She nodded enthusiastically. He completely understood where she was going. “Yes, exactly. And if they understand how the animals compensate for their illnesses and injuries and how they’re really the same as the other animals in spite of that, it can help the kids to connect the fact that humans are like that too.”
Fletcher nodded. “I love it.”
She leaned in, resting her elbows on her knees. “And I would love to work on this with an elementary school teacher. Someone with a lot more experience in how kids communicate, and think, and express themselves. If you know someone…”
He grinned. “I could probably ask someone at school.”
She laughed. “I’d love to work on this with you.”
“I wouldn’t let it be anyone but me,” he assured her.
She knew that. Not only because of her, but because anything that made kids’ lives better was something Fletcher would be one hundred percent into.
“I’m sure Griffin and Tori will help develop the information about how these things happen to animals, how they recover, how they adapt—”
“You know, Griffin’s brother is a wildlife rehabilitation expert,” Fletcher said. “He has worked in several rehab facilities around the country. I know he specializes in big cats, but he’s worked with everything from eagles to turtles to wolves. I’ll bet he’d add some really great perspective.”
“Oh, he and Regan could talk about the similarities between human injury and recovery and animals!” Jordan reached for a notebook and made a note. “That would be awesome.”
“And Donovan could talk about all the poisonous snakes and spiders he’s encountered. The guy gets excited about salamanders.” Fletcher rolled his eyes, but he was grinning.
“You’ve met him?”
“He came through for a couple of days to see Griffin in July,” Fletcher said. “He’s a great guy. Very outgoing and friendly. He and Bailey Wilcox got started talking about frogs and salamanders though and the rest of us kind of tuned out.”
Jordan tipped her head. “Bailey? Do I know her?”
“She works for Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries. She’s with Juliet’s brother Chase.”
“Oh, right.” Chase was in medical school somewhere, but he came to Autre as often as possible. She’d met him at Juliet and Sawyer’s wedding in April. “Is Bailey the one Chase was dancing with when she stepped on his foot and they both tripped and bumped into the cake table?”
Fletcher laughed. “Yep.”
The cake had already been cut and served, but several plates had ended up on the floor.
Jordan laughed. She’d missed a lot here in the time she’d been gone. She was so glad to be back.
“Well, great, maybe Bailey can come do a talk or two also. She can talk about how important it is to be careful not to do things that might injure the wildlife.”
“She’d probably love that.”
“And even though you’re back to teaching and can’t do a lot of the presenting, I would love your input on how to put it all in terms for the kids.”
“Of course. I’m in. It all sounds amazing. We already know that our animals’ differences are special, but this makes them even more so. They can be important in teaching kids about understanding and accepting differences in everything and everyone around them.”
She sat grinning at him. She noticed that he, and the rest of the family, referred to the animals and the petting zoo as “ours”. The whole thing really was a family effort, even if they didn’t all work directly in the petting zoo.
Not only had she not had a project like this that she’d been this excited about in so long, but she also hadn’t shared any specific passions with someone in a very long time. She’d been supportive of Jason, of course, but the music had been all his. She had been his biggest cheerleader, but she didn’t play a single instrument and she wasn’t terrible at karaoke, but she always let Naomi sing lead.
She loved the feeling of doing something that was the Landry family’s project. Her heart flipped as she realized that she was officially a Landry now.
She blinked fast to keep from tearing up. “I love the idea of our petting zoo being a sanctuary,” she said. “A safe place where animals and kids can come to be fully accepted and supported and understood and loved.”
Fletcher gave her a smile. “And for all of us too.”
She thought about that. And nodded slowly. “Yeah. It’s really giving me a place to…”
“Bloom,” he supplied when she trailed off.” “You’ve been putting Jason first for a long time. Now you have a place where you can really do something for you.”
That made her stomach swoop. “It seems like it’s doing that for Charlie too,” she said. She’d known Charlotte Arabella Clementine Landry for a very long time. She never would have imagined Charlie working for—and in love with—a petting zoo.
“It is,” Fletcher agreed. “And it’s helping Griffin find his passion again too.”
Jordan gave a happy sigh. “Wow.”
“And you’ve been here for one day,” Fletcher said, his voice a little husky. “I can’t imagine what you’ll have come up with in a week.”
Jordan felt a mix of pride and excitement swirl through her. “This feels really good.”
“Nothing could make me happier than you finding your place. Especially if that place happens to be right here with me.”
“Of course, it’s right here with you.” She gave a soft laugh. “I’m not going anywhere, Fletcher.”
He didn’t smile, but he nodded. “I know. Which is why it means a lot to me that you find something that makes you incredibly happy and fulfilled.”
He meant that. She knew that. He wanted her to be happy even more than he wanted it for himself. It was amazing. She hadn’t had someone who cared about her happiness like this in a very long time. Or ever. No one had ever loved her the way Fletcher did. “Well, I really think that incredibly happy and fulfilled is happening.”
His expression was a mix of relief and pleasure. God, he was a good guy.
It was too bad there was a hedgehog and nearly two full reams of paper between them at the moment. She’d love to crawl into his lap and kiss the hell out of him.
“Fletcher—”
He suddenly shoved to his feet. Quilly startled and dove under one of the pillows at the edge of his little corral. Fletcher went to the desk in the corner and grabbed his laptop. He already had it open by the time he sat down again and started typing.
“There’s probably a lot of research that’s been done on comfort animals,” he said.
This was exciting and fun and she felt close to Fletcher brainstorming about this new program too. Sharing this with him mattered a lot.
“There has been,” she said. “People have an increase in endorphins when they’re around animals and people have shown things like decreased heart rates and breathing when they pet an animal during an anxiety attack.”
“Exactly. We could use that when we write up the applications for grants.”
“We’re going to apply for grants?”