Rumble on the Bayou (39 page)

Her dad reached out and took her hand. "You don't have to tell us everything, honey. It's all right."

"Someday, maybe I'll be able to," she said and sniffed. Thinking of everything that had happened that day, she couldn't help the smile that finally came to her lips. "I can tell you about Maylene. And you're going to love it."

***

A little later, Dorie slipped quietly into Richard's room. His eyes were closed, but as she eased closer to the bed, they fluttered open. "Dorie," he said.

"You're just a little woozy from the drugs, but the doctors say you're going to be just fine. They were only surface wounds."

"Roland?"

Dorie couldn't stop the smile on her face. "Locked up in the Lake Charles jail. Your buddies in D.C. are already celebrating."

He gave her a hard look. "How are you doing with that?"

Dorie shrugged. "It doesn't matter really. Roland is nothing more than another criminal to me. It's unfortunate that we're related, but that's all it is - unfortunate. We're not family, and never could be."

"You sure?"

"Absolutely," she said and gave him a firm nod. "I was wondering, you know, how I would feel if I saw him face-to-face." She shook her head and laughed. "But then the moment came, and it was like the whole situation had been this massive buildup for nothing. I looked down at that man and didn't feel a thing except relief that he wasn't going to be free any longer."

"I'm glad," Richard said, and Dorie could see the relief in his expression. "I've been afraid of what might happen, how you might feel, ever since I found out about Roland. I tried to put myself in your place, but I couldn't come up with anything except anger. I guess I was worried you might feel the same way."

Dorie tilted her head to one side and thought about his words for a moment. "I guess I can see that," she finally acknowledged, "and don't think for a minute that I'm not angry, but I would've been angry about Roland no matter what. His kind tends to bring out the worst in me." She paused for a moment then smiled. "But you have no reason to worry. I have all of Gator Bait to surround me, and coddle me and wear the living hell out of me making sure I'm all right. The phone lines are probably buzzing already."

Richard nodded. "I guess you do. How's Maylene?"

Dorie grinned. "All fired up about being the one to take Roland down and telling anyone who'll listen." She sobered for a moment and shook her head. "She was really lucky, you know."

"Yeah," Richard agreed. "With all the police calls that Maylene made, Roland wasn't about to take a chance of ruining his deal over another nosy female. Between you now and your mother years ago, I think he'd had enough of women to last a lifetime"

Dorie nodded. "I'm just glad it all turned out all right. Maylene's a royal pain in the ass, and a complete nut, but she's still family."

"God forbid," Richard said and smiled.

"What about Buster? How's he doing?"

"He's going to be fine. He'll have a headache for a couple of days-at least until he and my dad are back to normal. Then I'm going to kill them both for going after Roland themselves instead of telling us about the shack on Buster's duck lease that Roland used as a hideout the first time."

"Yeah. I wouldn't want to be in either of their shoes right now" He gave her a puzzled look. "What I still can't figure out is why Roland didn't kill Buster straight away."

Dorie nodded. "Simple really. He was going to keep Buster away long enough to pass some money through the shrimp house account, then turn him loose to take the fall."

Richard shook his head. And given what we now know about Buster and Roland's past, no one would have believed his kidnapping story, especially if that fisherman hadn't gotten to your father in time."

Dorie nodded. "It was his biggest mistake, leaving them alive, but I'm glad he made it. He should have just left Curtis wide open for accusation, but I guess he didn't trust him either."

Richard gave her a small smile and took her hand in his. "I'm sorry about Curtis," he said gently.

Dorie nodded and looked away, trying to stop the tears that were threatening to break through. "I miss him already," she said. "Even though he wanted me dead." She looked back at Richard. "Is that stupid?"

He shook his head. "No. It's not stupid. It's tragic, really. If only Curtis had confided in you before he got involved with Roland, maybe you could have found something else for him."

"I don't think so," she said. "And I've thought about little else since I left Maylene's. I mean, I could have gotten Curtis a job with Wildlife and Fisheries. In fact, I'd offered him jobs many times. The money just wasn't there, and it turns out Curtis had a big gambling habit. "

"Making it easy for him to launder large amounts of money," Richard finished.

Dorie nodded. "But I never knew that he felt that way about the killing in hunting season. I swear I had no idea." She brushed the back of her hand across her eyes.

Looking down at Richard, she tried to smile. "So you finally got your man, Agent Starke. What are you going to do now?" She tried to keep her tone light, but was positive that her eyes gave her away. Every step of the way from her dad's hospital room, Dorie had rolled around the image of the ecstatic looks on Joe's and Jenny's faces. That expression of pure love. A love she thought she'd never find.

Until now. Then it hit her like a freight train as she stared at the man in front of her. All the things she'd said at the breeding grounds stalling for time were the truth. She did love Richard. And she'd only figured that out in time for him to leave.

Well, shit on a stick. She was in love with Richard. This was a turn of events she'd never seen coming, and for someone as perceptive as she was, that was an appalling thought. How had this happened? When had it happened?

She drew in a breath and tried to clear her thoughts. The sex had been great, but then it wasn't like she hadn't had great sex before Richard. Okay, maybe not as great as with Richard but still not anything to complain about.

Usually.

But if it wasn't the sex, that only left the alternative: Dorie Berenger had fallen completely and madly in love with the most aggravating man on the planet, despite her best judgment.

Well, hell.

Finally accepting reality for what it was, she looked at Richard, anxiously studying his expression and trying to decipher what he was thinking and at the same time trying not to place so much importance on his answer. The answer that would make or break the rest of her life. Because, after all, he still had a job to do, and it wasn't over yet. At least not for the DEA.

Richard stared at her for a moment then blew out a breath, still looking slightly dazed that it was all over. "I'll head back to D.C. first. Put together an airtight case against Roland." He looked out the hospital window and shook his head. "After that, I don't know. My entire adult life has been defined by this one man. I don't have any idea what to do. It's like being freed from prison."

Dorie nodded, understanding exactly what he was saying, because she was in the same position. For so long they'd both operated with a single-minded purpose-Dick to avenge his father and Dorie to take care of hers. Now, Dick's lifelong quest had been fulfilled, and in its pursuit, Dorie had realized that caring for her dad didn't have to mean sticking with a job she really didn't want.

"Your buddies from D.C. should be here in an hour or so," she said. "The hospital agreed to release you to them." She looked at him and choked back the tears. "So I guess this is good-bye."

Richard reached up and gathered her in his arms. "It's only good-bye for now. As soon as things are settled, we'll figure out what to do about us. I promise."

She hugged him tightly, wanting his words to be the truth, but couldn't ignore the feeling that everything she thought she knew had suddenly and drastically changed.

C
HAPTER EIGHTEEN

Three weeks later, Dorie sat in the Gator Bait sheriff's office and blew out a breath of frustration.

After Roland's arrest, things had changed so rapidly. First, her dad had officially resigned from his job as sheriff, and the special election for his replacement had turned out every sober resident in Gator Bait-a new town record. The townspeople were still celebrating their newfound notoriety for aiding in the capture of one of the most wanted drug dealers in history, but Dorie couldn't seem to jump on the party wagon.

"You've got your feet on my desk." Joe smiled at her as he walked in. Of course, Joe hadn't stopped smiling ever since Jenny had agreed to marry him. Being elected sheriff had just been the icing on the cake. She grinned and moved her feet to the floor.

"Old habits," she said.

He sat down in a chair across from her and nodded. "Maybe it's time to get some new habits."

"Don't start on me again today, Joe. I'm not in the mood. Between you and my dad, there's just no peace in my life anymore. The only person who respects my wish for silence is Jenny."

Joe's face softened at the mention of his true love, but narrowed back into focus a second later. "Don't try and distract me. It won't work this time. You're wasting away here. Why haven't you applied for a game warden position in a big district?"

She shrugged. "I don't want to make a rash decision."

"Rash?" Joe said. "It's been weeks. Jesus Christ, Dorie, I've gotten engaged and become an elected official in the same time frame. You, on the other hand, are living in a room at the motel and still traipsing around the same marsh you grew up in."

"Are you trying to get rid of me?"

“
No, I'm not trying to get rid of you," Joe said, his frustration apparent. "Well, hell, maybe I am trying to get rid of you. He gave her a hard look. "You're wasting time, Dorie. Stop worrying about what might have been. If you want something, then take it. It's not like you have your dad to worry about any longer."

Dorie blew out a breath. Her dad's lack of financial dependence on her was still a sticky point. Apparently, Buster and her dad's foray into covering up drug running had yielded more money than they needed to keep the shrimp house open. Buster had squirreled away the extra in one of those non-reported banks on an unknown island somewhere in the Bahamas. Unfortunately, just as they were ready to retire, a new government had taken over the island and seized all the funds. It had taken them more than twelve years to get a portion of it back.

That "portion" had equaled well over two million.

With Roland's arrest and all other past indiscretions now known to law enforcement, they figured it was time to cash in the funds and retire in style.

They used the money to add handicapped features to Buster's retirement home in Florida and hire a full-time housekeeper/cook/nurse, and the two of them had gone off to the Sunshine State a week earlier, happy as pigs in shit. Dorie had been furious over the money, but there was nothing to be done about it. Buster had laundered it through the shrimp house, so as far as anyone else knew, he'd earned it all.

But the biggest surprise had been when Buster asked Jenny to take over running the shrimp house and made her a partner. She'd stepped up to the challenge, hired someone to work the diner, and was fast becoming the sharpest businesswoman in Gator Bait. Stella was busy telling everyone how Jenny had learned everything from her.

"It just so happens, Mr. Know-It-All," Dorie said with a smug smile, "that I have a new position starting in August."

Joe stared at her in obvious surprise. "You're kidding me. Where? What will you be doing?"

Dorie laughed. "Don't get all excited just yet," she said. "I'm still staying in Gator Bait as the game warden. I'll just be commuting to Lake Charles a couple of days a week for my other job."

"What job?"

"Lake Charles University has offered me a teaching position in their brand-new criminology department. Before I left Rutgers, I'd finished all of my required course work for my Ph.D., and the faculty agreed to extend the deadline for submitting my dissertation. By the end of the year, you'll have to refer to me as Dr. Berenger."

A huge smile broke out on Joe's face. "That's fantastic, Dorie. You'll be perfect for the job."

Dorie smiled back at him. "Just a minute ago, you wanted to get rid of me," she teased.

Joe laughed. "Not exactly. I just wanted you to do something more with your talent. This is the best of both worlds. You're finally using that mind of yours for something besides beating me at cards, and I get to keep my best friend close by."