Zeke laughed. “Ah, she loves dumb things. That finally explains why she’s with you.”
Josh flipped him off.
Mitch and Paige were also there at the far end of the table, and Maddie, Owen, Sawyer, and Juliet were also present. Zeke, Zander, and Fletcher were lounging at the next table.
The seating arrangement made Charlie smile. The big tables at the back of Ellie’s had always been where the family gathered. It was a big enough space for them all but also kept them out of the way of paying customers. They helped themselves to the kitchen and behind the bar for their food and drink.
It seemed that the single guys hung out at the smaller table to the side while the couples gathered at the bigger, longer table. It was very similar to having a kid’s table at Thanksgiving, and Charlie found that amusing.
Of course, Charlie joined her three bachelor cousins rather than sitting at the couples’ table.
Fiona was at this table too, and Charlie was certain Zeke and Zander had been flirting with the bubbly, brunette animal expert before she arrived.
Charlie looked across the table at Fletcher. He was sitting back with one ankle crossed over his opposite knee. He was watching the group, smiling but seemingly not as engaged.
Fletcher wasn’t the outright flirt that Zeke and Zander were, so he probably hadn’t been hitting on Fiona. Now that Charlie thought about it, she really never saw Fletcher flirt. He was very good-looking and very friendly and had plenty of women’s attention. The mothers of the kids in his class—and kids in several other classes—found him charming, and he got lots of cookies and brownies and gushy, “Oh, Mr. Landry, you’re such a good teacher.” Maybe that was enough for him.
Or maybe he was trying to be a good role model. As a male third-grade teacher, he was in the gender minority in his profession, and she was sure he got plenty of attention for that too. It was very possible that he felt increased pressure, as a single guy teaching young kids, to be an especially upstanding citizen. Flirting with the moms probably wasn’t the best example for the kids. Or the best way to endear himself to his bosses. Or the dads.
Especially the dads who had grown up with him and knew his past.
Especially the dads who had been right beside him as he’d partied and drag raced and fought and swiped his grandpa’s homemade moonshine and played strip poker—and strip anything else they could think of.
He was a great guy. But he was a Landry, and he came from the wilder branch of the family tree for sure.
“You okay?” Charlie asked him softly.
He looked at her and gave her a wink. “Better than okay.”
She didn’t quite believe him, but he either didn’t want to talk about it or figured this was the last place he should.
“So, we’re really going to get in a bunch more animals?” Zeke asked.
Charlie realized he directed the question to her. She glanced at Tori, but Tori was watching her as well.
Charlie looked at Sawyer, then Maddie. They, too, were watching her as if waiting for her answer. So the other veterinarian in town and two of the major partners in Boys of the Bayou weren’t making this decision?
But yeah, Charlie had kind of plowed ahead with many of the plans, and over the past few weeks, had mostly just informed everyone after the wheels were already turning.
Still, talking to Mitch about building a snack shack and getting in touch with a few food vendors, and adding to their t-shirt and stuffed animal inventory were relatively minor.
At least compared to bringing in sloths and lemurs.
And especially compared to bringing in anything more.
“If you all are interested,” Charlie started, using her marketing presentation voice. “I think there is a lot of potential for growth, and I think it could result in not only increased revenue but also increased business for other parts of the family—the swamp boats and here at Ellie’s—as well as increased awareness of animal care and the ecosystem and conservation efforts and…”
Suddenly, she ran out of steam.
Just like that.
That never happened. She always knew what she was going to say and how to say it, and she was always prepared.
But now, sitting here with her family and wanting more for them, but also for herself and, of course, for Griffin, she found that she couldn’t spin it.
They were all watching her expectantly. A couple of them seemed surprised because none of them had ever known her to run out of words.
She sighed. “I really want to do more here. I want to turn this into a bigger animal park. I want to bring in all kinds of animals. I want this to be a place people want to come and interact with animals and learn to love them and… make memories. Smile and laugh and have a good time.” She took a breath and blew it out. “But I’m not really sure I know what I’m doing. And it’s probably crazy, and I don’t know if we have the resources to do it. But yeah, I want to make Griffin an animal park. Somehow. If I can.”
There was a long beat of silence.
Charlie realized what she’d said immediately. She wanted to do this for Griffin. And she’d just confessed that out loud. To her entire family.
Tori was the first one to speak. “We’re in.”
Charlie blinked at her. “In? For what? Which part? It’s just one crazy, mixed-up, probably-too-big idea.”
Tori nodded. “Yeah, that part.” She grinned. “We’ll make it work. We’ve got everything we need. We have people to help us build and maintain the animal enclosures.” She looked at Mitch and Zeke. “We’ve got our favorite accountant.” She grinned at Zeke again. “We’ve got enough hands to get started, and we can hire as we go. It would be great to become a bigger employer in Autre. And we’ve got animal experts. Griffin and I can handle a lot of it. We’ve got Fiona to call on if we need her. But Griffin and I have contacts that we can tap as needed.” Tori looked around at the group, seemingly choked up suddenly. “We’ll do it together. As long as this group takes it on together, we can make it happen.”
Charlie took all of that in. Her throat tightened. Yes, she liked being the savior. But it was really nice to have people who could, and would, step in and save her sometimes too. Like when she got way in over her head with building an animal park out of a petting zoo.
She looked around the group. Tori was right. These people could do this. This could actually happen.
“Okay,” she took another deep breath. “I guess we’re getting an ostrich,” she said to Fiona. They already had an emu. It couldn’t be that different. Probably. Could it? See, she really didn’t know what she was doing.
“What the hell is that big ugly purple thing in the parking lot?”
Charlie turned on her seat toward the deep, low voice coming from behind her.
The man was huge. He was tall, at least six foot four inches, broad, and muscular. He also had an air of confidence, and annoyance, that made him seem even bigger. His brown hair touched his shoulders, and he ran a big hand through it now, sweeping it back from his face.
“Hey, Knox,” Zander greeted with a grin. He pointed at Fiona. “It’s hers.”
“You drive that thing?” Knox took stock of Fiona.
Fiona was also clearly sizing up Knox. “Yeah, and if you’re nice, I’ll take you for a ride later,” Fiona told him.