Tori, Maddie, and Juliet all looked at Paige with surprise.
She shrugged. “Griffin and I have talked a little. He likes animals. I think as long as the things he’s spending time with have four legs, he’ll be okay. Or,” she added, “get him a zebra or something, and he’ll be golden.”
Tori looked interested. “Did he say he wants a zebra?”
Paige lifted both brows. “Would you get him one if he did?”
Tori seemed contemplative. “I mean…we could look into it. He was in Africa, in Zambia, working with a conservationist group, before he had to come home after his parents died. Then he worked at a couple of zoos. I mean, he does love those animals.”
He’d been in Africa? He’d lost both his parents? Huh, Dr. Griffin Foster was more interesting—and maybe had more reason to be a grump—than she’d thought.
Paige watched Tori’s wheels turn. They would just get Griffin a zebra if that would make him happier? Who were these people? But she couldn’t help but grin. She loved that they didn’t let things like “normal” and “crazy” dictate their thoughts and actions.
“The otters really love him,” Maddie said with a nod.
“Do they?” Paige asked.
“Oh yeah. They follow him around and squeak at him.”
“And he’s nice to them, right?” Paige asked. He’d been sweet with her cats, but he didn’t come off as a softie.
“Oh, for sure. I mean, he rolls his eyes and tells them to calm down and they’ve had enough treats and that they’re attention hogs,” Maddie says. “Of course, he only talks to them when he doesn’t know there are other people around.”
Paige laughed. She liked that. Maybe Griffin was a softie underneath.
“He just thinks people suck,” Tori said.
“Well, I mean, there’s lots of evidence to support that,” Paige said with a shrug.
Tori shook her head. “People are mostly good. They just need to be understood and accepted.”
Suddenly Juliet pushed her chair back and rounded the table, grabbing Tori in the hug Paige wanted to give her.
“You’re wonderful. You and Josh are going to be amazing parents,” Juliet said.
Tori started crying again.
Maddie sniffed and wiped at her eye.
Paige felt her throat tighten.
“What is going on over here?”
They all froze. Then Maddie and Juliet pivoted slowly while Paige and Tori looked up.
Ellie was standing at the table looking at them all suspiciously.
Tori quickly wiped her cheeks. “Nothing. Just a… dog. That’s got cancer.”
Juliet nodded. “I was just comforting her. You know how soft-hearted she is.”
Ellie propped a hand on her hip. “I’m used to my boys trying to pull one over on me, but you girls haven’t been practicing long enough to have a single hope. Spill it.”
Maddie snorted.
“Even you, Miss Maddie,” Ellie said, her eyes narrowed. “Though you’ve been at it longer than these girls.”
“You’ll notice I didn’t even try,” Maddie said.
“Smart.” Ellie nodded. Then she focused on Tori. “So, what’s going on?”
“I don’t want to have the wedding at the plantation.”
Paige thought that was a good way to go. It was true. But she watched Ellie carefully. Could Ellie tell which truth was the truth?
“So don’t,” Ellie said simply.
Tori nodded. “That’s what we were talking about.”
“Is that why you haven’t had spicy gumbo in a couple of weeks? And why you’ve been eating a lot more fried pickles? And banana pudding?”
Paige glanced at Tori. Her mouth was hanging open.
“You’ve noticed what she’s been eating?” Paige asked Ellie. That was impressive, considering how many people ate at this place.
“I notice everything,” Ellie told her, one eyebrow up. “But especially when it’s about food.”
“I love fried pickles and banana pudding,” Tori said, a little weakly.
“I had heartburn with all of my pregnancies,” Ellie said.
Paige was entertained by all of the women’s mouths falling open at the same time.
Damn, Ellie was good.
Maddie was the first to recover. “I don’t know why we should be surprised you figured it out.”
“That’s what I was thinking,” Ellie said.
“How did we give it away?” Juliet asked. “The crying and hugging?”
“I figured it out a week ago,” Ellie informed her.
“Because of the gumbo?” Tori asked.
“Because of Josh,” Ellie said, her face softening and a smile curling her mouth.
“Josh told you?” Tori asked.
“He didn’t have to. He’s like one of those lights with a dimmer switch,” Ellie said. “He started glowing brighter after he met you, then even brighter when you fell in love, brighter again when you said yes to marrying him. Only one thing could turn that up even higher.”
And Tori started crying again.
And dammit, Paige felt her eyes stinging a little too.
11
“I think we got it,” Fletcher said, stepping back from where they’d just finished digging one of the swimming pools in the otter enclosure.
Mitch went to stand by him. “Looks good.”
“Griffin’s gonna wonder why it’s deeper.” Fletcher grinned.
“He’ll figure out that Tori overrode his plan in about two minutes,” Mitch said with his own grin.
“Well, Tori’s the one paying for it,” Fletcher said. “Or she’s the one who convinced Josh, Sawyer, Owen, Maddie, and Bennett to pay for it.”
The Boys of the Bayou owners were also the owners of Boys of the Bayou Gone Wild, so they were the ones ultimately buying the supplies and paying for Mitch, Fletcher, and Zeke’s time building the enclosure.
“I don’t think Tori has trouble convincing Josh of anything,” Zeke said, coming to join them on the slight hill that looked down on the first, and larger, of the two swimming pools for the otters.
No, she did not. But she didn’t have much trouble with the rest of them either.
It helped that Bennett was a millionaire, of course. And that Kennedy also loved the otters. And that Kennedy could also convince Bennett of nearly anything.
The sketches Griffin had done of the enclosure looked like an otter version of a water park. There were slides and ramps and various levels for the otters to climb on. Of course, they were all disguised as rocks and logs and trees and natural formations. The whole thing looked like a chunk of the river bank had been relocated a bit inland and their river—that even had a built-in current—connected two swimming pools.
Otters had never had it so good.
The whole thing was ridiculous.
And very cool.
“This is huge for just a few otters, isn’t it?” Zeke asked.
It was. “I have a suspicion Tori has some plans to expand the otter family size,” Mitch said.
Zeke grinned. “And maybe to more than otters.”
Mitch wouldn’t be surprised.