But Griffin looked like he couldn’t tell if she was being serious or not. And she liked to keep him guessing.
“I’m not making cupcakes. Or cookies. Or pie.”
“Just for the cows?” Charlie asked. “Or for any animals? Or for any reason whatsoever?”
“Let’s say for any reason whatsoever,” Griffin said. “God knows what you might get me to do.”
“Well, if I’m going to get you to do things I want, I don’t think I would start with cow cookies. Or any cookies. Or even baking, for that matter.”
That flash of heat, and then exasperation, that was becoming awfully familiar, flickered in his eyes. “Stop it.”
“Because we’re in my family’s bar surrounded by a ton of people?”
“That’s one good reason.”
“How many good reasons are there?”
“Several.”
She didn’t agree. She didn’t even really believe him. But they were in public with a lot of other people, and she was about to be the center of attention. She could let this go for now.
“Maybe you should hang out here more often,” she told him, “if you think being around all of these people will make me behave.”
He snorted at that, and Charlie felt her smile grow.
“I’m not sure you’re entirely capable of behaving. And this particular group of people is definitely not one I would expect to be a good influence.”
That was an accurate statement. Okay, those were maybe both accurate statements.
“Okay, let’s hear it!” Owen called from the back.
He was one of the partners in Boys of the Bayou and married to Maddie. He’d certainly had his days as a hellion, though he settled down a lot since Maddie had come back to town. Then again, a couple of the best family stories included crazy stuff Maddie had done as well.
Charlie looked at the group and grinned. They all had money out, and Fletcher had his phone out.
“I’ve got everyone’s bets right here,” he said, holding the device up.
She really loved these people, and she loved the laid-back, take-it-as-it-comes, live-life-out-loud attitude that permeated this place.
Zeke and Zander and Fletcher had rejoined the group at the back of the bar and were lounging at the table with almost every one of her other cousins. Owen and Maddie were there, as were Sawyer and Juliet. Josh was there too, but Tori was missing, and because she now had access to the clinic schedule, Charlie assumed it was because she was feeling either a little sick or just tired from the pregnancy, since she didn’t have any appointments scheduled for tonight. Tori and Griffin both got called out at strange hours for various animal needs.
Mitch and Paige were also there, and Charlie gave Paige a big grin. She liked the newest addition to the family. Mitch and Paige weren’t married yet, but it was very clear every time they looked at one another that they were headed in that direction. Mitch was definitely one of the nicer of her cousins when it came to teasing and hell-raising, but it seemed that when he fell in love, he fell as hard and as passionately as the rest of them.
She’d already chatted with Paige a couple of times because of the expanded otter yoga sessions and was looking forward to getting to know her better.
“Before I tell the story,” she said to the group. “I want to hear what y’all think happened in Paris.”
This should be entertaining.
Fletcher held up a finger indicating this was number one on the list. “He cheated on you.”
Charlie wrinkled her nose. “Ew, no. We weren’t dating. I’d never date that dickhead.”
Four people groaned and tossed their twenty dollars into the middle of the table. Charlie laughed.
“I wouldn’t have risked getting in trouble and having to pay for that paint job for a guy who cheated on me,” she said. “Just being without me would have been punishment enough.”
They all laughed, and Leo said, “That’s my girl.”
“Well, if you weren’t dating, that knocks out him just breaking things off,” Fletcher said.
Only one person tossed money into the middle of the table for that one. Charlie smiled at Juliet, Sawyer’s new wife. The other woman was also fairly new to the family and didn’t know Charlie very well.
Fletcher held up a second finger. “He ruined one of your projects and cost you a client.”
Charlie shook her head. “Nope. He’s the CEO’s son and is the Vice President of Development. He has nothing to do with marketing.”
“What does the Vice President of Development do?” Zeke asked.
Charlie shrugged. “Just means he’s the CEO’s son, she paid for a very expensive college degree, but no one will hire him because he’s an asshole.”
Three people tossed money into the middle of the table now.
Charlie laughed. “You think I would key a guy’s Porsche because he stole a project from me? In that case, I would have just gone around him to the client and proved that my new idea, which he wouldn’t know anything about, and was way better, and I would’ve stolen the client back.”
Ellie gave her a big grin. “Keying a man’s sports car is an act of passion. Stealing an account from you would have simply stoked your competitiveness. He did something that made you beyond angry.”
Charlie nodded. “Exactly.”
“So something that would make you enraged, but that had nothing to do with a personal relationship,” Zander said.
Charlie was aware that Griffin was listening intently. He was done eating and had pushed his plate away. But his arms were folded, and his elbows were resting on the bar. He didn’t look like he was in any kind of hurry to get out of here. Either he was highly entertained by her family, or he was actually interested in knowing more about her and what happened to lead her back to Autre. She liked the idea that he might want to know more about her.
“I’ll give you a hint,” Charlie said. “He did something to someone else.”
Zeke and Zander both nodded as if that made total sense. Charlie cast a glance toward Griffin. He had turned to look at her.
“Someone guessed that he cheated on one of your friends,” Fletcher read from his phone.
Charlie looked at Ellie. “That was your guess?”
Ellie nodded. “You’re passionate about things you care about. Of course, that includes your work and projects. But nothing as much as the people in your life. If you are going to risk jail time for something, it will be on behalf of someone else.”
Charlie liked that her grandmother knew her so well. She also liked Ellie’s observation. She was a passionate person, but it was true that it took a lot to push her to the point of property damage.
“Well, that’s as close as anyone’s gotten,” she admitted.
Ellie gave a little whoop and held out her hand toward Fletcher, who had gathered all the money from the middle of the table into a stack.
“Let’s hear her story first,” Fletcher said. “She said it’s just close.”
Ellie scoffed. “But nobody else is going to win it this way.”
Fletcher sighed. She had a point. He handed the money over, and Ellie sat back in her chair with a big grin and started to count it up.
“I still want to hear the story,” Zeke said.