“Let me see if I can get you situated with some food.”
“No need, Blessing, this isn’t our first rodeo,” the woman said. “Pete picked me up some barbeque before dropping off the rental car.”
The man held up a white bag with grease stains and the older woman grinned. “Well, y’all know the way back. Remember, don’t get too comfortable,” she teased the young couple.
The Broncos fan let out a big laugh as his wife buried her face into his chest. They wandered down the hall and Blessing turned to Sebastian with a twinkle in her eye. Despite the angst he’d been feeling about going home, he couldn’t help but return her smile.
“Hello, Blessing,” he held out his hand. “I’m Sebastian Durand.”
She took his hand in hers. “Welcome to the Atlanta USO. Do I hear a little of the bayou in your voice?” she asked before walking behind the desk to check him in.
Sebastian nodded. “Lafourche Parish, Louisiana. I’m on leave, heading back for a while.”
Blessing gave a slight frown. “So that’s home?”
“It was where I was raised,” Sebastian qualified.
“Family there?”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “Some.”
She came around from the back of the desk, put her hand on his bicep, and looked up at him. “How long has it been since you’ve been back to Louisiana?” she asked quietly.
“Twelve years,” he admitted. “Didn’t think I’d ever go back.” Sebastian stopped short, amazed he’d admitted something like that to a stranger.
Her eyes searched his. “You’ll be able to handle this, Sebastian. I know it.”
Sebastian’s head shot up in shock. “I beg your pardon?”
“God doesn’t give us more than we can handle. What’s more, it’s finally your time to go back. You’re going to find that not only will you get the answers you’ve always needed, you’re going to find joy.”
Sebastian’s eyebrows shot up. “Uhmm.”
Blessing’s laugh sounded like bells. “It’s okay, never mind me. I’ll just take you back and find you someplace comfortable to weather out the storm. Follow me.” She took two steps expecting him to follow her.
“Wait, how do you know I need answers?”
Shit, what was wrong with him? Why should he care what this woman said? But, how in the hell could she have possibly known that he was going for that very reason?
She turned back to him, her expression holding such warmth and caring. “Sebastian, I’m not sure how I know, but I know.” Once again she reached out and squeezed his arm. “Trust. I know it’s not in your nature, but try to open yourself up to trust, okay?” She kept staring at him until he finally nodded.
“This way,” she said as she turned toward the hallway.
He followed her down a red, white, and blue striped hall, lost in thought until she pointed to a shelving unit. “You can set your duffel there.” Sebastian nodded and shelved his bag, then continued to follow her as they ended up in an almost empty room that had some brown leather furniture. The only one there was a scowling man with his foot in a black walking boot.
“I’d like to introduce you two. Sebastian Durand, this is Kyle Jones who is also in the Navy.”
Kyle started to push up from the couch and Sebastian shook his head. Kyle settled back down with a brief nod. “Blessing, how’d you know I was in the Navy?” Sebastian asked.
Shit, does she know his middle name too?
“I saw your name and rank on your duffel luggage tag,” she smiled. “Anyway, I’ll leave you two gentleman alone to get better acquainted. Bye, y’all.” Sebastian stared after her as he sank down on the couch across from Kyle.
“Where you stationed?” Sebastian asked Kyle after a few minutes of silence.
“Coronado,” Kyle answered.
Sebastian wasn’t surprised. Kyle had the special ops feel to him.
“You?” Kyle asked.
“Little Creek,” Sebastian said. He waited to see if Kyle was going to ask questions since it was obvious they were both Navy SEALs, but he didn’t. Maybe Kyle was going home to a big ole’ pile of shit too. Sebastian’s lip curled up.
“What you smiling about?” Kyle asked.
Sebastian considered giving him a one-word answer, but a little conversation would make time go faster. “Thinking about the bullshit I’m going back to. Thinking our shitty moods match.”
Kyle’s lips twitched. “Dude, you’re reading me wrong if you think this is a shitty mood. This is me on a good day, especially since this shit happened.” Kyle lifted his injured leg and grimaced.
Sebastian laughed, then winced as he once again looked at Kyle’s broken ankle. He could really get to like this guy. They continued to talk. Nothing too deep; Sebastian wasn’t in the mood to unload on Kyle. It was bad enough having to go home, and he could tell that Kyle had his own reasons for keeping things to himself…still. They ended up sharing contact information before Blessing brought in more men. Before the night was over there were five of them. Five good men who ended up making Sebastian feel he was in a much better space before having to return to a place he’d vowed never to see again in his life.
2
Now, this is Louisiana hurricane weather, Sebastian thought with a grimace. He’d hoped that after spending the night stuck in the Atlanta airport that Hurricane Helen would have wound down a little bit more, but she was proving to be a bitch. The rain wasn’t hitting the rental SUV on the roof, it was hitting the passenger door and the wind was doing its damndest to push him off the freeway. He was debating whether or not to pull over when he saw the turnoff for Highway One. He went over a lane so he could take the exit. All in all, it wasn’t any worse than any of the sandstorms he’d experienced overseas. In fact, those sandstorms had kind of reminded him of hurricanes.
He tried the radio one last time with no results, then pushed the car into the lowest gear possible and continued on down the highway towards the place he’d been forced to live after his mother died. Under normal circumstances, it would have taken him a half-hour to hit Larose after hopping off the Ninety, but at this rate, it would take a couple of hours. Probably for the best; this way he’d have even more time to get in the right frame of mind. The old man’s letter had hit him like a bolt of lightning last week.
Sebastian gripped the steering wheel even harder. Mostly it had been the same old song and dance, Grandpère busy being the wily old puppet master. But this time the old bastard had thrown in the one thing he knew that Sebastian couldn’t resist.
Answers. Answers to questions that had been plaguing him for over twenty years.
He might’ve been a child at the time, but Sebastian knew what he’d heard. Back then, it hadn’t made any sense, but when his mother had been killed weeks later, he’d confronted his dad and his grandfather. They’d told him he’d misunderstood their argument and he should just forget it. But he couldn’t. Not then and not now.
After his mother’s death, he’d no longer had the respite to spend the weekdays at her house. Instead, he’d then had to spend every single day with his father, uncle, and Grandpère at the Durand family home. He’d hated it; he’d felt sad, empty, and lost. It had gotten a thousand times worse when months later, his dad’s car had ended up in the swamp.