Welcome to Temptation: A Romantic Comedy (13 page)

She rose up on one elbow and smiled into the handsome face. “I should be thanking you.” It wasn’t often a man made a woman feel the way he had made her feel. Gator had touched her in ways that other men hadn’t come close, both physically
and
emotionally. She would always have a special place in her heart just for him, a place that she would protect. After all, he’d been the man who had awakened her body, brought sweet yearnings to the surface. The experience had been as delicious as it was scary, and it was the real reason she hadn’t returned the following summer as she’d promised, the reason she’d avoided him completely on subsequent visits to her grandmother’s.

She had known, even at the age of sixteen, that despite their wild attraction to each other, nothing could become of their relationship. Even at eighteen, Gator’s need for independence had been firmly embedded in his personality. He might chase her relentlessly, but he would always remain just beyond her grasp.

A grinding noise broke through the silence in the room, jarring Michelle from her thoughts. Gator rose from the bed and walked to the window, unabashed in his nakedness. “A boat,” he said. “Somebody finally decided to come for us.”

Michelle was thankful, almost.

“Well, they don’t look any different,” Reba said to Fiona as Gator and Michelle climbed out of his pickup truck and headed for the house.

Fiona Landry blushed. “Shhh, they’ll hear you!”

Reba planted her spindly hands on her hips and regarded the two with an amused look. “It’s a crying shame when you got to send the rescue squad out to pick up folks just ‘cause they ain’t got enough sense to come home when they’re s’posed to.”

“I hope you didn’t worry, Mom,” Gator said. “We would have been back yesterday had there not been a problem with the gas tank on the boat.”

Fiona waved the remark aside. “Oh, I wasn’t worried. There’s not a soul alive who knows the bayou better than you. Now, the two of you come up here on the porch and have something cold to drink while we still have ice. I bought a bag this morning. It should last until tomorrow.” Fiona smiled at Michelle. “You look cute as a button in that ponytail,” she said. “I hope my son has been behaving himself.”

Michelle blushed. If only the woman knew. A brief picture of Gator and herself tangled in the bed sheets flashed through her mind. “Yes, he was a perfect gentleman.” She didn’t see the look of disappointment on the ladies’ faces, nor the amusement lurking in Gator’s eyes.

“Have some of my sugar cookies,” Fiona said, holding out a plate once Michelle was seated in one of the rocking chairs. “I made them the night before the storm, just in case we lost power and I couldn’t bake for a spell.” Fiona looked at Gator. “Sit here next to Michelle, Son, and tell Reba and me all about your adventures the last couple of days.”

“There’s not much to tell,” Gator said. He looked at Reba. “We were able to get a lot accomplished in your house and yard.”

“Oh, thank you for all you’ve done,” Reba said. “How are my cats?”

“They’re perfectly fine,” Michelle replied. “I left them plenty of food and water, plus I found a box that would hold extra kitty litter. They should be good for several days.”

“Reba is going to stay with me for a while,” Fiona said. “No way am I letting her go home to a damp house that has no electricity. We’ll see that her cats are cared for.” She looked from Gator to Mic and back at Gator. “It all sounds very dull, all that cleaning.”

“Yes, indeed,” Reba agreed. “Very dull.”

“I killed a snake,” Gator said. “I reckon that’s the most exciting thing that happened.” He turned to Michelle for confirmation. “Wouldn’t you say?”

She almost choked on her cookie. “Uh, yes.” She offered a faint smile. “A cottonmouth,” she added to cover her embarrassment.

Fiona patted Michelle’s hand. “I’ll bet you were scared to death, honey,” she said. “But it’s over now and thank goodness nobody got bit. In the meantime, I paid a kid five dollars to dig a hole in the back yard and gather what wood he could find that wasn’t wet. Once Reba and I heard you were on your way, we started heating water and toting it to the bathroom so you could have a bubble bath like I promised. Nothing like a nice hot bubble bath to lift your spirits.”

“Gator prepared a bubble bath for me last night,” Michelle said without thinking. The two elderly ladies exchanged hopeful looks. “He even helped me rinse my hair over the bathroom sink.”

Gator cleared his throat and stood, uncomfortable with the silence that followed Michelle’s declaration. “I’d better check things out in town and see what’s going on,” he said.

“You’re coming back for dinner, aren’t you?” Fiona asked. “I bought a grill yesterday. Reba helped me put it together. I also bought chicken breasts. I figured you could fire up the grill and cook them for us.”

“I don’t think so, Mom,” he said. “I really need to help in town since I’ve been MIA the last two days.” Gator knew he was making excuses, but he’d spent too much time with Michelle already. He couldn’t look at her without thinking how they’d spent the last couple of days and nights; and for the first time in his life he’d been getting butterflies in his stomach. It was time for him to back off because he knew Michelle was going to find a way to get back to Baton Rouge no matter what.

“But son, you have to come,” Fiona said. “I don’t know the first thing about cooking on a barbecue grill.”

“That’s right,” Reba said, joining in. “We’re going to need all the help we can get.”

Gator felt himself weakening. “I guess I can come back for a little while,” he said hesitantly, at the same time wondering if his mom even suspected that she was putting him in an awkward position. He could feel Michelle’s eyes on him. Hell, she probably figured he owed it to her to hang around while she was in town. He’d never met a woman yet who didn’t get possessive once things turned intimate. “But I can’t stay long,” he added quickly. Maybe he’d drop by the Night Life Lounge and see if his buddy needed any help getting the place on its feet again.

He bade the three farewell and bounded down the porch toward his truck. He disappeared a moment later in a cloud of red dust.

Michelle watched him go, feeling a heaviness inside. He seemed in a big hurry to leave. Not that she wasn’t surprised. Gator Landry was running scared.

“Now, dear, how about that bath?” Fiona asked, putting her arms around Michelle’s shoulders. “You know, I feel as if I’ve known you all my life. Reba has told me so much about you.”

Chatting easily with the woman, Michelle followed her inside the house and to the bathroom, where a tub waited, partially filled with scented water. Her mind instantly replayed images of the tub Gator had prepared for her, of the two of them sitting next to her on the couch wearing only a bathrobe that showed off his powerful thighs and calves, of Gator leaning over her, his hair-roughened body brushing against hers.

“You shouldn’t have gone to so much trouble,” Michelle told the woman, trying to get a grip on her thoughts, “but I certainly appreciate it.”

Fiona reached into a cabinet and pulled out a fluffy towel and washcloth, as well as a new bar of soap. “Reba bought this specialty soap for you yesterday,” she said, handing Michelle the items. “She figured you would like the smell.”

Michelle sniffed the soap and gave a huge sigh. “It’s heavenly,” she said, touched that the two had gone to so much trouble for her. “I only have one request. Do you have any hair clips? I’d like to put my hair up so it doesn’t get wet.”

Fiona smiled. “I’ll bet I do. Just give me a few minutes to look for them.” She returned right away. “Will these work?” she asked, holding a handful of large hairpins.

“Perfect,” Michelle said. “Thank you.”

The woman smiled. “Now you enjoy your bath. I’ll look around and see if I can find something for you to wear. I think I’m a size larger than you, but we can make do for the time being.”

Michelle emerged from the bathroom half an hour later wearing one of Fiona’s dresses, a simple blue cotton shift. The fit wasn’t bad although it was a bit on the short side, but the sandals Fiona had lent her were too wide for her feet. Michelle kicked them off and decided to go barefoot. She braided her hair and coiled it at the back of her head, using Fiona’s hair clips to hold it in place.

“Now if I only had my makeup,” Michelle said laughingly as the women applauded her appearance. “I feel naked without it.”

“Makeup?” Fiona asked, raising two brows. She stood and motioned for Michelle to follow her into her bedroom. She opened a drawer and presented her with an old cigar box.

“I only wear makeup if I’m going out which is mostly to church. You’re welcome to it.”

Michelle glanced inside the box and, much to her satisfaction, found several items she could use. “Thank you,” she said. “I’ll put the box back when I’m finished.” Fiona left her with it, and Michelle applied the makeup, using the mirror over the bathroom sink. Once she was satisfied, she returned the cigar box to the drawer and reentered the kitchen. Both Reba and Fiona complimented her, and Michelle smiled, thankful for the bath and the makeup.

She rubbed her hands together. “Now, what can I do to help?”

“You can join us at the table and give me a full report on the damage to my house,” Reba said. “I didn’t want to question Gator.”

Michelle took the chair beside her grandmother. Fiona put another glass of iced tea in front of her as Michelle told Reba what all she and Gator had managed to get done, as well as what was left to do. “It would be best if you could hire one of those companies to come out and put industrial-sized fans on the first floor and stairs; otherwise it’s going to take the downstairs longer to dry and might cause your furniture to mildew.”

Reba nodded. “That sounds like a good idea.”

Michelle took a sip of tea. “Gator managed to gather most of the debris in the yard. He stacked it into several piles. You will probably want to have it hauled off. Also, as you know, a number of windows were broken in the storm. I think I managed to get most of the glass up. We covered the broken ones with plastic.”

“Oh, thank goodness,” Reba said. “The power company is working around-the-clock since so many folks are without electricity, but I have no idea how long it will take them to get my power restored since I’m so far out in the boonies.”

“That’s why you’re going to stay with me until everything is taken care of,” Fiona said. “As for your cats—”

“The cats will be fine,” Michelle said, interrupting. “Gator has promised to see to them.” She gave her grandmother a stern look. “Sorry to change the subject, but after this incident, I insist that you get a telephone, as well as wear one of those accident alert buttons on your wrist or hang around your neck.”

Reba sighed. “I suppose, at least for the phone. Besides, Fiona showed me how much I miss having folks to talk to. I just didn’t want much to do with people after your grandfather died.”

“He died a very long time ago, Grand,” Michelle said.

“I know. But sometimes it seems like yesterday.” She gave another sigh. “I suppose it’s time I moved on, as you young people like to say.”

They talked for a while longer, and then Fiona took Michelle on a tour of the house. Everything was as cheery as the kitchen, decorated in splashes of yellow and white. Crisp white curtains billowed at the windows and thriving plants adorned every available table and shelf. Fiona opened the door to Gator’s old bedroom, and Michelle stepped inside.

What surprised her most was the number of books in the room. One wall had been devoted entirely to book cases, upon which rested a variety of paperbacks, ranging from mystery and detective stories to horror novels. Interspersed among them was an odd assortment—books on reptiles and fish, and extrasensory perception.

“Matthieu loved to read as a child,” Fiona said. “He wasn’t crazy about his schoolbooks, but the boy must’ve read every mystery ever written. He was a bit of a loner, I reckon. Never had any real close friends.”

Michelle nodded, taking in the old retro record player and albums that lined another shelf, and a tall stack of CDs. She thumbed through his CD collection, finding country-western, hard rock, alternative, and a couple of gospel albums. She felt like a snoop, but she was hoping his personal things would offer some insight into the man. They didn’t. The real Gator Landry was neatly tucked inside the man, and she doubted if he’d ever let anyone really see him. She glanced up at the twin bed with its old-fashioned quilt that she knew Fiona had made. Over the bed hung a simple wooden crucifix, its polished surface glinting in the afternoon sun.

“Matthieu was such a neat boy,” Fiona said, absently straightening a picture on the wall. “His father was very particular. Everything had to be in its place.” She chuckled. “I’m afraid I’ve grown a bit lax since his death.”

“Your home looks great to me,” Michelle said.

“I’d rather be working in my garden or the flower beds,” the woman confessed. She smiled suddenly. “Come outside and see my flowers. Or should I say what’s left of them since the storm.”

For the next half hour, while Reba dozed on the front porch, Michelle followed Fiona over the grounds as the woman pointed out various flowers and shrubs she’d planted and nurtured over the years. “It will take a lot of work getting them in shape again after all the damage done to them.”

Michelle was amused as Fiona rattled off the history of each plant as if it were a member of the family. They ended up spending the better part of the afternoon working in the flower beds, digging holes and replanting a number of flowers and shrubs that had been ripped from the ground. They tied back Fiona’s prized rosebushes that had been particularly damaged in the storm. Michelle found several strips of wood in the garage and tucked them inside the bushes, adding more ties for additional support.

“You’re pretty good at this,” Fiona said once they’d done all they could for the roses.

Michelle smiled. “I used to help Grand with her gardening when I spent the summers with her. I’ve always loved flowers. I must have two dozen house plants at home.”