Page 2 of Crazy Rich Cajuns

“What do you need from me, Kennedy?”Did he purposely drop his voice and make it a little gruffer?Maybe.

Or maybe it just happened around Kennedy naturally.

“I’m being sued.Or maybe arrested.”

Neither of those answers particularly surprised him, actually.“There’s a difference.”

“Are you suing me or arresting me?”Kennedy asked, clearly to someone else in the room with her.

“She’s arrestingme,” Bennett heard a man say.

That was Leo, Kennedy’s grandfather.

Bennett heard a scuffling sound and realized that she’d turned the phone to speaker and had set it on the counter.

Bennett frowned.“Ken—”

“She’s arrestingme,” a woman’s voice said.

That was Tori, one of Kennedy’s best friend’s and her brother Josh’s girlfriend.

“But I’m not arrestinganyone,” another woman’s voice said.This time a non-Landry.

Bennett sighed.He knew exactly what was going on.

“Ma’am, can I have your name?”Bennett asked.Loudly.Because loudly was the only way to get heard when there were two or more Landrys around.

“Bailey Wilcox.I’m with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries,” the woman told him.

Okay, it was the same woman who’d come down to Autre to investigate the report of a rabid otter.Bailey was a young, beautiful, environmentalist who seemed to have her heart in the right place.She’d just had the misfortune of being assigned to working with the Landry family.

“This is Bennett Baxter.We met the last time you were down,” he said.

“Of course.Hello, Mr.Baxter.”

“Bennett Baxter, myattorney,” Kennedy added.

Bennett rolled his eyes.He didn’t think that was necessary.Bailey was just doing her job and would surely be reasonable about the animals she’d discovered.She’d believed them when they’d explained that Maddie, another of the Boys of the Bayou partners, had come up with the rabid otter story to keep a flirtatious tourist at bay.They’d also claimed that they hadn’t seen the otter in a few days, and after an hour or so of looking around, Bailey had let it all go.

Of course, it wasn’t true that they hadn’t seen him.The otter’s name was Gus and they’d hidden him from Bailey when she’d been there investigating.But after she was gone, Gus didn’t want to move out.He decided that he liked living inside, cuddling with pretty girls, and getting hand-fed treats more than he liked living outside in the bayou.So yeah, he’d kind of become a pet.So they needed to keep him away from Bailey this time, too.

Of course, Bailey would have probably never come back to Autre, if not for the fact that while she’d been looking for Gus, she’d discovered a gray wolf pup.And his brothers and sisters.And mother.Curled up in the closet in Leo’s trailer where the Landrys had been attempting to hide them, too.

The new mom had been injured and Tori, a veterinarian who had been getting into trouble all her life on behalf of animals, had been nursing her back to health.Along with a bald eagle that had a broken wing.Which had also been found in the trailer.Tori had plans to re-releaseallof the animals.It just hadn’t been time yet.But more than having them in pseudo-captivity, the fact that they’d been hiding them had been…well, frowned upon by the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

Clearly, Bailey was now back to see if the re-release had happened.

And clearly, the Landrys had decided on a strategy for dealing with her.

Not that it was a good strategy, or a particularly well-thought-out strategy, but the Landrys were more the follow-your-heart types of people than they were careful planners.

Bennett almost snorted out loud at that.That was an understatement.

The Landry family was crazy.He meant that affectionately, mostly, but it was true.They were unpredictable and, as this woman was about to find out, united.She was never going to be able to find out who, exactly, was responsible for housing the endangered wolves.Kennedy, Leo, and Tori were all going to take responsibility, and Bennett knew there were about a dozen more people who would also step up to help confuse things.No one would ever turn on anyone else, and there would be no material evidence that it was one versus another.This woman would either have to fine or arrest all of them, or none of them.

Bennett didn’t really think Bailey was going to arrest anyone.The wolves weren’t in danger and were back in the shed where the mother wolf had first chosen to set up house.Clearly Tori had been taking care of her and she was better off than before the humans had intervened.The wolves were also free to leave whenever they chose.

All of which he would argue to, well, whoever he needed to argue it to on behalf of the Landrys.If it came to that.

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