Charlie watched as Maddie shot Fletcher a sly grin.
Fletcher just raised his middle finger to her.
“I love his music,” Charlie said.
There were several heads nodding around the table. “A lot of us do,” Owen said. He pointed to the bar, and Charlie glanced over.
How had she never noticed the poster of Jason Young hanging by the register behind the bar? Of course, there was a lot of other stuff hanging on that wall too. Photos and flyers—many outdated, she was sure—and a few certificates declaring Ellie to have the best gumbo and the best bread pudding, and the best hurricanes in the area.
“Ellie’s his biggest fan,” Owen told her with a grin. “But we’re not supposed to say nice things about him around Fletcher.”
Charlie looked at Fletcher. “And why is that?”
Zeke patted his older brother on the shoulder. “Because Fletcher is a dumbass and didn’t kiss Jordan when he had a chance, and now she’s off touring the world with her big star boyfriend who can shower her with gifts and take her to Australia and shit.”
Fletcher didn’t react, but Charlie had to wonder how accurate Zeke’s take on the situation was. Fletcher jealous of Jason Young because of Jordan? That wouldn’t be crazy.
Charlie assumed that Fletcher had been given multiple opportunities to kiss Jordan over the years. They’d spent nearly all of their time together. She remembered several times in the summers when Jordan and other kids would crash overnight at Fletcher, Zeke, and Zander’s house, sleeping on the couches and even the floor of the basement rec room.
Surely there had also been several sprigs of mistletoe and New Year’s Eve parties over the years where he could have taken advantage if he wanted to.
“You wanted to kiss Jordan?” Charlie asked.
Fletcher frowned at her. “No. My brother is the dumbass.”
Charlie thought he seemed more annoyed than he should by the question.
Zander laughed. “Okay, you want to marry Jordan and have babies with her and grow old with her in Autre. But kissing comes with that package, bro.”
Owen nodded. “Damn right it does. And a hell of a lot of other fun things too.”
Fletcher shifted on his chair. “How about you all shut the fuck up?”
Yeah, that was too annoyed for simple, typical Landry teasing if it didn’t hit at least a little close to the truth.
Charlie leaned over to Paige. “Is there more to this story?”
“He’s been progressively crabby this year about Jason’s success. Apparently, Jason just got signed to tour with and open for Brett Eldredge, and Jordan is traveling with him full-time now. Which means she quit her job. He just found out when Jordan came home for the weddings in April.”
“He’s not happy she’s touring with Jason?”
Paige shook her head. “No, and I think it really bugs him that she’s not teaching anymore.”
“Very interesting.” But Charlie didn’t know if that meant he wanted to kiss Jordan or if he was just concerned for a friend.
“Well, it’s entertaining. At least for his brothers and cousins,” Paige said. “Jason’s been getting a lot of publicity and is regularly on the entertainment news, and they never fail to point it out to Fletcher. Ellie’s fawning over him doesn’t help either. Though last week there was a shot of Jordan with him at some country music festival, and everyone thought that was really cool. Except for Fletcher. He thought she looked tired and stressed.”
Charlie looked at Fletcher again. He was still frowning and resolutely not looking at the television. “Well, honestly, if anyone could tell if Jordan was tired and stressed just by seeing her for a minute on television, it would be Fletcher. They’ve known each other forever and are really close.”
Paige nodded. “That’s what Mitch said. I can’t help but wonder if part of his frustration is that they’re not as close now. If all of her time and attention is focused on Jason and his new career, maybe Fletcher’s feeling left out.”
It was like a freaking soap opera around here, and Charlie loved it. Life in Autre was so much more fun than Shreveport had been, and now, even after only five days, it was more entertaining than even Paris, France. Sure, Paris had amazing food, and it was exciting to be in a foreign city and see new sights, but she’d been essentially alone. She was acquaintances with a few people in the office and had started making friends, but she’d only been there for a few weeks. Besides, she knew that she could live in a place for ten years and see the same people every day and never feel as close or comfortable with them as she did with this group.
“Hi, Paige.”
Charlie and Paige both looked up at the woman who just approached the table.
“Hi, Lisa,” Paige greeted. “How are you?”
“I’m great. I don’t mean to interrupt, but I had to come over.”
“You’re not interrupting anything,” Charlie assured her. Besides, if anyone wanted to speak to any of the Landrys inside of Ellie’s bar, they’d have to interrupt. The family talked nonstop and very often over one another. And anyone else.
“Well, I just wanted to come over and tell you how much my daughter enjoyed the yoga class yesterday.”
Charlie recognized the woman from the class and, now that she mentioned it, Charlie remembered that she’d had a teenager with her.
“I’m so glad to hear that,” Paige said with a smile. “She’s going to come back then?”
The woman nodded. “Oh, definitely. I know this sounds strange, but the class was like a breakthrough.”
Paige shifted to sit up straighter on her chair. “How do you mean?”
“We lost my dad two months ago,” Lisa said. “Morgan has been deeply depressed ever since. She barely talks to us and spends most of her time in her room. I got her to come to the yoga class only because of the otters. Afterward, she talked the entire way home in the car, during dinner, and then sat on the couch watching television with me that evening.” Lisa’s eyes got a little shiny. “I know she misses my dad terribly. They were very close. But it’s been breaking my heart that I can’t do anything to cut through the depression to make her happy. The yoga class, and of course the otters, did something I’ve been unable to do.”
Paige looked incredibly touched, and Charlie had to admit that she felt a little sting in her eyes as well.
“I am so happy to hear that,” Paige said sincerely. “Yoga has always been an important stress reliever for me, but when I started doing classes with cats back in my hometown, I noticed that not only did my happiness level increase, but my class participants seemed even lighter and happier after class as well. I’m so happy the otters are doing the same thing here.”
Lisa nodded. “I think the yoga is really good for her, and she did enjoy that, but I would never have gotten her to the class if the otters had not been a part of it. So, thank you for that too.”
Paige nodded. “I’m going to be doing a lot more classes, and I would love to see you and Morgan back again.”
“You can count on that,” Lisa said. She gave them both a big smile and then turned to leave.
Charlie looked at Paige. “That was amazing.”