Bayou Sunset (Agents of HIS #4)

Chapter Eleven

DAISY MAE FELT like she might have choked on her beer if she had taken a sip when Steve uttered his unexpected words. She had harbored the hope that he had deep feelings for her and couldn’t bear to be apart from her. However, she had long moved on from that schoolgirl fantasy. Over time, she had become more grounded in reality, fully aware that their relationship could never evolve beyond friendship.

Pointing a thumb at her chest, she asked, “ Moi ?”

Before Steve could respond, Alice eagerly waved and called out to them. “ Bonjour , Daisy Mae,” she greeted as she smoothly slid into the booth next to Daisy Mae. “ Bonjour , Steve.”

Looking green around the gills, Steve nodded. “ Bonjour .”

Mais non! Daisy Mae silently requested that Alice leave the room. She and Steve needed to conclude their conversation, and Daisy Mae was eager to understand why Steve had accused her of keeping him away when she’d offered to go with him. Was that why he stayed away? Because he thought she’d try again to convince him to take her with him.

Little did he know, she’d grown from that little girl who’d thrown herself at her first crush to keep from losing him.

Marie—their waitress, appeared with a beer for her sister and then disappeared without a word.

Daisy Mae picked up her beverage. “Drinking on duty?” she asked Alice.

Alice took a long drag on the beer. “Shift be jus’ done.”

“I thought ya was here ta take our statements.” Daisy Mae said.

Nodding, Alice turned to Daisy Mae. “I be. I decided ta do it off duty ta have a drink together. It's been forever since Steve be in town.”

Daisy Mae felt a surge of burning jealousy coursing through her veins. Although Steve was not her beau, she did not want him to be only a friend. Given his nickname, “Romeo,” she suspected that he had the power to seduce any woman he desired.

In a fit of childishness, she wanted to cross her arms over her chest and pout to get Steve’s attention. Instead, she kept Alice’s focus on her by retelling the day’s events.

Alice made notes in a small notebook. When Daisy Mae finished, Alice asked, “Steve, da ya have anyting ta add?”

Steve shifted. “ Non .”

Alice put the notebook in her uniform breast pocket and shook her head. “I no believe we've got some rogue shooter out dere. We no can have dat in our waters.”

“ Mais ,” Daisy Mae said, “I not sure it were a rogue.”

Tilting her head in interest, Alice asked, “How so?”

Daisy Mae met Steve’s eyes as he shook his head in disapproval. Disregarding her brothers’ insistence on secrecy, she had already confessed to Alice about the map. “We were treasure hunting,” she explained, refusing to let anyone deter her from the truth.

Alice clamped her lips tight before speaking. “Is dat de map ya told us ’bout?”

Without looking at Steve and receiving his disapproval, Daisy Mae nodded.

“I sure would like to git me hands on it and see if it be da stolen one.”

Daisy Mae took that like a slap in the face. Her spine went ramrod straight. “Are ya saying me frères are thieves? Dey be many things, but thieves dey no be.”

Alice put up a hand that halted Daisy Mae’s words. “Hoo boy, I no say dat.”

Daisy Mae harumphed. That's precisely what her friend had said.

Why didn’t Steve defend her brothers? He looked as though he would rather be anywhere but there. At that moment, Daisy Mae realized that he had misspoken when he said he only stayed away because of her. That wasn’t what he’d meant at all.

Ready to finish her conversation with Steve, Daisy Mae asked to be let out of the booth, surprising Alice and Steve as she realized they’d never get a private moment together at the bar. “Steve, ya ready ta git back to da bateau ?”

He quickly straightened up and nodded, mirroring Alice’s movement as she rose from her seat. Steve had barely exchanged three words with Alice. She couldn’t help but feel that her friend was somewhat undeserving of the tinge of jealousy that she felt.

“Be careful, Daisy Mae. Would ya like me ta go out wit ya? I doubt anyone would mess wit ya if ya had a deputy sheriff aboard.”

Daisy Mae carefully considered the option before ultimately dismissing it. After all, Steve had already stepped up, and she had ungratefully accepted his offer.

She hugged Alice. “It jus’ be a simple fishing charter, mais we see how things go.”

After their farewell, Daisy Mae waved to Marie as she approached the exit. Steve shook Alice’s hand, expressing his appreciation. Wow. He’d spoken .

She pondered how he came to be known as Romeo if he couldn’t even speak around women. She mentally shook her head and observed that he was polite, allowing Daisy Mae to take the lead. Furthermore, she recalled that he had never shown any interest in Alice during their time in school.

As Steve and she walked to the door, she felt his hand lightly touch her back. A jolt of electricity ran through her. His touch, even so gentle, was enough to send her libido into overdrive.

Merde. She wanted him. Even though she didn't want to, she did. And she wanted him in every way possible.

Once they exited Duke's, his hand dropped, and he walked beside her to the docks. “Was dere something ya needed us ta do on the bateau ?”

The audacity! Was he seriously joking with her? After accusing her of being his reason for not returning, he actually believed she wanted to fix her boat. Men really had no idea.

“ Non .” Her tone may have been more terse than she'd meant.

“What den?”

Daisy Mae felt her face turn bright red as steam billowed from her ears. She abruptly stopped and whipped around to face Steve. “ Mon Dieu ! Do ya be kidding me?” she exclaimed, eyes narrowed in disbelief.

Looking confused and a bit uncomfortable, Steve looked at her. “’Bout what?”

She wanted to pace. She wanted to rant. Yet, she stood her ground. “After da bomb ya dropped in dere, ya think me no want to finish dat conversation?”

As he scuffed his feet along the weathered wooden planks of the dock, Steve’s unease manifested in the hesitant rhythm of the movement. When he finally mustered the courage to raise his eyes, the anguish in his gaze shattered her heart into a thousand pieces. “ Mais , I didn’t mean it,” he uttered, his voice cracking with remorse.

She was going to kill the man. And she had the boat to dump him so his friends would never know. “ Oui , ya did mean it, mais ya didn't explain how ya meant it.”

“Let's sit on da bateau , et we talk.”

The plan worked well for her. They proceeded along the brief dock and then boarded her vessel. She gracefully made her way over to the two captain’s chairs positioned at the front of the boat, knowing that these seats were where her clients would settle in to enjoy a day of fishing. She knew they could swivel, allowing her to effortlessly turn around and get a good look at the person she was speaking to.

Steve cleared his throat as they settled into their seats to indicate he was about to speak. “I meant that ya were why I didn't return.”

Her heart was pounding loudly in her chest, the sound echoing in her ears. She needed to understand the reason behind it. “Why, exactly?” she asked, her voice filled with urgency and determination. Had she kept him away with her antics the night before he left?

Steve closed his eyes momentarily, then bored his gaze into hers. “’Cause I wanted ya, et ya be my best friend's souer . I couldn't have ya and didn't think I could stop meself from going after ya.”

Daisy Mae was surprised at the turn of events, but she thoroughly enjoyed it. The thought of being with Steve made her stomach somersault with excitement. Despite her previous declaration that they couldn’t be a couple due to their geographical separation—he in Baltimore and she in Bayou Junction—the temptation of spending just one night with him was irresistible. The thought of it was utterly invigorating and tantalizing.

With her words tumbling out before her mind could catch up, she exclaimed, “That be da most stupid thing I ever did hear.”