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Sylvie shook her head “It’s gone downhill since I was out here last” She sighed “It’s been years and years I feel bad I should have coot busy”

Sylvie was particularly busy because for the last several years she’d served as the mayor of Papillon Like rown up in for college She’d gotten a degree in public ad to DC, but when the mayor of thirty years had died suddenly, she’d come home to take care of her town Her chock-full of crazy town How Sylvie le town hall, Sera had no idea

“She would have uilty Her aunt had been isolated in her last years “She knew you took over the overnment You kno she liked to think everyone was out to take her land and force her into medical experiments”

Sylvie chuckled “That sounds like her Still, I played out here, too, back when she didn’tall over the place”

“Does it have electricity?” Hallie hadn’t moved more than a couple of feet from her shiny new SUV Unlike Sylvie, Hallie hadn’t played here Hallie’s time feud with Irene over a banana bread recipe and wouldn’t allow Hallie anywhere near the woman who’d accused her of culinary thievery Not that Hallie would have played in the e, she’d been worried about the state of her hair and nails Hallie was definitely the girly girl a them

“Of course it does” The electricity was unreliable at tihts blinked off and on, but they worked When they wanted to “And it’s got AC and pluo if you want to I’ve got sos I want to check out I’ll call Remy and have him pick me up when he’s done with his shift at the restaurant”

“That’s hours from now,” Sylvie pointed out “Besides, I’m curious about what it looks like inside How otten? I remember she used to have a collection of ceramic owls They always creeped ain as an adult and htmares about owls”

The oere still there And they were still creepy and weird

Hallie moved in beside her “You love this place, don’t you?”

She’d kind of expected that Hallie wouldn’t want to stay long, and Sylvie always had so come up Sera had come fully equipped with a notepad, her cell phone, and a pen so she could start , expensive lists “I do I love it a lot I know it looks run-down, but it’s an aeous view of the bayou”

It had a lot of land around it Sera had always thought her aunt could have done as with all that land In herpatio with an outdoor kitchen and a firepit She could throw parties where tourists could enjoy the beauty of the bayou with all the areat bed-and-breakfast She could have lovely weddings out here

She could raise a farandmother had

“Have you given any thought to living here?” Sylvie asked “Not that you’ve had much time to think at all It’s a lot to take in, but I re about what you would do with this place ere kids”

The whole estate had seeical when she was a kid Back then she hadn’t seen the disrepair All she’d seen was the beauty The whole world had kind of been that way She wanted Luc to have that, to see the world the way it should be before he had to face the way it truly was

“Really? Live here?” Hallie wrinkled her nose like she couldn’t iht “I mean I know you can’t live with your ht you would get one of those duplexes out near me”

Hallie lived in a s workers Her particular neighborhood was one of the nicest in town because it here the engineers and drillers lived There was another neighborhood, though close to Hallie’s, that was made up of manufactured ho for the roughnecks and their families

Sera couldn’t afford either She couldn’t afford renting a room somewhere, not that she would because she wanted Luc to have so more than a bathroom down the hall “It works to stay with Mom and Zep It cuts way down on the need for day care I tend to work days and Zep works nights He’s surprisingly good with Luc, though I worry he’s already trying to teach hi Luc to help hi stereotype Twenty-five years old, living at hoh school Can’t seem to keep a job”