CHAPTER 6: Danielle

I should have known better than to tell Terry Wolf to pick me up at the diner for our non-date. I didn’t know what I was thinking. I just remembered staring into his brown eyes and agreeing to go.

I knew what I wasn’t thinking.

I wasn’t thinking about my dad being there.

Or my ex, Randy, who came in every night for the dinner and beers he would never pay for. I didn’t even bother putting it on his tab anymore. Randy and my dad were still big fishing buddies. I didn’t have to stay married to Randy, but Dad wasn’t going to let a pal starve just because I couldn’t put up with his shit and he was too cheap to pay his tab.

When I came back into the diner wearing a pair of loose-fitting khaki shorts, a black New Orleans Saints T-shirt, and flip flops, everyone glanced my way. I had my hair pulled back on the sides and clipped above my ears, and I had put on just enough makeup to make myself presentable.

The regulars, who were used to seeing me in jeans and a Cajun Diner T-shirt, looked at me as if I’d just landed on the planet.

Randy narrowed his eyes at me and grunted. “What the heck are you all dolled up for?” he asked as I came around the counter. He was in his usual seat at the end of the counter with a half-eaten bowl of gumbo and an empty beer glass in front of him. I was feeling charitable, so I refilled his glass and slid it toward him.

“What I do is none of your business,” I said, watching the front door for Terry.

“She has a date,” my dad said. He was standing at the pass-through with his hairy arms folded on the ledge. He had a spatula in one hand and a cigarette in the other. “Tell him. You got a date.”

“It’s not a date,” I said, making a show of rolling my eyes. I wasn’t sure why I played it down in front of Randy. We’d been divorced for a while and he’d been out with every available woman in Bellegrade (the word “picky” was not in Randy’s vocabulary), but I guessed you never wanted your ex to know your business. At least I didn’t.

“What is it then if it’s not a date?” Dad asked.

“I’m showing a friend around town,” I said, shrugging off the notion that it was anything more.

“What friend?” Randy asked. He snorted a laugh. “And what the hell is there to show anybody around here?”

“You don’t know him,” I said. “He’s just passing through, so don’t concern yourself with my business.”

“He’s one of those rich guys that was here talking to Bob about his invention,” Dad said. I turned to give him a look that he completely ignored. “Bob says there’s two of them. Twins. Billionaires. Got more money than they know what to do with.”

“Bullshit,” Randy growled. “What would two billionaires be doing talking to Bob Beecher?”

“Bob’s a smart feller,” Dad said, scratching his chin. He stuck the cigarette between his teeth and tapped the spatula on the ledge. It gave a resounding metal clang. “Bob says those boys are gonna give him a million dollars for his idea. He’s gonna buy a new boat and sail off into the sunset.”

“Bullshit,” Randy said again, scowling. He picked up his beer glass and swept his eyes up and down my body. “You look good, Danny. I’ll give you that.”

“Thanks,” I said, forcing a smile as I waited for what I knew was coming next.

“Hell, if you wanna go out sometime, I’d be glad to take you.” He wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. “We could drive down the causeway to Nawlins for the weekend, catch a Saints game or hit the Quarter.”

“And I assume I’d have to pay my own way,” I said, giving him the eye and knowing the answer. It wasn’t like I’d ever consider going anywhere with Randy ever again. I just liked forcing him to admit what a cheap SOB he was.

He shrugged. “I’d be happy to pay if…well…you know. I’d have to get something for my money.”

“Randy, I’d rather wrestle an alligator than go anywhere with you.” I said it with a condescending smile. “And if you think you’ll ever get in my pants again, you’re sorely mistaken.”

“No need to be ugly,” he said quietly. He put a hurt look on his face and went back to his gumbo and beer.

The front door chimed. I looked up to see Terry coming through the door. He was wearing khaki shorts and sandals and a black tank top that fit his muscular form like a glove. His skin was the color of honey. The muscles in his shoulders and arms looked round and hard. When he saw me behind the counter, he smiled and the air between us seemed to fill with stars.

“Is that him?” Randy asked. “He don’t look like much.”

“That’s him,” Dad said.

“Hi there,” Terry said when he reached the counter. He gave me the once over and whistled. “You look great.”

“So do you,” I said.

“So do you,” Randy mocked quietly.

If Terry heard him, he didn’t acknowledge it. He just gave me the smile that made my knees wobble and jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. “Shall we hit the road?”

“We shall,” I said with a smile.

“We shall,” Randy grunted.

“Shut up, Randy,” I said quietly as I turned to look at Dad. “You okay to close?”

“I was closing this diner before you were born, missy,” Dad said. He was talking to me, but he was frowning at Terry. He tapped the spatula on the ledge to get Terry’s attention. “You, Mr. Big Shot, be nice to my little girl. I don’t care how much money you got in the bank. You hurt my girl and you’ll end up as alligator bait in the bayou.”

Terry looked at Dad for a moment and then looked at me and smiled. He held up his hands. “Don’t worry, sir. I’ll bring her back just like I found her.”

“I’m not sure I like the sound of that,” I said with a grin. I came around the counter and let him take my hand. “Come on, Tommy. Let’s get out of here.”

“Terry,” he said as I dragged him toward the door.

“I know.”

* * *

Randy was right about one thing: there was absolutely nothing to see or do in Bellegrade, so the driving tour took all of five minutes. It was a hot and sticky night, but the air conditioner in Terry’s fancy SUV did a good job of keeping us cool. Even the seat had little air vents to keep your backside from sweating. How cool was that?

We stopped at the package store near the highway to buy a six pack of Coors and headed for the spot on the north side of Lake Pontchartrain where Davy and I used to park. It was peaceful and secluded. I still went there sometimes by myself just to get away.

There was a full moon in the eastern sky and a warm breeze blowing in from the Gulf. It would be a good night to sit on the top of a car and drink beer and get to know each other better.

Or do other things.

With a man like Terry Wolf, I figured the possibilities were endless.

“Pull in right here,” I said, leaning forward in the seat to direct Terry down the narrow path from the main road to my parking spot near the north shore of the massive lake. He put the gear into park and leaned forward to look out the windshield. The high beams illuminated the dark water out twenty yards or so.

“So, this is the famous Lake Pontchartrain,” he said. He glanced sideways at me and smiled. From where we sat we could see the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway that connected the north side of the lake to New Orleans on the southern side. The bridge stretched for miles and disappeared into the darkness.

Terry whistled. “That’s a long bridge.”

“According to Guinness, the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway is the longest continuous bridge that passes over water,” I said, purposefully sounding like a tour guide. “It’s twenty-four miles long. And when you’re at the middle third you can’t see land in either direction.”

“Like I said, that’s a long bridge.” He turned off the lights but left the motor running so the AC would keep us cool. He asked, “And how do you know about this particular spot?”

“We used to park here when I was in high school,” I said without thinking.

“We?”

“My old boyfriend and I.”

“Was that the guy sitting at the end of the counter who kept giving me the evil eye?”

I sighed heavily. “No. That was my dipshit ex-husband, Randy. Sorry about that.”

“Sorry that you married him?”

“Extremely.”

He looked out the windows at the darkness surrounding us. “So, what do we do now?”

I reached to the floor for the six pack of beer. I opened the door and gave him a nod. “Come on. I’ll show you what we do for fun in the big city of Bellegrade.”