Four Weddings and a Swamp Boat Tour - Erin Nicholas Page 0,23

He waited.

Ellie finished what she was doing behind the bar, and she and Cora headed for the table.

Mitch looked around. Sawyer and Juliet were at the far end of the table. Josh was next to them with Owen on his other side. Maddie was in the chair next to Owen but was snuggled so close they could have shared a seat. Kennedy and Bennett were next to them. Zeke and Zander lounged at the next table with Fletcher.

Everyone was here except Tori and Griffin.

He was definitely going to have to fill Griffin in, since he was going to have a new roommate for a few months.

“Where’s Tori?” Mitch asked Josh, assuming the two vets were together.

“Delivering twin calves,” Josh said. “She and Griff won’t be here for a while. But she and Paige are friends. She’s gonna be thrilled Paige is here.”

Mitch nodded. That was good. A friend who wasn’t a crazy Landry, by blood anyway, would be good for Paige. Tori had come into this family in a similar way. She’d showed up on the docks one day looking for Josh after they’d met the previous year at Mardi Gras. She’d been thrown into this bunch with no warning or prep time. She’d be able to give Paige some tips. Or at least sympathy.

“You’ll fill her in?”

Josh shrugged. “Of course.”

“Without embellishment?” Mitch added.

“I didn’t say that.” Josh grinned at him.

Mitch sighed. “Okay, here’s the rules about Paige.”

“There are rules?” Kennedy asked.

“Yes.”

“What do you mean by rules?”

“I’m going to tell you.”

“But, like, these are her rules or your rules?”

“How about you shut up, and I’ll explain?” Mitch asked.

Kennedy frowned and crossed her arms. “I don’t like rules.”

“We’re all very aware of that.” Bennett pulled Kennedy closer and said something in her ear.

Kennedy rolled her eyes, but she relaxed a little.

Mitch regarded his family. God, he loved these people. They had done so much for him. He’d been the only child of a single father who hadn’t expected to ever be a father and who had had no idea what he was doing. After Mitch’s mom had left them, Sean had admitted he couldn’t do it alone and asked for help. The family had stepped up. Big time.

Mitch had never lacked for female influence in his life. Or male, for that matter. He’d never been hungry or alone or scared. He’d always felt loved and secure. He hadn’t had a mother of his own, but he’d had five motherly figures in Ellie, Cora, and his aunts Hannah, Callie, and Elizabeth. He’d never needed anything.

He loved them fiercely. He’d do anything for them.

And at least once a week, he wondered what it would be like to be alone for a week. Or a month. He was sure he’d like it.

“Well, come on then,” Ellie said. “I’ve got work to do.”

Mitch was almost never the center of attention with this group. He was fine with that. It was very easy to blend into the background with this family. They were loud and rowdy and fun and full of energy. He rarely had to say more than a dozen words at dinner time. He didn’t have funny and exciting stories, like the guys did about their tours, or that Juliet did about some of the people she met through her legal work, or that Zeke and Zander had about their group of friends.

He also didn’t exaggerate like Leo and Owen and Fletcher. They made every story just a tad—okay, often more than a tad—bigger and funnier and more exciting.

He also never had everyone’s full attention all at once.

Suddenly he was very glad about that. This group was intense.

“Spill it,” Leo told him.

“Yeah, Mitch, tell us everything,” Owen said.

“No way,” Mitch said. He gave his cousin a grin, though, and he knew that Owen knew, just with that, how happy Mitch was to have Paige here.

“Good for you,” Owen said with a chuckle.

“Rules,” Mitch said. “Paige is here temporarily. She’s gonna work as the new receptionist at the tour company. No one is gonna talk to her about staying, about how great she’s doing and how much you’d love for her to take the job for good, or about any other job. No giving her a job in your office.” He directed that at Bennett, then looked at Juliet. “Or yours.” He looked over at Zeke and Zander.

“We really could use some help with the phones,” Zeke said with a grin.

“Paige isn’t available.”

“Well, what are we going to do with the receptionist position after she