Kennedy leaned onto the fence, settling in to listen with him.
“I mean, yeah, she was kind of pretty,” Griffin told the otter who was crawling across his lap where he sat on one of the boulders inside the enclosure. “But damn, she was talkative. You know how I feel about talkative.”
The otter chittered his answer and stuck his nose into Griffin’s open palm, searching for more treats. Griffin ran his hand over the back of the otter.
“Fine, she was more than kind of pretty.” The otter circled around behind Griffin’s back, squeaking.
Mitch assumed he was chewing Griffin out for not bringing more treats.
But Griffin replied as if the otter were asking about the woman from the night before. “I don’t know who told you about the kissing, and I don’t appreciate the gossiping, but, yes, we might’ve kissed.”
Mitch lifted an eyebrow and shared a look with Kennedy. She was grinning as if someone had just given her their last candy bar.
The otter climbed back into Griffin’s lap and looked up at him expectantly. Griffin petted his head again. “Yes, it was very good. But you can just keep that to yourself. You all talk too much, too.”
Kennedy slid closer to Mitch to whisper, “Who is he talking about?”
“I have no idea. I assume someone from the wedding reception?”
“Well, she’s not my type,” Griffin said as he nudged the otter off of his lap and stretched to his feet. “And she’s not from here, so I won’t be seeing her again.”
Kennedy and Mitch shared another look. It was clear that Kennedy was mentally going over the guests from the wedding just as Mitch was, trying to determine who Griffin might’ve had a rendezvous with. The number of guests who were not from Autre definitely narrowed it down.
Griffin moved off with his entourage of otters following him across the enclosure chattering loudly. Most of the people they talked to like that were the ones who fed them, and while they did love Griffin bringing them treats, they talked to and surrounded him like he was a rock star when he came to see them no matter if he had treats in his pockets or not.
“I really don’t know who he could be talking about,” Kennedy finally said, clearly perturbed by that.
“Well…”
Kennedy arched a brow at him. “Spill it.”
“Paige mentioned that someone had asked Griffin to dance,” Mitch said.
Kennedy waited for several seconds. Then she shoved him. Hard. “Mitch!”
He laughed, rubbing the spot on his chest where she’d pushed.
“Who was it?”
“Charlie.”
Kennedy opened her mouth, then her jaw dropped even wider as she processed that. Then she grinned. “Of course. I didn’t think of her. I mean, I guess she’s not from here, technically. It just feels like she is,” she said of their cousin, who had spent so much time on the bayou in spite of growing up in Shreveport.
Mitch shrugged. “I don’t know if that’s who it was. I’m just telling you what Paige said.”
Kennedy glanced in the direction Griffin had disappeared. “Dammit, Charlie’s already left. She’s flying to Paris tomorrow. I might not be able to grill her about this for a while.”
Mitch felt a weird tightness in his chest. “If she’s leaving for Paris, it doesn’t really matter what happened with her and Griffin one night here in Autre, does it?”
Kennedy focused on him again. “Just because someone leaves, doesn’t mean they can’t come back.”
“She left for a big reason.”
“Are we still talking about Charlie and Griffin?”
Mitch felt his chest tighten further. “Of course.”
“Uh-huh.” Clearly, Kennedy wasn’t buying it.
Mitch gripped the top of the fence a little tighter.
“I called Paige a little bit ago,” Kennedy said.
Mitch gripped the fence tighter. It was ridiculous how much he missed her already. She’d just left. She’d actually been gone when he awakened this morning. He supposed it was for the best since he had no idea what to say to her. Well, other than begging her to stay. Which was ridiculous. She was going back home for her best friend’s wedding. It wasn’t like she was leaving forever. Or taking off for Colorado. Hell, he was the one who said no to going with her. She’d invited him along.
But he knew there was a chance that when she was away from him and Autre, whatever spell he and his hometown and family had somehow cast on her might be broken. Once she was back in Appleby, she could very easily decide to stay there. Or, when she was back in Appleby, she could be reminded about how much she really wanted her Year of Aloneness. She could head out to Colorado after the wedding. In fact, for a girl who really had been seeking the path of least resistance when she headed to Louisiana a couple of months ago, that would be very in character.
Of course, there was a voice niggling at the back of his mind reminding him that the girl who had arrived in Louisiana a couple of months ago wasn’t the same girl who’d gotten in her car this morning. All he could do was hope that the girl who had headed north to Iowa had left a piece of her heart with him in Louisiana.
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell her about this,” Kennedy said.
“She has a wedding to get to.”
“That wedding is not more important than you are,” Kennedy said.
Mitch shook his head. “That’s ridiculous. It’s a wedding. Two of her best friends.”
“And you’re you. You are important too, Mitch,” Kennedy said. Her tone was exasperated but also full of affection.
He swallowed. “She needed a chance to get away and see what she really wants. If you love something, set it free and all that.”
Kennedy laughed softly. “Landrys don’t let the things they love get away, Mitch.”
“Right. Sometimes they drive them away.”
Kennedy couldn’t argue with that. “Well, we do try our best sometimes.”
Yeah, they did. He’d seen all of his cousins try to screw up the relationship with the love of their lives. He’d seen his grandmother screw up her relationship with his grandfather for that matter. But they’d all fixed it in the end. He felt a little flip in his gut thinking about that.
“She was very upset that she didn’t know about the grand opening of the enclosure,” Kennedy said.
Mitch looked at her quickly. “You told her?”
“Yeah. Accidentally. I had no idea that she didn’t know about it. But I would have told her either way.”
“It’s just a fence and a couple swimming holes.”
Kennedy straightened away from the fence and turned to face him, her hands on her hips. “No, it’s not. You know this means a lot to me, and Tori, and Maddie, and Juliet. The otters are practically our pets. And this will help the family business. Plus, you did an amazing job. Way above and beyond. This thing is awesome. The city is giving you a Best New Initiative Award.”
“Autre is giving their incoming mayor’s family a Best New Initiative Award,” Mitch said. “That’s ridiculous at best, considering there haven’t been any new initiatives in any other businesses in years, and a conflict of interest at worst.”