Chasing Castles (Finding Focus #2) (36 page)

Camille

IT’S BEEN TWO WEEKS SINCE
I became Mrs. Deacon Landry.

Two weeks of wedded bliss.

Two weeks of pinching myself to make sure I’m not dreaming.

It might not have been the fairy tale I dreamed of, and it hasn’t been perfect, but life isn’t perfect. It’s messy and unplanned.

Walking up to the bar in the old barn, I pour myself a drink and search the room for Deacon. He left me a while ago to find some extra chairs for his mama and never made it back.

I spot him standing on the opposite side of the barn, laughing with Micah and Tucker. When they’re together like this, it’s easy to forget all the years that have passed. They seem so young, like they don’t have a care in the world. Granted, most of the time, the three of them don’t.

Tucker breaks apart from the group and makes his way onto a makeshift stage. Not only are we still celebrating our newlywed status, but this also happens to be Sam and Annie’s thirty-fifth wedding anniversary. Outside of our wedding two weeks ago, this is the biggest shindig French Settlement has probably ever seen.

As I look around the barn, it doesn’t escape me how much has changed since the last big anniversary celebration. On their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, I felt like Deacon and I were going our separate ways. It was the end of an era, the end of our childhood and us being attached at the hip. Everything changed after that night. But also, so much remained the same. Even though Deacon and I followed different paths for a while, we were still connected. He’s always going to be the one boy I want. I’m always going to love the life I was given and the people in it. Those things will never change.

More people filter in through the doors, and I love watching their expression as they take in the transformation. The barn is decked out with a million tiny lights, making it feel more like a night sky than a dusty old building. Tables are set up all along the walls and out into the yard, past the double doors. And booze. There’s lots of booze. Annie also has a spectacular buffet lined up with gumbo, jambalaya, and shrimp cooked three different ways.

These parties always start out as family and friends only, but tend to multiply quickly. All it takes is for someone to talk about it down at the Piggly Wiggly and word spreads like wildfire. Besides, everyone knows that a party at the Landry Plantation is
the
party, especially on a night like tonight.

“Cami!” I turn my head toward the familiar shriek coming from the large barn doors that are standing open, flanked by outdoor heaters. Stacey is walking through the door with a tall, handsome fellow on her arm.

Her new boyfriend Matt, I presume.

And I approve.

He’s looking down at her like she’s the belle of the ball, which she is, in her stunning white slacks and an off-the-shoulder sweater. Her hair is swept up in a sleek, yet messy bun. Everything about her screams grown-up, important, and put together, with a hint of edge, thanks to black heels.

She throws her arms around me and squeezes tightly. “I missed you.”

“You just saw me less than two weeks ago,” I tell her, smiling sweetly at the man standing behind her.

“I know, but I always miss you. And I’m not used to seeing you this often. It makes me miss you more,” she says, ever the melodramatic.

“You must be Matt,” I say, offering him my hand to shake, but instead he takes me from Stacey’s arms and pulls me in for a hug. He was supposed to come to the wedding as Stacey’s plus one, but something came up and he couldn’t make it.

“You must be Cami.”

“Sorry,” Stacey says, clearing her throat. “Where are my manners? Matt, Cami. Cami, Matt. I talk so much about both of you to the other; I feel like you already know each other.”

“It’s really nice to finally meet you,” I tell him.

“Likewise,” he says, looking around the barn at all the people who keep filing inside.

Honestly, it’s like they’re coming out of the woodworks.

“You both need a drink,” I tell them, motioning to the bar. “Annie and Sam have it well stocked and will be highly offended if you don’t partake.”

“I think we can handle that,” Matt says with a wink.

“Hard Limits is the entertainment for the night?” Stacey asks, watching Tucker do his sound check.

“Yep, they’re supposed to start playin’ a little later.”

“Cool,” she says, smiling. “It’s been awhile since I’ve been out here, but I don’t remember it looking quite this pretty. Well, except for your paintings. Those are always pretty.”

“You did those?” Matt asks, pointing at the walls.

“Yep, don’t look too closely, or you’ll see some of my earliest work, and trust me, it’s not pretty.”

He laughs, but shakes his head. “It’s all beautiful. Really. You’re seriously talented. I’ve seen some of your pieces that Stacey has in her condo, but this is probably my favorite.”

“Well, thank you.”

Yep, we’ll be besties before the night’s over.

I smile and send them to the bar as I go about trying to find Deacon . . . again because he’s already moved from where he was standing just a few minutes ago.

“Hey, Cam,” Dani says, sidling up next to me.

“Hey, Dani,” I reply, giving her a little bump with my hip.

Having another girl around here is nice. When I was younger, it was always Annie and me against everyone. Then as I got older, I depended on Stacey a lot for girl stuff. Thankfully, my daddy eventually found Kay, and that helped balance out the testosterone, but having Dani here is just what we needed. She’s perfect for Micah, and she fits in perfectly with our family. We’ve only known each other a few months, but she’s already starting to feel more like a sister than a friend.

“Where’s my little buddy?” Dani asks, her eyes roaming around the room.

“He’s at the cottage with one of the girls from church. She’s babysitting him there tonight. I figured since it’s close by and I can check on him if I need to, it’d be fine,” I tell her. “Besides, he’ll have a lot more fun watching movies and playing games. Not to mention, he turns into a Gremlin after nine.”

We both laugh because Dani has witnessed Carter past his bedtime. It’s not pretty.

“Who’s that?” Dani asks, pointing over to where Micah is standing talking to someone.

I bend my neck a little further to see around him, and a tall, blonde comes into focus.

“I think she’s someone we went to school with,” I say, thinking out loud. “I can’t remember her name . . . Allie . . . Alex?” My voice drifts off, and I look over to Dani, who can’t take her eyes off them.

“You okay?” I ask.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she says, but I can see she’s not.

“You don’t have anything to worry about,” I assure her. “Micah only has eyes for you.”

“Yeah,” she replies, turning from them and offering me her best smile. “I just didn’t like how she was touching him. It was too familiar.” She frowns and it’s adorable.

“Dani, sweetie,” I say, gently. “Micah was
familiar
with quite a few people.” I know no girl wants to hear that about the person they’re in love with, but she deserves to know the truth.

“Oh, I know. I guess I just haven’t had to interact with too many of them . . . yet.”

“Like I said, you have nothing to worry about.”

Deacon

“Hey, Maw, I put the rest of the chairs out, like you asked. Anything else you need?”

My mama stands with her hands on her hips and looks around the barn. Her eyes squint as she takes in every detail, making sure everything is perfect. She’s definitely in her element right now, party planning being one of her many talents, but I don’t want her to stress out. She should be having fun along with everyone else and not worrying about keeping the stacks of napkins straight.

“No, I think we have everything we need. What do you think?” she asks.

“I think it’s perfect and, if it’s not, no one will notice or care. That’s why we have booze, remember?” I wink at her and watch her shoulders relax while she laughs.

“Looks like the word got out we’re havin’ a party tonight,” she says with a sigh.

“It’s all good, Mama,” I assure her. “Don’t stress the small stuff, okay? All that matters is that you and Dad have fun. Thirty-five years is a long time to put up with his ass. Speak of the devil, I’m pretty sure that’s him over there lookin’ for someone to jitterbug with. You’d better get over there before he’s snatched up by Ms. Devereaux.”

“Oh, please, your daddy knows better than to dance with anyone else but me,” she says, laughing. “I’ll go, though.” She kisses my cheek and looks up at me, smiling.

She starts to walk away but quickly turns back to me. “Shoot! I forgot to refill the ice chests. Would you mind going to the big freezer and grabbing a few bags of ice?”

“Consider it done. Now, shoo.” I motion for her to keep walking then, head out to the big house.

Everywhere I look I see people smiling and having fun. Hearing their laughter as they eat and drink makes me extremely happy. It’s the same feeling I get when I’m at one of my restaurants, but this is one hundred percent better because these are my people . . . people I’ve known and loved my entire life.

The freezer with the bags of ice is in my parents’ garage but, since the garage door is closed, I have to walk through the house to get to it. I walk through the kitchen and down the hall toward the garage, stopping when I hear an odd sound, kinda like a moan.

The sound gets louder and louder, so I follow it until I’m standing in front of a bathroom. That explains the moaning. It’s a little early in the evening for someone to be worshipping the porcelain god, but it’s not unheard of. My people like to party hard.

I start to walk back down the hall but stop again when I hear a different sound coming from the bathroom. It’s another moan, but the voice is different . . . deeper. Curiosity gets me, and I place my ear against the bathroom door. Various grunts and groans make me stifle my laughter, and I wrack my brain trying to figure out who’s in there.

Oh, shit
.

If it’s my brother and Dani, I’ll need some brain bleach. But I know I saw Dani talking to Cami outside, so it can’t be them. And it can’t be Micah with someone else. A year ago, maybe. But there’s no fucking way Micah would cheat on Dani, and, if he did, he’d get the beat down of his life.

“Ugh, why do you drive me insane yet make me feel
so
good?” a voice growls from inside the bathroom.

Well, that’s interesting
.

The voices are muffled, so I press my ear harder against the door to hear better.

“Can you just shut up for a few minutes and let me fuck you? I’m so close, but your mouth is ruinin’ it,” the second voice replies.

Fuck
. I know that voice.

“Shut up, Tucker Benoit. I don’t need you to get off. I could walk out right now and leave you begging for more. Don’t tempt me.”

“Ha! That’s not what you said last night, was it, Piper?”

Holy shit
.

Tucker and Piper are fucking in my parents’ bathroom and, apparently, it’s not the first time. I don’t even know what to do with this information, but it sounds like they’re almost done in there. So, I’d better make a decision.