Her words hung in the air, heavy and unyielding. I wanted to argue, to point out the cracks in her reasoning, but deep down, I knew she was right.
Love was never meant to be easy or safe.
It was a gamble, every step of the way.
“I need time,” I whispered, more to myself than to her. “I need time to figure out if I can take that leap.”
Marabella nodded, her gaze unwavering. “Take all the time you need but remember this: love waits for no one. The world doesn’t stop spinning just because we’re afraid.”
The truth of that statement settled into my chest like a stone. As she turned and walked away, her words echoed in my mind, leaving me to wrestle with what they meant for my future, for Wade, and for the fragile hope I carried within me.
“Devlyn, you have a beau calling!” Marabella shouted up the stairs a few days later. Smiling, I jumped off the bed, and ran outof the bedroom, then raced down the stairs to find Juju leaning against the wall near the front door, waiting for me.
“Oh,” I grumbled, my smile fading. “It’s you.”
Out of all the brothers, Juju was the one I really couldn’t get a read on. There was something mysterious about him, almost as if he kept the real him hidden deep beneath layers of confusion. Juju wasn’t like any man I’d ever met before. There was a quiet strength to him, almost as if he were comfortable in his own skin. Yet, he was funny, relaxed, like he didn’t have a worry in the world. The man was an enigma.
He grinned. “Not who you were expecting,Chèr?”
“Wade calls me that,” I muttered, looking around the large antebellum home. “Why are you here, Juju?”
“Thought you’d like to see where Wade grew up.”
“I’ve seen it. Every inch of this place. It’s massive.”
Juju shook his head. “Non, Chèr.Wade didn’t grow up here.”
“Wade said he was born here.”
“Oui, he was, but this ain’t where he laid his head most nights,” Juju said, pushing off the wall. “Feel up for some adventurin’?”
“Where to?”
“Down memory lane,” Juju said cryptically, holding out his hand for me to take.
Looking at the man I barely knew, something in my gut told me this was a pivotal moment in my life. I couldn’t explain it any more than I could explain Juju, but I knew him being here, in this moment, was important.
Nodding, I placed my hand in his.
Of course, when I agreed to go on this adventure, I didn’t expect him to take me in a rickety, flat-bed dinghy that looked ready to fall apart.
“Is that even safe?” I asked, pointing to the thing.
“It’s Wade’s pirogue. He uses it all the time.”
“Great,” I snarked. “But that’s not what I asked. Is it safe?”
Juju smirked. “Scared of a little danger,Chèr?”
Refusing to take the bait, I carefully stepped aboard.
The flat-bottom boat’s aged wood groaned in protest as Juju steered it deftly down a meandering bayou, framed by tangled cypress trees dripping with Spanish moss. The air was thick with humidity and the faint scent of wild jasmine, mingling with the earthy undertones of the swamp. Juju’s cryptic silence left me uneasy, but the way he navigated the water as though it were an old friend reassured me somewhat.
“Thought you might appreciate the views,” Juju said, his accent lilting like the lazy current beneath us. “This ain’t just a trip to nowhere.”
I watched the water ripple, reflecting the pale light of the setting sun. “You sure about that? ’Cause it feels like it.”
Juju chuckled softly, his laugh blending with the distant trill of a heron’s call. “Chèr, sometimes the past hides itself where we least expect it. Trust me, you ain’t seen where Wade’s story truly began.”
