Elli (A Second Chance Novel Book 1) Read online

  “What are you up to?” Beau ran his hands through his short black hair. “Tell me you are here on one of your rescue missions to save a stray and train it for some budget-crunching police force somewhere? Tell me you being here has nothing to do with Elli?”

  Ben put the truck into park and cut the engine. Lucky sat up and yawned. Ben looked at Beau. The man was a pain in the ass. It had been a big mistake letting him tag along. “Why don’t you focus on finding a loophole so one hundred percent of Sugar Mill is mine as it rightfully should be? Let me deal with what I know. Dogs.” He rolled down the window and climbed out of the truck, annoyed when Beau followed him inside the shelter. Too bad he didn’t stay happily in the truck with his nose stuck out the window like Lucky did.

  “There isn’t a loophole.” Beau grabbed the door that Ben let close in front of him.

  “Hi, Ben.” The twenty-something petite blonde, who’d recently transformed herself into a mutation of Dolly Parton and Pamela Anderson, eased out of her desk chair. “Hello, Beau,” she added with a lot less enthusiasm. Ben wasn’t surprised. Beau and Sally had been an item for one of his cousin’s usual two-week romantic liaisons. That was about as much time as he gave to any relationship, and the women of Cane knew it. Still, they all hoped to be the one to get past Beau’s fourteen-day limit.

  “Where are they?” Ben asked, walking to the back of the kennel, which he knew as well as his own place. Beau, watching where he walked, trailed behind them.

  “I have them in the yard. Bathed and fed like you asked.” Sally smiled. She was a pretty woman with hopeful eyes. Ben liked her, but he wasn’t interested, despite her signals. “They are sweet dogs,” she told him. “But none of them would ever be considered for Mensa. They’ll make nice family pets, though.”

  “Since when do you rescue dogs for family pets?” Beau demanded. “Oh, hell. These three misfits are for Elli, aren’t they? You are going to give her these three dogs pretending they are Rosa’s dogs. As your lawyer, I advise you to not…”

  “Didn’t I just fire you?”

  “You can’t fire me, I’m your lawyer by transfusion, cuz.”

  * * * *

  Elli heard a strange clacking in the next room as she stepped out of the bunkhouse shower. Her heart began to race at the sound. It sounded like a half dozen alligators scampering around. In full 3-D, the Jurassic Park scene where the velociraptors were chasing the kids in the kitchen flashed in her mind. She was like the kids who didn’t know where to hide but knew they had to. Were alligators like the ’raptors? They looked like them in a dwarfed green, toothy, claw-footed kind of way. The most important question was if they had superior intelligence, like the pre-historic predators. They had those short little arms and probably couldn’t open the locked bathroom door, but it hadn’t stopped the raptors in the movie. Elli didn’t intend to stick around to find out what skills they had.

  Elli glanced around the room for her cell phone so she could call for help. Darn it. She’d left it charging on the bunk bed. With quick, jerky moves, she wrapped a towel around her body and raced to the only window in the room. “I’m getting out of here. Now.”

  She tried to unlock the window, the clacking sound getting louder and closer. Her fingers fumbled with the latch, which was locked tight. She banged on the latch with her fist once, twice and a third time before jerking it open. Elli made fast work of wedging the window open. It was then she heard high-pitched barking erupt on the other side of the door, and the clacking stopped. “Donna.” Elli looked at the open window and swallowed hard. Donna had her “I’m a tough-girl” bark full on. During the trip, she had done the same short, snappy bark when someone walked near the car wearing unfamiliar department store clothes. She had only been exposed to designer wear so she seemed to perceive any stranger in regular dress as a threat. She also barked like that when she encountered a skunk during a roadside potty break. She acted tough, but Elli knew Donna was frightened. There was little comfort knowing Donna was in her zebra striped dog carrier. It wouldn’t be much protection from those sharp-clawed creatures and probably looked like an animal or dinner to them. Elli rushed to the door, but before she opened it, she looked around for a weapon, grabbing the first two things she saw, a mop and a plunger. Elli took a deep breath, made the sign of the cross, and yanked the door open.

  “Ha—ha!” she screamed, jabbing her makeshift weapons toward the ground. Donna stopped barking. An ear-splitting howl pierced the silence, followed by barking at every possible octave. Then, out of nowhere, a wet, cold snout slipped under her towel against her thigh. Elli screamed and raced back into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. Donna was on her own.

  Laughter bellowed over the dogs’ frenzy from the other side of the door. Male laughter. Oh, she hadn’t seen him, but she knew who was laughing. Ben Bienvenu. She could hear his Cajun drawl in his laughter. She could also hear his arrogance and stubbornness.

  Willing her heart to stop hammering in her chest, Elli took three cleansing breaths. She had to think clearly. Now was not the time to go full drama, as she was prone to do when she got excited. There would be no winning Ben Bienvenu over in drama-queen mode. She didn’t reveal that side of herself very often; she’d learned to manage her overactive imagination and impulsive nature when she entered the world of business. It had always suited her goals to be controlled and conventional. Elli closed her eyes and took one more deep breath. “It’s okay. Your dignity wasn’t totally destroyed,” she assured herself, feeling calmer now. Then she opened her eyes and spotted the red plunger and old-fashioned, hairy mop she held—the germ-ridden, working ends in her hand. “Ewww.” She dropped them onto the floor. “Great. Great. I looked like a circus clown.” She walked to the sink and scrubbed her hands, imagining she was scrubbing off white clown paint along with the germs. Before she was finished, there was a knock on the door. She ignored it. He knocked again.

  She looked at her blotchy, flushed face and closed her eyes, tweaking her nose to make sure a red clown nose wasn’t there, just in case.

  “You talk to her,” she heard Ben say.

  “You sure know how to put gasoline on a fire, cousin.” There was a light, rhythmic knock on the door. “It’s Beau. We sure are sorry for scaring you, cher. Why don’t you come on out here and let’s start our day over?”

  Right. There was no going back now. They’d forever see her as a towel-wearing, plunger-jabbing, swashbuckling clown or the barefoot klutz face down in the mud. Elli sighed. “I’ll be out in a minute.”

  She slipped on the clothes she’d brought in with her. Once again, she dressed as an actor puts on a costume. She had a role to play despite her first disastrous scene. The tailored, tan, A-line dress with cornflower blue cashmere cardigan said she was confident but not arrogant. The narrow, brown leather Coach belt and matching Stuart Weitzman loafers said she was sophisticated and practical. Except for the red blotches on her face that the light dusting of powder didn’t hide, she was the short-haired image of Sandra Bullock in Two Weeks’ Notice. “Good morning,” she said as she exited the bathroom.

  Beau was standing near the door and extended his hand. She shook it. “Good morning, Elli.” He smiled. The playful man with beer cans on his head was gone. A charming, stylish gentleman stood before her, apologizing for frightening her and offering reassurances that it wouldn’t happen again. As he continued to talk about showing her the property, she glanced at Ben sitting on one of the lower bunk beds with his elbows resting on his knees. He was staring at the floor. Donna sat on the bed next to him with a paw on his thigh. He had taken her out of her carrier and she liked it. A lot. Traitor.

  “I’d like to see the plantation house first,” she told Beau. Ben didn’t say anything; he just got up and walked to the exterior door. He didn’t look happy, but it looked like he was going to grant her request. Maybe he was resigned to the idea and would be cooperative. She smiled at him when he opened the door and turned toward her. With his wide shoulders and tall p
hysique, he blocked most of the sunlight from coming into the room, but she could see it was a glorious day outside, a glorious day to tour her property.

  Ben whistled and tapped his hand on the side of his leg. How odd, she thought, why was he doing that? Suddenly, the three energetic dogs from earlier bounded into the bunkhouse and ran straight for her. She swallowed a yipe and fought the urge to run. She had to prove to Mr. Bienvenu that she adored dogs, just like he did, especially after having charged at them with the plunger. When the big, drooling, sable bloodhound stuck its snout toward her crotch again, she held her breath and twisted away from it. When the Marley and Me look-alike beige retriever licked her three-hundred-dollar loafers, she gritted her teeth and smiled. When the medium-sized, brown, black, and tan beagle stuck its big, black nose in her suitcase and shoved her clothes around, she fought the urge to chase it away. Instead, she walked toward Donna, who was barking with fury. “Now aren’t they cute?” she managed to say, trying not to sound insincere and hoping he’d take them back to his obedience school, which they clearly needed.

  “They’re yours,” Ben said, a glint in his eyes.

  She lifted Donna into her arms. “Mine? There must be a mistake.” Donna growled at the droopy-eyed hound staring at Elli’s crotch. She took a few steps away.

  “Tell her, Beau.”

  “Actually, Elli, the truth is…”

  “Your Aunt Rosa left you her three dogs,” Ben interrupted, sounding much too pleased about delivering the information. He waved his hands toward the ADD pack of canine chaos running around the room, sniffing everything, climbing on the beds, and occasionally licking something disgusting off the floor. God, she hoped that they came with a prescription of Ritalin. Or Valium.

  “I didn’t think I’d actually have to take them,” she managed to say as the beagle starting baying. “I thought you’d want to keep them here at the kennel. You know, with their friends, the other dogs.” Apparently, Donna didn’t like the baying any more than Elli did, and she started barking again, which caused her to tinkle down Elli’s dress. “Not again.” She extended the piddle producer away from her body.

  “Your aunt loved these dogs with all her heart. They belonged to her. Unlike the plantation that belonged to my father. You have more right to the dogs than to the property,” Ben said, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

  “I’ll take the dogs.” She forced a smile knowing she didn’t dare take the time to change her clothes. She was stuck with the wet dress if she wanted to tour the plantation. Ben would use that delay as an excuse to leave her behind for sure. “I love dogs and having them with me.” She held Donna at arm’s length, walked to the carrier, and put her inside.

  “Clearly,” he said before turning to Beau. “I’ve got work to do. Make sure she’s out of the house before Joey gets back with Doug around midafternoon.”

  What a jerk, Elli thought and nearly said to the men who spoke as if she wasn’t there. And who in the world was this Joey person he was concerned about? A dog? A girlfriend? She supposed whoever Joey was, it didn’t really matter. Her problem remained the same and Joey couldn’t change that.

  Warm sunlight spilled into the room and Elli realized Ben no longer blocked the doorway. He had walked away. Beau immediately rushed outside after him. “Oh, no you don’t. You’re not dumping this on me. I’ve got a meeting with a client in thirty minutes.”

  “Cancel it,” Elli heard Ben shout. “I’m your client, too.”

  “No can do.” Elli heard a car engine start. “Besides, I thought you fired me,” he said, lifting his brows in mischief at Ben. “Remember, don’t be a coo-yon. Be a bee-charmer.”

  Elli walked to the door in time to see Beau drive off in a very nice BMW while Ben kicked the tire of an old, dusty, orange truck. Then he turned and looked at her with eyes that chilled her to the bone. The man was definitely not defined by his name- Bienvenu meant welcome and he was not doing that to her.

  Ben must have read her fear and shook his head. “I don’t have all day,” he said, opening the truck door. She didn’t move. She just stood like an expensive boutique mannequin in the bunkhouse doorway for a full five seconds before responding.

  “I’ll follow in my car.” She turned back to get her keys out of her purse and noticed the dogs sniffing and scratching at Donna’s carrier, Donna pushed as far back inside as possible. Elli walked out onto the porch and called to Ben, who was sitting in his truck with his window down. “What do I do with the dogs?” When he didn’t answer right away, she shouted louder. “Is there a yard where they can play?”

  “Put them in the fenced yard on the side of the bunkhouse.”

  Elli had a hard enough time dealing with Donna; she wasn’t sure how she was going to corral three strange dogs, none as civilized as Blaine’s Hollywood princess. Her aunt’s pets acted like, well, they acted like dogs. She began to slap the side of her leg and whistle. They ignored her. She stepped outside on the porch again.

  “Ben, they aren’t listening to me. What are their names? In her will, Aunt Rosa only referred to them as her babies.” She wasn’t about to ask him to secure the dogs for her.

  He said something quite rude that she was sure he intended for her to hear, and then got out of his truck.

  “If you just tell me their names, I’m sure I can make them listen.” She rushed back into the bunkhouse, making every come here sound she had ever heard dog owners make. Ben stepped into the bunkhouse doorway and the room went dark, again. “I’m sure my aunt gave them names,” she said, unable to hide her frustration. “Probably something very offbeat, like the names of ancient samurai warriors.”

  “They’re your dogs now. You call them whatever you want.” Ben tapped his leg twice and whistled once. The dogs stopped terrorizing Donna and looked at him. He pulled a handful of treats from his pocket and they rushed to him. Without another word, he walked out of the bunkhouse, the three dogs following him to the gated side yard. He communicated with them without uttering a word, albeit he had a bribe.

  Elli picked up her purse and looked at her stained dress. Ewww. She had to change. She knew the impatient Ben Bienvenu would be ready to go soon, so she quickly threw on her darkest jeans, nicest sweatshirt, and well-worn running shoes. She looked out the window and didn’t see him waiting in his truck, so she took a quick moment to check on Donna, crouching on her elbows and knees to see inside the carrier.

  “You okay in there?” Donna was lying on her ever-present newspapers, her pretty little head resting on her crossed paws. “I’m sorry about those rude dogs.” Donna gave her one of her pathetic woe-is-me looks. “I’ll take you for a nice, hassle-free walk when I get back. I promise. I won’t be long. I doubt Mr. Bienvenu will spare very much of his precious time with me, and that’s fine by me. I don’t want to spend much time with him either. Do you see how cold his beautiful green eyes are when he looks at me? I’m not kidding, Donna. I think he could be a serial killer. Don’t go digging any holes in the yard. You might find some bones better left undisturbed. He’s a frightening, frightening man.”

  Elli stood and before she turned, she knew she wasn’t alone. The room had gone dark a third time. And, from the cocked brow on the face of the man causing the sun’s eclipse, he had been in the doorway long enough to hear what she said.

  “Is there anything I can say to help with damage control?” she asked.

  “Not a damn thing.”

  “That’s what I figured.”

  Less than five minutes later, Elli was parking alongside Ben’s truck behind the Sugar Mill Plantation home. He stood with his dog next to the truck, but the house grabbed her full attention. None of the pictures and blueprints had prepared her for the actual grandness of the building. It was taller than she expected and she had a physical reaction to seeing it. Her heart was racing so hard in her chest that she had to concentrate on breathing. It was Gone with the Wind, The Skeleton Key, and Interview with a Vampire all rolled into one.

  “It’s be
autiful,” she managed, knowing her excitement made her voice breathy and just above a whisper. The cameras would love this place with its three ancient, sprawling oak trees in the backyard and the unpretentious, almost farmhouse-looking back porches on both the lower and upper floors. The oldest part of the house, the center segment that was part of the original home, was of simple construction—white-painted cypress planks under a clay-tiled roof. The additions on both sides of the main home were built about forty years later in the popular Victorian style of the time. It was different from the original home, but the curved walls with large windows under a verdigris copper roof seemed to fit perfectly.

  Elli knew from photographs that the simplicity of the back of the plantation home did not mirror the front of the home. She rushed toward the front, anxious to see if the photographs had done the main entrance of the home justice. This was the side meant to awe its visitors. “Slow down. Those bricks are loose on the path. You’re on your own if you get hurt,” Ben called to her as she raced down the wide walkway. It was February, but the weather was warm, not too humid, and the shrubs and flowers seemed to thrive because of it. Elli wasn’t an expert on plants and flowers, but she enjoyed gardening now and again, so she knew some of what she saw. Dark, wax-leaved camellias formed the structure and backdrop on both sides of the path while their white, flamboyant flowers provided the joy. Dotted in the ground, skimming and sometimes overhanging onto the brick path, were narcissuses. Elli was used to seeing the yellow variety in California’s mild climate, but never had she seen this soft, white version. Elli found the earthy fragrance of this fertile and blooming land enchanting.

  She rounded the corner of the house to an open yard where St. Augustine grass, thick and green, carpeted the lawn while a dark jade turf of liriope swept under the oak and cypress trees’ canopy. It spread from the home to the bayou.

  “This is perfect.” She laughed, feeling a little light-headed. She really did need to remember to breathe. The movie producers and directors would love this place. She’d make a fortune selling it to the right people who’d see it just as she did, a wonderful chameleon movie location. It was so uniquely versatile.