Bayou Beloved – Butterfly Bayou Read Online Lexi Blake

Categories Genre: Contemporary, Romance Tags Authors:
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Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 108531 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 543(@200wpm)___ 434(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
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Sienna shook it. “I’ve broken up bar fights on a Saturday night. I can handle anything. I can start tomorrow. Dixie’s got too many servers for the off-season anyway. Madison and Alice will be more than happy to pick up my shifts.”

“Then we’ll see you at eight sharp. And tell your girls that one of the perks of the job is your boss will buy them snow cones at least once a week during the summer should they come to visit their mom,” Quaid promised.

Sienna grinned. “They’ll be thrilled.” She winked Jayna’s way. “I’m going to go talk to Dixie.”

Jayna watched her sister go and then stared back at Quaid. “I thought I would have to push you. I thought I would have to push her, too.”

“You made sense. I’m a reasonable guy.”

She knew she shouldn’t, but she reached out and put a hand over his, warmth immediately spilling through her. “You are a kind man, Quaid Havery. I guess I didn’t truly understand that until now. Thank you.”

He flipped his hand over, taking hers in between his. “You’re welcome, Jayna.”

To her horror, she was about to cry. How long had it been since she’d seen someone act out of pure kindness?

He was taking a chance on her sister, and that was all the more reason to not make a fool of herself.

“Hey, Quaid. Your office was locked so I thought I might try you here.” Herve LaMont stood at the end of the table, saving her from going on instinct—which was to offer Quaid a hug and then oops, our lips met and we should kiss while we’re here.

And that was a good thing because she wasn’t going to go there with him.

Quaid let her hand go. “I was just having brunch with Jayna here. She’s going to be helping out with the legal work around town.”

Herve was a slender man who still believed in mullets. His was spectacular, flowing past his shoulders and cut far too short up front. He wore his mechanic overalls. “Nice to meet you, Ms. Cardet.”

Jayna frowned. She’d known the man since she was a kid. Her mom would take Jayna with her to get their old sedan checked. “You, too.”

Quaid snorted like he knew exactly what had gone through her head. He picked up the bill and slid out of the booth.

“I was talking to my brother, and we have a new idea for Rev It Up,” Herve said. “But someone pointed out that there’s this parish ordinance against using old mattresses as trampolines. That seems like overreach to me. I want to file a protest.”

Thank god she didn’t have to deal with that. She’d gotten a free breakfast and bargained her sister into the perfect job, and she was getting Wi-Fi until she could find a real job. All in all, not a bad day.

“Jayna here will be taking over your case,” Quaid said smoothly. “She’s handling some of the parish’s cases, so she’ll know exactly what to do. And, Herve, I have it on good authority that her car’s a piece of crap and she will likely work for auto parts.”

“You bastard,” she whispered under her breath.

He gave her a smile that damn near set her panties on fire. “See you back at the office. And you’re definitely answering the phone this afternoon.”

She watched the man walk away. He looked fine in a pair of slacks.

Herve slid into the seat recently vacated by that weasel, rat-fink, magnificent bastard. “See here, lawyer lady, I was planning on hollowing out some antique cars and putting old mattresses in them and voila—bouncy house. I’m recycling and making a fun place for kids to play.”

And germs to infect them all. “Yeah, I think we’re going to be looking at more than mere parish ordinances. We might have the feds to deal with. But hey, I never say no when there’s billable hours on the line. Let’s talk about batteries, because mine won’t hold a charge.”

She got down to business.

chapter four

“What do you want me to do about it?” Armie LaVigne sat back, a beer in his hand.

Rene put down his cards and sighed. “Well, it seems mean, but I think you should at least talk to Geraldine. Do you have any idea how many complaints city hall dealt with today? Tourist season is going to begin in a few weeks. How are we supposed to explain ‘Don’t use one of the only two gas stations in town because Geraldine and her friends have decided to start a nudist spa’? I’m all for free expression and for every person feeling good in their own body, but this is taking it too far.”

Quaid sat in his usual seat, the one across from the window. He wasn’t sure why he’d picked that seat years before, but it had been his at every weekly poker game since he and Rene had come back from college. Rene had started the weekly game, and though some of the players had changed over the years, Quaid found a deep comfort in the ritual.



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