Bayou Beloved


 
 
 
 Praise for the
 Butterfly Bayou series
 “Lila’s strength and vulnerability are balanced by Armie’s intelligence and humor, making them an easy couple to root for. Blake captures the flavor of her colorful Southern town with a vividly drawn cast. . . . This charming series opener hits all the right notes.”
 —Publishers Weekly
 “Blake has created a couple to root for, along with memorable supporting characters and story lines with depth. Readers will be eager to visit Papillon again.”
 —Library Journal
 “Southern delight awaits in Bayou Baby. . . . This charming small-town drama is as smooth and sweet as a Louisiana drawl.”
 —BookPage (starred review)
 Praise for
 Lexi Blake
 “Lexi Blake is a master!”
 —New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Probst
 “I love Lexi Blake.”
 —New York Times bestselling author Lee Child
 “Smart, savvy, clever, and always entertaining.”
 —New York Times bestselling author Steve Berry
 “Lexi Blake has set up shop on the intersection of suspenseful and sexy, and I never want to leave.”
 —New York Times bestselling author Laurelin Paige
 
 
 Titles by Lexi Blake
 
 The Butterfly Bayou Novels
 
 Butterfly Bayou
 Bayou Baby
 Bayou Dreaming
 Bayou Beauty
 Bayou Sweetheart
 Bayou Beloved
 
 The Courting Justice Novels
 
 Order of Protection
 Evidence of Desire
 
 The Lawless Novels
 
 Ruthless
 Satisfaction
 Revenge
 
 The Perfect Gentlemen Novels
 (with Shayla Black)
 
 Scandal Never Sleeps
 Seduction in Session
 Big Easy Temptation
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Berkley Romance
 Published by Berkley
 An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC
 penguinrandomhouse.com
 
 Copyright © 2023 by DLZ Entertainment, LLC
 Penguin Random House supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin Random House to continue to publish books for every reader.
 BERKLEY and the BERKLEY and B colophon are registered trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC.
 Ebook ISBN: 9780593439586
 First Edition: March 2023
 Book design by Alison Cnockaert, adapted for ebook by Molly Jeszke
 This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
 pid_prh_6.0_142879847_c0_r0
 
 
 For my brother, Wes, who will likely never know this book is dedicated to him. So much of this book is based on who I was as a kid and a teen and he had to suffer through that. So the least he could get is a book with a cute dog on the cover. Love you always, brother.
 
 
 chapter one
 
 
 
 Jayna Cardet glanced down at the watch her grandmother had given her the day she’d graduated from law school and frowned. “Your Honor, it’s ten twenty. The trial was supposed to start at ten. I move for you to make a decision based on the fact that the defense didn’t bother to show up.”
 “I’m right here.” A thin man in his mid-forties stood, holding up a hand. He was the owner of the gas station and the man who’d made her client’s life a living hell.
 At least that was the way she was going to argue the case. She firmly intended to make the world understand that taking down that tree on the land that ran up against her client’s home had been not only rude but negligent. And she would make that case as soon as the defense counsel bothered to show up. Or perhaps Mr. Abbot could be convinced to defend himself. She could eviscerate the man’s argument in five minutes or less and then she would be free to make a whole bunch of calls that would likely lead to nowhere. Certainly not to a job. “Excellent, then we should get started.”
 “But Quaid’s not here.” Abbot looked at her like she was some kind of idiot.
 Yeah, she got that a lot these days. Once she’d been the up-and-coming queen of the New Orleans legal scene. She’d been justice in high heels, wielding a designer bag like a shield.
 This morning her momma had shoved a PB&J, an apple, and two tiny chocolate chip cookies in a plastic bag from the Fast Mart, and handed her a thermos of instant coffee because only rich people had coffeemakers, and hot water and off-brand caffeine crystals had been good enough for her momma, so they were good enough for her.
 How the mighty had fallen.
 “Yes, Your Honor, that’s my point.” She gestured to her client, eighty-four-year-old Geraldine Oliver. “If Mr. Havery can’t be bothered to show up on time, then we should either move forward with the trial or you could simply hand down a judgment in favor of my client.”
 “Whoa,” Abbot said with a frown. “That doesn’t seem fair. We didn’t even get a chance to tell you what happened. Shouldn’t we have that chance? Quaid’s just running late, like always.”
 “Mr. Havery is taking up the judge’s valuable time,” she pointed out. If they’d been in New Orleans, she would already have her judgment and be off to the next client. She would have billed another couple of hours before heading to some fabulous restaurant for lunch where she would schmooze with the bigwigs and bring in even more money.
 “My time is not that valuable right now,” Judge Brewer said with a yawn. “Can’t fish today. I’ve got a doctor’s appointment this afternoon, and if I have to cancel that because Quaid’s late, it’s fine with me. Why a man can’t be left to die in peace, I have no idea. Besides, it looks like Geraldine is having a nice nap. Wouldn’t want to wake her.”
 Sure enough, her client was snoring