Fall in Love Book Bundle: Small Town Romance Box Set

by Grover Swank, Denise

  Finally, Charlie glanced at her cousins. “The CEO is his mom. And yes, she did. She, of course, wanted to believe that what happened with him and the intern had been a misunderstanding. But even if not, she said that my lack of impulse control was concerning.”

  Ellie snorted at that. “She was clearly already intimidated by your fire. You don’t need people like that in your life, girl. You need to be surrounded by people who love your passion and encourage it.”

  Charlie caught her breath. That was something she’d been dealing with a lot of her life. She’d learned to manage her impulses to an extent and realized that a lot of the time, it was inappropriate to do and say exactly what she thought and felt. However, she very much appreciated her grandmother’s stance. It would be so nice to have a job where she could just be herself and do what she was moved to do.

  Surprisingly, the petting zoo had already given her a taste of that. Everyone was going along with her ideas and plans—even if they were hesitant or didn’t want to be directly involved themselves. She cast another quick glance at Griffin. He was no longer watching her. His jaw was tight, and he was gripping his glass of iced tea tightly in his hand.

  The petting zoo was small, and there wasn’t much room for growth, literally for the business but also for her as head of marketing. It would always involve things like new items for the concession stand and event planning around the holidays, and made-up reasons to do special activities to bring business in. It wasn’t world-changing work, but it had definitely given her a taste for what it was like to be completely in charge of a creative vision.

  That was what she wanted ultimately. A job where she could grow a company beyond its core business and make an impact on the community as well as the world at large. Of course, changing the world could take many forms, but she was comfortable with the idea that she could grow a company to the point of being socially influential or at least have enough assets and resources to assist with charities and nonprofit work.

  And she’d only been here five days. If she could grow Boys of the Bayou Gone Wild while she was here, it would look good on her resume for her next step. The experience would also stay with her, and she would continue to look for positions where she could be influential not only to the company’s bottom line but to their overall vision.

  “Thank you, Ellie,” she finally said. “I wish I could have done more.”

  Ellie shook her head. “Not only did you alert the authorities and give this guy an important warning, but you also showed the woman that someone had her back. Sometimes that’s the most valuable thing of all.”

  Charlie nodded. It would’ve been nice for someone to have had her back when she was being fired. But now, looking around this room, she realized she had a whole troop of people who would take her side and back her up.

  Ellie slapped the stack of bills against her other open palm and got to her feet. “I definitely won this money,” she said. “I was the closest, for sure.”

  Leo laughed. “I’m not sure why any of us doubted that for a second.”

  Ellie patted his cheek as she passed him. “You’re a wise one, my love.”

  It only took a few minutes for everyone to settle back into their usual routine. People started laughing, talking, and eating again.

  Charlie was happy that everyone’s attention had shifted off of her. Maybe now she and Griffin could talk more privately.

  That was a sure sign she liked the guy more than usual. She never shied away from the spotlight.

  But as she turned to face him more fully, she found him getting to his feet.

  “You’re leaving?”

  “I have some early patients tomorrow. My assistant apparently sent out letters from Brownie the dog telling his ‘friends’ that they should come to see me at the clinic.”

  She grinned in spite of the fact that he was leaving. “That was actually your marketing manager that said that, and yes, I got Brownie’s owner’s permission to use his name.”

  Griffin didn’t smile but again, like so many times before, she had the impression of him smiling.

  “And I rest my case,” Griffin said, pulling his wallet out and tossing money onto the bar to cover his food tab.

  Charlie was certain that Ellie never made him pay and that he insisted on doing it anyway. She suspected that her grandmother found ways of sneaking the money back into his possession. Or, at the very least, she made donations in his name to various groups. She refused to take money from family and friends, and after living in Autre and working with her family for this long, Griffin would absolutely be considered both.

  “Your case?”

  “You’re not capable of behaving, and this group is a bad influence.”

  Yeah, he was right.

  She frowned. Was he bothered by the fact that she’d keyed Alan’s car now that he’d heard the story? Or was he bothered by the way she’d confronted Alan in the elevator?

  If he was bothered by either of those things, he could fuck off. She wasn’t sorry about any of it. And she would much rather be surrounded by people like Ellie and the rest of her family who were supportive of her actions than worry about the uptight, too serious, overprotective veterinarian.

  And it was completely stupid that she wished his protective tendencies would maybe extend to her.

  But as much as he’d seemed to like her curves the one night he’d let her close, she clearly didn’t have the right kind of tail to get his lasting affection.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow, Charlie,” Griffin said, tucking his wallet back in his pocket.

  She stubbornly ignored how much she liked watching the way his t-shirt pulled tight across his chest with the motion. “You sure will.” Whether he liked it or not.

  She frowned, watching him leave, thinking about the fact that maybe he really didn’t like it. She was increasing the business and helping his schedule run well and cleaning up all of the gross stuff in the clinic, and he still didn’t like having her there? Yeah, fuck him, for sure.

  She also stubbornly ignored the tiny voice in the back of her head saying yes, you’d really like to, wouldn’t you?

  She slid off the barstool and headed for the tables where her cousins were sitting. Now that Griffin was gone, she had no desire to sit at the bar away from the group. She should’ve just sat at the back tables from the beginning. These people, at least, liked her.

  She took a seat next to Paige and crossed her legs. She also crossed her arms. It might look like she was pouting, but dammit, she really wasn’t used to people not liking her. Especially men she’d given a blowjob.

  Yeah, she’d given him a blowjob. A really good one, at least judging by his reaction to it. She’d made him smile that night. If she remembered correctly, he might have even laughed.

  So it was only when she was helpful to him professionally that he got annoyed.

  No, it was also when she was standing up for another woman who had been put in a terrible situation.

  If he didn’t like that about her, then she didn’t like him as much.

  “Hey, Fletcher,” Josh said, pointing to the TV that hung over the bar. “It’s Jason Young. Your favorite musician.”

  Fletcher looked over to the TV, and Charlie followed his gaze.

  “Don’t care,” Fletcher replied flatly, turning away.

  Jason Young was a new rising country music star. He also happened to be from Bad. He also happened to be dating Fletcher’s best friend. In fact, he’d been dating Jordan for about ten years now.

  Fletcher and Jordan had met in kindergarten and been instant friends. The little girl had taken care of Fletcher, doing everything from tying his shoes for recess to sharing her chips at lunch. As they’d grown up, they’d been nearly inseparable.

  Charlie had hung out with Jordan several times during the summers she’d been in Autre. Jordan was fun, smart, and fearless. She’d always had a natural beauty versus being interested in makeup or doing her hair the way Charlie and her sisters had, bu
t they’d still managed to find plenty in common. Of course, Fletcher had always been around. And where Fletcher was, typically Zeke and Zander were. And where the three younger Landry boys were, there was almost always a party.

  Leo was absolutely correct in thinking that the boys had been behind most of Charlie’s naughtiness growing up.

  The boys had been behind most of the mischief that people their ages had gotten into.

  “Oh my God, he looks so hot,” Maddie said of Jason. “I mean, he’s always been really good-looking, but they’ve clearly done a makeover or something. Or maybe it’s just stardom that makes him look like that.”

  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.”

  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 mee
t 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.