Paige nodded happily. “I’m always pleased when people enjoy my classes, of course, but it’s stuff like that that really makes it matter. I’ve had people get over back pain and lose weight and meet new friends all because of my classes. And of course, I used to get cats adopted because participants would do yoga with them and then want to take them home.” She grinned. “This makes me so happy.”
Paige had shared with Charlie that she’d run a combination yoga studio and cat café back in her hometown of Appleby, Iowa. She’d been in Autre since January, having come for Josh and Tori’s wedding—which had been postponed to April—but she now readily admitted that Mitch had been the main attraction. They’d met in Appleby, and Mitch had invited her to come spend a few months in Louisiana, and Paige had happily taken him up on it. Now it seemed clear that she wasn’t going to be leaving. At least not permanently.
Charlie glanced toward the door where Lisa and her husband were just leaving. The otters had been the attraction for Morgan, but the entire experience had opened her up. That really was amazing. And it made her imagination start to turn. Was there more they could do? Was there a way to make other portions of the petting zoo more meaningful than they seemed on the surface?
And even if she did come up with some ideas along those lines, would Griffin go for them?
She frowned. The clear answer to that was probably not.
Which got her thinking about Griffin again. Which got her thinking about how Griffin had left right after hearing her story about getting fired. Which got her thinking about how he’d essentially complimented her, then acted like he couldn’t wait to get away from her.
What was with that guy?
He’d liked her just fine back in April. Sure, that had been very physical. But it hadn’t been only physical. He might try to say that it was, but she knew better. They’d had a connection.
Why was he fighting this? Getting involved with her would be “complicated,”. Or so he said. But maybe getting involved with her would be for him what otter yoga had been for Morgan. Maybe it would be… therapeutic.
Clearly, the guy had some issues. He was grumpy, gruff, and unyielding. And yet, he was sweet with animals and even seemed amused at times with her ideas.
Charlie suddenly got to her feet.
Paige looked startled. “Are you okay?”
Was she okay? No, not really. She needed to talk to Griffin. She wanted to be okay. Part of the whole reason she was here in Autre was to get okay. And that guy was holding her back from that.
“I’ll be okay,” she told Paige. “But I need to go right now.”
“Will I see you at otter yoga tomorrow?”
“Oh, yeah, I think I might need some help finding my Zen by tomorrow.”
Griffin Foster was definitely messing with her chill.
Charlie stepped out of the bar and started to turn east to head to Griffin’s house. It was a little farther than most of the Landry houses, but it was still within walking distance.
Of course, just then, she heard thunder overhead. It was a low deep rumble which meant she hopefully still had a few minutes before the rain would start.
But before she had gone more than a few steps, she stopped. She heard a low voice and immediately smiled.
“Sugar, we gotta get you home. It’s going to start raining, and I need to get some sleep. We can’t have a date tonight.”
Griffin was still here. Perfect.
Thank you, Sugar, you little stalker.
Charlie pivoted in the direction of his voice, and when she stepped around Zeke’s big truck, she saw Griffin with his hands on his hips looking down at his biggest fan.
Of course, Sugar wasn’t alone. Stan was there too, as was Mike, the duck, and Hermione, the pig.
Thunder sounded overhead again, and the pig shrieked.
“See?” Griffin asked Sugar. “You got Hermione out here, and it’s going to storm. You know how she feels about thunder.”
Charlie found herself curious about how Hermione felt about thunder. She assumed she wasn’t a fan.
“Need some help?”
Griffin turned. He didn’t seem surprised to see her. “I made the mistake of stopping to chat with someone. Sugar heard my voice.”
Charlie nodded as she approached. “Your voice has that effect on me too.”
He stepped back as she drew near. “You gotta stop that.”
“Telling you that I’m attracted to you? It’s not exactly a secret, is it?”
“Putting it out there all the time.”
“Why?”
“Because it…”
She smiled. He wanted to tell her how it affected him. Which probably meant that it affected him in a good way. At least in a way that she would consider good.
Then she frowned. Clearly, he didn’t think it was good.
“What is your deal?” she asked.
“Excuse me?”
“You’ve been avoiding me for the past few days. And tonight, after I told you how I got fired, you couldn’t wait to get away from me. I have to tell you, Dr. Foster, if you have an issue with what I did to Alan’s car, we are going to have a problem.”
He looked at her for a long moment. Then he said, “If we have a problem, will you stop being so…”
Charlie planted her hands on her hips when he trailed off. “Oh, you better finish that sentence.”
He hesitated for a moment, then shook his head. “I was going to say tempting. But I don’t think you can stop being tempting.”
She dropped her hands. Again, he’d surprised her with a compliment. Or at least saying something she considered a compliment. “What does that have to do with the way you hightailed it out of the bar a little bit ago?”
“It has everything to do with why I left the bar.”
“After I told you about how I got fired? How was that tempting?”
“Because the more I learn about you, the more I—”
The next clap of thunder was much louder and sharper. It made Charlie jump and Hermione squeal. It also made the pig take off toward the road.
“Dammit!” Griffin immediately started after her.
Charlie watched them, then looked around, feeling discombobulated. That was unusual. Discombobulated was definitely not a usual state for her.
But she snapped out of it as Sugar took off after Griffin, and then Mike took off after Sugar. The other goat seemed unconcerned with anything but the patch of grass he was munching on. Charlie cast him a glance, decided he was probably staying put, and that Griffin needed her help more. She took off after the pig, the man, the goat, and the duck.
Griffin caught up with Hermione after just a few steps. Fortunately, his legs were much longer than hers. He scooped her up, no easy feat considering she weighed well over a hundred pounds and was wiggling and clearly terrified.
Sugar stopped beside him, looking up and bleating her displeasure over another animal getting the attention she wanted.
Knowing that the duck would follow Sugar, Charlie bent and scooped the goat up.
Griffin glanced at her, took in the situation, and started for the barn without a word.
But they’d only gone a few feet when the skies opened up.
The rain poured down as if someone had dumped a bucket from the clouds, and Charlie was completely soaked by the time they reached the barn door.