Everyone has a Weak spot (4 page)

“I just thought she was some reckless Yankee woman, for true!” He glanced over at his nephew again and caught him grinning.

“She made you feel real bad, huh?” Renaud was clearly trying not to laugh. “Kinda like kickin’ a puppy, yeah?"

“Yeah,” grumbled War. “Just like kickin’ a sweet, soft, precious little puppy."

His nephew burst into laughter, spraying a mouthful of beer all over. The two men both began laughing and threw an arm over the other's shoulder.

They went in to have another beer and the conversation turned to Renaud's argument with his foster parents and then on to other topics.

In bed that night, War considered that, for tonight alone, and for this time he would have with Renaud, he owed his thanks to Lorelei Allemande.

Chapter 4

Lorelei hesitated in the door of the café. It was six in the morning, the day after her traffic stop. She was supposed to meet Renaud for breakfast.

She didn't know if she should seat herself or what she should do. These neighborhood diners never had signs that said “please wait to be seated” or “seat yourself.” After yesterday, she was painfully aware of her Yankee status. The Sheriff hadn't said anything much, really, but she felt it.

Renaud wasn't there yet and he'd just let her know he was running late. She looked around nervously. The last thing she needed was to offend the locals by breaking some kind of rule.

Her medallion gave her all kinds of information about Renaud's feelings, his whereabouts, even his safety. She just wished it would tell her how to live in his world as comfortably as he always seemed to be in hers. She wasn't really shy. She just didn't have any basis for how to interact in her new town.

Looking around, Lorelei saw men, women, and families chatting with each other and with people at other tables. While she'd always lived in major cities and had grown up within the confines of the ballet company, it had been a lonely life.

If all the dancers from that company had been sitting in this restaurant, none of them would have spoken to anyone not at the same table, maybe not even those who were. The competition among dancers was fierce, and it didn't engender close friendships.

With her innate grace and dancing ability, coupled with the medallion's gift of making her extra agile, Lorelei hadn't needed to compete. She had always been a star and would be still had she stayed. Those qualities made her a great dancer, but effectively squashed any possibility of becoming friends with other dancers.

Since there weren't any stools open at the breakfast counter, Lorelei decided that she'd wait outside for her brother. Reaching for the door, her progress was halted by a hand at her back.

* * * *

War decided that his morning was definitely looking up. His mouth turned up in a pleased smile. He got up from his seat and approached the little dancer.

“Mornin',
chéri,
” he rumbled, sliding a hand to the small of her back.

He smoothly guided her to his table and seated her. He ordered her a cup of coffee while she fidgeted in her seat.

“I'll just bet you didn't come to have breakfast with me,
chéri.
” Amusement gleamed in his eyes.

“I was meeting Renaud this morning,” she looked up at him through her lashes. “He's running late."

“You and Renaud are pretty close, no?” His gaze was watchful on her face.

“We've been friends all our lives,” she said. “Since we were kids.” She looked down, then looked at him again. “We were kids together."

“So you're just friends with Renaud, huh,
chéri
?” he looked at her intently. “He's not your ...
amour
?"

Renaud dropped into the seat next to her. He nudged her with his elbow and she nudged him.

“Ewwwwwww,” they both said at the same time.

“Gross,” Lorelei exclaimed, laughing.

“Too short, Oncle. I like a biiig, tall woman,” Renaud laughed, taking a sip from her coffee.

She elbowed him again. He took another drink of her coffee and put it down in front of himself.

“You just don't like having to reach all the high-up stuff for me. You're lazy. Get your own coffee. The Sheriff got this cup for me!” She wrinkled her nose at him, reaching to take her coffee back.

“
Peeshwank
—little runt!” Renaud called her and gave her another nudge.

The waitress brought Renaud's coffee, and War noticed that Renaud prepared it in the same unusual way that Lorelei had. They each added a dash of salt and half a package of instant coffee.

Given that the coffee in Louisiana is laced with chicory and is pretty strong anyway, he found that noteworthy.

“What kind of trouble are you two planning for today?” War asked them.

“No time for bad behavior today, Oncle,” Renaud sighed. “Too much to do. Better keep an eye on Rory, though. She's one baad customer."

“You're not planning to start trouble are you,
chéri?
” War winked at her. “I'd hate to have to frisk you for weapons or contraband."

“Um, no, sir. I mean, no, Sheriff.” She elbowed Renaud painfully in the ribs. He grunted. “Here's your troublemaker."

“I don't know,
petit
...” War speculated, fighting a smile. “I could cite you right now for failure to comply. I believe this is your...” he pretended to count to himself, “...second or third offense—maybe fourth. Could be I ought to take you into custody."

Renaud turned to the waitress and ordered breakfast for himself and Lorelei. He appeared not to pay any attention to her conversation with his uncle.

“How about that,
chéri
? How about I take you into my custody?” he asked in a lower voice. “You think you might like that?” He winked at her again.

“Um, I, um, maybe?” she stammered, trying to flirt. War laughed out loud.

“You give that some thought,
chéri
, hmmm?"

War stood and Renaud stood with him. He tapped his nephew's cheek and kissed his forehead. Renaud dropped into the seat his uncle had vacated.

Turning, War leaned down and, taking Lorelei completely by surprise, he cupped her head in one hand and kissed her lingeringly on the lips. She looked after him, stunned.

“Ya'll have a good day, now,” he said. With a smug smile, he turned and walked away.

As he made his way to the door, War heard Renaud speak to Lorelei.

“Boo, I think my oncle is sweet on you,” he teased her.

“You don't think he was just being nice?” War heard her ask sounding a little breathless.

“Rory, I promise he ain't that nice to everybody,” his nephew laughed.

War grinned to himself as he walked out the door.

Chapter 5

The crowd at the barbecue continued to grow and everyone was having a great time—everyone except Sheriff War. He was locked in an endless conversation with one of Xavier Parish's more prominent citizens. He was sure the fake smile he wore was carved into his face when her scent hit him.

She was here. He looked around.

Where? Where is she?

War excused himself from the garrulous citizen and tried to find her, casually, of course.

He saw her surrounded by teens after five minutes of careful search. She was breathtaking. She wore a strapless little dress in moss green, the exact color of her eyes.

The dress was tight and clingy, hugging her feminine curves lovingly, and it didn't quite reach her knees. Over it she wore some kind of sheer, gauzy little jacket.

War was torn between loving it and wishing he were the only man to see her in it. She wore no stockings on this warm evening, only a dainty pair of sandals.

He was struggling mightily to contain the possessive beast that had moved into his body. Just looking at her fired a hunger within him that he had to fight to control. His body was tense and hard. If he approached her in this frame of mind, he'd ravish her on the spot.

His nephew came over a few minutes later and they exchanged small talk. War accompanied the young man as Renaud assembled two plates of food. One plate was rounded with rare burgers and rare steak, almost exactly like War's plate. The other dish that Renaud held contained only salads. War arched a questioning brow.

Renaud chuckled. “Rory don't eat meat."

“You're serious?” breathed War, disbelieving.
That just couldn't be right!
“She don't eat meat? For true?"

Renaud laughed again. It
was
unbelievable to a lupine that anyone could live without eating meat.

“We're nearly opposites. Just one more reason we get along so well. More for me!” he grinned.

War shook his head amazed as he watched Renaud carry the salad plate over to Lorelei. She was busy talking to some of the parents of her students. She and Renaud joined a rowdy group at a nearby table.

After a minute, War started moving in their direction but, as usual, he was waylaid about ten times. She was gone before he was free again half an hour later.

When he spotted her next, she was near an open door playing with a kitten. He saw Renaud bearing down purposefully on her. He continued toward them, focused on what they said to each other.

When Renaud walked up, the kitten bristled, hissed at him and ran away.

“Damn it, Ren! You
like
doing that, don't you?” Renaud grinned. War progressed toward them as he listened to their conversation. People tried to intercept him, but he just nodded and moved on.

“Yeah, I do,” he laughed. He continued in a softer tone, “Come on in, Boo. You're almost out the door.” Renaud reached out a hand to her. “There're strangers around, hmmm?"

Strangers?
War wondered what that meant, confused.
So what if she was at the door?

* * * *

“Huh? I'm just...” Lorelei looked around. “I didn't realize...” She was deflated and moved further into the room, taking the hand he offered.

Renaud didn't want her near an open door alone, and she understood why. It was bad enough that she felt like a gerbil among the field mice. She didn't need to make herself an easy target for the people trying to capture her and her brother.

“Wanna dance?” Renaud asked.

He gave her hand a tug. She peered up at him still feeling a little stupid.
What kind of a simpleton played with a kitten at a party? The kind who had nearly wandered unprotected into danger, as if she were a toddler chasing a butterfly.

Sheriff War walked up just then and said, “'Course she don't wanna dance with you, boy! She dances with you all the time. Go play with your friends! I'll look after the little lady for you. C'mon,
petit."

She couldn't believe the sexy Sheriff wanted to dance with
her.
He made her insides jump. Because of the threat she and Renaud faced, Lorelei couldn't have a real relationship with him. She could think of no reason not to dance with him, though.

He grabbed her hand and pulled her onto the dance floor. She saw Renaud shaking his head and turning toward a group of young people.

Before she could catch her breath, War was leading her into a boisterous two-step that left everyone slightly winded at the end.

The band graciously struck up a romantic ballad afterward, and War pulled her into his strong arms. She put one hand on his thick shoulder and rested the other at his trim waist. The Sheriff ran a hand down her back, pressing her small, thin body into his hard muscular one. He hummed along with the melody until she began to relax and let her head rest upon his chest. It was wonderful.

“Well, aren't you the cutest little thing?” Lorelei heard as she felt a rough hand grasp her shoulder, squeeze tightly, and pull hard. She stumbled.

She didn't think the woman really meant that she was actually “the cutest little thing.” Her medallion flashed yellow, automatically alerting Renaud that she'd been injured. She stroked the glowing amber stone at her neck.

Rubbing her shoulder, a confused Lorelei looked at the woman now holding the Sheriff's bulky arm pressed against her body. This woman wasn't one of
them
, why did she want to cause her pain? Lorelei was disoriented. Pain always made her mind feel fuzzy for a few minutes.
Where was her brother?

* * * *

“Introduce me to your little friend, War,” his new companion purred. War looked down at the woman clutching him with amusement.

“Natalie, this is Lorelei Allemande. Lorelei...” War began the introductions but he got no further. To his surprise, Renaud walked up.

Renaud offered the two a tight smile and nodded at Natalie. War saw that his nephew's blue eyes were blazing. He could smell the anger pouring off of him. Renaud was adjusting his collar.

“Nice to meet you, Natalie. See you later, Sheriff,” he whispered closely into Lorelei's ear. She parroted the words to the couple standing in front of her.

War couldn't believe the boorish way Renaud was behaving. He didn't understand why Lorelei suddenly acted as if she couldn't think straight. His eyes narrowed as Renaud guided her away. He decided to follow. Disentangling himself from Natalie, War stalked after his nephew and the girl.

Placing a hand at her back, Renaud had ushered Lorelei from the large grouping into a well-lit alcove. Once there, he moved the gauzy jacket from her shoulder and began swearing profusely. Neither saw War walk up from the other direction.

“That bitch made bruises on both sides, Boo.” Renaud looked at her face, “How bad does it hurt?” Lorelei gasped in pain but said nothing. Her eyes were squeezed shut. “Just breathe through it, Rory. It only hurts this bad, because it took you by surprise."

“What's this?” demanded War. “
Merde
!” he exclaimed catching sight of the deep bruises on both sides of her shoulder. “From Natalie?"

“Damn straight! Bitch was pissed you were dancing with Rory,” Renaud growled. “I'll just take her home, Oncle. You do a piss-poor job looking after her!” Before War could react to the unexpected blunt criticism, Lorelei spoke up.

“Ren, please.” Her eyes were moist with pain. “Don't yell at your uncle, he didn't know."

“He let someone hurt you, Boo,” Renaud said furiously. War could tell there was a lot more he wanted to say.