A Perfect Mistake (28 page)

As soon as I could
get Boone to let me go, I got ahold of Aubree and we drove over to
River Pearl’s.

Majestueux, her
family’s estate stood at the end of a traditional
allée
or in English, alley of ancient, moss-draped live oak, a testament to
the old South and Colonel Beauregard’s money. The plantation
was old, probably stood long before the Colonel claimed it, renovated
it and made it his home. A lot of plantations had fallen to the
carpetbaggers. It was just outside the city limits sitting on emerald
green manicured lawns, butting up against the bayou.

We had to pass
through the great, intricately vine-worked, black iron gates that
often stood open, inviting in visitors. Mr. and Mrs. Sutton were
gracious and loved guests. The house was a place to entertain and
they hosted more than their share of parties in the high society
circles they enjoyed.

The stark white
house sported six twenty-four-foot-tall Doric columns supporting the
four sides of the house and the jutting Caribbean-style roof. The
doors, centered on both the upper and the lower levels of the house,
showed off fan lights and sidelights and were bordered by two sets of
French doors with louvered shutters painted a rich emerald green.
Three dormers with Palladian windows set off the gray slate roof. A
glassed-in cupola capped the magnificent mansion. We climbed a regal
horseshoe-shaped double stairway that ran from the ground floor to
the upper gallery of the house, giving it its majestic name. When we
knocked, her mother came to the door.

“Oh, hello,
girls. Come on in. My daughter has been in her room since last night.
Why don’t you coax her out for some breakfast,” she said
cheerily.

Mrs. Sutton was a
stunning woman, even at her age. Her long blonde hair flowed down her
back, her blue eyes full of sparkle. I don’t think I’ve
ever seen her unhappy. She was the force behind River Pearl’s
pageants and cheerleading and just about everything else her daughter
did. She looked exactly like what she was—a stage momma.

The interior of the
house was just as impressive with marble and antiques, polished wood
and priceless rugs. Aubree and I knew the way. We had spent so many
days and nights at her house. We knocked on her door and there was a
muffled, “Come in.”

When we walked in,
she was on her bed petting her pure white cat, Canvas. Her eyes were
red and she looked like she hadn’t slept.

We rushed over, both
of us scaring the cat, and swarmed over her, hugging her and pushing
her back against her pillows. “Why didn’t you answer the
phone?”

She sniffled. “I
don’t cry. Ever. I just didn’t want you to know.”

“Oh, River
Pearl, you’re an idiot,” Aubree said affectionately. “A
cute idiot.”

She cracked a smile.
“I know.”

“What
happened?” I asked eaten up with curiosity.

“I’m
sure it comes as no surprise to either one of you that I like
Braxton. I’ve always liked him. But he’s such a bastard.
He told me I was wasting all my good flirting on him. He wasn’t
interested. He would never be interested.”

“He’s
such a huge liar.”

“Well, he
sounded like he knew exactly what he was saying and meant every word.
It
hurts!
I hate being rejected.”

“You’re
such a princess.”

That made her buck
up and get some of her snap back. “That’s right, and
don’t you forget it. It’s all so annoying. I can get any
man I want. Anyone, and I have. I just crook my little finger and
they come running. But it never lasts because they’re usually
all about dating a model and could care less if I could even recite
the alphabet, let alone use it.”

“Maybe you
should give up on him.”

“I can’t
seem to do it. Every time I get near him, I just want to push him
until I get a reaction. It’s pathological. But the sad thing
is, I really need his help, and he didn’t even give me a chance
to ask him.”

“Help. With
what?”

“The Founders
Day Festival speech.”

I exchanged an uh-oh
look with Aubree.

“You still
planning on writing about Duel and the Colonel?”

“Yes, I am. I
want Braxton to help me.”

“Did you get
around to telling your daddy?”

“Nope, and I’m
not gonna to tell him. He’s given me this assignment, and I’m
going to do it the way I want to do it.”

“Well, get up
and get dressed. I know your family always puts on a great breakfast
spread. We’ll eat and then go shopping in Lafayette.”

“Ooh,
shopping? That sounds great.” She pushed us off her and
disappeared into the bathroom.

“I don’t
think we’ve heard the last about Braxton Outlaw, Aubree.”

“Ain’t
that the truth? The way he looks at her like he wants to devour her.
I don’t know what’s going on with him, but I do know Brax
doesn’t like to be pushed.”

“I wouldn’t
want to be on his bad side. But she is fearless around him,” I
said.

“I know. She’s
my hero.”

“Mine, too.”

#

Verity

Two days later I
found myself back in the bayou, but this time it was with a little
tow-headed boy. Henry Ducet was beyond excited, but he dutifully held
Boone’s hand as we made our way into a good frogging spot.

Henry was assigned
to hold the light.

I was so proud of
River Pearl. She was there with us, giving Brax her Death Stare and
being completely strong.

I jumped and
screamed when one of the fleeing bullfrogs landed, cold and slimy,
against my leg above my sock.

“That’s
a live one,” Boone said as he gigged it and put it in his bag.
Of course, they were having a contest to see who could get the most
frogs.

“You know, if
we got the air boat and strapped the kid down, we’d get so many
more frogs. It’d be, like, way faster at sixty miles per hour.”
Brax said, so nonchalantly. Like the Outlaws tied down kids all the
time on their air boat.

Aubree shouted,
“No!” panic straining her voice.

Brax reached out his
hand to Booker and he slapped a twenty into it.

Then all of them
doubled over and started laughing, Booker harder than the other two.

“Breebree.”
Boone managed around his laughter. “Your face.”

“You are all
jackasses! All of you! You scared the hell out of me. Booker, how
could you?”

“I was betting
you would see right through his ridiculous suggestion! What the hell!
You cost me money, woman!”

She walked over to
him. He was still laughing and she punched him in the arm. “I’m
so mad at you.”

“You know I
love that, sugar.”

He grabbed her
around the neck and she giggled then laughed. “Brax, you’re
such an ass.”

“Hey, I’m
twenty bucks richer. Aw, Book can kiss it and make it better.”

“Don’t
mind if I do,” he said, planting one on her.

She cupped his face,
her eyes still snapping. The way she looked at him settled into my
heart, but then I couldn’t keep my eyes off Boone, while Boone
studied his brother in a way that made my gaze go back to Booker. The
laughter died from Booker’s face and he stared into her eyes.

“Aubree, will
you marry me?”

For a moment my
friend just stood there, then she threw her arms around his neck.
“You would ask me to marry you in the bayou at night in front
of your brothers and my friends while we’re
frogging
.”

“Geezus, Book,
you’re so damned romantic,” Braxton said. “Put him
out of his misery and marry the bastard, already.”

“Shut the fuck
up, Brax,” Aubree said, her gaze never leaving Booker’s.

Boone and Braxton
snorted with laughter.

“It doesn’t
matter where we are, Aubree. It only matters that we’re
together. I don’t even have a ring, but I’ve thinking
about it for a while. I know there’s no other woman for me.
It’s just you. It’s always been you. It will always be
you.”

“Damn you and
your writing ability. You know what to say and how to say it. I’ll
marry you wherever, whenever you want.”

“Even if it’s
in the bayou with the frogs?”

“Okay, maybe
not exactly wherever.”

Booker and Aubree
headed out after that and we just keep gigging. Finally, it was time
for us to take Henry home.

In Boone’s
truck I looked back and smiled as Henry nodded off to sleep. I
clasped Boone’s hand. “He had such a good time.”

Boone smiled. “He’s
a cute kid. I’m just glad nothing happened.”

“You were
completely vigilant. Nothing could have happened.”

“I want to
wrap that kid up in cotton, especially with my brothers around,”
he squeezed my hand.

“Yeah, Booker
and Aubree, getting married. How amazing is that?”

“It’s no
surprise to us. He’s loved her for a long, long time.”

When we pulled up to
the house, he carefully unbuckled Henry’s seat belt and
gathered him up in his arms. My heart ached still as I watched him
carry that little boy to deposit him in his mother’s arms.

Mine felt so empty.

Verity

When I got to
service on Sunday, my head was full of the days I’d spent with
Boone and the nights in his arms.

My daddy and I were
so painfully cordial to each other, but I felt his intense
disapproval. I was thankful that my momma and I had come to an
understanding. I hated spending any time in the house and found
myself seeking out Boone’s warmth more and more often.

He never hesitated
to give it to me and I sank all the way into him.

I sat in the front
pew with my momma, and when my daddy came out to preach, he did a
double take to see all three Outlaws ready to play.

I was looking
forward to finding out what these three had cooked up for the
service. Boone would only say that he intended to sing “Grace
Like Rain” to open, but that was all. And when the music
started, his pure voice rang out in the church like that of an angel.
He sang the parts about redemption with such force and emotion. I
knew that he felt it strongly. He said music was emotion in its
purest form, and I believed every word.

There was utter
silence from the congregation. I know there were many people in the
church who bought into the Outlaws’ reputation. I saw a lot
scowls.

My daddy’s
sermon was about Shoutin’ Words. And as he progressed I got
more and more agitated.

He talked about how
God had rescued us from the control of darkness. How often do we find
ourselves in need of rescue? How often do we also find ourselves
struggling against some angry force, some violent mob, or some
temptation that, try as we might, it appears that we are unable to
make any headway against? That the wind is in our faces. The odds
against us. The constraints so compelling that we feel stuck and
unable to get out.

I closed my eyes,
trying to shut out the painful truth of that statement, feeling every
lie I had told burn in me. I looked at Boone paying attention to the
sermon and wondered what he was thinking. Wondering how I could have
the faith my daddy spoke about and do the absolute right thing.

How I could overcome
this terrible, terrible fear.

Then my daddy came
to his closing and spoke about the words that needed to be shouted.
The first one was habit, ones that are bad and should be broken. When
he got to the second word my stomach turned over. Mistakes. He said
we all made them. Some were unintentional. That when we realize those
mistakes and ask for forgiveness, we get it. Then, he moved on to the
next word. Omission. I felt the hot tears gather in the backs of my
eyes and I blinked rapidly to keep them stifled.

The guilt flowed
through me like a terrible, dark tide and I couldn’t escape
from it.

The Outlaws played
again, three more songs. One was “We Fall Down,” then “No
More Hell to Pay,” a rock piece that rattled the stained glass
windows. The Outlaws knew how to jam, and I was completely blown away
by each of their talents.

As the service came
to a close Boone finished up with “Need You Now.” It’s
a song about asking for help, and that message also cut through me,
the pleading words mirroring the same ones inside me.

When I walked out of
the church, someone called my name.

“Verity!”

When I looked
around, my heart almost stopped. It was Minnie. What was she doing in
Suttontowne?

She rushed up and
hugged me, and I hugged her back.

“What are you
doing here?”

“You haven’t
called me in four days, love. I might have that British stiff upper
lip and all, but I was worried.”

I knew she meant
that as a joke, but even as I tried to usher her away, my parents
came out, and there was no way I could get out of introducing her to
them.

“Verity, who
is your friend?” my daddy asked.

“This is
Minnie Tattersall. She’s someone I met when I was away this
past year.”

I could see by
Minnie’s face that she realized she’d just complicated my
life. I hadn’t told her that my parents didn’t know about
my job and my success. She knew I hadn’t told them about the
baby. Once again, by omission, I had only made things worse. I
exchanged knowing looks with my momma.

“Oh, were you
on the mission with her?” My daddy asked.

“Not exactly,”
Minnie said. “I wanted to see Suttontowne, and Verity talked
about it a lot.”

I could see that my
daddy was wondering exactly how I had met this fashionable,
British-sounding girl while in Kenya.

“You’re
welcome to stay for the church social,” my daddy said.

Minnie smiled. “Oh,
I should really find a B&B and get settled in.”

“Now, you
wouldn’t have to do that. We have a spare room. You can stay
with us.”

I groaned inside and
Minnie glanced at me, at a loss. If she turned down my parents’
generous offer, it would seem rude. But I didn’t want Minnie in
that close proximity to them.