Bayou Baby - Lexi Blake Page 0,43

were shaking, and she realized they had been from the moment she’d understood Celeste Beaumont was coming after her. She’d thought she would have to fight, have to beg, have to explain why she hadn’t even fixed the steps needed to get inside the house.

She watched as Darnell got into his truck and drove away.

“Sera, I’m sorry I didn’t call you, but I had some time earlier today and . . .”

He didn’t get much past those words when she burst into tears and threw herself into his arms.

* * *

***

Harry felt the breath leave his body the minute she was against him. The move had shocked him because she’d seemed perfectly composed the moment before. If she’d been surprised he was there, she hadn’t shown it at all. She’d taken his every cue, and there was no question in his mind that the compliance officer had been happy with both the inspection and the fact that Seraphina Guidry knew what she was doing.

She didn’t, but she was smart and she could figure it out if she was given the time she deserved.

“Hey, it’s okay.” He gently put his arms around her because she seemed to need some affection. Yeah, it didn’t have anything to do with how soft and warm she was. With how good it felt to hold her.

Right. It felt right to hold her, like he was supposed to comfort her when she was sad.

“Sylvie told me they were going to try to condemn the place,” she managed.

So she’d known what was going on. He let his hand find her hair. “He’s not trying to do anything but make sure the place is safe. I found him to be reasonable. It’s all going to be okay.”

She cried, holding on to him like he was the only real thing in the world. It broke his heart, those sobs of hers.

Shep sat down, looking up at him and whining because he couldn’t stand to hear her cry, either.

He also couldn’t stand the thought that someone else could drive up and see her pain. She was a private woman. Even though he hadn’t known her long, he’d figured that out about the lady. Though it seemed like the house was isolated, it wasn’t. While he’d been working on the steps, he’d been interrupted by three different people, two who’d been on the water and his cousin, who was on her morning run. Angie had stopped long enough to give him a lecture on how her mom wouldn’t like the fact that he was helping out, but she herself thought it was a great idea.

If anyone found them like this, there would be gossip, and while he couldn’t care less, Sera would.

He leaned over and pressed his arm under her knees, lifting her up. She gasped but her arms went around his neck before she started to cry again.

“I’m sorry,” she managed through her tears.

He got the door open and carried her inside. “There’s nothing to be sorry about.”

If she’d known about Darnell, then she’d likely been worried about the visit. He didn’t know why she’d stayed away this morning, but he would bet she’d gotten here as fast as she could after she heard the news. She likely hadn’t thought she would walk in on him talking to the man who could shut her whole operation down.

She had to have been overwhelmed. Just the size of the job would be overwhelming, but knowing someone was trying to stop her seemed to have sent her over the edge.

He carried her to what he’d come to think of as the formal living room. There was a mid-century modern sofa complete with plastic covering over all the pillows that would make it very uncomfortable to actually sit on, and a china hutch that displayed an astonishing array of ceramic owls.

He lowered himself carefully down, forced to think about every move because the last thing they needed was for him to fall. He eased onto the sofa as she was starting to relax in his arms. “It’s going to be okay.”

How much responsibility had been placed on her slender shoulders? She truly believed this house was her shot at giving her son a bright future, but she was trying to take it all on alone. She had to feel so isolated.

She shuddered and her chin came up. Her face had gone red, every bit of emotion stamped there, but it didn’t make her less appealing. In fact, it dialed his attraction up a few