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Deke Doucette had been alone a long time. Already in his early fifties he helped raise his brother’s children and formed a paternal bond with his niece. He was happy, satisfied with his life just as it was. And then he met an Angel.
Angel Baptiste has her friends, her family, and her studies as a nurse to keep her busy. She was fine, just fine. And then one kiss from Deputy Sheriff Deke Doucette literally rocked her world. Before she had a chance to get used to the idea of a man in her life, in her heart, he went and got himself hurt.
Will Deke learn to accept a partner in his life? Will Angel be able to help him recover in both body and soul? Will Deke’s enemies leave the couple alone long enough to come together?
Excerpt:
Prologue
Bullets smacked the water around him as Deke rushed his niece to safety. Two officers from his own Parish waited in a flatboat, urging him on. He wasn’t certain what Ashlynn had gotten mixed up in, but he sure as hell knew that it was dangerous.
That silly girl always managed to embroil herself in the riskiest pursuits she could find, no matter that she was a Treasury Officer and shouldn’t be threatened with gunfire at any time. He wished his good friend Gabriel much success in calming and controlling his little fire-starting niece. Someone had to take care of her. From now on, it would be Gabriel.
It was something Deke was going to have to accept. He’d always looked out for her, they had a connection that he treasured, but knew he’d have to step aside and let his best friend—and now Ashlynn’s lover—be the man she turned to.
Deke ignored the biting sting of whatever vicious creatures were feeding on him as he forced himself and Ashlynn through waist-deep water.
“Deputy,” Marie Collins, one of Gabe Theroit’s officers, called low and urgently, “Deputy Doucette…”
“Help her get in there and Ledet, give me your gun, you two get her out of here. Collins, shoot anyone not in uniform from here on out, you got me?”
“Sir,” Officer Ledet croaked, his voice high and tight.
“Your gun, officer,” Deke demanded sharply, irritated at the delay. “Mine’s all wet.”
“Oncle Deke!” Deke had been surprised when Ashlynn called him Oncle. Her accent was very European, like her mother’s. “Uncle Deke!” she screamed again.
And then he felt it…a sledgehammer to his back, bursting into flames. Surprised…he was very surprised. He’d been shot. Had he thought he was bullet-proof or something, he wondered.
That was his last thought before the muddy water of the bayou rushed up to embrace him.
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Angel Baptiste saw it all. Saw a hint of it the day he kissed her, the day she knew he was hers…saw it the night before it happened, in a dream.
She made it to the hospital in time to greet the ambulance. Would she grieve, or would she celebrate? If only her forecast could tell her that…
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