There was silence while comprehension slipped into Cayenne’s expression. The women around the table erupted into laughter.
“She’s so right.” Pepper nudged Cayenne with her glass of water. “You and Trap can’t go long enough to boil water without having your hands on each other. Here’s to finding out the real reason Cayenne can’t cook.”
Everyone drank down the last of their beers, and Nonny raised her empty bottle into the air. Delmar must have been waiting for her signal because he returned with another round. This time, instead of bringing Pepper a beer, he brought her an ice-cold water.
“You want something else?” Delmar plopped a tall frosted glass on the table in front of Pepper. “Your man says you’re gonna have a baby and you can’t drink beer. This is my own favorite drink, lemonade and lime with sugar and soda water. Just try it. I put some mint in there. Grow it myself out back.”
Pepper glanced at Nonny as if waiting for a cue. Nonny inclined her head slightly, and Pepper smiled carefully at the man, trying hard to keep the wattage down. “Thank you, it looks lovely,” she said.
The moment she spoke and smiled at him, it wasn’t difficult to see he was a bit ensnared by her. His face turned a dull red and he sputtered his acknowledgment. A chair scraped near the back wall, the sound coming from the darkest corner, breaking the spell so Delmar stepped back away from the table.
Nonny lifted the money up, but he shook his head. “Your men have a tab, said they’d pay it. Want you all to have a good time.” He kept backing away until he was nearly halfway across the room. No way was Nonny going to be able to spend her cash.
“Even pregnant you’ve got sex appeal,” Bellisia said. “Most everyone thinks I look like a kid just because I’m short.”
“I’m tall. A giant,” Zara said.
Nonny rolled her eyes. “You girls are all beautiful and should know it by now. Your men certainly tell you enough. In my day, men didn’t speak much about looks. I worked alongside Berengere on fishin’ boats, we crabbed together and hunted alligators. We hunted for meat and pulled the moss from trees to dry it out for our mattresses every year. It was hot work, and mostly I felt I looked a mess.”
Zara caught those words, the way she said it. “Mostly you felt a mess. Does that mean your husband didn’t feel the same way about you?”
Grace Fontenot lifted a hand to her hair to tidy it. Not a hair was out of place and Zara couldn’t imagine her, even hunting and fishing, having her hair dare come loose when she put it up. “No, he never thought I was a mess,” she conceded. “He always looked at me with that look, the one that told me I was a very lucky woman.”
Zara found herself falling for Nonny too. How could she not? How could anyone not fall under her spell? It might not be sexual, the way Pepper’s enchantment was, but the attraction to Nonny was like a magnet. Strong. Lasting.
The door opened, and Zara watched as two men came in. They scanned the entire bar before they shut out the night, as if they might be expecting trouble. They appeared Cajun and looked similar, as if they were related. Both men seemed hard, but then quite a few men living on the river were tough. They had to be. Living in or around the swamp could make for a difficult life.
Simultaneously, their gazes hit the Fontenot table and took in the women. At once both men swiveled left and right searching for what Zara could only assume were the men in that darkest corner. The eyes came back to the table and then to each of them. Their gazes lingered on Pepper and then Cayenne and then jumped to her and then Bellisia. Finally, they settled on Nonny. Both men made their way to the table.
“Delmar! Beer!” the taller of the two men yelled. His voice was booming and filled with command. Clearly, he was used to getting whatever he wanted.
“Your house beer!” the second one called out.
“Comin’ right up, Pascal, Blaise!” Delmar shouted.
“Ms. Fontenot,” Pascal, the taller of the two men greeted her. There was the slightest deference in his voice. “I’ve never seen you here before. I’d like to buy a round for your table.”
“That’s sweet of you, Pascal,” Nonny said. “I was over the other day visitin’ your mere. We played a long game of cards and she managed to take all my money again.”
A smile broke out on his face. “She does look forward to your visits, ma’am.”
Nonny smiled up at his brother. “Blaise, so good to see you out and about. I rarely have the chance. The two of you have made something of yourselves. Your mere is very proud of you.”
“It’s nice you visit so regular. Since she took sick and can’t get around, she doesn’t get many visitors,” Pascal said, sounding a little bitter.
“Most of us have gone away or died, boys,” Nonny reminded gently. “We’re all gettin’ up there in age. Your mere had you late. Lost so many with all the hard work. Back in those days we had to do the work of the men. Your mere was no exception.”
The atmosphere in the room had changed since the two men had entered. Zara could feel the tension in the air. It seemed to stretch tighter and tighter, like a wire being pulled taut. It took control not to glance toward that corner where Gino was. She didn’t know why, but she felt vaguely threatened.
“You goin’ to introduce us?” Pascal asked. “I’ve met Cayenne.” He leered at her, sounding as if they had a history. “But the others …” He looked at Pepper and his mouth seemed to drop open.
“Girls, this is Pascal and Blaise Comeaux. This is my daughter-in-law, Pepper, Wyatt’s wife,” Nonny said. “Bellisia, married to Ezekiel, and Zara. She’s engaged to Gino. We’re just out havin’ a bit of fun. I should have asked your Alida to join us. She needs to get out once in a while according to your mere. We all do, come to that. I know your mere watched the children occasionally for you so you could take Alida out. If you’d like, call me, Pascal. I’ll do it for you.” Nonny deftly turned the attention back to her.
“Nice of you to offer, Ms. Fontenot,” Pascal said. “I might take you up on that some time. Blaise and I try to keep her entertained, don’t we, brother?”
Blaise nodded and snickered at the same time. He looked at Zara. “You want to dance? See how a real man does it? Not some Italian foreigner?”
Zara kept her smile with difficulty. “I’m not certain how Gino is a foreigner, as he was born in the United States, but perhaps you mean a foreigner here in Louisiana. Thank you for the offer, but we’re just hanging out together tonight.” She gestured around the table at the other women.
“Too bad. Your loss.” Blaise turned away from the table and sauntered across the crowded room, moving others with his shoulder when they didn’t see him coming.
Zara noticed some turned fast as if they might decide to fight, but stopped whatever they were going to say or do when they saw who had shoved them. Pascal remained, staring down at her. “I’ve never met your man. Has he been in the area long?”
Zara glanced helplessly toward the dark corner again, needing Gino. She detested being the center of attention. Nonny leaned over and patted her hand. “Gino’s been with me for well over a year now, maybe longer or a little less.” Deliberately she was vague. She shrugged. “Time runs together for me, Pascal, same as it does, I suspect, for yourmere. Gino doesn’t like to be indoors, so he avoids town and most places you might run into him.”
The Cajun nodded, but his gaze didn’t leave Zara’s face. “Don’t understand how these men get such beautiful women.”