Why he’d chosen to settle in Indigo, Louisiana, was a mystery and the topic of endless speculation. For all his easy charm, Luc didn’t reveal much about his past except in very vague terms. The fact that he was Celeste Robichaux’s grandson ensured that he was accepted in the town. But that was about all anyone knew for sure.

Didn’t it just figure that after almost eight years without a man in her life, Loretta would get the hots for some exotic out-of-towner with a mysterious past? Just like Jim. He’d been an itinerant farmer, handsome as the devil and brimming with funny stories of his exploits. To Loretta he’d been a romantic vagabond, a gypsy, and she’d embraced the notion of wandering the country, living off the land. At eighteen, she’d found Indigo a dead bore, and what better way to escape than to marry a wandering adventurer?

Living on the road with Jim had been an eye-opener for her, especially when she’d discovered how her husband supplemented his income. He stole things-food, equipment, jewelry, even a car every so often. No appeal from Loretta could convince Jim to stop committing crimes.

Then Zara had come along, and the vagabond lifestyle had lost the little appeal it still held. Loretta had wanted and needed a home.

Roots weren’t for Jim. He’d been unable to hold a steady job, unable to stay at home for longer than a week at a time. Next thing Loretta knew, he’d been arrested somewhere in Texas for armed robbery. Shortly after his conviction, he’d become a crime victim himself, stabbed to death in a prison exercise yard.

Loretta had mourned him-or rather, the man she thought she’d married, the funny charmer who was never down, who was always dreaming up their next adventure. But she’d learned some valuable lessons. She no longer had a desire to see the world or be a gypsy. She’d come to appreciate the community she had here in Indigo, especially her wonderful parents, who’d never stopped loving and supporting her even when she’d made such bad decisions.