Tony nodded as though he’d made his decision. “Come along, Pamela. It wasn’t fair to ambush her like this. Roxie, give your boyfriend my number so he can text me where and when to meet you for dinner tonight while you get some rest. We’ll take Brian and Shawna back to the B and B with us. I think we could all use a nap. It was a long trip to get here. Don’t forget that, Roxanne. We came a long way to see you. We went to a lot of trouble, and we expect you to spend some time with us. We’ll talk at dinner tonight. Zep, it’s good to meet you. I intend to get to know you while I’m here.”
“But I—” Pamela stopped when her husband took her hand. “Fine. I’ll see you tonight, dear.”
Zep followed behind Roxie as she showed her parents the door. It did not escape his notice that the brother’s fiancée stayed far from Daisy. So did the brother. Apparently he was once peed on, twice shy.
The place was deadly quiet as she shut the door behind them and took a moment before she turned around.
He was prepared for the death stare she sent his way. “Now, Roxie, let me explain.”
“You live with me? You had one job, Guidry. One. All you had to do was answer to Armie’s name, explain you’ve got to go to work, and leave.”
“That’s actually three things, and you know I can get confused.” He sighed and shook his head because he had a shot with her now, and he wasn’t going to play around with the truth. Charm hadn’t worked on her. It was time to see if being real would. “It wouldn’t have worked.”
“How do you know?”
“Because Seraphina told me the B and B is booked for the whole week,” he replied. “They aren’t simply here for the afternoon and they’ll be gone tomorrow. You have to deal with them for a full week. Do you honestly believe they won’t talk to people around town?”
Her jaw tightened, a sure sign that she was frustrated and on the edge. “They could have been handled. And they’ll still talk. What happens when they casually mention you’re my boyfriend? People will laugh.”
Had she learned nothing? Papillon residents stuck together. They had to because they didn’t have anyone else. He pulled his cell out of his back pocket and dialed his sister’s number. “Sera, I need you to do me a favor. I’m putting you on speaker. I’m here with Roxie.”
“Of course.” Sera’s voice came over the line. His sister always sounded chipper these days thanks to her marriage to Harrison Jefferys. “Is she okay? I heard she nearly got kidnapped by a rougarou. You should know that particular rumor has already gotten to Gene, and he will be watching her the next full moon.”
Roxie’s eyes had gone wide. “What? It was a snake. And it only got my boot. Does Gene actually think I’m going to turn into a werewolf?”
“Yes. Harry told me there was a spirited discussion about your fate at Dixie’s this morning. Gene argued his werewolf position, but Herve and his brother claim a witch sent the rougarou so she can take control of Roxanne’s body and arrest whoever she wants, even innocent people. Now, I think Herve is setting that whole scenario up in case anyone finds out that he and his brother set up a fight club in his garage. Don’t worry about that, Roxie. No one is dumb enough to actually join in, so it ends up with Herve and Louis punching each other a couple of times and then everyone drinking some sketchy wine. But Herve’s girlfriend is worried about witchcraft ever since they got Wi-Fi out there and they started using Louis’s Netflix account. So he’s setting himself up an alibi. Harry, did anyone mention a snake? No. The snake must have gotten lost somewhere in there. But I will tell you there’s a rumor going around that Caroline caught Roxie trying to get Archie alone in the barn in the middle of the night.”
Roxie groaned. “I did not. I was investigating a call. I checked out the barn but Archie wasn’t with me. Zep was. We heard something out back and found a dog tied to a tree, and then I fell and got bitten by a snake. I also hit my head on a log and have a minor concussion.”
His sister sighed over the line. “Poor puppy. Is he okay?”
“He’s a she,” Zep corrected. “And her name is Daisy, and Roxie is okay, too.”
“Oh, sorry. I knew that, though,” Sera admitted. “I saw Lisa earlier and she’d already talked to her sister. She said Lila said Roxie was okay and that you had taken it on yourself to make sure she stays that way. Roxie, is he bugging you?”