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“I still have to make crab cakes,” Katrina said.
They went into the cottage, and Katrina got busy with crabmeat while Maggie made coffee.
“I’m so glad you’re here, Kat. I really mean it. I’ve been lonely for a friend. Annie is going to be a mommy, and she’s got Steve to keep her company. I’m missing a girlfriend.”
“Well, you’ve got me. I’m seriously considering getting a place in town. It’s wonderful that you’ll let me stay here, but I should find a place.”
“Okay, well, we can look after the party. Justin sent me a text a while ago that he might have found an apartment. I’m a little nervous now.”
“Why is that?”
“He might be more comfortable there than he is here. I guess it’s a risk I take when I won’t let him stay with me.”
“Why won’t you?”
“It just doesn’t feel right. I like the way it is between us. He doesn’t take me for granted, and I hope I don’t take him for granted either. We’ve only been together for five months. That’s just not long enough to shack up.”
“It wouldn’t be shacking up with you and Justin though,” Katrina said passionately. “You two transcend that.”
“You’re really sweet, and I sort of agree, but still, I just don’t want to live with him. It’s a risk I run, letting him move into a place alone.”
“Is he doing it because I’m here?”
“Not completely, although a little bit. We need to have a place to go to, so don’t go getting all paranoid on me,” Maggie said, laughing. “He’s over thirty. He needs to get out of his dad’s house.”
“Well, you and Justin are perfect together. I can’t imagine you being with anyone else.”
While the crab cakes baked, they sat on the porch, drinking coffee. Brulee perked up, her ears alert, a sign that she heard the horses approaching like they did nightly.
“Don’t make any sudden moves, but look to your right,” Maggie said. “Look out to the woods.”
Slowly moving in single file, the wild horses that lived on Maggie’s property came out into the open, curious about the tent and the lights.
“This is their land at night. They usually don’t show their faces until dusk, but it’s almost sunset.”
“Wow! I forgot about the horses,” Katrina said, mesmerized. “They are so beautiful. What will they do when the party starts?”
“They’ll probably leave. The music might be the last straw. We’ll see. Either that or they’ll stampede and knock the tent down. Just kidding.
“But I am really worried that they’ll get scared away. It’s taken a lot of patience to get them to come this close.”
Yawning, Maggie was ready for a nap, but it was time to get ready. “I guess we’d better get dressed.” She stood up and stretched, rocking from side to side. “Here goes nothing.”
Chapter 4
Pulling into the marina, Alphé had a twofold mission that evening before going to the party at Bayou Cottage. One, to empty his boat of fish and get it sold, and two, to talk to Lola about the plan he’d formulated. He was going to live on his boat. It had quarters below, but they hadn’t been used in a while and needed a good cleaning to make it livable.
The most difficult part was leaving his children, but he had to do it. He’d make the attempt to see them daily, but he had to move on. Katrina made all the difference. Finally, a glimpse into his future where he wasn’t alone.
The first time he saw Katrina, she took his breath away. She had been walking to the dock with Justin Chastain’s girlfriend, two beautiful women who would get a lot of attention wherever they went. But on this day, the way the sun was low in the sky like it gets in the winter, and that red hair around her shoulders like a veil, it changed him. For the first time in a long while, he wanted something for himself. He wanted his life back.
For the next forty minutes, Alphé and Pierre unloaded the catch as the last buyers of the day paid cash and took it away.
“I wish every day was this easy.”
“Once Lent is in full swing, you’ll be swimming in cash,” Pierre said. “That’s when I’ll ask for a raise.”
“Ha! You already get half of what I get after expenses are paid. This boat isn’t going to last forever.”
