Bayou Baby - Lexi Blake Page 0,7
you don’t want to have every second of your performance harshly graded, you’ll stay away from that one.”
He wasn’t sure he wanted to go to a funeral reception. He was in jeans and a T-shirt. He still had his beat-up old toolbox in his hand. “I didn’t know the deceased. Maybe I should go back to the house.”
Shep would be waiting on him. Shep was a big German shepherd he’d brought home with him from Afghanistan after they’d both been discharged from duty. The dog had sat near his truck and looked at him with sad eyes when he realized he was being left behind. Shep wasn’t used to being left behind. He was pretty much used to spending every minute of the day with Harry.
“Come on.” Cal put a hand on his shoulder. “You’ve got to meet the fine folks of this town at some point. And no one’s real upset about Irene Guidry. That was the single craziest old lady I ever met, and I’ve met most of Momma’s Rotary Club, so that’s saying something.”
He found himself standing in the doorway of the church reception hall. There were a bunch of people milling about, most with red cups in their hands. “For a crazy old lady, she drew quite a crowd.”
“Oh, everyone comes out for funerals in these parts,” Cal admitted as he made his way to the big crystal punch bowl and got himself a cup. “There’s not a lot else to do so weddings and funerals are big social events.” He took a long drink. “And damn, but Zep’s got a heavy hand with the rum. There’s way more rum than punch. The Guidrys might be trash, but trash around here usually knows how to party.”
He wasn’t sure he liked his cousin referring to anyone as trash, but he didn’t know the family well. He did know he’d heard the name Guidry from his aunt’s mouth and it was obvious she didn’t think much of them. “I think I’ll try the lemonade.”
“Suit yourself.” Cal refilled and looked around the crowd. “I’m going to see what Josette has going on. Now, there’s a woman I could spend some time with. Some fun time.”
His cousin winked and walked off toward a slender blonde.
He was rapidly discovering his cousin was a bit of a douchebag.
“You’re the new guy.”
He turned to find his own pretty blonde staring up at him. She was petite, barely coming up to his shoulders, and he would bet half her weight was in that hair. It flowed past her shoulders almost to her waist, and there was so much of it. Thick, honey-colored silk. Sky blue eyes found his own and held him there. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and he noted that she was drinking the lemonade.
“How do you know that? Maybe I’ve been here all along and no one’s noticed me.”
Her nose wrinkled sweetly. “Oh, they all notice you. That’s how I know you’re the new guy. Welcome to Papillon. I came over to give you fair warning. I think single people need to stick together in an effort to stay single despite the societal pressure to give in to the patriarchy. If my mother tries to convince you to let me show you around, she’s really trying to find me a husband.”
Oh, but he might not mind her showing him the town. She was gorgeous, and he liked the sass she was throwing his way. He was self-aware enough to admit that women had come easy to him. He wasn’t hard on the eyes, but finding one who got him was a different story. “That seems to be a theme. The church secretary already tried to have her granddaughter show me around.”
A single brow rose over those heavenly eyes of hers. “Debra? Yeah, you have to be careful with her.”
“I’ve heard she’s handsy.” He nodded. “And she talks a lot.”
“Yeah, she also drinks a lot more than Helena will admit, and she’s started a couple of spectacular bar fights. She likes to pit her suitors against each other and make them fight for her.”
“Good to know.” He glanced around, and sure enough, every eye was on him. “Well, I don’t suppose you would show me around. Maybe if you showed me around, people would stop offering up their daughters. I noticed no one has asked me if their sons could show me the town. Do the men of Papillon not know their way around?”
“Well, you could say that about a