Epilogue
Five days later...
After the surge receded from what was left of Benoit’s island, the team, Madame Gautier and Lissette, emerged from the bunker and stared up at a crisp blue sky.
With a sense of shock, they’d found that everything that had been the camp, including the people who’d died in the fire fight, had disappeared, except for the concrete bunker that had sheltered them from the storm.
Grand-mère called it a cleansing.
Xavier agreed.
Shelby had arranged for boats to be sent to the coordinates marked by Lissette’s ankle monitor. She’d arrived with the boats to take statements about what had happened. Mostly, she’d come to reassure herself that Remy was alive and well.
The next few days were spent sorting through the damage to properties in and around Bayou Mambaloa, covering roofs with tarps, scooping out layers of silt deposited in some homes and businesses built in low-lying areas.
Everyone worked together, helping each other clean and rebuild their community.
The Crawdad Hole and Mimi’s Diner had sustained roof damage, but they were up and running on generators, providing meals for folks whose homes didn’t have power.
The high school gym provided shelter for families whose homes were not yet inhabitable. Several families with young children had moved into the boarding house.
Xavier didn’t mind the added noise. He’d been working long days and into the nights to get Madame Gautier’s house shored up by patching the roof and boarding two windows. Surprisingly, it had not sustained as much damage as other homes in the area.
Napoleon was back on duty, guarding the island again, and had only attacked Xavier twice. The fish net had come out a time or two to manage the grumpy rooster.
Once they had Madame Gautier settled, Xavier and Lissette stretched tarps over the roofs of Remedies and Roux and Mamba Wamba and a dozen other homes in the area, with Lissette working alongside him.
He’d called Jeffries as soon as they’d been rescued from Benoit’s camp and politely told him that he’d changed his mind and would be staying with his current employer, the Bayou Brotherhood Protectors.
Simon and Holly drove in from Atlanta as soon as the roads were cleared. Rafael and Gisele returned from Mexico two days later.
Hank Patterson and Sadie McClain had flown down that morning, after arranging for a crew out of Houston to deliver a dozen trucks full of food, clothing and building supplies.
A team of people arrived to set up giant tents, grills and picnic tables in the town square where festivals usually took place. They prepared enough food to serve the entire community, and a band set up on a portable stage.
They’d all worked hard over the past few days and deserved a chance to relax, eat, laugh and come together as survivors.
Danny and Mimi helped serve in between, enjoying the party atmosphere.
“You ready to join the others?” Xavier stood outside Remedies and Roux while Lissette locked up.
The store was operational. Madame Gautier and Lissette had spent time mixing additional remedies to help the people of Bayou Mambaloa with cuts, scrapes, stomach ailments and sleepless nights.
Lissette had managed to order and receive more practical supplies for the Roux side of the store.
Everyday supplies needed to restock kitchens that had been decimated had arrived that morning.
She’d spent time unboxing them and placing them on the shelves.
She straightened and smiled at the store, and then up at him. “Getting close to back to normal here.” Her smile faded. “For some, it’ll take a lot longer.”
Stacey Jenkins, her two kids in tow, hurried by. “Hey, Lissette, Xavier—you two are coming, aren’t you?”
Lissette waved at Stacey. “We are. See you there.”
Xavier smiled at the welcoming familiarity of a town full of friends and family. He was glad he’d told Jeffries he’d changed his mind and wouldn’t be leaving Bayou Mambaloa.
“You look awfully happy,” Lissette said.
“I am.” He inhaled a deep breath and let it out on a sigh.
“I never thought I’d find a place I wanted to call home.
” His smile broadened. “Yet, here I am. I have my team, who are like family. I have other friends like Shelby, Bernie, Amelie, Danny, Mimi, Mace and his motorcycle gang, Mitch at the marina, Ouida Mae, Yaya—and that’s only naming a few. ”
“And me?”
He pulled her into his arms and kissed her soundly. “Especially you.”
“It’s not the place you were looking for,” Lissette said, “but the people. You just had to open your heart to see.”
“You helped me see.” He kissed her again. “We should get going. Though I’d rather stay here and kiss you.”
“I promised to help serve,” Lissette said, “or I’d skip the celebration and stay here kissing you.”
He took her hand and started to walk toward the town square. “I’ve been wondering—”
“You have?” Lissette leaned into him. “About what?”
“About how long I should wait until I ask you to marry me.”
She stopped and stared up at him. “You want to marry me?” Color rose up her neck into her cheeks. “Oh, I don’t know. I have a criminal record. You’re former military. You’ve probably never broken a law. If you marry me, you’re marrying an ex-con. I can’t let you ruin your life, your reputation.”
“I don’t care about what other people think.” He held her hands in his. “If I asked you to marry me, would you?”
She stared up into his eyes, her brow forming a V over her nose. “I—”
A screechy voice called out, You break it, you buy it, asshole.
Lissette stopped dead in her tracks. “Johnny?”
Cheeky bastard.
“Johnny?” Lissette held out her arm. “I know you’re here. Come to me, sweet boy. I’ll get you some treats.”
Xavier looked up to his left just in time to see the bright blue macaw launch himself from the roof of Mamba Wamba and fly straight toward him.
Xavier ducked and was sideswiped by a blue wing as Johnny landed awkwardly on Lissette’s arm.
“Oh, Johnny!” Tears filled Lissette’s eyes. “I’m so happy to see you. I could hug you.”
Bring me a beer, woman.
She spent the next few minutes settling Johnny into his cage in the Mama Wamba. She gave him food and water and stood back to assess him.
“He’s dirty, and his feathers are a bit battered, but he’s alive and back home.” Lissette smiled. “Gisele will be happy.”
“You didn’t answer me,” Xavier said.
Lissette didn’t meet his gaze. “What was the question?” she asked, though he could tell she remembered.
“If I ask you to marry me, what will you say?” he repeated.
Just say I do, Johnny said from his happy place, at home in his cage.
Lissette laid her hands on Xavier’s chest and stared up into his eyes. “What Johnny said.”
Xavier kissed her. “You’re not allowed to change your mind between now and the time I ask you. I want you to have time to think about it.”
She stared at her hands on his chest for a moment. “Okay, I’ve thought about it. You can ask me now, and I’ll say yes.”
Xavier laughed out loud, then dropped to one knee. “I don’t have a ring, and I had planned to do this right, but I don’t want to give you time to come to your senses.” He held her hand in his. “Lissette, will you marry me?”
“Xavier, I’ve finally come to my senses. I’ve realized how true it is when they say home is where your heart is. My heart is at home...with you. Yes, I’ll marry you.”
He rose, swept her up into his arms and kissed her until he couldn’t hold his breath a minute longer. When he set her on the ground, he took her hand. “Come on, let’s join the others at the party. We have so much more to celebrate.”
Xavier grinned like an idiot or a man head over heels in love all the way to the town square.
Hank and Sadie had a crowd gathered around them, all wanting to meet the beautiful movie star and her husband.
Lissette squeezed Xavier’s hand and let go. “I’m going to help.” She hurried to Danny and Mimi to find out where they needed her.
Xavier stood with his teammates and drank it all in.
Jacques handed him a full beer from the tray Danny had brought by. “You look happy.”
“I am.” Xavier took a long swallow and grinned some more. “I’m in love.”
“Seems like that’s happening a lot among the ranks.” Jacques’ gaze followed Danny as she collected empty cups. “What’s that like?”
“Best feeling ever.” Xavier’s grin slipped. “And the worst, when the one you love is in danger. That’ll wreck you.”
Jacques shook his head. “Wouldn’t it be better to avoid love altogether?”
“I wouldn’t miss this for anything,” Xavier said. “You should try it sometime.”
“Yo, Hank Patterson, you old son of a bitch,” boomed a voice.
Xavier turned toward the sound.
Colonel Grant Jeffries, the man Xavier was supposed to have gone to work with, strode across the square toward Hank.
When the man spotted Xavier, he detoured briefly to shake his hand.
“I was sorry you turned me down, but I understand. It’s hard to leave your teammates behind.
” He grinned and dropped Xavier’s hand. “That’s why I came.
” He continued toward Hank, where he stood with Remy.
Danny had just delivered cups of beer to the two men and had turned to others with her loaded tray.
“Patterson, Montagne, got a beer for an old friend?” Jeffries called out.
“Sure.” Remy called out, “Danny, could we have another one of those?”
Danny returned with the tray of beer.
Jeffries took a cup and lifted it to Hank. “To men who know what they want and go after it.”
Danny’s cheeks paled. She stumbled backward and spun too fast for the load she carried. Her tray tipped, spilling the rest of the full drinks onto the grass.
She dropped to her knees and gathered the now empty cups, her hands shaking.
Before Xavier could move, Jacques shot forward and knelt beside her, helping her clean up the mess.
Xavier grinned at his friend.
Jacques talked big about avoiding love, especially when it looked like he’d already found it. Xavier wondered what had bothered Danny enough to make her turn pale. Based on Jacques’ instantaneous response to her crash, the man had a thing for the woman. Maybe she was the one for him.
Xavier pushed aside thoughts about Jacques finding his own happy ending and glanced down at the woman beside him.
Her gaze scanned the crowd around her with affection rather than wariness. A lot had changed in just a few days.
Both Lissette and he had weathered a storm and found the rainbow left in its wake. Neither had thought they had been looking for love, but they’d found it in each other’s arms.
***
Thank you for reading XAVIER. The Bayou Brotherhood Protectors