Page 96 of The Dysasters

The water cooled and thickened to jam around his feet. They were coming. “I’m staying here, me.”

The wind intensified, hurling sprays of salty water against them.

“It’s getting worse.” Her eyes seemed to darken, reflecting the same oyster gray as the roiling waves.

“Ouragan,”hurricane. Bastien whispered as the first droplets of rain splattered against his shoulders.

Violent splashing pulled Bastien’s attention from the darkening sky and ominous, curling waves to the shore behind him. A lean, scraggly beast sprinted toward them, its tongue flopped listlessly to the side as it splashed closer.

Bastien tensed, readying himself as the long-legged beauty skipped a few paces toward the animal and crouched down, her arms spread wide.

“No!” Bastien leaped forward as the two of them collided, the young woman falling back onto her butt in a splash of water and giggles.

“It’s fine,” she laughed, coming to her knees and wrapping her slender arms around the dog’s lean neck. “She just wanted to say hello.” She buried her face into the wet fur with a smacking kiss noise.

Bastien unclenched his fist and tentatively extended his hand. Growing up, he hadn’t had a dog or any animal, so he wasn’t certain if the scruffy dog would take to him. She pressed her cold nose against his fingers and, with a wag of her tail, licked the rain pooling in his palm.

A sharp whistle split the air, followed by a shout.

“Bugs-a-Million!” A gravelly voice called over the increasing wind and pelting rain. “Bugsy, ol’ girl, get back here!”

The young woman waved to the man in the same graceful, fluttering wayshe had to Bastien as she hooked the fingers of her free hand under the big dog’s collar. “She’s no bother!” she shouted, leading the bouncing dog to its owner.

Bastien bit his lower lip, nodding at the shadows circling his feet before following her to shore.

“Really, it was nice having another visitor,” the young woman was saying as she twirled one of the dog’s floppy ears between her fingers.

“I appreciate you returning my girl to me, Miss…”

“Charlotte,” her curtsey echoed the old Southern politeness and charm he hadn’t realized he’d been missing. “And this is Bastien.”

She remembers!Bastien silently cursed himself for not having enough sense to ask for her name.

The gentle creases around the old man’s eyes deepened with a squint. “Well, I’ll be goddamned. No wonder you two are out here acting like this is some regular ol’ day when there’s a big storm coming.” He scratched the top of the dog’s scruffy head. “And it’s raining again. Damn.” He peered down at his companion who looked up at him expectantly. “Not a good sign, ol’ girl. Not a good sign at all. But goddammit, we found ’em. We still got it, Bugsy.” Then he lifted his gaze to the two of them again. “My name is Linus Bowen. I live down the beach a couple miles. Do either of you have a phone? I need to make a call. Fast. It’s an emergency. Then I need to talk to you kids. It’s going to sound crazy, but—”

“Mr. Bowen!”

The old guy whipped around with the agility of a much younger man. A switch flipped inside the huge dog’s head, sending it from a tongue-lolling sweetheart to a dangerous beast. She hugged Bowen’s side, lips curled back in a growl as a petite black woman, flanked by three men, seemed to materialize from the rain and wind.

“Like I said before, you’re a hard man to find.”

29

CHARLOTTE

As soon as the four people appeared the change in Bugsy’s demeanor reflected the tension that was visible in Bowen—and that had Charlotte instantly on guard.

“Kids,” the old man positioned himself and the big dog between Bastien and her, and the four approaching interlopers while he spoke urgently under his voice to them. “Whose car is that in the parking lot?”

“Mine,” Charlotte said.

“Good. You and the boy get out of here. Now. I’ll handle them.” Then Bowen started forward as if to cut the four off from getting too close. “Fine. You found me. I’ll come back with you.” As he spoke he motioned behind his back for Charlotte and Bastien to flee.

Charlotte looked at the handsome, dark-haired Cajun. Their eyes met.

“Something feels wrong,” he said.

“I think so, too,” Charlotte agreed.