They pulled into an oyster shell lot and Caroline spied a cute baby blue cabin with a wraparound front porch badly in need of repainting. The wooden structure appeared weathered with years of wear and tear, but the tantalizing smells radiating from the place had Caroline's stomach growling with acceptance. Her mouth watered in anticipation.
Cade helped her out of the truck. "This place is known for its crab bisque." He winked with a lopsided smile and placed his hand on Caroline's lower back to walk her inside.
"Sounds delicious. Can't wait, I'm starving." A group of men sat at a table on the front porch. They all wore white rubber boots, looked filthy, and smelled of the briny ocean mixed with the sweat from a hard day's work. One of the guys nodded, and Caroline waved back, acknowledging his subtle greeting and tried not to cough from the stream of cigarette smoke trailing from the hands of his shipmates at the table.
"They're shrimpers. Probably just delivered a fresh load of Gulf shrimp to this restaurant."
Caroline couldn't hide her surprise. "Wow, I can see why this place is well liked, then. Fresh seafood delivered straight from the Gulf is hard to come by in Illinois. And Arkansas, too, for that matter."
Cade chuckled and held the door open for her. "Yeah, it doesn't get much fresher than this. That's why I love it here so much."
At the bar, Caroline hopped up on a heavy stool as Cade greeted the balding man drying a glass beer stein. The bartender gave her a full once-over and shifted his attention to Cade with a suggestive grin. It almost made her uncomfortable until the man spoke to Cade with familiarity. His heavy Cajun accent confounded Caroline and she understood nothing he said. She nearly fell off her stool when Cade spoke just like him. The bartender changed his tone and scurried to the computer to punch in the order as he called it aloud to the kitchen. He said something else to Cade before greeting a new customer.
When Cade finished talking he turned back to Caroline. She had been staring at him with big eyes, slightly embarrassing him.
"I ordered you the crab bisque. Is that okay?"
"Sure, that's fine. I'm eager to try it. Um, how did you do that?"
"Do what?" He opened a package of crackers trying to avoid eye contact.
"Speak like that. . .to him. I couldn't understand a word you two said. What did you say to him? Was that even English?"
He smiled. "Not exactly. You're in Cajun country. It's how most people talk down here. Natives, you know?"
"I get that, but how can you sound so normal when you talk to me and have no trace of an accent, but then talking to him you sounded like that was your everyday language?" She was truly baffled. . .and somewhat turned on.
"Practice." He kept his attention on his crackers, toying with the crinkly package. "In one of my former jobs I had to work really hard to learn how to talk without an accent in case I ever needed to, but it's like riding a bicycle. It comes back to me pretty easily, especially when I'm surrounded by it. The same goes with any other language, like French or Spanish."
Intrigued, impressed, fascinated and just a little more smitten with the extremely unique new language she'd just heard, she wanted more. "So, do you speak any other languages?"
He still wouldn't make eye contact and seemed very hesitant to talk about it. "Um, I know a few. I'm not as fluent as I used to be, but I can usually keep up with a conversation."
"A few? Like which ones?"
"Why is this interesting?"
"Because I only memorized what I needed to pass my Spanish finals and get the necessary credits, that's why. I'm fascinated by the many talents of Cade Beauregard. What other languages do you speak?"
He shook his head, and, though he hadn't blushed, Caroline would swear he was embarrassed. Still refusing to make eye contact, he nodded a greeting to another patron who entered the restaurant. "I don't know, obviously Cajun, but I am pretty good with French and Spanish. I'm familiar with a few others like Thai, German, and such." He shrugged his broad shoulders. "It's really no big deal. I probably can't remember much of them anymore. I mostly just speak English and Cajun now." His face was flushed now and serious. He seemed really eager to change the subject.
Caroline smiled shyly, feeling the burn creep up her neck. "That's hot."
He burst out laughing, his smile bewitching Caroline. "What? You think that's hot?"
In full blush mode—again, she said, "Yes. I have never heard anything like that. I have to be honest, I find it very, um. . .appealing."
He wrapped his arm around her neck like a big brother would do to his little sister and kissed her temple. "Believe me, cher, you will get both ears full of it today."
After lunch they met up with Cade's friends at a daiquiri shop. She couldn't help but laugh at the drive-thru. Cade looked at her curiously. "Nothing like promoting the 'don't drink and drive' law with a drive-thru at a daiquiri shop."
He chuckled. "Relax. If you get pulled over, you only get in trouble if the straw is in it. That's when it's considered an open container."
"Yeah, that's if you get pulled over. If you don't get pulled over, chances are you're drinking and driving. It doesn't make much sense."
As they approached the covered patio, three beefy guys jumped the railing and trotted over to them. The men glanced between Cade and Caroline with big, obnoxious grins. They all spoke in Cajun. Cade laughed and answered them in the same dialect she had grown to adore. Cade looked at her indecisively, and then said something to the biggest of the three. She didn't want to stare at him, but at a glance he looked Native American with his copper skin and straight, jet black hair pulled back into a ponytail at the nape of his neck. She quit trying to understand their conversation and gave him an annoyed look before looking at the other two guys. Caroline knew Cade was talking about her and that she couldn't understand what he said.
Before she could assess his friends, Cade placed his hand at the middle of her back and began the introductions. "Caroline, this is Henry, Chris, and Ty." She smiled and gave a little wave. She would never admit this to anyone, but they made her uncomfortable with the way they were staring.
"Guys, this is Caroline Fontenot." Their eyes widened and they straightened up a bit. Cade continued, "Yes, she is the daughter of Eddie Fontenot. . .your boss."
Twenty