“I’m sorry, too,” she whispered. “I was totally wrong about Remy. He’s a good man. God, we owe him so much more than money. I don’t know why I was hard on him that day except I was being arrogant and I thought I knew best.”

“She does that a lot.” Laurel smiled, her head dropping to Lila’s shoulder.

“I broke up with Brock. Laurel told me he’d been making you both uncomfortable. I didn’t listen before, but I am now. I was holding on to something that didn’t work because I so desperately want what my siblings have,” Lila admitted. “Please forgive me.”

Lisa hugged her sisters tight. “There’s nothing to forgive, but you have to be nice to my fiancé and you can’t be all snobby around his family. Or the customers at my new establishment. Or the gator. I’ve heard Otis can be sensitive about stuff.”

Lila’s eyes had gone wide. “Please tell me you’re joking. At least about the alligator.”

Taggart was shaking his head as he stood next to Will. “You seriously raised all that estrogen?”

“How I survived I do not know,” Will admitted, but he was looking at them with an indulgent smile. “But if you ever need parenting tips on the teen years, I could write a book. Your number one job?”

“I know this one,” Tag said, holding up his hand. “Keep ’em off the pole.”

“Gotta keep ’em off the pole,” Mitch said with a frown. “Laurel, we’re never having girls.”

Laurel winked Lisa’s way. They would see about that.

She settled in next to Remy as her family talked around her. They had one last job to do and then she would be free.

* * * *

The morning air was almost cool as they shifted from the bay to the river, then turned off into the bayou. Darkness was all around them and the big cypress trees rose from the waters, shadowy figures that looked altogether different at night. At night the trees seemed to reach out for her, arms grasping.

“Hey, there’s nothing out here that’s going to hurt you,” Remy said as he turned the boat down some path she couldn’t detect. “You’re free out here. No one’s going to ever lock you away.”

She took a deep breath, letting the air around her remind her that she was with Remy and this was part of their home, one she intended to explore. Nothing would hold her back from making this place her home. “Thanks for letting me come with you.”

“I wouldn’t if I thought you were going to be in danger, but you deserve to be with me. This is our life, not merely mine,” Remy said. “Besides, this is one of my favorite places in the world. I want to show you. I think it’s a fitting place to start.”

“To start?”