“I think Rene might need the night to himself,” Sylvie said. She’d thought about keeping up her search but realized Rene was almost never alone. It might do him some good to think about what he was doing. He was likely feeling like there was no way out.

She was going to prove him wrong.

“What are we going to do about Roberta?” Cricket asked. “I can lose the house. I love it and I thought I would die here, but Rene should know I love him more than I love the house.”

“Rene needs to know a lot of things, and we’re not going to lose anything.” Sylvie sat down in the chair across from them and stroked Lady’s fur. Her dog was not going to come from a broken home. She would not be a single dog mom, working out who got to take Lady to the vet and to the dog park on weekends.

“All right.” Cricket sat up. “Let’s figure out how to help my son.”

Sylvie was ready to do just that.

chapter thirteen

Rene parked the SUV on the outer edges of the B and B’s parking lot and stared at all those expensive cars with a knot in his gut.

Was Sylvie back at the house, packing up her stuff? Or was she waiting there for him to come home so she could tear a strip off his hide before packing up her stuff, taking their dog, and walking away?

Like she should.

He’d become a damn country song. Lost his house and wife and dog, and his momma had run off with a scoundrel who would take all their money and leave them in the dust.

Rene groaned at the thought of Louis being the bad guy. It didn’t make sense. Had he hidden his inner con man for thirty years? Played the good guy for decades on the off chance that his best friend would have a heart attack, die, and leave his wife vulnerable to fraud?

Or Louis could have loved her all these years. His mother could have held feelings for him from the time they were kids, and now they were at a point in their life when it made sense for them to be together.

“Hey, are you still thinking about running?” Dre’s voice came over the speakers, reminding him he wasn’t alone. Dre had called moments after Rene had left.

“I’m not running.” Not yet. He was thinking about heading into New Orleans after he did what he needed to do here. Maybe if he could put off talking to his wife, he wouldn’t break down entirely in front of her. “I have to talk to my aunt.”