Fall in Love Book Bundle: Small Town Romance Box Set

by Grover Swank, Denise

  Charlie was through the gates and beside Griffin in seconds.

  “Hey, back off, man. He’s just a little kid,” the man said.

  “But he’s old enough to listen to directions from adults. He’s also old enough to be taught how to handle animals. In fact, the sooner, the better,” Griffin said.

  “The goat’s fine,” the other man said, taking a half step closer to Griffin. “I’ve been around goats. You can’t really hurt them.”

  Griffin took a step closer to the man. “No wonder your kid doesn’t know how to treat animals and doesn’t know the word no.”

  “Hey, guys,” Charlie said, in her best calming and friendly voice. She stepped between the two men. “What’s going on?”

  “This gentleman and his family were just leaving,” Griffin said, his eyes still on the man.

  “Hey, we paid to be here. We’re not going anywhere.” The man glared at Griffin.

  Charlie would’ve put serious money on the fact that Griffin was right. However, the man and his family were customers. Paying customers. And the confrontation was happening in the middle of the rest of their paying customers.

  “Maybe we can take this discussion into the barn,” Charlie suggested.

  “No further discussion is necessary,” Griffin said. “They’re on their way out, and they’re not welcome back.”

  Charlie’s eyes widened, and she took in the other man’s tight jaw, as well as the clenched fist at his side. She didn’t have any brothers, but she’d seen more than one disagreement between her male cousins turn into a physical altercation. Every one of her cousins that she could think of at the moment had suffered a black eye and or a bloody nose at some point in his life inflicted by a family member.

  “They’re goats, man,” the father said. “They’re not made of glass.”

  “Yes, they’re goats. They’re animals. Living, breathing beings. And if your kid keeps yanking on Happy’s tail, he’s going to turn around and take a bite out of your kid. And I’m guessing you’re going to be pretty upset then.”

  “He’s only six,” the man said. “He’s still learning.”

  “And if you don’t teach him how to interact with animals, he’s never going to learn. Or he’ll learn by getting hurt,” Griffin said.

  “I don’t want to get hurt!”

  They all looked down at the little boy. He was staring at the arguing grown-ups with wide eyes and a trembling lower lip.

  “Then you need to be nice to the goat,” Griffin told him bluntly.

  “I love the goat!” the boy insisted.

  “You’re not acting like you love him,” Griffin said. He put his hands on his hips and looked down at the kid.

  He looked intimidating, even to Charlie, and she knew the soft, caring, sweet, passionate side of him.

  She grabbed Griffin’s forearm and squeezed, willing him to look at her. “Griffin.”

  Suddenly Fletcher was there. He dropped to one knee next to the little boy and put his hand on his back. “Hey, Hunter.”

  “Hi, Mr. Landry,” the little boy said, seemingly shy now.

  “Let’s talk about goats for a second, okay?” Fletcher asked.

  “Who the hell are you?” the father demanded.

  “That’s Fletcher Landry,” his wife told him. She was smiling at Fletcher. “He’s one of the third-grade teachers. Colt and Jonah both had him. You should come to more parent-teacher conferences,” she added with a frown at her husband.

  Even in the midst of this chaos, Charlie rolled her eyes. Fletcher had a fan club, and they were definitely not all elementary-aged kids.

  Fletcher was mostly ignoring the adults. He was talking to Hunter in a low voice.

  Charlie felt Griffin’s arm tense under her hand. She glanced at him. His jaw was tight, but he was watching Fletcher and the little boy rather than staring down the father.

  “Do your brothers and sisters ever pinch you or hit you or pull your hair, Hunter?” Fletcher asked.

  The boy nodded.

  “And that doesn’t feel good, does it? And it makes you not like them for a little bit, right?” Fletcher asked.

  Hunter’s bottom lip stuck out slightly, but he nodded. “Right.”

  “That’s how it feels to Happy when you pull his tail,” Fletcher said. “It hurts him, but it also makes him not want to play with you for a little bit. If you can be nice to him, then he’ll want to come over and be friends.”

  The little boy sniffled but nodded. “Okay.”

  “But he’ll forgive you,” Fletcher added. “Happy knows that sometimes kids don’t know how to play with goats. Don’t worry. He’ll be your friend again.”

  The boy managed a little smile.

  “See, everything’s fine,” the father said, directing the comment to Griffin.

  Griffin tensed again. “No thanks to you. You should be teaching your kid how to treat animals. They need to learn it from people they respect and trust, and it needs to be reinforced all the time.”

  “Look, man. I work two jobs. And we don’t have any goats,” Hunter’s dad said.

  “Kids can learn to be gentle and kind and patient and to care about animals in a lot of ways,” Griffin said. “You can read to him. You can watch programs about animals.”

  “And you’re some kind of animal expert?” the man said.

  Charlie tensed at that. The man was questioning Griffin’s expertise? And even if the man didn’t know who Griffin was, Griffin was clearly right. Every adult here should recognize that.

  “This is Dr. Foster,” she said, her tone indignant. “He’s the veterinarian here. These goats are all in his care. If he tells you something about how to treat them, you need to listen.”

  The man looked slightly chagrined. “Okay, fine. But I grew up on a farm, and I know that farm animals aren’t exactly delicate.”

  “All animals, farm or otherwise, deserve to be treated with kindness and respect,” Charlie said. “One of our goals here at this petting zoo is to teach people more about the animals and to give them a chance to interact and understand them better. However, first and foremost, we are concerned with the treatment of our animals. And if you cannot be responsible enough to ensure that our animals are safe with your family, then yes, you will be asked to leave and not allowed to come back.”

  The man stared at her. “You’re overreacting.”

  “Am I?” She took a step forward. “Or am I calling you out on bad behavior? I’m sorry that it has to be in public and in front of your children, but that’s on you.”

  She felt a finger hook into the back waistband of her jeans and tug slightly. She took a step back, realizing as Griffin tucked her under his arm that she’d been only inches from the other man.

  “Thank you,” Griffin whispered, softly enough that only she could hear. Then he released her and went down on his knee by the little boy the way Fletcher had.

  He didn’t reach for the kid, and he was several inches back, not invading the boy’s personal space, but he said, “I’ll tell you what, Hunter, let’s set up a time for you to come to my clinic. We’ll play with a couple of kittens together. Maybe a dog. Then, if that goes well, you can come back, and we’ll play with some rabbits and hedgehogs. We’ll talk about how to handle them properly and how to know if they like what you’re doing or not. And once I think that you’re doing a good job, I will give you a special animal handling certificate. Then you bring it with you to the petting zoo for our next big event.”

  Hunter’s eyes were wide.

  “What’s the next event?” one of Hunter’s brothers asked.

  Griffin glanced up at Charlie. “You’ll have to ask Ms. Landry. She’s in charge of all the good times around here.”

  Charlie couldn’t tell if he meant “good times” sarcastically or not, but she did realize that he had just put her on the spot to announce another event. One that, no doubt, he had major reservations about before even hearing it. He hadn’t wanted to do the pajama party, and she�
�d had to assure him that everything would be fine. Of course, now it wasn’t, and she was feeling like an idiot.

  But everyone in the barnyard was now listening. Someone had paused the movie, and all eyes were on her.

  Well, this was Griffin’s fault, she supposed.

  “Yeah,” she said brightly as if she’d been fully prepared for this announcement. “We’re going to do Lunch with the Lemurs.” She looked at Griffin as she said it and noticed his small grimace. Well, he was the one who’d said no to Lunch with the Llamas. And Lunch with the Alpacas didn’t have the same ring to it.

  But as the words came out of her mouth, she realized she could have called it Alpaca Lunch. Wow, that would have been perfect. The alpacas would have been a better choice too. The lemurs weren’t as used to visitors. And they were endangered animals. Maybe they shouldn’t be around humans much. She honestly didn’t know. But now she blurted out Lunch with the Lemurs, so she had to keep going.

  She was definitely going to do an Alpaca Lunch though.

  Her mind worked to catch up with her tongue. “Everyone will come and get a brown bag lunch which will also include some fun treats for the lemurs. We’ll go out to the lemur enclosure, and spread out picnic blankets, and…” She glanced at Fletcher, who was also watching her attentively with a very amused grin. “Mr. Landry will teach you all about lemurs and what they like to eat and how they like to play, where they’re from, and what we can do to help protect them as endangered animals.”

  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.”

  “No, I think I might stick with ‘I Have a Tiny Dick’ as my go-to Porsche graffiti. I feel like men who drive Porsches may have that same general problem no matter what their specific asshole actions are.”

  Griffin pulled her even closer. “Probably a good thing he doesn’t have a Porsche.”

  “For the record, I’m not sorry I got in his face.”

  “I wouldn’t expect you to be.”

  She swallowed. Griffin understood her. He was very much like her family in his general acceptance of her quirks. Whether it was her, okay, overreaction to certain situations or her over-the-top brainstorming ideas, he was generally resigned and amused. And accepting. She really liked that about him.

  “Also, for the record,” she said. “I think your ideas for the special handling clinics with the kids are brilliant.”

  “Yes, I noticed that it’s for the kids—plural—now,” he said dryly.

  “I’m not really sorry about that either,” she said. “Except that, I do recognize that I could probably slow down a little bit and ask your input and opinion on things before I just throw them out there.”

  “Charlie,” Griffin said, his voice low and a little husky. “I don’t want you to change a single thing. I want you exactly as you are. You are pushing me outside of my comfort zone, yes. But that’s a good thing. You’re amazing. I’m very happy that you got fired and ended up here as the marketing consultant to Boys of the Bayou.”