Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
Landon woke up in a rush, Laurel’s voice calling to him in a panic. He sucked in a lungful of air, eyes searching the darkness so’s he could remember where the hell he might be.
He wasn’t sure — but it didn’t matter none, not when Laurel’s cry was still ringing in his ears.
He answered the phone before it rang. “Sister.”
“Bubba.”
“Quoi ca?”
“I’s… I did something bad.”
“I’ll fix it.” He didn’t know where he was, but he’d fix it. “Just let me get me some clothes on.”
“Bubba, you’s in Yankeeland.”
“Oh.” Merde. “Okay, dis-moi. I got you.”
He pulled on his jeans and a sweatshirt. It was chilly outside of his cher’s arms.
“I been… I been with Chrissie Taggart.”
Landon nodded. He wasn’t stupid. The baby Taggart had done been envo?té from the second those eyes had landed on his sister. It was good, the heat between them, and the knowing that Chrissie loved her pleased him to the bone. “I heared that. It ain’t no bad thing, oui?”
“Landon.” Her voice dropped, and she sobbed once. “Je suis en famille.”
Oh, that motherfucker.
Chrissie’d done got his sister pregnant and then left her? What’s that what this was? He was going to track the man down and kill him. He would take Adam with him and make Adam do it.
He stormed into the bedroom in the trailer, poking Adam right in the ass. “Get up, you, and find me that brother of yours.”
“Bubba!” Laurel was yelling into the phone.
“No. No, you let me deal with this. I’ll skin him and use his skin as shoes.”
“What the hell, honey?” Adam rolled over, flopping in the best places.
“Your enculé brother got Laurel with child — gon’ tear his fuckin’ head off, me.” Landon didn’t mind the bébé none, but damn if he ain’t gon’ make Chrissie make her his woman for true.
“Wait, whut?” Adam blinked at him, his face screwed up into hard lines as he tried to wake up and follow what Landon said.
“Your ‘tit frère, he done put un bébé in my sister. I gon’ put him down ‘less he do right on her.” How hard was this to get?
Adam seemed to be doing math in his head. Finally his expression cleared. “So you mean Chrissie got Laurel pregnant?”
“How many times are you gon’ make me say that?”
“Until it makes sense. I’ll find Chrissie.” Adam rolled naked out of bed and wandered toward the bathroom.
“Uh-huh.”
“Don’ you hurt my man, Landon!”
He blew Laurel a kiss through the phone. “La, only a little, oui? Jus’ enough.”
He hanged up and stomped into his boots before heading out. His vieux would find them.
Landon followed his nose and his heart, finding the trailer that was one of matched set of three.
He stormed up to the door and started pounded. “Git up, you! I gon’ kick your ass!”
Chrissie answered a few moments later, coffee cup in hand. “What the hell, Nut Butter?”
Landon started out like he could hold out. “You gon’ die, man, you don’ do right by Laurel. You hear me? I will unman ton chu, vraiment! Elle est en famille, et c’est cause de toi.”
“What the fuck does all of that mean?” Chrissie scowled at him. “I swear, kiddo, you start getting mad and no one can understand you but Beau LaFitte’s granny.”
“My sister!”
Chrissie’s eyebrows lowered. “What’s wrong with her? Is she okay? Did something happen at the house?”
He slapped his forehead. “Allons, listen to me, sha! Laurel, hers having a une bébé!”
Chrissie’s eyebrows flew up to his hairline. “She’s pregnant?”
“Are you couyon?!?” Poor Laurel, letting the idiot Taggart get with her.
“No. I mean, I don’t know what the hell that is. So no. Go away.” Chrissie slammed the door in his face, and he could hear the man clomping across the floor.
“I will not! You done got my sister with child, and you ain’t made her yours!” He was gonna set the trailer on fire.
“I am calling your damn sister!” Chrissie bellowed. “And then I am going to go home to get her!”
“Bon! She deserves lovin’! Good lovin’!” Lawd have mercy, he was mad.
Mad and pleased, all at the same time.
Adam stormed up behind him, dressed in sweats and slide shoes, face like a thundercloud. “Do I need to tan his hide?”
“Mebbe. He say he calling her now. He say he don’ know.”
“Then he doesn’t, honey. He’s not a dick like me.” Adam yawned. “What do you want for breakfast? We can run get some sausage biscuits.”
Brian came stumbling out of his trailer, glaring at them all. “What the hell is with all the noise?”
“Sie and Laurel are having a baby. I’m assuming he’s proposing right now.”
“Damn. Y’all and Cajuns.”
Landon blinked as a big dark hand wrapped around Brian’s upper arm from behind.
“Come back to bed, baby. We need you.”
We.
Huh.
Brian’s cheeks went pink, and he grinned, shrugging. “Gotta go. We’ll have supper in a few days, okay?”
Adam chuckled at his brother. “Y’all made up, huh?”
“Uh. Yeah. We did. Bye.” The door clicked shut, and Landon blinked.
“We?”
Adam shrugged. “I think he’s got him one of each, honey. Looks like it’s just you and me. We’ll go get breakfast in a bag and come back here…” Adam wagged his eyebrows.
“You think it’s gon’ be okay, cher?” He needed Laurel to be all right.
“With your sister?” Adam wrapped an arm around him, steering him toward the truck. “Hell, yes. I bet Chrissie’s gone time we get back.”
“He’d best be heading to Sister’s to gather her up for lovin’ and marryin’.” He was fixin’ to have to call Granny Taggart and tell her there was a wedding to be had.
“Oooooeeee.” Landon grinned over at him. “This is some fun, vieux.”
“It is, huh?” The whole Taggart back yard area, which was more like a giant pasture space, was decked out for a wedding.
There were streamers and banners and no balloons because Laurel cried about how they hurt turtles and birds, and there was enough brisket smoking and jambalaya making to satisfy Texans and Cajuns alike.
Everyone was here — LaFitte and Bell, Coke and Dillon, a handful of Brazilians.
Hell, even Ace Porter was here, with the other four Horsemen.
It was a damn rodeo extravaganza.
Adam grinned at Landon. “You proud, honey? This is a helluva spread.”
“Y’all done good.” Landon’s smile was blissful. His lover had given Laurel away in a lovely white dress only an hour ago, eyes on Chrissie as he muttered, “Take her, she’s mine.”
“You did too.” He wandered closer to take a kiss, happy in his soul to see his brother settled.
“Mmm…vieux, I do love you.” Landon’s hand slid up his arm. “She’s so happy that she’s got womankin now.”
“Yeah. It will be good for everyone.”
Hell, even Bri had a lady. And a feller. They were a committed three, he reckoned. And he that was not his to worry about. What was good was that Bri was smiling, relaxed, and happy for the first time in a while.
More importantly?
Landon had gone up, greeting and smiling and welcoming, and Laurel had done the same.
So that was that. All the Taggarts, off the market.
“So, you liking it here, baby?”
“Ours house is just nice, oui? Just right.” Landon and Laurel had both relaxed once they’d learned that the Gaudet land was going to be safe for generations — used for hay and vacations and fishing and fun.
Chrissie had, in fact, had the house reroofed and the electric and plumbing redone for a wedding present for his new wife.
They were going to go spend their honeymoon there, in fact. Just to have some privacy. Although, he would bet Lafitte would be over there bothering the shit out of them.
Him and Landon? They were taking the horses to the mountains to go riding and spending their cowboy Christmas out of pocket, just because they could.
Landon hadn’t had a vacation before, and Adam was going to give him one — horses, mountains, sunrises, campfires, and long lazy lovemaking.
Lovemaking without a single bullfighter or alligator.
“Landon! Landon, you got to dance with me. Fais do-do and all.”
Landon beamed at him. “You mind, vieux?”
“Never. She needs her dance with you.” He winked and leaned back against the porch. Chrissie could cut in, and leave Landon to dance with Momma.
Bri came up, handing him a beer. “You believe it?”
“What?”
“That there’s a baby coming.”
He nodded. Chrissie had fallen in love with Laurel on first sight. Just like Landon had done with him.
Laurel was going to lengthen the Taggart line, give them little ones to love.
“I wasn’t surprised a bit. I bet it’s twins.”
“Oh, I don’t know. I like the number three.” Bri’s voice was dry as dust. “I like it a lot.”
He glanced over at the married couple that Bri was with, two stunningly beautiful lawyers that had finally admitted they were both in love. “You’ve always been in the middle, Bri. Always.”
Brian whacked him, but that grin never faded a bit. “Maybe so, yeah. Oh—” Brian pointed over to the crowd. “Look at that.”
He glanced over, seeing his Landon, in his white button-down and best jeans, waltzing Laurel around like it was the most natural thing ever. Sie was dancing with their momma, and it was all just right.
Adam couldn’t stop his smile, and why would he?
The fiddle music sped, and Landon was coming for him, hand held out, eyes dragging over him like a touch.
Laissez les bons temp rouler.