Lie to Me (Pearl Island Trilogy #4)(66)

“Has it occurred to you that maybe I’d like to introduce Chloe around?”

“Don’t be silly.” Lynnette frowned at him. “You heard Chloe say she wanted to help with the cooking. If you’re standing next to her, her chances of Otis saying yes are about as slim as a mouse’s in a rattler den.” Lynnette patted Luc’s arm. “You go crank ice cream.”

Chloe stifled a laugh at Luc’s petulant expression. Oh, how humbling for the supreme ruler of the universe to be relegated to cranking ice cream. She started to say she didn’t care about cooking, even though she’d love the chance to learn how to do a crawfish boil from a master, but Luc’s mother looped her arm around Chloe’s elbow to lead her away.

“Come on,” Lynnette said. “I’ll introduce you to Otis.”

Luc stood where he was, flabbergasted, as his mother escorted Chloe into the hive of activity, introducing her to half the parish as they made their way to the cooking area. They all greeted her as if she were a long lost member of the family. Even so, he’d wanted to stay by her side and shield her from some of his coarser cousins. Why in the world had he suggested a cochon de lait as a way for her to get to know him?

The only thing she’d learn today was that his family still treated him like a dweeb.

Chloe looked a little nervous as she approached the food prep table. Otis gave her a dubious scowl. If his great uncle rebuffed her, Luc was going to swoop in and pull Chloe out of there, no matter what his mother said. Instead, Otis made a gesture, inviting her to show him her skills. Clearly thrilled, Chloe took up a knife and started chopping. Otis grudgingly nodded approval, and went back to his own work. Chloe glanced over to where Luc still stood. Even with the stretch of lawn and crowd between them, she looked straight into his eyes and gave him a beaming smile that said thank you for bringing me.

That look hit him squarely in the chest, obliterating all doubt. He was glad he’d brought her, and hopeful this would be the first of many experiences they’d share.

“Hey, son,” came a deep voice as someone slapped him on the back.

Startled out of his thoughts, he turned and exchanged a one-armed hug with his father. “Hey, Dad.”

“You brought a date to meet the family?” Mason Renard raised a brow. While Mason’s blond hair had grayed a bit, he still wore it shoulder length. Other than that, he showed few signs of aging. His black shirt covered his still-fit body and leather cuffs protected his wrists.

“Yeah, I guess I did.” Luc exhaled as the magnitude of that hit him. He hadn’t even thought of it in those terms.

“It’s a little early for beer, so how about I grab us some sodas while you tell me about your girlfriend.” His dad led the way to a washtub filled with ice, soft drinks, bottles of wine, and beer. “What’s her name?”

“Chloe Davis,” Luc answered as he accepted a bottle of cola dripping with icy water. Unlike his grandmother, his parents wouldn’t have any clue about Chloe’s connection to the necklace. Nor did they know he’d once had a crush on her. Only Mémère with her uncanny ability to see inside his head had known about that.

“Is it serious?” His dad took a pull off his own soft drink.

“Dad…” Luc laughed self-consciously. He wanted it to be serious, but did Chloe? “We’ve only been out a few times.”

“Sometimes that’s all it takes. Your ma and I knew by the end of our first date,” his dad told him.

“Yeah, I know.” Luc had heard the story many times, but he’d never expected to find that kind of connection with someone. He’d found it with Chloe, though.

Glancing over, he saw her talking with Otis. The cantankerous old man was actually letting her add vegetables to the pot. Luc’s chest swelled with some emotion he couldn’t quite define. He frowned trying to figure out: Was it pride? Admiration? Or was it love?

“Don’t look so worried,” his father said. “If she’s interested in you, meeting your Cajun cousins won’t scare her off. I just hope she isn’t as freaked out as I was the first time Lynnette brought me out here.”

“Why were you freaked out?” Luc couldn’t imagine his father as anything but confident.

“Are you kidding? Your ma and I had been dating for months before she got up the nerve to introduce me to the family. I thought she didn’t want to hear what they’d say about her getting hooked up with a Texan who prefers beef barbecue to shrimp gumbo. Turns out, she was worried about what I’d think of them.”

“I can relate,” Luc said. “So, what did you think of them?”

“Once I got over being terrified they’d talk her into dumping me, I fell in love with these people.” Mason surveyed the crowd with a look of affection that turned to chagrin. “It took a little longer for them to accept me.”

“They didn’t accept a blues player?” That startled Luc.

“Not one who hails from west of the Sabine River,” Mason told him. “When Otis found out Lynnette was going to marry a Texan, he blamed your grandmother for marrying outside of the bayou and raising her daughter in the city. Having Lynnette make the same decision didn’t set well at first.”

“Having a weirdo like me for a son probably didn’t help,” Luc said wryly.