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“Not so far,” he said. “Like I told Miss Angel, just being neighborly.”
“Well, call first next time,” Gus said.
“I’ll do that,” Ted said, walking away.
They stood fast, waiting until he climbed over the gate, got into his truck, and took off.
“Now that was creepy. What the hell would I have done if I was here alone instead of out on the water?”
“You call me if you don’t want to call Justy,” Gus said. “I can be here in five minutes, as you know.”
“Thank you, Gus, thank you so much. I’m really annoyed right now! What nerve. I barely made eye contact with him today, and he wanted to continue our conversation. There was no conversation. He and Kelly were mugging out, as my father used to say.”
“Ha! I can just imagine. You get inside now and call your boyfriend because, trust me, Ted LeBlanc ain’t gonna keep his visit a secret.”
“Great,” she said, disgusted. “What else can happen?”
“What else has happened?” he asked.
“Annie lost her job. The whole social service office for our parish closed.”
Gus scratched his head. “That with a baby on the way.”
“Exactly.”
“Something will come up for the young ’uns. It always does.”
“I’ll walk you down.”
“No, you stay up here behind a locked door until you talk to Justin. Let him call his brother if he must. Might be time for the law to start doing drive-bys again.”
“Was that ever a thing?”
“It has been from time to time.”
“What a nuisance.”
“Well, get inside, please, and I’ll be on my way.”
“Come on, Brulee,” she said, giving her leash a tug.
Gus waited until she was in the cottage, listening for the door to lock.
“Poo, it’s getting late,” she said, looking at the clock.
Justin would be there in two hours, so rather than call him, she decided to let him finish his day in peace while she made dinner again. It was the fall, and she decided fall called for cooking. She rummaged through her cookbooks and found her mother’s recipe for meatloaf. Meatloaf would reign that night in Cypress Cove.
While it baked, she made sure the doors were locked, and ran upstairs to shower. The concern that she’d made a bigger deal out of Ted LeBlanc’s visit bugged her a little bit. What was she afraid of? The truth was, she was afraid he’d attack her. He just had that vibe about him that was indescribable. Unsafe. Creepy.Use caution.
Sorry she hadn’t probed Gus further about the moments Grace had had with Ted, Gus said he was harmless, but then wouldn’t leave until she was behind locked doors. That was a contradiction if there ever was one, but she wondered if Gus was just being overly cautious. She didn’t want to find out.
At six, she heard Justin’s diesel truck stop at the gate. “Come on, Brulee. Daddy’s home.”
She popped up and followed Maggie out onto the porch. It was a cool evening; they’d eat on the porch if he wanted to. Watching him pull through the gate, she was relieved when he stopped again and shut and locked the gate before proceeding to the cottage. Now the big dilemma—when should she tell him about Ted LeBlanc? There was the possibility that he’d think she was overreacting, too, almost hoping for that.Your ego is out of hand, Maggie. He was just being friendly.
“Hey.”
Smiling, he got out of his truck and went right to her open arms, embracing her, kissing her like they hadn’t seen each other in a week.
