Blue Autumn in the Bayou (Gumbo Love) by Ann Clay Read Free Book Online Page A

Her friends continued their joyful chatter.
    “We could have stayed where we were. I’m in a party mood now.” Erica replied.
    Mona poked Erica as she wiggled in her seat. “Be still. After all that ass shaking, you should be good to go for a least a couple more weeks.”
    “Ah, yeah, girl , I thought you were going to rip off Travis’s clothes the way your little fast behind was grinding on him.” Reggie laughed.
    “We were just having a good time, but I tell you that boy is fine as hell,” Erica added.
    Denise smiled and shook her head. “It’s in the Brooks genes. Honey, just don’t mess with the middle one. He’s mine and I’ll cut you if you even think about him, sho nuff!”
    “Wow! She’s crazy! She’s going fit in just fine with our crazy behinds.” Autumn saw Mona slap Denise a high five.
    She was the only one not laughing. A little unnerved, s he couldn’t figure out why it bothered her to hear them talk about Travis that way. She continued to deny her obvious attraction to him; lied when she told Travis she didn’t want to get to know him, when in fact she was intrigued by him. And after watching him for the short time they were at his parents’ house today, she felt totally different about him. His behavior was rather appealing, treating everyone as if they were the most important person at that moment. She watched him move around the garden making sure everyone was taken care of. He couldn’t fake that even if he wanted to.
    Yet , for her own good and his, it was better to stay far away from him. Autumn rested her head on the headrest and closed her eyes, temporarily blocking out the jovial conversation among her friends. A crease split her forehead as she remembered the sleepless nights she hunkered into a ball crying, hoping she could forget, wishing she could have changed things altogether.
    Reggie touched her arm. “Are you okay?”
    Autumn startled. “Yeah. I guess I’m a little tired. I’m just resting my eyes.”
    She knew Reggie wasn’t fooled by her reply. She kept ungodly hours and hardly ever slept, and she knew Reggie knew this about her. She might have been tired, but she had a good idea that her friend also knew she struggled with the memories of a past that still haunted her. If anyone knew, it was Reggie who knew what a tragedy could do to the psyche, and what healing could do for a broken spirit. How she wished and prayed that one day she too would find the healing she desperately needed.
    They hadn’t talked in such a long time , especially since Reggie moved back to New Orleans. In that first year when they lived in New York together, it was like they were two of the same spirits. Both struggled to deal with tragedies that were no fault of their own. Autumn rarely came home. She was far worse than Reggie when it came to that commitment.
    Autumn made excuses for why she couldn’t go home. She was either on tour, at the start of a new season, or attending public events; just name one and she used it as an excuse to stay as far away from Louisiana as possible. And now, here she was, in the one place she’d avoided for five years.
    * * * *
    Reggie glanced over at Autumn. She wondered if being in New Orleans had spurred unwanted memories. She hadn’t really considered what coming back would do to Autumn when Reggie had asked her to be her maid of honor. She wouldn’t have asked anyone else to do it. Even Val, as much as Reggie loved her, would have been her second choice. Autumn surprised Reggie when she’d agreed to come home for three weeks; three whole weeks to be with her until the wedding. Reggie didn’t know how to repay her for the gesture, but she planned to figure something out.  She reached over and squeezed her arm, which summoned Autumn to look at her across the small dark space between them.
    * * * *
    Travis and his brothers cleaned up both the gazebo area and the basement kitchen before they all grabbed showers in their parents’ house. They headed to