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"What about silkspeech?"

"That’s the power of influence, Nick It’s notin their convictions, they can’t be controlled You cannot compel a pacifist to murder"

He wasn’t sure he believed that "You don’t think that with the right ?"

"What I think is if soun to your head and threatened to kill you, yourthey asked to keep you safe But that is her freewill decision that she, alone, ? She could choose to let you die We know she won’t, of course she won’t, but that’s because of the decisions she makes every day to put your life above hers You can motivate someone to action, but in the end, they are the one who makes the ultimate and last decision to either do or do not"

His little Yoda sage made sense

She reached up to cup his cheek in her hand "I don’t know if you’ll turn evil Only you can decide which side of this fight you’re going to support But I believe in you I do Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here And I definitely wouldn’t be protecting you All of us have darkness inside us, and at tiht possible Gives us pros better I’ve not always done the right thing for the right reason, either And I’s I’ve done We all are Mistakes don’t have to define us They’re hoe learn and grow They shoho and e don’t want to be It’s why they’re mistakes And you, ine how rownyou don’t want to So, no, I don’t believe for a second that you’ll siine you ever being like your father No matter what"

He took her hand into his and kissed her knuckles "I don’t knohat I’d do without you, Kody"

"Remember that the next time Jill or Casey talks to you"

He s, then let hio so that they could check in with Mark

Nick opened the door to The Triple B and let Kody enter the store first The moment they were inside, he paused as he heard Bubba and Mark arguing on the other side of the curtain

"Get your hands--"

"Did I not tell--"

"You don’t know--"

"I know You’re--"

"Stop Just stop You--"

"Me, stop You’re--"

There was an attractive lady on the other side of the glass cabinet, leaning against it with one hand propped against her cheek, looking oddly bored and amused all at the same time An impressive feat really With dark auburn hair that was cut in a chic style, and an elegant navy blazer, she straightened up and sht of them "Hi, y’all," she said in a thick Tennessee drawl that was identical to Bubba’s and Mark’s "How y’all doing?"

Contrary to misinforht to know better--not all Southern accents were the sa where someone came from by the sound of their accent and the words they used And nowhere outside of New York City was it inated from, how educated your parents were, and how much money they had, than here in New Orleans Even the name of the city itself was pronounced corew up on

Literally

Nick’s Cajun accent wasn’t nearly as thick as his mother’s, unless he wanted it to be And the Cajun version of French was all their own While they could understand the French and the French could usually understand therammar could send purists into fits

Menyara’s Creole accent was as thick as his erated roux, and he loved the sound of it

He wasn’t quite as pleased with his own No matter how hard he tried to hide his accent, it always came out in certain words like "praline," "etouffee," "pecan," and any time he lost his temper You could easily tell howall Cajun words, duck

"Can I help y’all with so?"

Nick smiled as he approached her "You must be Bubba’s mama, Dr Burdette It’s an honor to meet you, ma’am I’m Nick Gautier and this is Kody Kennedy"

At the ed completely She went ramrod stiff and arched an irritated brow at him "Nicholas Gautier, as I live and breathe Now there’s a nao and shoot me in my head when you don’t even know me What’d I ever do to you?"

Nick sputtered as he tried to coh her portrait that Bubba kept hung on his wall "I-I didn’t hing, then chucked hi with you, Nick Calm down, son I don’t want to have to put dospapers ’cause you wet the floor in a panic likeused to do every ti up in the house He had that poor old thing a nervous wreck until the day the Lord took her I am absolutely not offended … ht, I was raised in the middle of four brothers, and with Michael for a son, I’e bullets Literally,a sweat, she went right into another segue "Did he ever tell you about the ti and instead, he cliet to the AC vent--whatever he was going to do up there, I don’t even want to know--I never asked Anyway, poor boy slipped, hit the lock so you know, his daddy’s 410, of all things, falls out and misfires I was out in the yard with a friend, oblivious to ht between us and shatteredrooun behind the couch Like I wouldn’t notice the busted cabinet hanging open and the gun er than the couch Point being, don’t think anything about it, Nick I am not offended," she repeated

Whoever said Southerners talked slow had never been around one raised in a big faht Bubba talked fast, but he had nothing on hisMark and Bubba’s fight "You got visitors out here to see you Stop arguing with your girlfriend and co, she winked at Nick "The way the invitation for the like it in ht ht after a couple of , but …<ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>