Chapter Eleven
She had almost told him she was in love with him. The words had burned on the tip of her tongue begging to be freed, but thankfully she’d managed to swallow them back.
Now wasn’t the time for her to profess her love. With the shooting just now, she had a feeling he would believe it was all about gratitude and fear and not about real love.
She would wait until the time was perfect. And she was hoping when she did confess, he would realize he was in love with her, too. That would be positively wonderful…if it happened that way.
Monique took her phone and went into the bedroom where she called Angelique and then Dominique.
The calls were just friendly check-ins. She didn’t mention her close call with a bullet.
The last thing she wanted to do was worry them.
They both had wonderful lives, doing what they wanted for work and living with the men who loved them.
There was no reason to bring her drama to them, although she had no idea if Daniel actually would tell Angelique about the shooting.
After that she called the store and had a quick conversation with Cynthia who was working. Cynthia indicated that everything was fine although it had been a slow sales day.
With all the shock of the shooting, Monique needed a little normalcy and talking to her sisters and checking in at the store gave her that for a moment. She finally left the bedroom and returned to the living room. Jacque wasn’t there.
She found him on the back porch, cleaning the fish they had caught. “Don’t come out here,” he said when he saw her. “I’m almost finished, and then I’ll be back in.”
She turned around and headed to her usual spot on the sofa. He came in just a few minutes later, a pan of fish fillets in his hand. “Are you hungry?” he asked.
“I guess I could eat.” She looked at the time on her phone, surprised to realize it was almost six thirty. With the shooting, the day had completely slipped away.
“Sit tight, and I’ll have some fish fried up and a salad made in just a few minutes,” he replied.
She got up and moved from the sofa to the kitchen table to watch him cook.
“If I had caught two more fish, you would be in here fixing dinner.” He cast her a quick smile. “If you feel like it after dinner, I’m ready for a dance party. We need a little fun around here.”
“Jacque LeBlanc is looking for some fun? Wow, I’m impressed, and I’m definitely up for some fun, too,” she replied. “I used to love dancing at the Voodoo Lounge. Usually from the minute we got there until we went home, I was out on the dance floor the whole time.”
“I’ve never been there,” he said as he dredged the fish through a flour mixture and then put the pieces in the awaiting skillet.
“You would probably hate it. It’s loud and usually really crowded. Besides, you’ve never been to most of the places in town,” she replied dryly. “It wouldn’t be seemly for the town’s hermit to be seen out and about.”
“Hey, I was out and about with you,” he protested. “And I resent being called a hermit.” His eyes twinkled with a teasing light.
“Okay then, a curmudgeon, a cranky-pants, an ogre…”
“I refuse to wear any of those titles when I was just a loner minding my own business before a beautiful woman knocked on my door and turned my world upside down.”
“Just think how bored you would be if that woman hadn’t knocked on your door,” she replied.
“True, my life would be boring without you,” he agreed.
She knew he was trying to put her in a good mood, despite what had happened earlier in the day, and she really appreciated his efforts. They only made her love him more.
By the time they finished eating, it was almost seven thirty, and she was actually looking forward to a little dancing to end the night. She was definitely interested to see how Jacque might move to some music.
They turned on the lanterns around the room, and then she told him what station to set his phone to for the best oldies music.
Finally, they began to dance. To her surprise, Jacque showed perfect rhythm and was remarkably light on his feet. It wasn’t long before they were laughing together as they fell into a contest of who could dance sillier.
She couldn’t have loved him anymore than she did in these moments. He was everything she wanted in a partner…in a lover and in a husband.
A million times during the evening she had to fight against the desire to tell him how she felt.
If she spoke it aloud, and he told her he didn’t love her, then things would be awkward between them.
That was the last thing she wanted, especially since she didn’t know how long she’d be here with him.
They finally collapsed on the sofa to catch their breaths, and he turned his phone volume down.
“You’re a very good dancer,” she said.
“I haven’t danced in years,” he replied. “I guess it’s kind of like riding a bicycle. Once you learn how to do it, it always comes back to you.”
“I wouldn’t know about that, I’ve never ridden a bicycle,” she replied.
“You haven’t missed much,” he replied. He turned his phone off, indicating that the dance party was over. She was good with that. They had been dancing for almost an hour, and suddenly she was utterly exhausted.
It now felt as if the day had been extremely long. It seemed like ages ago that somebody had tried to kill her. She said her good night to Jacque and then went into her bedroom.
As tired as she was, once she was in bed, her mind refused to shut off. Somebody wanted her dead.
And she knew all the suspects Daniel had named. She didn’t know them well, but they’d always exchanged friendly smiles when she’d encountered them in the swamp. And now one of them wanted her dead. Who was it? Who had killed her mother and was now after her? Dammit, who was it?
Then there were her feelings for Jacque.
At least those weren’t confusing at all.
She definitely hadn’t been looking for love, but she had found it with Jacque.
He’d proven to be a man of many layers, and she still believed there were things about him she didn’t know…
things that occasionally had him withdrawn and miserable.
The sexual tension was still very hot between them, but she couldn’t forget that he’d told her he would never make love to her again.
No, she wasn’t confused about her feelings for him, but she was definitely confused about his feelings toward her.
She finally fell asleep and awakened the next morning just after dawn. She got up and pulled on her robe with the intent of taking a shower. She had to be at work at nine, but she had plenty of time to shower, dress and eat breakfast.
Jacque was at the kitchen table and greeted her with a smile. “I’ll go get you a towel,” he said.
“Sit tight, I know where they are.” She stepped into the bathroom where the towels were neatly folded on a shelf in a closet. She grabbed one and then returned to the kitchen.
Thankfully the shower was made of wood and nobody would be able to see her inside, so she should be safe. “I’ll be right back in.” She opened the back door and immediately stepped into the shower stall.
It didn’t take long for her to shower and wash her hair. When she was finished, she went back to her bedroom to get dressed for the day and brush out her wet hair. When that was done, she returned to the kitchen, poured herself a cup of coffee and then sat at the table.
Jacque stood in front of the stovetop, tending frying bacon. “Bacon and eggs okay?” he asked.
“Fine with me,” she agreed. “So what are your plans while I’m at work today?”
“I think I’m going to take a stroll around the swamp, see what kind of scuttlebutt I can pick up.”
“Oh, Jacque, please don’t stir things up,” she said as fear leaped into her throat. “The last thing we want is for the killer to come after you, too.”
“Trust me, I’m not going to get myself into any trouble.” He took the bacon out of the skillet and then whipped up a bowl full of eggs, milk and cheese. She watched him as he drained the grease from the skillet into a tin can and then added the eggs to cook.
He turned to look at her. “Don’t look so worried, Monique. I’m just going to take a bit of a walk and visit with some people. Who knows, maybe I’ll get lucky and find out some information about who shot at you yesterday.” He turned his attention back to the skillet.
“So far luck hasn’t exactly been on our side,” she said dryly.
“Maybe that will change today,” he replied.
An hour later she was in the shop waiting for customers to come in. While she waited, she worried about the man she loved. She didn’t like the idea of him being out and about where the killer might be. He might ask the wrong question to the wrong person.
What was to stop the perpetrator from murdering him? That would then leave her vulnerable and easy to kill. But that wasn’t the worst thing. If Jacque got killed, she would be responsible and would mourn his death for the rest of her life. Her heart cringed at the very thought of losing him.
He’d been living a peaceful, solitary life before she’d gotten him involved in all this. She would never forgive herself if something bad happened to him.
The hours at the shop passed quickly as she was busy for most of the day. At two o’clock, she breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of his car pulled against the curb.
“Cynthia, my ride is here, so I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said to the woman who had arrived minutes before.
“Okay, see you tomorrow, Monique,” she answered and then Monique left the shop and slid into Jacque’s car.
“Well, you don’t look any worse for the wear,” she said as she eyed him.
“Did you expect me to show up here with a missing arm or leg after fighting with the killer in the swamp?” he asked in obvious amusement.
“No, that’s the way I would expect you to show up after fighting with a big gator in the swamp,” she replied. “But it’s not funny, Jacque, I’ve been worried about you all day.”
His smile faded, and he put the car into gear. “There’s no need to worry about me, Monique. I can take care of myself.”