Chapter 35

35

How did people’s lives go so wrong? Annie wondered. She stood at the bedroom window, looking out at the moonlight on the bayou. A stupid question. She was a front-row witness to the reasons every single day—the poor decisions; the unrealistic expectations; the addictions to drugs, to alcohol, to drama. The emptiness that needed filling. The anger that demanded release.

She thought of Rayanne Tillis, who had probably never caught a break her entire life, born in a hole of poverty and given a shovel instead of a ladder. She made all the wrong choices because no one had ever helped steer her toward better ones.

She thought of Tulsie Parcelle, the sweet girl who just wanted to be loved, and Izzy Guidry, the wounded child who had finally said no more .

She thought of B’Lynn Fontenot, who had once upon a time subscribed to the debutante dream of a perfect marriage, only to watch it all crumble around her when the foundation gave way. She thought of Robbie Fontenot, whom she had only met in the memories of the people who had known him. The much-loved golden child who had the red carpet cruelly yanked out from under him, then found himself trapped in the endless loop that was the struggle with addiction.

So many broken people. There were so many reasons their lives went wrong, a minefield of reasons. It was a wonder anyone made it from one end of the field to the other intact.

“Come back to bed, chère ,” Nick murmured, slipping his arms around her from behind. He pressed his cheek to the top of her head. “You’re not gonna sleep standing up.”

“I’m not gonna sleep,” Annie corrected him, reaching a hand up to touch his face.

“You need to shut off that brain of yours. You’re not gonna save the world tonight.”

“Or tomorrow or the next day,” she said. “That’s the problem, isn’t it? There’s too many sad stories, and I can’t rewrite the ending to any of them.”

“That’s not entirely true,” he said. “Don’t think you don’t make a difference, ’Toinette. You can’t bring back the dead, but you do what you can for the living. That will go further than you know.”

“I guess I have to hang on to that. We can only do what we can do.”

“ C’est vrai . Come now. We’ve got another hour before the sun comes up. Come close your eyes at least.”

His phone vibrated on the nightstand as they turned back toward the bed.

“Looks like your day is starting now,” Annie said.

He picked up the phone. “Fourcade.”

Annie watched his face as he took in the information.

“I’m on my way,” he said, and ended the call. He met her eyes. “Dozer Cormier is on the move.”