Which made her think of Max. Her only true friend. She needed to call Max.
Caroline quickly reached into her suitcase for the least bulky and uncomfortable of the evening gowns—a silky, spaghetti-strapped red dress that hugged her curves and had a slit that went nearly all the way to her hip on the right side.
It wasn’t practical in the least. She really didn't have a choice here, though. The other gowns either had sequins, sleeves, or were an ugly purple color. Okay, only one was an ugly purple color, but she knew that dress had been stuffed to the back of her closet after the one and only time she’d worn it. Whoever had packed the suitcase had done a shitty job in general and in particular for including that dress.
She didn't even bother to look for shoes because there was no way in hell she was putting heels back on. She also bypassed all the thongs and undid the strapless bra and tossed it on the bed. She was wearing that dress and that dress only. That was as close to comfortable as she was going to be able to get.
Oh wait…there was one more thing. She reached up into her hair and pulled out the few bobby pins that were holding up the sides, easing the beginnings of a headache. Or so she hoped.
With her hair falling around her shoulders and now dressed in an only slightly less ridiculous dress, Caroline padded to the door, opened it, and peeked in the hallway. The entire upper floor of the bed and breakfast was quiet and she wondered if there was anyone else staying here. She needed to call Max but was also very curious about Heather, the town of Autre, and yes, Zander Landry. Maybe she’d step outside to give her friend a call and have a look around the neighborhood.
She grabbed her phone and started down the stairs.
Heather must have heard her coming because she met Caroline at the bottom of the grand staircase.
“I didn't know if you prefer your tea hot or cold, or sweet or unsweet, and you were busy upstairs so I didn’t want to ask so…” Heather held out a large glass of iced tea with a sprig of mint at the top and a long green bendy straw. “I just brought you my specialty.”
Caroline wasn't sure what to make of the fact that Heather didn't even blink at her being dressed in a red, slinky evening gown now. “I actually like it both ways.” She took the glass with a smile. “Thank you.”
“I'd offer to let you drink it out on the front porch, but I'm thinking that you will attract some attention and it seemed that Zander was wanting to avoid that.”
Caroline sighed. “Yes. It’s safe to say that Officer Landry wasn’t expecting to have to deal with me today and I might have thrown a wrench into some plans.”
Heather laughed softly. “That's his job. To take care of things that are difficult. And he takes it very seriously. Don't let his attitude put you off. He wears exasperated instead of cologne.”
Caroline grinned. “Really? He smelled pretty good to me.”
Heather winked at her. “He's growly. But mostly that's because he really wishes everybody would just behave. He says it's because it would make his job easier, but it's mostly because he worries.”
“He worries?”
“He knows everybody in this town. He’s probably related to more than half somehow. The other half is made up of people he’s gotten into trouble with, gotten into fights with, gotten drunk with, gotten into bed with or…people who are related to someone he’s done one of those things with.”
Both of Caroline’s brows arched. “Wow.”
“Taking care of us is really important to him.”
Caroline took a short draw on her straw. She thought about that. “He does seem the protective type.”
“Oh, he is that.”
“And if he thought somebody was going to cause trouble for the town or some of the people, he would be even growlier.”
“Absolutely.”
Yeah. He was worried she was going to be a problem for his people. Great. “Well, I really don't plan to cause trouble for anybody.”
“Does he know you need help?”
Caroline nodded.
“Then he'll be back.”
“You think so?”
“Zander solves problems. Fixes things. Takes care of trouble. Badge or not. So yes, he’ll be back.”
“Then why did he just leave so suddenly? Why didn’t he let me explain?”
Heather studied her for a long moment. “Must have been something he needed to figure out first.”
“Like what?”
The older woman shrugged. “Maybe how much trouble you were going to be versus how much trouble you were in.”
Caroline should possibly feel offended at that, but it was probably fair for him to wonder about her. Even if he didn’t know who her father was. What kind of cop would see a woman walk into a bar with a lion cub, wearing a wedding dress, and not at least ask a few questions? Oh plus, she'd almost been kidnapped by her brother.
But she liked the idea that he might be looking into things more thoroughly right now and would be back over to question her later.
Maybe he’d been too distracted by the zing of whatever-that-had-been when he’d taken her face between his hands the way he had.
“So you guys don't like strangers coming to town?” Caroline asked Heather.
Heather motioned for Caroline to follow her as the other woman turned and started down the hallway that led from the foyer to the back of the house
“Oh, that's not the problem. Strangers come here all the time. Tourists are in and out every day. And lots of visitors of other kinds too. And we keep a lot of ’em.” Heather laughed. “The Landry boys—one of Zander’s brothers and a bunch of cousins—have fallen in love with girls who aren’t from here. And some of them have brought friends who have stayed and become a part of the family.”
“Me being a stranger isn’t the red flag for him then,” Caroline mused.
“No. More people in town just means more people to take care of. Once you’re in Autre, until you leave, you’re Zander’s responsibility. At least that’s how he sees it. Been that way ever since he was a teen. Saw personally a bunch of people he loved get hurt, lose people they loved, and he determined to do whatever he could to keep that from happening again.”
“Wow, that’s a lot for one guy to take on,” Caroline said. She’d been right reading Zander as an intense guy, it seemed.
“It sure is. I’m not sayin’ it’s rational or healthy. But it’s Zander. We just make sure to support and love him extra hard while he works to keep us all safe.”
Caroline liked the way Heather said that so matter-of-factly. Like love and support were just a given here.
“So, anyway, no, I don’t think his instincts are jumping because you’re a stranger,” Heather said.
Caroline took a seat on a stool at the breakfast bar across from the counter where Heather had clearly been in the midst of some kind of food preparation. Whatever was bubbling on the stove smelled amazing.
“But you think he is feeling jumpy?” Caroline asked, curious about the way Heather had phrased her comment.
“Definitely.” Heather added pasta to the pot and stirred.
“I really don’t want to be a problem. And I don’t intend to stay long.”