showing them some episodes of his show and telling them behind the scenes stories. Stella is particularly into the ones with him and the alligators.”
Zeke chuckled. Of course she was. Stella had been five when she’d first come to Autre and taken a swamp boat tour with Sawyer. She’d been captivated with everything about the bayou ever since. But particularly the alligators. She’d maintained ever since that day that she was going to take over Boys of the Bayou when she was old enough.
None of the Landrys had contradicted the plan.
The details had changed a bit over time though. She’d gone from believing she’d marry Sawyer to proposing that she just take it over when he was “too old anymore”. According to Stella, that should happen about the time Sawyer was forty-five. And yes, she knew when his birthday was and reminded him each year about his retirement plan.
She had, however, promised him that he could take a few tours out once in a while even when he was old and that he could have a chair in the front office where he could sit and tell people stories about working on the bayou while they waited for their tours.
“I think Sawyer’s a little jealous, in fact,” Naomi said, nodding at the eldest Landry cousin.
Zeke looked in Sawyer’s direction. He was watching Donovan with the kids too. And he did look grumpy. Well, grumpier than usual. Sawyer wasn’t the sunniest of the Landrys on his best day.
“Oh yeah?”
“He’s pretty used to being the object of Stella’s affection and admiration. But she’s been sitting and talking to Donovan for nearly an hour.”
“How did he just happen to pull out his laptop to show off his videos?” Zeke asked.
“I might have had something to do with that.” Naomi smiled. “Hey, he loves to talk about himself and the kids needed something to keep them occupied and not begging every two minutes to go see the otters and lemurs.”
“Good thinking.”
“He’s really good with them,” Naomi said. Her eyes were back on Donovan.
Uh huh. She was crushing. Just Naomi style. “He is,” Zeke said. “He’s good with most people.”
“Yeah. And animals. And he can bring plants back to life.”
Zeke laughed. “What?”
“Yep. Maddie said there were a bunch of plants up at the Boys of the Bayou office that had been sorely neglected and were basically dead. Donovan took one look, gathered them all up, took them home, and a week later brought back these thriving green plants.”
“Come on. He went and bought new ones, right?”
“I don’t think so. I think he’s…Father Nature.”
Zeke snorted and Naomi laughed.
“But seriously, he and Cora and Paige can go on and on about plants and herbs and natural remedies.”
“No. He’s into that stuff too?” Zeke asked.
“Yep. Traveling the world and being up close to different cultures, he’s tried all kinds of things. He’s eaten bugs too.”
Zeke shook his head. “Weird.”
“Hot.”
“Eating bugs is hot?”
“No. Not even a little. And he’s still hot. In spite of eating bugs.” Naomi sighed.
Zeke chuckled. “He’s so not what I would have pegged for your type.”
“He really isn’t,” she agreed.
Yeah, Naomi loved to keep a low profile and hated big crowds. Even this group was a lot of people for her. Zeke knew it helped that she knew everyone here. But she’d be the first one to leave.
“You could make him love quiet time at home,” Zeke told her, nudging her shoulder.
“Ha, thanks for the vote of confidence, but I’m just fine,” she told him. “I know who I am and what I need. And that man”—She shook her head—“is too much.”
“So when are you two going to get married?”
Zeke tuned back into the conversation on his other side just in time to hear Maddie ask Jill the question.
He felt Jill stiffen.
He’d been expecting the topic to come up though and he was ready. He’d been around the kids from New Orleans enough to know exactly what to do to create a diversion.
“Hey, Stella?” he called to Gabe’s oldest daughter.
She looked over. “Yeah?”
“Did Sawyer tell you about the flamingos?”
Stella’s eyes widened. “No!” But instead of asking Zeke for more information, she spun to face Sawyer. “We have flamingos?”
No one missed her use of the word “we”.
Sawyer sat up a little straighter. “Uh, yeah. Three of them.”
“Right now? Can we see them?” Grace, Stella’s cousin, asked.
Sawyer looked to Gabe and Logan, the girls’ dads.
They just shrugged as if to say it was up to Sawyer.
“Sure.”
“But, Stell,” Zeke called. “It gets even better.”
She whipped around. “What?”
“Sawyer said