Bayou Baby - Lexi Blake Page 0,4

a lovely man who would make her the best husband was the first thing to brighten her life in what felt like the longest time. She was turning a corner. Her daughter was getting married, Cal was settling into his place at the head of Beaumont Oil, and she was making a connection with her nephew. It had only taken her years, but she might be able to find some small piece of herself again.

Being around Harry had proven that girl she’d been was still there deep down. Her sister was stamped all over that beautiful young man’s face. And her sister’s kindness was there, too. So many years had been wasted and now Janelle was gone. So much of her family gone. So much time lost.

She felt old and she wanted very badly to find one thing that could make her feel young again.

“Who do you think will inherit Guidry Place?” she heard herself asking. She kept her voice low because the last thing she needed was someone to overhear. It wasn’t proper to talk about inheritance at a funeral, though often it was the only thought that went through people’s heads. She was cynical enough to know that. “Didn’t I hear something about Irene leaving it to the cats? Can you leave property to felines?”

Cal snorted, an inelegant sound she should correct, but she let it pass. “I believe the rumor is she’s leaving the whole place to a cat shelter.”

The idea made her shudder. Guidry Place was half a mile from her own house and had some of the most spectacular views of what the locals called Butterfly Bayou.

Wouldn’t it make a beautiful wedding present to Angela? She didn’t like the thought of her baby girl being so far away. One day Beaumont House would be Cal’s. Shouldn’t Angie’s family have something, too?

Her husband will take care of her. All she has to do is take care of her family, and her husband will provide. Ralph’s words came back to her. It was what he’d said the first time she’d mentioned setting up a trust for Angela. He’d been willing to do it for Wesley but only because Wes had agreed to go to business school and set himself up to become CEO for the company Ralph’s grandfather had built.

Beaumont women were to be pretty, obedient, and well trained. A bit like a show dog.

The only reason Celeste herself had been provided for at all had been her husband’s laziness when it came to rewriting his will. He’d intended to leave everything to Calvin. He’d told her it was family tradition, and it would be up to Cal to take care of her and his siblings the way he saw fit.

And she’d accepted it. She hadn’t even argued with him. Being the “queen” hadn’t turned out to be so great in the end. Not in a world where only kings were acknowledged.

She wasn’t going to leave her daughter dependent.

“We should find that shelter,” she said.

Cal leaned in. “You want to buy it? Why? We don’t need any extra space, Momma. Hell, we have ten bedrooms as it is.”

“I have my reasons.” She settled back, satisfied for the moment. “Just find out that information for me. And look for your cousin after the ceremony. Helena called him out here earlier on some kind of lighting emergency. I don’t like the fact that the townspeople are already taking advantage of Harry.”

She had to watch out for her nephew. The women here tended to pounce on new men in town like tigers looking for prey. Every woman with an unattached daughter, granddaughter, or niece would lick their chops the minute they saw her sweet, kindhearted nephew.

He reminded her so much of her Wesley.

“I’ll look into who owns Guidry Place now,” Cal promised. “And I’ll look after Harry. Hell, I would do that anyway. You know how many women are going to be after him? I’ll be drowning in the women he doesn’t choose.”

Again, she sent him that withering look.

He straightened. “I mean perhaps I can help him make good decisions.”

She shook her head as the choir started up. He was such a scamp. “I think that will be the other way around. Remember we have to go to work on Monday, and don’t spend the whole weekend trying to prove what a bad boy you are.”

Cal breathed deep, a sure sign he was holding back on her. “Of course.”

He hated work but someone had to take over Beaumont Oil and

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