Page 64 of Leave a Mark
Looking back, Lee realized that should have told him something.
“I just… have always hated it,” he said, shaking his head. “Call me Lee. Please.”
Wren watched him for a moment before nodding. “Lee it is.” And then she wrinkled her nose. “Leland’s kind of pretentious.”
Lee chuckled in relief. “I’ve always thought so.”
“He sounds like a tool.”
At this, Lee threw back his head and laughed. How come she got him when no one else did? “He’s a tool who wears an ascot and talks through his nose.”
Wren giggled. “And he has a trust fund to go with his yacht.”
They both laughed, Lee’s shoulders relaxing at the sight of her amusement. Remembering Marcelle’s rodeo comment, he had to ask. “What about Lee?”
She put a knuckle to her mouth and studied him. “Lee… takes his puppy kayaking and knows all the words to ‘Bad Horse.’”
The words he liked, but it was the approval in her face that made him want to pull her into his arms. He mastered the urge and reached for her hat instead. “And for the record, Lee’s very much in support of healthy skin." He smiled at her. “Especially yours.”
This made her blush again, and he liked that even more. “Let’s go.”
Victor wasted no time flopping onto Wren’s lap as soon as they settled into the Jeep. She brushed her hands over Victor’s coat, and his tail thumped against Lee’s thigh.
“Mmm,” Wren hummed, petting him with both hands. “He’s so soft. I missed this.”
As they pulled away from Wren’s place, Lee seized the opportunity. “You can visit him whenever you want,” he offered, glancing over at her. She rewarded him with an eye roll.
“Nice try,” she said, her tone wry, but her eyes smiled. “So, where exactly are we going?”
Lee pulled onto St. Julien and then into the turning lane. “We are going to Lake Martin. Have you ever been there in the spring?”
Wren gave a dry laugh. “I’ve never been there at all.”
“Never?” Lee’s eyes went wide. Lake Martin was the biggest body of water in a twenty-mile radius. “And you’re fromhere?”
“Born and raised.”
In the back of his mind, Lee wondered how many times their paths had crossed over the years. Lafayette, a city of about 200,000 people, often felt like a small town. He couldn’t go to Downtown Alive or Albertsons without seeing someone who had either graduated from Episcopal School of Acadiana with him or knew his parents. If he’d seen Wren somewhere in town, he couldn’t imagine not noticing her.
“It’s a crime you’ve never been to Lake Martin.”
“Why’s that?”
“Do you know what’s out there?” As he asked, he hoped she’d say no. If she said no, his luck was about to change for the better.
“No, what’s out there?”
A grin split Lee’s face, and he bit his lip to keep it under control. “You’re going to love it.”
THEY CROSSED THEVermilion River, and Lee slowed the Jeep to make the turn. Wren didn’t miss the sign.
“Rookery Road?”
Lee didn’t respond. He just drove them through the woods and past the Welcome Center until the gravel road angled to the right, and the cypress trees began to thin. When the lake came into view, Wren gasped beside him.
“Oh my God… are thosebirds?” She pointed to the puffs of white that dotted the cypress branches.
In every tree — on nearly every branch — Great Egrets perched, their downy heads fanned out like asters. They numbered in the hundreds.
