“He was defending his home,” Leonard insisted.
“It’s my property. I own it. His home should be in the woods,” Justin shot back.
She’d thought she’d get to hear about real problems—things like how the parish still hadn’t fully recovered from the last hurricane, and shouldn’t city hall do something about that? Nope. She got to hear about raccoons and how Otis was scaring the tourists. Otis was the town’s most famous alligator. Her town had a pet alligator. Should it be so surprising that Leonard wanted his raccoon friend treated fairly?
She’d been home too long.
“But I don’t want him gone.” Leonard sat back with a lost look on his face. “Did you already kill him?”
Sylvie sighed because if there was one thing she’d learned from being the mayor of Papillon, it was that no matter how silly the problem seemed, it meant something to someone. Wasn’t that what her mother had tried to teach her? Her mother ran the local beauty salon, and it was a universally acknowledged truth that half a beautician’s job was to listen.
Leonard was lonely. He didn’t have family around him. It wasn’t the mayor’s job to take care of him, but it was Sylvie’s. She was more than a mayor. She was human, and that meant taking care of someone in need.
That was one lesson she hadn’t learned from Tulane. Papillon had taught her that.
“I didn’t kill it.” Justin was frowning as though realizing the situation was more serious than he’d thought before. “I called animal services.”
Well, that told her one thing. “Zep Guidry wouldn’t put down an animal unless it was extremely sick or dangerous. We can call him and have a talk about how he’s going to deal with the . . . with your friend.”
If she’d done one right thing since taking this job, it was to put her best friend’s brother to work. A few months before, she’d taken the advice of Deputy Roxie King and allowed a new department to be formed with Zep at the head. It had cut down on the sheriff’s department having to deal with animal calls. Zep had proven to be an excellent public servant, and the folks around town trusted him.
Leonard’s eyes suddenly had some fire back in them. “Yeah, Zep’s always been a good fellow. He wouldn’t up and murder an innocent animal. Not like this guy.” He stood. “I’ll go down and talk to him about getting Brian somewhere safe.” He frowned Justin’s way. “Since his own home ain’t safe for him anymore.”
Leonard strode out of the room.
Justin turned to Sylvie, a look of complete shock on his face. “What was I supposed to do? I asked him to get rid of the raccoon five times. It’s not sanitary. And it’s nocturnal. The other neighbors were complaining about the noises it made at night. I didn’t rush in and pull it from his arms like I was taking someone’s baby.”
“His wife died before you took over the complex. He’s lonely and he’s stubborn. I’ll call down and let Zep know he’s got a visitor on the way,” Sylvie explained. “I might also encourage him to find a more suitable companion for Leonard. Is there anything in his rental agreement about not allowing pets?”
Justin sat back and sighed. “Dogs and cats are fine as long as the tenant can put down a pet deposit. I’m not running a charity. Those units are my source of income, and even then I have to send half of it to my ex. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset the guy, but he was pretty unreasonable.”
“Your father was a friend of his. I think Leonard’s watching everyone around him getting older and feeling it himself.” And didn’t she understand how that felt. “If you have more trouble with him, give me a call. My mom was friends with his wife. She might know a better way to deal with him.”
“But I’ve got a contract,” Justin insisted. “I don’t understand why I should go through a bunch of hoops for one old man.”
“Because at the end of the day this isn’t a big city where you won’t have to face him or all the people who know him. If you wanted that, you should have stayed in Lafayette and hired a property manager. He’s not merely your tenant. He’s your neighbor, and that means you can’t simply be the boss. Your father wasn’t.”
“Yeah, well, I’m rapidly learning my dad was a lot more patient than I gave him credit for.” Justin stood and gathered his paperwork. He’d come prepared for a fight, while Leonard had shown up with a mug of coffee and a Bible. “It’s weird. I thought I’d come down here, look around, and then sell the place. I ended up staying for a week, going through my dad’s things, and now it’s been six months and I’m living my father’s life. With raccoons. I might not be cut out for this.”
She didn’t like the idea of him selling. Most of the property in Papillon was owned by the people who lived there. The landlords tended to be local. Even the only apartment complex in the parish was run by the Darois family.
She glanced up, and as though merely thinking the name could conjure the man, there was Rene Darois, walking by the windows of the conference room. He wore a suit, but then he usually did. All the other men in town were fairly casual, but not Rene. He had to own twenty of those suckers, and every single one was a whole mood.
It wasn’t that he wore the suit—it was the way he wore it. Like it was some kind of suit of sexy armor he donned each morning before he went out to walk among his people like the kindly king he’d become.
She wished she didn’t remember what it felt like to kiss that man. All these years later and she could still feel the warmth of his touch, the way he’d explored her lips like he wanted to remember how she tasted forever.
“I’m trying but I feel like I’m failing,” Justin was complaining. “I’m trying to be professional.”
“Have you thought about getting to know your tenants? It’s a small town. Things work differently here. I know it feels odd, but if you give it some time, I think you’ll like it.” She knew Leonard was frustrating, but Justin obviously wasn’t used to dealing with people, which would make it hard for him to be a good landlord.
“My dad did.” Justin seemed to deflate. “I want to . . . I don’t know . . . make him proud. We weren’t close. I feel that now.”
“Take care of his tenants.” Her heart softened a bit because it was obvious he wanted to try. “I think you’ll find it’s a good way to feel the connection. Working here in city hall helps me feel close to my father. And like I said, give me a call if you have trouble with him again.”
She stood because it looked like she’d listened to her last citizen for the day, and she had a long afternoon of going over budget reports ahead of her, and then she had dinner with her two besties where she would hear about their babies. She didn’t even have a dog.