It hadn’t been a little storm, but Delphine was right about one thing. “Rene knew exactly where to go when it became obvious we couldn’t get back to the marina safely.” She hugged her mother-in-law. “It wasn’t comfortable but we survived. Rene took excellent care of me.”

“I bet he did,” her mother said under her breath.

A slow smile spread over Rene’s face as he crossed the space between them, a mug in his hand. “I did indeed. I made it my main priority to make sure Sylvie had exactly what she needed last night. And this morning. One sugar, no cream.”

Just how she liked it.

Cricket moved back to her place on the sofa. “Well, I raised my boy right. He knows how to take care of his wife.”

It was a good thing she hadn’t taken a sip of that coffee because she might have coughed it out. She managed to take the mug as Rene leaned in.

“So your mother already knows everything? You do wilt fast, love. If you meet me upstairs, I’ll make you melt for me, too.” His lips brushed her cheek and then he was right back to perfectly smooth. “Yes, Mom had a rough night, but Louis was here with her. Well, he was until he went looking for us.”

Louis was more casual than he’d been at the office, wearing khakis and a button-down shirt. “I went out to the marina and realized your boat hadn’t made it back. They wouldn’t let me go out myself until right before dawn.”

“I wanted to go with him, but he wouldn’t let me.” Cricket was frowning up at Louis.

“For which I am eternally grateful,” Rene said with a shake of his head.

“I’ve been on the water before. I know how to operate a boat,” Cricket argued. “And I can swim. I should have been able to look for my own son. Armie didn’t go out until hours later because there was a big wreck on the highway he had to deal with. We could have taken two boats and covered more ground.”

“Momma, you don’t drive a car anymore,” Rene argued. “I do not like the thought of you trying to drive a boat after a storm. It could be dangerous, as Sylvie and I found out.” He turned to Louis. “I thank you for looking for us. I guess we missed you. We fell asleep after the rain stopped, but I should have been able to hear a boat.”