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“Thank you, I will do that,” he said.
Walking down the dock, he felt a rare moment of self-actualization. He didn’t know that was what it was, but he was just happy, satisfied, and felt accomplished all at the same time. Katrina would be waiting for him, and she was, sitting with coffee on the upper deck.
“How’d it go?” she asked.
“I told her to see a lawyer about custody. We’ll see how this plays out. I won’t be mean, but I’m not going to be a doormat, either. I told her I’d get a nanny and not use Angela and Noel as babysitters when she asked how me having custody would be any different since I work.”
Katrina was glad he hadn’t included her in his childcare plan. “Well, you’re working and she’s partying. I think that might make a big difference to a judge.”
“I didn’t think to say that.”
“Good,” she replied. “No point in pissing her off. So I guess I’d better get off so you can start your day.”
Pierre had just pulled up in his Jeep and was getting coffee from Gus.
“I’ll text you when I come in with a haul. It’s usually around noon,” he said.
She was getting used to the rhythm of the fishing life.
“I’ll be waiting,” she said, kissing him before she climbed off the boat, not mentioning that she was going to get a room in town; it was just easier to wait and let him know after the deed had been done.
While Katrina was saying goodbye, Justin was leaving Bayou Cottage. With his eyes at half-mast, Maggie stood on her tiptoes to kiss him.
“I’m going to walk around like a zombie all day,” he said, grinning. “What’d you do to me last night?”
“I didn’t do anything unusual,” Maggie said, wrapping her arms around him. “I just made love to you. I wanted you to know how important you are to me.”
“Well, it worked,” he said. “I’m convinced. Now if I could just convince you to make it permanent.”
“Itispermanent,” she said, getting what he was driving at.
“I mean married permanent.”
“Ugh, not the marriage talk,” she said, pulling away from him. Fussing over a pile of papers on the counter, she didn’t want to have this conversation.
“I get it. Right now, marriage has a terrible reputation in Cypress Cove.”
“Yeah, it’s not exactly flourishing, is it?”
“Oh well, I’ll try again another time,” he said, yawning. “This weekend is carnival’s first masked ball. Are you ready?”
“Yeah, I have my costume all put together,” she said, relieved it was Justin who changed the subject. “It’s a dress from the attic again.”
She’d discovered a treasure trove of clothes that had belonged to her grandmother, mostly evening gowns and dressy accessories like hats and gloves.
“Remember, it’s supposed to be decadent,” he said.
“What I’m wearing is about one hundred years old.”
“Wow, like Roaring Twenties?” he asked.
“Exactly.”
“I’ll have to make sure I’m in the same century as you are. I think my costume is pretty close. Call your friends today and ask them if they’re going.”
“I will. It will give them all something else to think about.”
He came over to kiss her again. “Go back to sleep. I’ll call you later.”
