AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“We’re in the middle of tourist season. All his fishing boats with more powerful motors have been rented out.”
Shelby pressed her lips together. “Let’s just hope we don’t need to make a quick getaway. There won’t be anything quick about that boat.”
“I asked him to hold a more powerful boat for us tomorrow,” Remy said. “We could wait until then to head out into the bayou.”
Shelby shook her head. “I need to see where this all went down.”
Remy dropped down into the boat and balanced while it rocked with his weight. When it steadied, he held out his hand to her.
She placed her hand in his and let him help her into the boat. “I’ll drive.” When he didn’t move, she frowned. “The doctor didn’t want me to drive a car. I can manage a boat. Besides, it’s been years since you navigated the bayou. I’d prefer we didn’t get lost.”
“You’ve got the helm, Captain,” he said with a grin and cupped her elbow, guiding her onto the bench near the handle on the motor. “I’ll ride point and keep my eyes open for any possible bad guys lurking about.” He settled on the bench in front of Shelby and half-turned to look back at her. “Do you know where you’re going?”
Shelby frowned. “No. I guess I didn’t think this through. I need to talk with J.D. He was the one who found me.”
Remy grinned. “I spoke with Mitch. He said J.D. came by earlier to get gas for his boat. He told Mitch he found you just past his fishing hut. Do you remember where that is?”
Shelby closed her eyes and thought hard. “I know the bayou. My father took me fishing almost every weekend until he and Mom divorced.” She opened her eyes. “Why can’t I picture where J.D.’s fishing hut is?”
“It’s okay. I know where it is.”
Her eyes widened. “You do? After twenty years?”
Remy nodded, his gaze holding hers. “I’ve been there recently.” He looked like he wanted to say more. Instead, he gave her a chin lift. “Drive. I’ll tell you when and where you need to turn. And relax. Don’t try to force your memories to return. It’s possible you’ll navigate the bayou on muscle memory.” He leaned forward and untied the line holding the boat flush against the jetty.
Shelby drew in a deep breath, let it out slowly, and then maneuvered the little boat away from the marina and out into the bayou.
She’d never admit it out loud, especially to Remy, that her heart was beating too fast and her hands were slick with sweat. Her memory of what had happened to her was locked securely behind an impenetrable wall in her mind. Even though she couldn’t remember what had happened, it didn’t stop her from having a panic attack as she drove the boat into the bayou, where she’d almost lost her life two days before.
Following Remy’s directions, she steered the little craft through the maze of islands, tributaries and inlets. For the most part, boating through the bayou was as natural to her as breathing. Like Remy said, she knew which ways to turn before he spoke.
When they rounded a large stand of cypress trees with branches hanging low over the water, a weathered hut came into Shelby’s view. She eased back on the throttle and let the boat drift toward the building.
The ghost of a memory flitted through her mind. “I know this hut,” she said. “I must have passed it a thousand times since I’ve roamed the bayou.” Her eyes narrowed. “I think J.D. rents it out to people who want to escape to the bayou and just fish.”
Remy turned to look at her. “Do you remember ever going inside the hut?”
She thought hard. “If I have, I can’t picture it. I don’t know. It’s weird what I remember and what I can’t. It’s so random what my brain chooses to block out.”
The little boat drifted up to the little dock extending out from the hut’s front porch.
“We should look inside,” Remy said. “Rule it out as a drug drop location.” He tossed a line over a post and secured the boat to the dock.
“We don’t have J.D.’s permission or a warrant to search,” Shelby pointed out.
“You’re not on duty.”
“No, but I’m still required to follow the law,” she said.
“Fine.” Remy stepped up onto the dock. “I’ll check it out.”
Chapter 8
Shelby’s training as an officer of the law told her that entering the hut without permission from the owner was not legal and could get her in big trouble. J.D. LaRue could take her to court or sue the sheriff’s department.
Still, something about the place called to her. Was it a memory that had been locked behind the wall in her mind? If she went inside, would it trigger that memory to return?
What if that recollection had something to do with who’d attacked her?
