Bayou Sunset (Agents of HIS #4)

Chapter Six

DAISY MAE ANXIOUSLY scanned the horizon, hoping to catch sight of her tardy brothers. The boat was ready; she had fueled herself with a gallon of strong coffee, and breakfast had been hastily consumed. Despite all her preparations, they were nowhere to be seen. Frustration crept in as she acknowledged that if they didn’t arrive within the next fifteen minutes, she would have to abandon their plans for the day. Daisy had pressing matters to attend to—repairs awaited her at the old homestead, tasks that she could no longer put off.

Daisy Mae inherited her parents' home upon their passing. It was almost one hundred years old and always needed something repaired or updated. But she loved the place and the memories.

“ Bonjour! ” JP said as he and Pierre approached.

Merde . She was itching to know the truth about the map from them.

Once the two men boarded, Daisy Mae couldn't wait, so she exclaimed, “Did ya steal dat map?” She wouldn't take them out if they turned out to be the missing map. Daisy Mae didn't need that kind of trouble coming down on her. She'd heard how ruthless Antoine Rousseau was. Who hadn't in this neck of the woods? Treasure hunters around the world feared him. From what Daisy Mae had heard, you never crossed the man. That is if you wanted to live.

The twins looked at each other and then at her. Their innocent personas didn’t fool her. They may not have stolen the map, but they were up to something.

“ Mais non! ” Pierre assured her. “We bought it.”

“We did,” JP echoed.

“Hmph.” She didn't know whether to believe them or not. Since they had no reason to lie to her, she'd have to accept cautiously . “Stow ya gear and grab those tow lines,” she instructed as she moved to start the boat.

Pierre tossed his gear on the floor, saying, “We be waiting on another.”

Who on earth would they want with them treasure hunting? She knew everyone in town was an amateur treasure hunter, but for the twins to share that seemed all kinds of wrong.

“Here he come,” Pierre said, tossing his gear near his brothers.

What part of stowing their gear did they not understand? They just put it in the way. “Move ya gear,” Daisy Mae said before she looked down the pier.

Mais non! She did not want to see or speak to this man. He'd ripped her heart out and walked away without looking back. She would not give him a second chance to make a fool of her. How could her brothers want him along, of all people?

“Grab the lines. Ya man, he be late.”

“ Dayzee Mè ,” Pierre pleaded, “wait for him.”

“ Non ,” she asserted. “He no step foot on me bateau .”

“Why not?” she heard in that deep, sexy voice. Romeo hadn't stepped aboard but waited for permission on the dock. At least someone respected courtesies.

Because my heart can't take ya rejection, again. “I have no use for ya, Steve. You not welcome ’round me, especially on my Seas .”

Steve raised his eyebrows. “ Mais , why not?”

Why couldn't Steve understand he be slowly killing me? She didn't want to be the bitch, but it was the only way to harden her heart against him. If they tried to be friends again, she'd crumble and be left in the dust again. Alone.

Daisy Mae huffed and put her hands on her hips. “Because I be da captain, and I say so.”

“All right, little rocket,” Steve said and winked. “We play it ya way.”

That was a new nickname, but she wanted to avoid starting a dialogue by asking him what it meant.

“Sorry, mon amis ,” Steve told her brothers. “I guess I won't join ya today.”

“ Dayzee Mè ,” Pierre said, now in her face, “let him onboard. He be going to help us. He be da crew.”

Daisy Mae narrowed her eyes at Pierre. “You and JP be my crew.”

JP shook his head. “No, we hired him to be da crew. So, ya need to allow him onboard.”

Merde . Those lazy brothers of hers had hired someone to work for them. She should have guessed they'd do something like that. But she'd never imagined Steve would be the help. Didn't he already have a job?

Mon Dieu! Daisy Mae pondered whether he had given up his job in the north to live closer to his parents. The thought of constantly having him around in the same town was overwhelming. She would have to expedite her plans to relocate to a bigger town. Fortunately, she had enough savings to make the move.

Pierre approached her and grinned. “Put on ya big girl panties and let him board. I know not why ya deny him. He be done nothing wrong.”

Daisy Mae could see she'd never win this battle. So, she said, “Get your ass on board, stow all da gear properly, and grab da lines.” With that, she spun on her heels and prepared to launch. Men , they were the bane of her existence.

With a chuckle, Steve stepped on Seas the Day and shook her brothers' hands. Then, he gave her a mock salute and grabbed the twins' gear from the bottom of the boat to stow appropriately. After emerging from below, he held one line and then the other, loosening them from the pier.

Merde . Daisy Mae had been so focused on keeping Steve away that she'd forgotten to review the map JP had in his hand. “I need me some direction, if you please.”

“Just head south,” Pierre instructed. “We tells ya when to turn.”

Daisy Mae didn't operate like that. She wanted to know where she would be traversing the waters. “Give me da damn map,” she demanded. “I needs to see da waterways before ya drive us somewhere we get the bateau stuck.”

She knew they wouldn't do that. The twins were also good captains of these waterways, but she wanted to know what they had.

JP approached and unrolled the map on the dash in front of her. He pointed to a spot on the map. “We be going to dis island,” he said.

Thinking, Daisy Mae scrunched up her brows. She traced their path and shook her head. “There be no island dere.” She remembered going in that direction before. There'd been no island.

“Trust me,” Pierre said, “it be dere.”

It was their dime to waste because they'd brought him along. Thinking of Steve, she turned to see where he stood. Daisy Mae jumped, and her heart rate leaped. Steve stood right behind her. When had he become silent?

“I have my doubts also,” Steve added.

Whoopdefuckingdo . He hadn't been here in years and surely didn't remember all the waterways and islands.

Daisy Mae tried hard to ignore Steve and turned back to her brothers. “Your crew member, he be crowding me. Have him polish something.” Sure, it was petty, but she didn't know how else to act around Steve. Where did they stand? They'd never been a couple—even though she’d tried. He had to have known she'd loved him. How couldn't he have the way she'd offered herself up to him to be her first and only? And, he'd left, left her.

“I be right here,” Steve said. “Ya could speak to me, little rocket.”

Daisy Mae wanted to grit her teeth at the smooth voice. Since when had Steve become confident around women? He'd always been scared to speak with a woman. She reminded herself that he'd only been tongue-tied around her near the end.

“Why do dey call ya Romeo?” Daisy Mae asked, thinking of how Barbara had laughed at it with her.

“ Merde. I’ll go polish something,” Steve responded.

Touchy, she decided. Well, she always had something to run him off with. She'd put that in her pocket for another time.

“You go do dat.” Daisy Mae wanted to turn around and get one more glance at Steve in that tight T-shirt that showed off the muscles he'd perfected since leaving home. Plus, she could tell he had new tattoos she craved to trace along his arms. But she wouldn't. She wouldn't get all googly-eyed over him again.

Pierre frowned at her. “What be wit ya and Steve? You liked him— beaucoup .”

“It not ya business,” she said. “Tell me about dis treasure ya be hunting.”

Excitedly, JP told her of one of Jean Lafitte's little-known treasures hidden in the islands. Her brother believed the map was proper, but she had doubts. Authentic maps were few and far between. However, this map did look ancient with its faded print and falling apart at the edges. Forgery or not, it would easily fool suspecting prey.

“So, what be me cut?” she asked to keep the conversation going. She didn't want Steve to reappear and suddenly attempt to speak with her.

JP fidgeted. “Uh.”

“Uh, what?” Daisy Mae asked. “ Mais , let me guess, ya no plan ta give me a share. Don't you know da captain always gets a cut of da booty?”

This conversation was moot since she didn't expect them to find a treasure, but she liked how it affected her brothers.

“Who pissed in ya cereal dis morning?” Pierre asked.

Okay, so she was acting like a bitch. That wasn't her. Daisy Mae wouldn't allow Steve's presence to turn her into one. “ Mais , I be sorry,” she said to her brothers. “I be tired, is all.” She was tired. The women had stayed up late watching movies and enjoying the company. It was rare that everyone had the same time off work.

“And wit Steve?” Pierre asked.

“That be different,” Daisy Mae said. “ Mais , I'll be nicer.” It'd be challenging to harden her heart against Steve if she had to be pleasant. But she was a big girl and could do anything she set her mind to doing.

“That be all we ask,” Pierre said before ushering JP away. Through her peripheral, she saw them join Steve aft of the boat. The twins opened a cooler near the benches lining the ship's rear. Sure enough, they brought out beer. It wasn't even nine in the morning, and they were already drinking. Figures.

Then, she noticed Steve grabbing water. Well, some things had changed. She wondered what had changed with Steve and couldn’t decide whether to find out.

So, she kept her gaze forward and focused on finding the non-existent island her brothers swore existed. Steve, it would be best to ignore him for now.

Unfortunately, her heart didn't want to ignore him. She'd take that as a small win if only her heart would stop fluttering at his presence.