Free Between Dusk and Dawn by Lynn Emery Page A

leaned on one of the chairs around
the table next to it. He wasn’t enjoying the view of her woods
either. LaShaun was buffeted by his strong emotions: anger and
disappointment. She knew her tone should stay calm, but her
annoyance at his judgment of her got in the way.
    “ What? Spit it out,” she
said.
    “ You won’t meet my family,
and you seem to be doing everything you can to stir the pot when it
comes to town gossip. First it was this thing with Miss Clo and her
friend Joyelle. Now of all people you could be seen talking to,
Manny Young’s grandfather. We both know half of Beau Chene already
knows by now. The other half will get the news by dinner
time.”
    “ Let’s deal with one thing
at a time. First about meeting your family, just two days ago you
said there’s no rush. Remember that? Apparently you didn’t mean
it,” LaShaun said.
    He spun around. “I did, I do... it’s
just. I can’t keep explaining to my folks why you won’t come to
Sunday dinner. Or even an evening of dessert and coffee with just
my parents. I can understand if a big family event would be too
intimidating to start.”
    “ I’m not scared of your
family,” LaShaun shot back. “I’m proud of my own family, and I
don’t need to explain or apologize for who they were, and who I
am.”
    “ I only meant you need to
get comfortable with letting them get to know you,” Chase replied
evenly.
    “ Showing up so I can pass
inspection isn’t my idea of an enjoyable social event.” LaShaun
glared at him.
    “ That’s not true,” he
replied with heat.
    “ You want your parents and
the rest of your family to approve of me. That means I shouldn’t be
discussing supernatural stuff with Miss Clo and Joyelle. Maybe I
should have run inside the house and refused to open the door the
minute I knew who Mr. Young was, huh? Should I let you give me a
list of people and places I should avoid and subjects I can’t
discuss?” LaShaun matched his hot response with her own fiery
words.
    “ Don’t be ridiculous,”
Chase shot back. He massaged his forehead with the tips of his
fingers. “The reality is I want to make a life for us in this
parish, and as the wife of an officer of the law you--”
    “ Oh wait a minute, Deputy
Broussard,” LaShaun cut him off sharply. “We haven’t even gotten
that far in this affair.”
    “ Okay. Right. We’re having
an affair .”
Chase’s leaden tone made the word sound dirty.
    “ Stop with the
self-righteous act. You were more than eager to have this affair . Don’t try to make
it sound like I deceived you or something,” LaShaun shot
back.
    “ Being with you is
something special. At least it was to me. Otherwise I wouldn’t have
brought my family into it.” Chase gazed at her steadily.
    The “was” stabbed into LaShaun. His
words sounded like rejection because she’d failed some standard,
some benchmark test. She didn’t know what he wanted from her, or
maybe she did and knew she couldn’t give it to him. Chase was
measuring her by some yardstick that applied to other women, not
her. She was a Rousselle, and she was used to walking on the
fringes of normal social interaction.
    “ You’re special to me, too;
but if accepting who and what I am doesn’t work for you then...”
LaShaun crossed her arms, but this time to brace herself for
pain.
    “ Meaning you don’t do
commitment?” Chase stood still, arms by his sides.
    “ We started off talking
about Orin Young, and now we’re having a heart to heart about us.”
LaShaun went to the cookie jar shaped like country cabin. She
filled a plastic bag with tea cakes and closed it with a twist tie.
She held it out to him. “You’re leaving so you might was well take
these.”
    “ Is this my goodbye gift?”
Chase said quietly as he took the bag.
    “ That’s up to you,” LaShaun
replied. She angrily swiped a stray tear from her cheek then looked
at him. “You would have an easier time getting elected and a less
complicated life in