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Contents ( 66)
  1. Cover
  2. Books by Valerie Fraser Luesse
  3. Title Page
  4. Copyright Page
  5. Dedication
  6. Contents
  7. Map of Florida
  8. one
  9. two
  10. three
  11. four
  12. five
  13. six
  14. seven
  15. eight
  16. nine
  17. ten
  18. eleven
  19. twelve
  20. thirteen
  21. fourteen
  22. fifteen
  23. sixteen
  24. seventeen
  25. eighteen
  26. nineteen
  27. twenty
  28. twenty-one
  29. twenty-two
  30. twenty-three
  31. twenty-four
  32. twenty-five
  33. twenty-six
  34. twenty-seven
  35. twenty-eight
  36. twenty-nine
  37. thirty
  38. thirty-one
  39. thirty-two
  40. thirty-three
  41. thirty-four
  42. thirty-five
  43. thirty-six
  44. thirty-seven
  45. thirty-eight
  46. thirty-nine
  47. forty
  48. forty-one
  49. forty-two
  50. forty-three
  51. forty-four
  52. forty-five
  53. forty-six
  54. forty-seven
  55. forty-eight
  56. forty-nine
  57. fifty
  58. fifty-one
  59. Epilogue
  60. Keep Reading for a Preview of Valerie Luesse’s Next Book!
  61. Prologue
  62. one
  63. Acknowledgments
  64. About the Author
  65. Back Ads
  66. Back Cover

Raphe looked up at a darkening sky. Rain was coming. He sat in his canoe, listening to the wind stir the trees overhead and watching ripples begin to wave across the mirrored surface of the water. His choice was clear.

He would never tell a soul about his rendezvous with the white alligator. And he would never send Iry away. Some things belonged right where they were.

one

Fall 1949

“That be all for you, hon?”

Ellie Fields smiled up at the waitress standing next to her table, scribbling on a ticket pad. She was wearing a pink uniform with a white apron and a name tag that read “Geri.” The two of them were probably about the same age.

“That’s all, thanks,” Ellie said. “Hey, I like your name. I don’t think I’ve ever known a girl named Geri before.”

The waitress rolled her eyes. “It’s short for Gertrude! Can you believe my mama hung that on me? It was her grandmother’s name.”

“You’re definitely more of a Geri. I’m Ellie—short for Juliet, which my little brother couldn’t pronounce, so he renamed me. He couldn’t say the j or the l—I was actually ‘Ewwie’ there for a few years.”

“It’s not fair that your family gets to label you for life, is it?”

“No, it’s not,” Ellie said. “Could you tell me how far I am from New Orleans?”

“Gonna do a little partyin’?” Geri gave her a smile and a wink.

“Not exactly. I just got a first teaching job in a little town called Bernadette, Louisiana. It’s supposed to be about eighty miles or so from New Orleans.”

“Well, congratulations on the new job, hon! You’re not too far. Just keep followin’ 90 and you’ll be there in about an hour. Some people call Bay St. Louis ‘Little New Orleans’ on accounta we get so many summer people from over there. You from here in Mississippi?”

“No, I’m from a tiny little town you never heard of—Chickasaw, Alabama. It’s on the Coosa River.”

“And here I thought you was headed for the backwoods, but Bernadette might be a step up for you.” Geri laughed and winked at her again. “I’m just havin’ a little fun with you.”

“You’re not too far off the mark,” Ellie said. “If Bernadette has more than one traffic light, it will be a step up.”

“You be safe on the road now—’specially in New Orleans. All them one-ways in the Quarter’s just murder to figure out your first time around. And you’re gonna wind your way through some bayou country before you get there. Make sure you fill up here in town, okay?”

“I will—thanks, Geri.” Ellie left a tip before paying her check at the register. She filled up at a local Pan-Am and then got back on the highway, relieved to know she would make it to New Orleans in plenty of time to find a hotel before dark. Ellie had spent the night with her mother’s sister in Biloxi and was allowing herself a little time to see the famous French Quarter before settling into a brand-new life in a place she had never even seen.