“There’s the troublemaker.”
“Zander!” Charlie exclaimed as she entered the front part of Ellie’s bar, through the kitchen, five days after arriving in Autre.
She’d just pilfered some shrimp and grits from the stove for the third time since arriving in Autre and was heading in to join the family for dinner for the fifth time. There was rarely a time in Ellie’s bar when there weren’t at least three Landrys in attendance. Most nights saw a good portion of the family come together for dinner, though there were so many of them it was hard to get them all together at once.
“I can’t believe I’ve been here for five days, and this is the first time I’ve seen you!” she told her cousin.
Zander caught her up in a big bear hug, squeezing her tightly. But when he set her back on her feet and looked down at her, he shook his head.
“Why is it that you Landry girls are almost more trouble than the boys?”
She laughed. “Considering you’re one of the boys, you should know the answer to that.”
“It’s because you look and talk like a sweetheart, right? You fool everybody into thinking that you’re a lot better behaved than you really are.”
She leaned in and lowered her voice to a whisper. “Exactly.”
“Sweetheart” was not a word most people used to describe any of the Landry boys. Well, maybe Mitch. Possibly Josh. But that was definitely it. The rest of the Landry boys were a lot of things—charming, intelligent, hard-workers, smart asses, good looking, and always up for a good time—but very few of them were sweet.
Zander laughed. “So you’re profiling me based on my long hair and tattoos and liking motorcycles?”
“I’m profiling you based on your past bad behavior and the fact that you cuss like a sailor.”
“All you girls cuss like sailors and have plenty of bad behavior.”
She nodded. That was actually one of her favorite things about being in Autre and always had been. “But we’re better at hiding it.”
He wasn’t buying that. “I never witnessed much hiding when it came to you staying out late, sneaking bottles of whiskey from behind Grandma’s bar, and making out with guys down by the bayou.”
“Well, I didn’t hide it from you.” She grinned at him. “Of course, now I probably should since you’re a cop.”
One of the family’s favorite things was that Alexander, one of the wildest of the Landry bunch, had become a law enforcement officer. He’d worked in New Orleans, first as a cop right out of the academy, then moved up to detective three years later. But when the local sheriff, George, had retired, Zander was first in line to run for the position. He’d won easily.
“I wouldn’t worry too much about this cop,” Zeke, his twin brother, said as he came to join them. “He’s way more into fishing and gossiping than breaking up parties or arresting anyone.” Zeke’s long hair was pulled back in a bun, while Zander’s was loose, but it was easy to tell the two apart.
Zeke was the more mischievous one, who loved to joke and tease, and had a quick grin. Zander was more laid back. The older of the twins by three minutes, he was definitely a lot of fun, but he was quieter of the two. They both had long hair and tattoos, but Zeke had more ink and had piercings in both ears. And possibly other places Charlie didn’t know about. They also both rode motorcycles, and loved to party. Zeke did construction around the area. And accounting. Which the family found hilarious. He was the least math-geek looking guy any of them had ever met. But he was a whiz with numbers and he loved it.
“I never got arrested,” Charlie pointed out.
“Because George figured there was no way such a sweetheart would have been trespassing or drinking underage,” Zander said.
Zander had a point.
“But gossiping?” Charlie asked with a grin. Gossiping was a favorite pastime of most people in Autre and especially her family, but Zeke’s comment had her picturing Zander sitting around with the old men at the end of the bar trading fishing tales and talking about the latest couple to have a big fight at the grocery store.
“Hey, I’ve been in New Orleans for the past three days helping a cop buddy, if you must know,” Zander said.
“See, that’s a perfect story because we can’t check it,” Zeke said.
“You don’t need to be checking my stories,” Zander told him.
Charlie didn’t believe for a second that Zander had any stories that Zeke didn’t already know. She doubted he had many stories that didn’t involve Zeke, in fact. They were identical twins and had been inseparable for as long as she’d known them.
“So you’re saying that you didn’t stop into Trahan’s Tavern, and you didn’t meet up with any hot brunettes?” Zeke asked with a knowing grin.
“Well, the stop at Trahan’s might’ve been about the case. Undercover work requires a lot of different activities.”
Zeke nodded. “Undercover work.”
Zander shoved him. “Yeah, undercover work. Don’t be an asshole.”
“The ship has sailed on me not being an asshole,” Zeke said.
Charlie laughed. They could go on like this all night. “And why have I only seen you once since I’ve been back?” she told Zeke.
“I’ve been working over in Bad. Remodeling the coffee shop.”
“Bad?” Charlie asked. “I didn’t realize that you guys did anything helpful or productive over there.”
Zeke nodded. “Sure. I’ll do just about anything if the person is willing to pay enough.”
“But it’s Bad,” Charlie said. The town about twenty miles up the bayou was Autre’s biggest rival. And that extended to everything from high school football to actual business rivalries.
Charlie had always found Bad to be a fun town. The guys—known as the Bad Boys—certainly had been. Probably still were.
The name had come from a very short-lived settlement of Germans who had named the town something much longer and harder to pronounce. When they had been run out by the French settlers, they shortened the name to the first three letters only. B-A-D. Since then, the town had shown its sense of humor by leaning into the name.
All of the businesses in town had “bad” in their names. There was the Bad Egg, the town’s café. Bad Hair Days, the salon. The medical clinic was even called Bad Medicine. Charlie found it quirky and funny.
The guys from Bad also leaned into the name, and their reputations showed it.
Charlie had spent some time in the truck beds of a few Bad boys down by the river. They were definitely not the type of boys she’d bring home to her mom and dad, but they were sure fun to spend time with when it involved bonfires, loud country music, and moonshine.
The fact that Zeke, Zander, Fletcher, and even Mitch, at times, hung out with the Bad boys said a lot about her cousins’ reputations as well.
Zander’s familiarity with the jail cell in Autre hadn’t started when he started wearing a badge. Zeke and Fletcher had similarly had experiences that made people wonder just how far that city limit of Bad, Louisiana, actually extended.
“Well, you’re at least charging them double, I hope,” Charlie said.