Fletcher looked surprised for a moment, but then he gave her a small nod that said he would be there for her. Of course he would. She smiled with gratitude.
“So be watching for more information on our website and in the paper,” she encouraged everyone. We’d love to see you all.” She glanced at Hunter again and felt compelled to add. “But if you would like to interact with the lemurs and actually feed them, you will have to also attend a special handling seminar with Dr. Foster at the Autre Animal Hospital and get your special certificates. There will be more information about those on the website as well. And, of course, those are free to attend.”
There was a long moment of silence, then Hunter said, “Cool!” He turned to his brother. “You can get a special certificate too, and we can both be special animal experts!”
Charlie kept her smile firmly in place, but she wanted to sigh with relief. At least Hunter seemed happy about this turn of events. And looking at his parents, they seem to have calmed down as well.
The rest of the guests started chatting about what had just unfolded, and Fletcher said something to Hunter and then stretched to his feet. He grinned at her. “Nice save.” He looked at Griffin, who had also gotten back to his feet. “You too.”
Charlie, on the other hand, was stoically avoiding looking at Griffin.
She had, as usual, taken a tiny kernel of an idea and blown it up into something much bigger. Something that would involve Griffin, without his input or permission.
This was becoming a habit.
When she’d first come to Autre and started talking about things like plastic jungle adventure hats, stickers, and kettle corn, she found it fun to poke at him. But now, she truly cared about him, and she realized it was unfair of her to keep signing him up for things that were very likely annoying or even uncomfortable for him.
Griffin stuck his hand out toward Hunter’s father and said, “I look forward to seeing you at the clinic. You can call tomorrow morning, and Charlie will help you set up a time.”
The other man hesitated for only a second before taking Griffin’s hand and nodding. “I think that sounds like a great idea.”
The men shook and then stepped apart. Charlie breathed out.
But that relief was short-lived.
She felt Griffin’s big hand wrap around her upper arm, and he said near her ear, “A word, Ms. Landry?”
Oh, she was certain it was going to be more than one word.
She let him escort her across the barnyard to the barn and then around to the back of the building. They entered through the back door, which allowed Griffin to pull her into the first stall to the left. It was across from Hermione’s stall and was used for general storage rather than any animals.
“Okay,” Charlie said, turning to face him with her hands up before he could say anything. “I’m sorry.”
He looked mildly amused. “What are you sorry for?”
That was a trick question. Because there were a few things she should be sorry for. She wondered where she should start. The beginning, probably.
“Becoming the marketing consultant for Boys of the Bayou.”
He blinked at her. She seemed to have surprised him. “Why are you sorry about that?”
“Because that’s what led me to being the marketing consultant for Boys of the Bayou Gone Wild. Which led me to opening up the petting zoo to being an actual petting zoo. Which led to ideas like a pajama party with goats. Which led to kids interacting with the goats. Which led to us getting lemurs. Which led to the debacle of Lunch with the Lemurs.”
He seemed to take a moment to process that. Then he asked, “Lunch with the Lemurs is going to be a debacle?”
She shrugged. “It’s very likely, isn’t it?” Hell, she’d already missed using a really great name for it and picked the wrong animals.
Griffin crossed his arms, his stance wide as if he was settling in. “The only thing I have to say about Lunch with the Lemurs is that I’m going to be doing the presentation, not Fletcher.”
Now Charlie blinked at him. “You want to do the presentation?”
“I do.”
“That would be… wonderful. You’re not upset about the idea?”
“I think it’s great, actually.”
She took a step toward him. Had he hit his head at some point? Was he drunk? “You think it’s a great idea for a bunch of people to come and look at and interact with the lemurs? And for you to give a presentation in front of all of those people?”
He nodded. “I do.”
“Who are you, and what have you done with Griffin Foster?”
“I realized that if I want people to learn, especially kids, how to treat and interact with animals, then maybe I should be a part of teaching that. That little boy didn’t know any better. Instead of yelling at him, I should take this chance to turn him into an animal lover. Instead of making that interaction scary and embarrassing.”
Charlie loved that. That was actually huge. Not only was that going to be great for the kids and the animals, but it was also great for Griffin. Instead of caring for the animals alone and feeling like their only protector, he could help teach others to protect them as well.
From what Fiona had told her, that was in line with some of the original plans he’d had for his career. Maybe a petting zoo in Autre, Louisiana, was small-time next to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., but anywhere there were animals, there was a need for human beings to treat them well and protect them. And who knew? Maybe Griffin would help inspire a bunch of new veterinarians or humans to travel to Africa to work on the game reserves.
“Seeing Fletcher interacting with Hunter inspired you?” she asked. “Because I’ve seen you with little kids. Like Andre. You’re very good.”
He shook his head. “I wasn’t inspired by Fletcher and Hunter. I was inspired by you and Hunter’s dad.”
Charlie frowned. “What do you mean? His dad wasn’t exactly won over by me.”
Griffin nodded. “Exactly.”
Charlie felt offended. Even though she wasn’t sure why. “I don’t know what you mean.”
Griffin snorted. “You being protective of the goats was hot. But I realized as you were getting into that guy’s face that that was possibly not the best way to get our message of kindness across.”
She gasped. “Are you telling me that you decided to have this handling clinic and teach everyone about lemurs because I acted inappropriately?”
He shrugged but reached out for her arm, tugging her close. “You also heard the part about where I found you protecting the goats hot?”
She sniffed. “Sometimes people need to be yelled at.”
Griffin nodded with a grin. “I agree a thousand percent. But I realized at that moment that I’ve already turned you into an animal advocate, and I haven’t even been trying. Maybe if I’m just a little patient and realize that people sometimes act inappropriately simply because they don’t know any better, I can help them learn.”
She narrowed her eyes even though she didn’t fight stepping closer to him. “I knew exactly what I was doing.”
“I know. I was talking about Hunter.” He chuckled. “I know very well that if Hunter’s dad had a Porsche, there’s a very good chance that he would end up with ‘Goat Hater’ scratched into the side of it.”