He ran back across the yard but stopped when he saw a big hulking reptile at the water’s edge. He’d lived in Papillon most of his life, but he still stopped at the sight of those big gators. Even through the downpour he could see the stubby tail that marked the gator as Otis, the town mascot. Otis was known for basking in the worst places, but he wasn’t known for eating people.

He was actually known for bringing good luck. It was a silly thing, but many of the residents of Papillon believed that if Otis showed up on your doorstep, something good was going to happen.

Rene stood there, the rain pouring down on him, and watched as the gator lumbered across the mud, his tail swinging like he didn’t mind the storm at all. Like this storm was his natural state and everyone else should learn from him. The storm could be wonderful if one had the right mindset. Otis’s clawed feet splashed mud all around him and he stopped, putting his face up as though enjoying the feel, as though the gator could live in the moment.

“Rene!”

He turned and Sylvie was standing in the doorway, wearing nothing but a pair of socks and his old Tulane T-shirt, though it hit her right at her knees and made a somewhat respectable dress.

The sight of her standing there wearing his clothes made something spark to life in him.

The storm wasn’t so bad if it ended with his wife looking like the most delicious treat he’d ever seen.

And he was hungry. So damn hungry.

“What are you doing?” She had a big towel in her hand. “Come inside and get dry. Did something go wrong with the generator?”

“Out of gas,” he shouted over the rain. He glanced back and Otis was flicking his stub of a tail and sliding back into the water. Where he belonged.

Where did Rene belong? Wasn’t that the question? He was the “king” of his world, but the only place he’d ever felt comfortable was when he’d been out on the bayou with Dre and Sylvie. They were the only people he’d been free with.

Was he mistaking nostalgia and longing for something real they could build a life on?

He didn’t care. All that mattered in that moment was that she was standing there offering him a stupid towel and no one . . . no one offered to help him that way. No one thought he needed it.

He strode toward her, aware the moment she realized his intent. Her eyes widened and she dropped the towel.