace gestured tentatively toward the end of the dock.
“Very much, but you mustn’t feel obliged. I could come back another time.”
The corners of her mouth curved downward a tad, and she stared at the boards beneath her feet. “I wouldn’t want to keep you from anything important,” she said after a small pause.
It must’ve taken a lot for Grace to invite him closer, so Luc shouldn’t give in to the urge to tease her.
He chuckled and took a step forward.
She lifted her head, wide-eyed, and backed away one step.
He halted.I’ve been watching over her for days, but to her, this is only our third meeting.
Luc had no wish to frighten her. He needed to be certain she could be comfortable with him. However, fright was not the only thing he sensed in the ether, where emotions lived as he did when he was ephemeral. No, her open expression signified quiet but hesitant curiosity. Perhaps satisfying that would lead to trust.
“You couldn’t keep me here, if I wished to leave,” he continued. “I assure you. Besides, the important thing I had to do tonight was visit with one of the Thibodaux ladies.” He stepped forward again.
That dazzling smile appeared again, and she blushed like a spinster. “I’m a Thibodaux lady.”
What was wrong with the gentlemen in Boston that they could not see how intriguing, how alluring she was?
Their loss was his gain.
“Then you are precisely who I’ve been looking for.”
She wasn’t. Was her show of bravado during the confrontation with that cur, Guidry and those two intruders an indication of heart, passion. Perhaps it had been just that, bravado. A cover for a woman full of repressed fear and anger, suffering heaven knew what grief and sorrow. Something painful enough to send her running from Boston rather than confront what had hurt her. If heart is courage, then Grace may be lacking, but heart can mean so many things, empathy, sensitivity, generosity. She had more than enough of those, from what he’d seen. Regardless, he doubted she was heartless enough to break his curse. Luc approached as closely as her caution would permit and took the lantern from her. “Let’s leave this here. Close enough for when we need it, but far enough away we’ll be able to see the stars.”
Grace nodded. Inadvertently his hand moved to take hers. He shoved it into his pocket. They weren’t well enough acquainted for holding hands.
“I heard in the village that you had trespassers,” he said, as cautiously as his approach had been. “I handled it. I also spoke with DeLille, who told me that my trespassers would probably be released before a day passed. He said the men often worked for Guidry.”
“Really?”
As she explained the details she’d learned, they ambled side by side to the end of the dock.
The way she spoke confirmed she had no idea he’d been present and lifted a few of his worries.
