Chapter Twelve

Labor Day arrived far too quickly in Jessie’s opinion. Since the remaining two of the Sinners’ preseason games took place away, Teddy hadn’t called on her to stay with Ella again. At the gym, she worked extra hard to build her strength as if someone in the famously athletic Billodeaux family might challenge her to arm wrestling. It could happen.

Jessie argued with her mom about the bathing suit, refusing to use any of the bikinis in her dresser because they reminded her of Troy and summers spent in the sun and sand, cavorting in the water, and then, ultimately the crash. Her skin, after staying inside from May to September she could only describe as plucked-chicken white. At best, her legs, regularly massaged and exercised for her hadn’t deteriorated much. In the end, they found a one-piece suit at a specialty shop that carried swimwear all year round. Black, sleek, and unadorned, it wouldn’t draw any attention, though she wished it flattened her breasts way more than it did.

She decided on jeans and boots, a black Sinners’ T-shirt with the cute, little red devil logo to go with the flow of what she thought most people would be wearing, and a high ponytail to keep the hair out of her face. Jessie spent time in front of the mirror getting her makeup exactly right, natural but enhancing, not too dramatic. She did her nails in red and didn’t bother to ask her mother to do her toes. Her backpack hanging from her chair was stuffed so full of items she thought she might need that the large yellow beach towel hung out of the top like a penalty flag.

When Teddy drove up, he smiled. “We aren’t backpacking in the high country. I swear the ranch has towels and anything else you might need.” Ella, she noted, brought nothing but herself adorned in the tomato red top extended over her belly like a circus tent, the distressed jeans, and new sandals.

“Brace yourselves. There are a lot of Billodeauxs. No need to remember all their names the first time at the ranch. We know we are overwhelming.”

Ella bounced in her seat, making the springs creak. “I know them already from their pictures in the papers.”

Jessie saw the family members around town; everyone did, but the children had gone to private schools, all except Teddy. She couldn’t claim any acquaintance. Mostly, she felt nervous, unlike the elated Ella.

They weren’t the first arrivals by far. Teddy opened the wrought iron gates with his device and waved to their ranch manager/guard as he passed. He let Ella and Jessie down by the barn before parking the van amid mixed rows of SUVs, big manly trucks, luxury vehicles, and a few economy cars. He worked his way back to his girls on his sticks, covering the uneven ground with alacrity.

“Why don’t you take a seat in the shade, Ella? Brinsley will be by to take your drink order if he doesn’t have anything on his tray you want.”

Ella Sue nudged Jessie’s shoulder with her elbow. “They got a butler who brings whatever you want on a silver tray. See him over there in the Bermuda shorts, white socks, and sandals.” She waggled a finger in his direction. The finger switched directions. “Lookee, two Sinners players side by side.” They were easy enough to pick out by their size alone, and most wore some type of team regalia.

Jessie fit right in wearing hers. Sigh of relief. “Yes, everyone in Chapelle knows Brinsley by sight. I think he’s the only butler in the parish. But Ella, you shouldn’t point. It makes people uncomfortable.” Jessie took the opportunity to offer a small lesson in deportment. Probably the Sinners were used to gawkers, but the butler would be appalled by such bad manners.

Ella clamped her hands behind her back. “You think someone will show me around?”

“Xochi is right over there with an empty seat beside her. Go sit down, and I’ll send some of the guys over to meet you.”

Ella Sue pivoted so fast toward Xochi—a little more showing, a little more glowing since the last time they’d seen her—that she nearly took a header tripping over the roots of one of the live oaks that studded the ranch. Teddy caught her elbow in time. “Take it easy. Remember the doctor said to rest these next two weeks.”

“I will!” Still, his sister walked off as fast as her inflated belly would allow and dropped panting into the seat by Xo.

“I’ll go with her, I guess.” Jessie started to wheel away, but Teddy stopped her with a firm hand to her shoulder.

“Absolutely not. We’re going riding.”

Jessie stared at the fenced equestrian arena next to the barn where small children were being given pony rides. “Really, I don’t want to be the biggest kid being led around on a horse.”

“You know how to ride western, right?”

“I did. My uncle keeps horses and taught me and my brother, but now…”

“Come along.” Teddy guided her past the bounce house and the climbing wall, both teeming with children. He paused to ask his brothers, Dean and Tom, plus Junior Polk standing around with beer bottles in their hands, to speak to Ella Sue. Obviously, the Billodeaux grapevine had delivered the news about his half-sister and squeezed all the juicy details out of it because none of them questioned who the pale, blonde, and pregnant girl was. All three touched hands with Jessie who did need an introduction and offered their “Pleased to meet you.”

Teddy moved on to the barn where his youngest and smallest sister, Edie, held a big, red horse that looked as if it could run off with her if it chose, by the reins. “He’s all ready to go, Teddy. May I leave now?”

“Sure. After you say hi to my friend, Jessie.”

Edie displayed her manners and barely gave the wheelchair a notice. The kids at Camp Love Letter came here in them all the time. No big deal, her impatient expression appeared to say.

“Thanks, short stuff.” He ruffled her short, curly black hair. She batted his hand away and raced for the rock wall. Teddy turned his attention to Jessie. “This is Rascal, the wonder horse, best mount that ever existed. Daddy Joe bought him especially for me.”

Teddy fed the animal a sugar cube from his pocket, and the horse’s graying muzzle nosed for more. “Watch this. Down, Rascal.” He added a hand signal. Rascal dropped to his knees and waited patiently. “Slide onto the saddle. I’ll help you get your leg over. There we go. Up, Rascal!”

This horse was no small pony, and the ground seemed far away as Jessie looked down at her dangling feet being inserted into the stirrups by Teddy. He handed over the reins.

“You can neck rein him for direction changes and shift your weight, too, but he also obeys verbal commands.” To make his point, Teddy commanded, “Walk, Rascal.” The horse moved forward to the paddock gate and waited until his master caught up to open it. “Smartest horse ever.”

Jessie gripped the horn with one hand, not good form, but she feared tumbling off from her uncertain seat.

“Hands off the horn. This is good for your core,” Teddy ordered. “Enjoy yourself. Walk on, Rascal.”

She found herself plodding around the ring among the stream of ponies being led. After two trips around, she began to trust her balance and steered the horse more to the center of the area before saying, “Trot!” Rascal took off at a lively pace. After several more circuits, Jessie found the courage to say, “Canter.” Rascal picked up his feet and raced by the sedate ponies. Exhilarated, she finally pulled up by the gate where Teddy stood waiting. “That was wonderful! You should take a turn.”

“I think I’m more in the mood for swimming since you raised a lot of dust out there.” He opened the gate and let her through. “Down, Rascal!”

The horse knelt, and Jessie slid off the saddle into her chair with very little assistance. “I think he deserves another sugar cube.” The horse nodded emphatically, making her laugh.

“What do you think, Rascal? Do you deserve a sugar cube?” The trusty steed nodded again. Teddy fished another from his pocket and gave it to Jessie to present. With that treat devoured, Rascal bumped her with his big head.

“He wants to bully you into giving him another, but don’t let him. All gone, Rascal.” The red head drooped with greatest dejection.

“Oh, I but want to!”

“He’s conning you, but go ahead.” Teddy provided another treat for Rascal to slobber from Jessie palm. “Okay, that’s enough. T-Rex!” he shouted to yet another of his brothers, the youngest son already showing signs of being the next Billodeaux quarterback. The boy led a pony to the fence and lifted a little black girl from the saddle. She scooted over to the bounce house.

“You can use Rascal for the rides, but please give him a good rubdown when he’s finished. I’d do it myself, but I have company. This is Jessie Minvielle.”

“I don’t know how you get such pretty girls, bro,” he answered, also showing Joe Billodeaux’s eye for women. “I’ll take care of old Rascal here, but you owe me.”

“Don’t I always? I think we need a swim, Jess. To the pool.”

“You know I could use a swim, too, the way you kicked up the dust,” T-Rex shouted after them, wiping his handsome youthful face with a bandana.

“I’ll toss you in the bayou when we have the dragon boat races,” Teddy retorted.

Jessie loved it all: the miraculous horse, the banter between brothers, the butler in his Bermuda shorts. She felt as star struck as Ella Sue, and hoped she didn’t goggle. They arrived at the pool via a pathway made for wheelchairs after a rough transit from the corral. It was a big one with a deep end, safety bars all around, and a wheelchair hoist. No way could she claim she couldn’t manage to get into the water. A fair number of people swam and splashed. One of the Billodeaux twin girls manned the lifeguard station and wielded a mean whistle for misbehavior.

“Must be Jude on the stand. She’s pretty strict. Go into the pool house and change,” Teddy said. “I’ll do the same.”

He left her no choice. How did he expect her to get out of a pair of boots and her jeans and slip into that sleek suit without help? Somehow, she must manage. Going into a curtained cubicle, she tried to lift a leg onto her lap to pull off the boot, way harder than sandals or athletic shoes. “Damn it to all to hell! Teddy, the pool, and everything.”

She was not alone. A soft voice asked, “Need some help?” The curtain parted slightly. The pixie face that peered in seemed to be the lifeguard, but the shrill whistle sounding again denied that. Seeing the puzzlement on Jessie’s face, the woman as curly-headed as little Edie, said, “I’m the other twin, Annie. Both of us are nurses. Teddy said you’d be coming to swim.”

“I can’t get my boots off.” Jessie swiped an eye teary with frustration.

Annie dealt with the boots and jeans with professional efficiency. She let Jessie divest herself of the T-shirt and bra while she got the swimsuit from the backpack and drew it up with practiced detachment. She’d taken more notice than it appeared. “If I had your assets, nice full breasts and a great booty, I’d wear a bikini, one that tied at the sides. That would be easier for you to handle by yourself.” Teddy’s sister wore a modest red two-piece. She owned small, high breasts, delicate curves, and a lovely smile.

“To be honest, I don’t know what I can handle by myself yet. Just look at me, first time in the sun since May. I’m whiter than a snowy egret.”

“Sunscreen?” Nurse Annie asked.

“In my pack.”

“I’ll get your back, and you can do the rest.”

“Wrap me in my beach towel, please.”

“Are you kidding? Flaunt what you’ve got.” Annie did not hand her the large towel. Instead, she drew back the curtain and beckoned Jessie to follow.

Teddy waited, already in the water, and waved at them. Jessie could see his muscular chest furred with hair so light it was nearly unnoticeable, and farther down below his really loud knee-length trunks, his stick-like lower legs floating.

Annie spoke close to her ear to be heard over the splashes and shouts of children and teens playing Marco Polo or trying to shove their opponents off the shoulders of sturdy boys. “You can use the hoist or go down the ramp if you want, but you look strong enough to just slide into the water and grab onto the bar. After that, it’s up to you what you want to do. If you need help, give a shout. My twin hasn’t let anyone drown yet.”

Jessie nodded, pushed off, let her dead legs take her under. In a brief moment of panic, she thought they’d sink her to the bottom of the pool like a block of cement and make it impossible to rise. She shoved the water away with her arms and came up next to a grinning Teddy.

“Race you to the other side.” He took off doing a powerful butterfly stroke, his legs drawn along like the tail of a dolphin.

“Unfair!” she shouted after him as he touched the wall and reversed into a backstroke. “You’re showing off.”

“Yep. You impressed?” He offered her that Teddy-smile, as full of light as the reflection of the sun off the water.

“I am.” Jessie let go of the safety rail. “Breast stroke!” She dipped her face into the water, pushing it aside with arms wide, and reached the far side before him. “I didn’t know I could still do that.”

“I did, because you are amazing.”

“Let me return the compliment.” Jessie found herself answering that smile with one of her own and wondered if it was as bright as people used to say about her. Doubtful.

No matter. They did some laps side by side, and once when she lost track of her companion, he came from below and pulled her under, a sneak attack. She began to scold, then thought of a better answer, beckoned him close, and used both hands to duck Teddy in return. He, of course, surfaced laughing. Both pulled themselves out of the pool and sat sunning and talking until the lifeguard blew her whistle several times and announced in a no-nonsense voice, “Clear the pool. Lunch will be served in half an hour. We reopen at two.”

Jessie saw Annie herding the smaller children, getting them out, toweling them off, and wondered who would help her skin out of the tight suit now. The deeper voice of a very mature woman sounded behind them. “I brought your sticks and braces, Teddy. Miss Minvielle, your chair is behind you. Feel free to pull yourself into it, or I will assist you if necessary.”

Jessie turned her head to stare up at an imposing figure of a nurse clad in a starched white uniform, traditional cap, white stockings, and thick-soled shoes. Gray hair neatly stowed in a bun, face lined by experience, she appeared to have stepped out of a 1950s version of General Hospital.

Jessie knew she sounded ungrateful, but the words spewed. “You hired a nurse to look after me?” That fact wiped away all the marvelous freedom she’d experienced in the pool.

“No, this is Mrs. Clive Brinsley,” he said, giving her a very formal introduction. “She’s our resident nurse. In fact, she’s taken care of most of the Billodeaux kids from childhood, some from birth. Now, she helps with Camp Love Letter, and she’ll be standing by when Xochi gives birth. We call her Nurse Shammy since she was previously Miss Haversham.” He said the words with so much fondness the woman’s stern cheeks rouged with pleasure.

“Call me that if you please. Off we go to prepare for the luncheon.” The nurse waited for Jessie to make up her mind about getting into the perfectly positioned wheelchair, and she did so by heaving herself up on the arms and taking a seat on the pillow covered with her yellow towel.

“Let me show you to the shower, Miss Minvielle.”

“Jessie, just Jessie.”

The rather formidable nurse positioned her on a shower chair in a cubicle ample enough for the handicapped and equipped with a hand nozzle as well as regular shower head, stripped off the troublesome suit, and left Jessie in privacy to wash her hair with a small bottle of shampoo from a handy selection, and scrub with a tiny bar of sweet-smelling soap. Feeling refreshed and relaxed, Jessie called for a towel and managed to dress mostly by herself, though her helper expressed her disdain of jeans. “So problematical to get off and on, but all the young girls wear them, much too tightly in most cases.”

“Mine aren’t as tight as they used to be,” Jessie murmured.

“Still very fetching on a young woman like you, I am sure. I’ll leave you to do the rest.”

Jess carefully reapplied her makeup, combed out her hair, and made use of one of several hair dryers. By the time she finally left the changing room long after the commotion of the swimmers faded, Teddy waited by a deserted pool. He’d had enough time to return to his van and retrieve his red chair, so much racier than hers. Wheeling close to him, she sniffed his scent of chlorine, sunscreen, and masculinity, realizing he’d only showered off briefly, and she’d kept him waiting. “Did we miss lunch because I took so long?”

“No one misses lunch at Lorena Ranch. There’s always plenty, too much really. Let’s roll.”

They joined the end of a long line, and Jessie appreciated that no one made her feel inferior by offering to let her go ahead. As Teddy promised, plenty of food remained by the time their turn came. She filled her plate with half fruit and greens, passed on the potato salad and beans, and added a fully dressed huge hamburger with the usual condiments plus coleslaw, a Daddy Joe special Teddy warned her, sure to be spicy.

“I can take the heat,” she assured him, but kept a container of chocolate milk handy to put out the flames if necessary. He went for two hotdogs with ketchup, mustard, and relish plus the sides.

“Junior wanted to roast a pig in a pit, but they decided on a simpler menu. If you want to score points with my grandmother, get the bread pudding for dessert instead of ice cream, but it goes fast.” Teddy scooped a dollop of the pudding with its mile-high meringue into a paper bowl and added a dribble of rum sauce. He balanced it on top of the rest of his meal. Jessie did the same.

When they reached the screened exit door of the barbecue pavilion, she gratefully accepted the strong arm that opened it for them. The big man, Joe Dean Billodeaux, beamed down at her and offered a hand in the manner of a celebrity who had met a million fans and wowed a thousand women. Despite the steel gray hair, he still exuded charm like athletic sweat. She’d seen him around, naturally, at football games, but never this close.

“Always great to meet a friend of one of my boys. Jessie, right?”

She nodded, too dumbstruck to answer. From behind his big frame, a softer voice said, “Joe, you’re letting the flies in. Let the girl move on.”

The arm not holding the door shot behind his back, drew his petite wife forward, and tucked her to his side. “Have you met Nell?”

Jessie found her voice. “Not formally, but everyone knows her. She does great work in the community.”

“That she does.” He turned his mega-watt smile on his spouse and squeezed her fondly.

“Dad, our food is getting cold,” Teddy prompted.

“Right. Enjoy that Joe-burger.”

As they moved from the doorway, two small white dogs wormed their way in while a large black Lab mix too big to sneak past the guard gazed forlornly at the food on the other side of the screen door. As Teddy and Jess found an empty space at a table and shoved the chairs aside to accommodate them, Nell’s voice declared, “Half a wiener for each for you and a whole one for Lil, now get out!”

“Let them have some fun,” Joe countered. “Speaking of having fun…”

“Not now! We have a hundred guests.”

Jessie glanced at Teddy. “Are your parents always so, so…?”

“Physical, intimate? Yes. Used to embarrass us as kids, but now I keep thinking how great to have a love where the flame never goes out.”

That statement forced her to think of Troy. They’d had a flicker, not an eternal flame. She turned the conversation to her parents instead. “My mom and dad are more like a team, hard to get past them when they unite. While I was still in the hospital, they sold their home in Chapelle and moved to the one-story in Lafayette so I could be closer to rehab and hospitals. I had my own place up there before the accident, second floor apartment, no elevator. They closed the place down, put a lot in storage, including my car. I should be grateful. Why am I not?”

“No one likes being dependent. Except maybe Ella Sue.” Teddy’s blue eyes settled on his sister, her red curtained belly hard to miss, now in animated conversation with Nell. “I think she’s begging for a tour of the mansion.”

“Probably. I wish I could be so shameless.”

“Give it a try.”

“Being shameless?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. After lunch, I’d like to see your old bedroom.” Certainly, she blushed worse than Teddy.

“I’d be happy to show it to you. There, simple.” He watched Jessie bite into her burger. Tears came to her eyes. “Dad puts a pool of his extra-spicy barbecue sauce in the center. Just eat around the edges.”

“Good advice.” She sucked up some chocolate milk. Now nervous, she picked at the rest of her food, but the bread pudding did slide down easy.

“If you are finished, I shall lead the way to my boudoir.” He tried for a leer that failed entirely on his open, boyish face. His hair, combed back after swimming, dropped over his brows again. Jessie had the greatest urge to sweep it back into place with her fingertips. They dumped their trash on the way, approached a side door of the mansion, and entered to face an elevator to the second floor. Her tension rose as it ascended.

Teddy’s room sat first on the left as the lift opened. Painted a pleasant deep green with a trim of forest leaves, the French doors to the balcony overlooked a canopy of live oaks. Everything, the bed, the dresser, a built-in desk, the bookshelf crowded with paperbacks had been scaled down for a handicapped child. An open doorway revealed a spacious bathroom with a high commode and grip bars in all the right places. The dual sinks hung low in a green veined marble counter cantilevered over open space for Teddy’s wheelchair. “Well, this is it,” he said. “Where I grew up.”

Jessie wheeled easily across the hardwood floor and studied his taste in reading. An entire battered set of Harry Potter novels filled a shelf. She took one down and flipped its pages. “The Goblet of Fire, this was my favorite.”

“Mine, too!” he answered with more enthusiasm than most grown men would reveal for a childhood favorite. “Before I came here, well, the bedroom I had in the trailer was a lot like Harry’s room under the stairs, but Newton Smalls treated me worse than Harry’s aunt and uncle. These books were my escape. When Newt tore one up, my mama went out to library sales and used book stores and got me another, about the only time she defied that man. Lorena Ranch became my Hogwarts.”

To Jessie, Teddy had always been the handicapped kid with the bright smile and sweet personality. His origins made her shudder. How could she have considered asking him to have sex with her in this place simply because he’d shown her she could still ride a horse and play in the water, because she wanted to grasp even more of her old life, when his early childhood had been a nightmare?

“I guess we should go now.”

“Coming up here was being shameless? I thought you wanted to get it on.”

Not the first time Teddy had surprised her, and it most likely wouldn’t be the last. This time his smile truly was devilish.

“I did. I mean, can you? I haven’t had sex since the accident, and don’t know if this is such a good idea.”

“I can, I would, and I will make this a good experience for you, but a little more warning might have been nice. Both of us require some preparation.” Teddy searched a night table drawer. “Shit, no condoms. Mom must have cleaned them out when I moved permanently. Be right back. You’ll want to use the bathroom first, highly recommended. I’ll use the one in Mack’s room. He always kept a stash of rubbers under his mattress.” He shot out the door and left Jessie to prepare.

This would happen thanks to Teddy Billodeaux. She certainly hoped he knew what he was doing because she did not. Jessie used her catheter and wondered if she should lie on the bed and try to undress. She got as far as transferring to the mattress when Teddy returned.

“Don’t start without me,” he joked, but he drew the curtains with their leafy pattern that matched the bedspread, locked the bedroom door, and secured the shared bathroom before joining her and depositing a handful of helpers purloined from his brother’s room. “Let me undress you.”

That took care of the awkwardness of getting out of her boots and jeans. Next time shorts and sandals—if a next time occurred. Teddy stayed in his chair, disposed of the boots, and removed her clothes so tenderly, raising her hips, sliding down the stiff denim and the pair of ordinary cotton red bikini briefs she’d worn with no expectation of this happening, that she bit her lips to keep from weeping. He drew off her T-shirt. She rose up on her elbows to allow access to the clasp of her bra.

When Teddy finished, he sat and stared. “Beautiful,” he said, before tearing off his own shirt, jerking the shoes from his feet, and getting out of his slacks. He wore only two things, his braces and a light blue band around his torso like a cummerbund as if they had a date to the prom.

He answered the question in her eyes. “My ostomy wrap. At one point in my childhood the doctors decided I had to go this route, too many infections. I use it for swimming and not grossing out sexual partners since it covers my pouch. Forget about it. You can’t hurt me. I’ve got one in black. It’s much more dashing. I’ll show it to you sometime.” Just that easily, he handled the intimate situation with a clear explanation and humor.

She was grateful and a little ashamed that, compared to Teddy Billodeaux, she remained mostly unscarred and normal seeming. “I’m ready,” she claimed.

“No, you aren’t, but you will be. I’ve been reading up. The first time after an accident like yours might be painful. Tell me, and I’ll stop.” He hauled himself beside her onto the bed and began with a thorough kiss. “Hey, your mouth stings from Dad’s barbecue sauce.”

Reflexively, she licked her lips, which did feel swollen, either from the sauce or Teddy’s prolonged licking, probing, and sucking of her tongue. “That isn’t helping me take my time. I could use your assistance now.” He held up a black knobby silicon loop from his stash on the night table. “Know how to use a cock ring?”

Jessie swished her head against the pillow.

“Not hard, but it keeps me hard. Best put on in advance of an erection.” He showed her how it should fit. “That’s good. You get an A in following directions.”

Teddy swelled at her touch. “In a minute, you can put on the condom, but first, these breasts need some attention. I had dreams about these babies in high school, pathetic but true. More magnificent than even a writer could imagine, so full and firm, so beautifully peaked with rosy nipples.” He applied his mouth to each one, his hands massaging the sensitive sides.

She relished feeling his touch, forgot to be self-conscious and shy about her condition. Above the place where she’d lost sensitivity, he grew hard. “Time for the condom,” he said and put one into her hands. She’d done this often for Troy, and startled, realized Teddy could compete with her fiancé below the waist despite his shriveled lower legs. Nothing else shriveled down there, nothing at all. Jessie completed this task, taking joy from participating.

He plucked a small tube from his looting of Mack’s room. “Lube since you might be dry.” He anointed a finger and swirled it against her clit, her nether lips, around the mouth of her vagina. She felt a tingle, let loose with a gasp.

“Hurt?”

“No, the opposite. Keep going.”

Teddy rolled on top of her and raised up on his powerful forearms. He rubbed his erection against her cleft, making sure of her arousal before sinking deep within her and beginning with a slow pace in case she wanted him to stop. Instead, she urged him on with her hands on his buttocks, her nails digging in. He increased his rhythm. She wanted badly to arch against his body, but the familiar feeling of tightening built. The orgasm came on so fast she cried out.

He stopped moving. “Pain?”

“No, no, keep going!” She could do this! Experience all the joy of sex she’d thought gone forever. The build began again, more slowly. Could this man, this wonderful, extraordinary man give her two?

He grinned when he did. She opened her eyes just in time to see, wanted to tell him he was far better than Troy—and doubted he’d believe her.

He reached completion too, and rested his head on her breast until his heart rate lowered, finally rolling aside to let the sweat dry on their bodies. “I could stay here all afternoon.”

“I’d like that.” If only they could do that, free of Ella and all intrusions. Maybe they might try again—with her on top and some hip action from Teddy. A whole new world of possibilities opened for her today thanks to this man lying next to her.

It was not to be. They heard footsteps approaching and Ella Sue’s unmistakable twang. “This place is a real palace. Lookee at this bedroom all lilac and ruffles. This is the room I’d like best if I stayed here. Bet the bathroom is as nice as the others. Does it have a chandelier?”

“The room belongs to our daughter, Lorena, who is in Australia right now. The bathroom is handicapped accessible for Teddy, whose place is on the other side. No chandelier.”

They both heard the strained patience in Nell’s voice.

“Oh, can I see anyhow?” The bathroom latch rattled.

Panicked, Jessie sat up and searched for her T-shirt, but Teddy put a finger to his lips and shook his head. He shouted, “Hey, I’m using it. Ostomy accident. It’s messy, and it stinks. Give a guy some space, Ella. Go outside and find Jessie.” As he spoke, he unfastened the penis ring and laid it on the table. The deflated condom wrapped in a tissue followed. Jess clamped a hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle.

“Sorry, Teddy. I just wanted to see your room too.”

“Nothing to see. Mom, aren’t the dragon boat races starting?”

“Yes. You’d better get moving. You and Jessie are committed to Dean’s boat.”

“I’ll be there. Look around for Jess. See you once I clean up.”

“Ella, we can ride down in the elevator,” Nell directed the girl.

“Oh, I’d love that. Imagine a house with its own elevator.”

They moved away. The lift hummed into action.

“All clear. We can get dressed at leisure.”

“You certainly handled that well. Do you use that ostomy accident often?”

“Often as needed. Sometimes, it’s true. At this end of the hall, three sisters surrounded me, all of them bathroom hogs. I did what I had to do to get some privacy. I always lock the doors. But I have to admit Lorena was pretty nice about having to use a mirror for the handicapped. She’s tall and had to bend over to do her makeup. Good sport, Lorena. Hope you get to meet her someday.”

“Me, too.” She dealt with her bra and lowered her T-shirt over her head. “Wait a minute. Dragon boat races?”

“Sure, we’re rowing for Dean’s team. With our upper body strength, we’ll be awesome. Let’s move it, Minvielle.” He finished raising her panties and jeans. “Leave the boots off. You don’t want to get them wet or have them drag you down if the boat overturns.”

“Does that happen often?” Jessie shifted to her chair, set her feet on the rests, and put the boots in her lap. She tried to keep the anxiety out of her voice.

“Rarely, but I made the mistake of leaving my braces on one year when we had a collision, and I got trapped under the boat. I won’t wear them this time. Both of us are strong enough to swim to the bank if necessary. You proved that in the pool this morning, or I wouldn’t have signed you up to row.”

Teddy pocketed the cock ring and flushed the condom. He shook out a green afghan with a border of brown bears crumpled on the end of the bed and drew it over a damp spot in the spread. “Old Madame Leleux crocheted that for me before I arrived here. They said she had second sight and could peer into the future.”

“I’ve heard of her. I wonder if she foresaw what we just did.”

“Disturbing thought, but maybe she knew we’d get together one day.”

Satisfied with the cover-up, he called the elevator and delivered them to the alcove by the exit. “You go out first. Pretend you’re looking for me.” Teddy held the door for her escape.

Five minutes later, he caught up with her on the bank of the muddy brown bayou where Xochi and Ella sat on lawn chairs to watch the races among a crowd of other viewers. Jessie took her cue from his nod. “There you are!”

“Well, I told you he had an accident, didn’t I?” Ella insisted.

“Thanks for spreading that around, Sis.” He flushed, but not for the reason everyone thought.

With a clipboard tucked under her arm, Nell walked up to the group. “Time to load the boats. Get your life jackets on. Right over there where Dean is standing. He’ll help you get into position, Jessie.”

Jessie wheeled off first. Teddy trailed with his mother, who said very casually, “You didn’t fool me Teddy Wilkes Billodeaux, not for one minute.” Fortunately, Nell didn’t elaborate. Jessie, glad her back was turned, felt the surge of red to her face.

“Don’t sweat it. We only do this for fun.” Dean fitted her vest and pulled it tight. God, up close he was his father come again to devastate the ladies, but didn’t do so according to gossip. Having a wife and two kids probably helped with that. He set her boots on the shore and lifted her easily onto the rowing bench of the long narrow boat with the tail of a dragon and a gaping, bulging-eyed head on the bow.

Still on shore, Teddy shucked off his braces, found a PFD that fit from the pile, and accepted Dean’s help getting settled next to Jessie. “Sure you don’t want to be the drummer?”

“No, let Trin have a turn. I think Jessie and I are well matched as rowers,” Teddy answered, giving his usual position to his short and intellectual younger brother. “Who are we up against?”

“Tom and his crew.”

“We can take them.”

“Tom is at the tiller, but Alix is rowing. They won’t be easy to beat.”

“Yeah, she’s a real Amazon, but we have Jessie with us.”

“Right. I’ll get the rest of the crew settled.” Dean called the names for a motley group of teens and younger Sinners players. Tom’s group matched theirs fairly evenly.

Jessie’s throat went dry. “I’m supposed to row as well as the Sinners’ famous female punter? You have more faith in me than I do.”

“I think so, but win or lose doesn’t matter here. It really is being in the game.”

“What do we win?”

“Glory and a cheap trophy. Sometimes we have leis flown in from Samoa, but not this time. Afterward, we get leftovers to take home and second desserts.”

Jessie mustered a smile and tried to borrow some of Ted’s confidence in her. “Hey, I’ll row as fast as I can for more of that bread pudding.”

“If any is left. Remember, dig deep and follow the beat of the drum.”

Dean blew a whistle and mustered his crew into position at the starting line. Redheaded Tom, guiding the other boat, shot a competitive grin their way before one of the Billodeaux grandchildren shot off a toy cannon to start the race along the straight length of the bayou before it took another looping turn near a grove of knobby-kneed cypress trees.

Jessie’s heart raced to the beat of the drum, pumping her full of life. She glanced to her side to find herself neck-and-neck with the blonde Valkyrie, Alix Lindstrom Billodeaux, her lean, white arms strangling the paddle, her somewhat wide shoulders hunched with effort. Jess realized that while the punter had formidable legs, her own arms might have more strength. The drummer upped the pace. Their boat surged ahead. Tom’s boat answered the challenge. Dean’s crew put in an extra effort to cross the finish line by a flick of the dragon’s tongue. Exhilaration, that’s what Jessie felt, buoyant as the foam they’d stirred up in the bayou water.

Nurse Shammy waited with the two wheelchairs and Teddy’s braces. Dean helped his brother out first, then Jessie. “You made all the difference. You’re welcome to row my boat anytime,” he told her and seemed to mean it. The quarterback moved off to congratulate the rest of his crew.

“Do you think I really did, Teddy? He wasn’t just coming on to me a little?”

“Mais, yeah, you made a difference,” Teddy said, the Cajun expression sounding odd with the remainder of his twang. “Dean is too straight-laced to lie or flirt. If he gives you a compliment, he means it.”

“Bread pudding,” she said. “I need to refuel.”

“Race you back to the barbecue pavilion before the others get there.” Ted took off, adeptly handling the rough terrain in what Jessie thought of as his racing chair. She did her best to keep up and suspected he could go faster, but had mercy on her.

Alas, all they found in the pavilion was Mawmaw Nadine, his stately and steely-haired grandmother, marking large brown bags with names: Tom, Dean, Teddy, etc. She lowered a container of coleslaw into each one.

“No more bread pudding, Mawmaw?” Teddy asked.

“One pan hidden in the back of the refrigeration, but you better hurry, my baby. Junior was headed to the kitchen. You and your girlfriend enjoy.” She kissed the top of Teddy’s head. “You don’t forget your leftovers now you got that sister to feed, you hear?”

“Thanks, I won’t. Quick, to the kitchen!”

They arrived to find Junior Polk, the big cornerback, digging into the deep meringue with a tablespoon while his mother, Corazon, beamed by his side. “What did you do to deserve that?” Teddy challenged.

“Won my heat while you were among the missing, Teddy-O. Help yourselves. There’s plenty.” He handed over two spoons. Junior rolled his big, brown eyes with the pleasure of the moment. “I have to get Mawmaw’s recipe for this before she dies, but she’s not giving it out yet.”

“Not planning to die before she turns one hundred.”

They ate from the pan, though Junior thoughtfully put aside a small square for Xochi. Towing Ella along like a kite full of wind, Nell found them there. “Award ceremony in fifteen. Be there,” she said. “Everyone’s leaving right after. Be sure to say goodbye to your grandmother.”

Ella eyed the dessert. “That looks good. I only had chocolate ice cream before.” Evidence of that dribbled down the tomato-red top. She reached for the square on the paper plate.

Junior firmly pushed her hand aside as if he’d straight-armed another player. “That’s for my baby. You eat out the pan like the rest of us.” He forked over another spoon. Ella wasted no time devouring her share, leaving meringue caught in the corners of her mouth. Finished, Junior gave his mother a bear hug and trooped out with the serving of the pudding balanced carefully in his large hands. The others followed to the casual ceremony where the prizes turned out to be miniature dragon boats sent from American Samoa by Adam Malala, the retired cornerback Junior had replaced.

“I’ll treasure this,” Jessie said, a trinket marking the day she came alive in so many ways.

“Want to drive home?” Teddy asked.

“Me with hand controls?”

“It’s easy. It’s independence, Jessie.”

“Then, yes.”

“Ella into the back. I have to sit next to the driver.”

Ella’s pouty lip poked out full force. “How come you don’t teach me to drive it?”

“Because I can’t afford to lose the van, or you and the baby at this point. Maybe after the birth.”

“Everything’s after the birth. Can’t wait for it to be over.”

Jessie suspected Teddy felt that way, too, but would never divulge it. She got settled behind the wheel and turned on the ignition.

“Steering knob here. Push the bar forward for gas, pull it back for brakes.”

Eyeing the live oaks as if they were out to get her, Jessie took the red van sedately down the long drive. With the gate wide open for exiting guests laden with leftovers, she made a slow turn onto the crumbling, potholed country road running before Lorena Ranch and inched along. Some of those behind her passed with good-natured waves. Even the locals in battered pickup trucks showed some respect for Teddy’s van.

Jessie breathed deep and took on the ramp to the highway. She maintained at fifty, as fast as she felt safe going, let out her breath when they arrived in Lafayette and turned off toward her parents’ home. In the driveway at last, she unclenched her fingers from the wheel, leaving sweaty prints behind. Her father stood at the door before she turned off the ignition. He wrangled her chair for her, but let her slide in by herself.

“Well…driving, I see.”

“Kind of tense, but I think I could get the hang of it.”

“I bet you could! We’ll have to look into it.”

Teddy transferred to the driver’s seat, but asked the coach to stay a moment. “Need to ask you something about the upcoming game.”

Jessie had wheeled ahead, but waited for her dad to catch up. “What did Teddy need to know?”

“Just some team stuff. How was your day?”

Jessie wondered about their conversation, but she gave the only answer she had. “Amazing, truly amazing.”