Kiss Me in Carolina (Hunt Family Book 2)

by Brooke St. James

  She reached up, wanting to touch Logan's head, and he leaned over and let her do it. "Do you like it?"

  "Uh-huh," she said, smiling with a big nod. She pulled back and glanced up at me. "Do you like to make sandcastles?" she asked.

  "I love to make sandcastles," I said. "It's one of my most favorite things to do in the whole wide world!"

  She wiggled around in my arms. "My daddy makes the best sandcastles ever, and you can help!"

  Logan went to the back of the truck to get his bag, which was an oversized duffel. He came back with it hanging over his shoulder. "I'll get this," he said reaching out for my bag. He looked at Ryan. "Why don't you hold Rachel's hand up the stairs? And you can introduce her to everyone when we get in the house."

  Chapter 11

  "My uncle Evan smells like a goat," was the first thing Ryan said when we made it up the stairs to the front porch.

  "I do not, you little booger!" a guy who I assumed was Evan said, scooping Ryan up and running into the house with her cracking up in his arms. Ryan's mom had been standing there watching the whole scene, and she was laughing as she watched Evan retreat into the house with her giggling daughter.

  "I'm Paige," she said, extending her hand for me to shake.

  I smiled and shook it. "Rachel," I said.

  "Cody's my husband," she said. "He's Logan's cousin and Evan's older brother."

  "And Evan's the goat that just stole your daughter?" I asked.

  She laughed. "He's the free spirit of the family," she said. "Usually, when we first see him, he's fresh off of some environmental work, and hasn't bathed in days. This time, he had some dreadlocks I had to help him comb out. Don't worry, though. He's already had a shower."

  The three of us were crossing the porch headed toward the door, and Logan turned to her. "Are we the last ones here?" he asked.

  She nodded. "But Dave and Kathy aren't coming."

  "Mom told us," Logan said. "She said Willow had her baby."

  Logan reached out for the front door, but Paige stopped him by putting a hand on his forearm. "Somebody came by to see you," she said, in a quiet, concerned tone.

  He cocked his head at her curiously, and she glanced at me regretfully. "We all remembered her from last year, and Cody and I saw her in California, so we just assumed you'd be okay with…" she trailed off before glancing at me again. "We didn't know you were bringing someone with you."

  "What are you saying?" Logan asked, still seeming confused.

  "That girl's here," Paige whispered, obviously feeling very awkward to say it in front of me.

  "What girl?"

  "London," I said, once I put all the pieces together.

  "London's here?" he asked.

  Paige nodded regretfully.

  "Right now?"

  She nodded again.

  "Where is she?"

  "I think she's on the deck with everybody. She acted like you were expecting her, so we let her in. I'm sorry."

  Logan shook his head as we crossed the threshold into the house. We walked into a huge, open room that was a combination family room and kitchen. Denise and Robert were in there, along with a few others I didn't recognize.

  "Who do we have here?" an older lady said from the kitchen as soon as she saw me come in. "Dee-dee, this is my friend Rachel," Logan said. He was smiling, but I could tell he was slightly on edge about the news of London's presence.

  Paige left us alone and headed for the back door as the lady crossed to us with open arms. She hugged Logan first and then me. "It's so nice to meet you, Rachel! Any friend of Logan's is a friend of mine. My name's Diane, but they call me Dee-dee."

  "You must be one of his aunts," I said.

  "Oh my goodness," she said, taking me into her arms. "I love this girl already." She smiled at me. "I'm Logan's grandma, you precious little angel from heaven."

  "She's the matriarch of this bunch," Logan said.

  "Is this your house?" I asked.

  "It's all of ours, but my name's on the title."

  "It's gorgeous," I said.

  "Thank you. We're glad to have you here. Make yourself at home."

  "We're going to go get settled on the third floor," Logan said, taking a step toward the stairs.

  "I think there's a bedroom open for one of you on the second floor if you want to look," Dee-dee said.

  I really didn't care where I slept. I could concentrate on nothing but the fact that London was outside waiting for him. I felt nauseated. I followed Logan up the stairs, just doing my best to put one foot in front of the other. He had his duffel bag in one hand and my suitcase in the other. I didn't even think about asking him if I could help.

  "You can hang out upstairs if you don't want to see her," he whispered as we walked. "I'll go down and tell her to leave and come get you when she's gone, if you want."

  "You want me to?" I asked. "Do you think that would be best?"

  "It's up to you," he said. "I just thought you could avoid her if you wanted to."

  We came to the second floor and he stopped. "You can have the bedroom Dee-dee was referring to, or you can take one of the couches upstairs like we talked about."

  "I'm good on a couch," I said. He smiled and continued walking to the third floor like that was what he wanted me to say.

  The third floor boasted a big family room, similar to the one on the main level minus the kitchen. There were at least four couches and a few chairs spread over the room. Some of the seats were facing a TV, and others were facing the floor-to-ceiling windows on the back wall. You could clearly see the ocean from up there, and I gravitated toward the back wall to get a better look at it.

  "Oh my gosh, this is so beautiful," I said walking slowly as I stared out the windows.

  Logan set my bag next to one of the couches and his bag next to another. "Sometimes I sleep in a hammock with my cousins," he said.

  "That's fine," I said. "I'm good right here as long as I'm not in anyone's way."

  I moved to stand in front of my designated couch, and he came right next to me. He was several inches taller than me, and I stared up at him, feeling breathless. He had on khaki shorts and a fitted T-shirt that hugged every curve of his chest. Masculinity oozed out of him.

  "Whatcha think?" he said.

  "About what?"

  "You wanna stay up here, or come with me?"

  "What do you think I should do?" I asked.

  He shrugged. "I want you to come with me," he said. "But I understand if you want to avoid her. I'm sorry this happened. I honestly thought I'd never see her again."

  I wanted to ask if he'd been talking to her, but I didn't. He told me he hadn't talked to anyone, and I had to trust that.

  "I guess I'll go down with you," I said.

  "Really?" he asked, smiling.

  "I guess."

  "Good," he said. He grabbed my hand. "Let's go."

  He held onto my hand for one flight of stairs, but let go before we made it all the way down. Even after he let go if it, I could feel where it had been, like it had left an impression on my skin. I was preoccupied by the feeling as I followed him across the first floor. It was a beautiful afternoon, and there wasn't a single soul in the house. We walked through the living room and kitchen, before opening the sliding glass doors to head to the sprawling deck.

  It seemed as if the whole family was out there. Some were sitting in chairs, some were standing around a bar-b-que pit, and others were playing some tossing game. I had grown up around tons of people, but these were Logan's people, and I couldn’t help but feel out of place—especially with London there.

  "This is Logan's friend, Rachel," Ryan announced, pointing at us the second she noticed our arrival. "And I told you Logan had a haircut, see?"

  Normally, I would have loved the sweet introduction, but I was trying not to make waves since I didn't know how London would react. I smiled and gave a little wave and curtsey to Ryan. I looked around, but didn't see London.

  "We met Rachel already
," Dee-dee told her great-granddaughter.

  "I didn't," a guy said. He waved from the other side of the deck. "Cody," he added.

  I figured as much since he was standing right next to Paige.

  "I'm Logan's Aunt Christy, and this is his Uncle Dan," a lady said from her chair.

  I smiled and waved at her. "It's nice to meet you," I said.

  "Rachel? Rachel Stephens? Is that you?" London's voice came from the right hand side of the deck. She was totally shocked, I knew that before I even looked at her and saw that her jaw was hanging open.

  The deck was up on piers just like the rest of the first story, and London was standing at the top of the stairway that led to the ground as if she had just walked up. Obviously, she missed our initial appearance because she came to stand in front of us with a comically confused look on her face.

  "What are you doing here?" she asked. "Did you come here to see me?"

  I couldn't stop a little laugh from leaving my lips. Did she just ask if I came to see her?

  "She's here with me," Logan said.

  London looked back and forth between us for several painfully long seconds. "She's here with you?" she asked with a revolted look on her face.

  "Yes," he said.

  "She, Rachel Stephens, came here with you, Logan Ritchie?" she asked.

  "Yes, London, she's here with me."

  She coughed out a laugh. "Are you kidding me right now?" she asked.

  "Did she ride on a plane with you?" Her tone was increasingly agitated.

  "How else would she get here?" he asked.

  Her eyes were like daggers when she turned to face me again. "Did this happen last year?" she asked, referring to her trip.

  I said, "No."

  But at the exact same time, Logan said, "Yes."

  "Which is it?" she asked, angrily. "Did it or didn't it?"

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Paige heading down toward the stairs with Ryan on her hip. I felt bad for making a scene even though I wasn't the one getting upset.

  "We haven't seen each other since the last time I saw you," Logan said, honestly. "I ran into her at a sushi bar yesterday and invited her to come with us."

  "Then why'd you just tell me you hooked up with her last year?" she asked.

  "Because I wish we would have," Logan said. "She was too nice to let anything happen. She was worried about you."

  She just stood there and stared at us with an annoyed look on her face. "Some kind of friend you are," she said, glaring at me as if she hadn't just heard what Logan said in my defense.

  My instinct was to apologize, but I couldn't make myself do it. I wasn't sorry. I just gave her a regretful smile and watched as she pushed past me and into the house. We all assumed she was leaving even though she didn't say as much.

  "He always did have a flair for drama," Christy said, making everyone crack up once London was inside with the door closed behind her.

  "I'm sorry about that," Cody said. "That was my fault. I'm the one who let her in."

  "You didn't know," Logan said.

  "We should have known she wasn't your girlfriend," a girl said from her chair. "She's not your type at all."

  "What do you know about my type, Mia?" Logan asked.

  The two of them smiled as they met in the middle of the deck and embraced. She squeezed him tightly, groaning with the effort. He gave her a nuggie on the head, and she pushed at him with a huge grin.

  "I knew she wasn't," Mia said, referring to the question about his type. "This is more like it," Mia said with a smile and a hand extended in my direction.

  "This is Rachel," Logan said.

  I shook her hand. "Nice to meet you, Mia."

  "We're having a girl's day tomorrow if you wanna come," Mia said.

  "I forgot about that, or I would have already told her," Charlotte chimed in. She was playing a game with Evan on the far side of the deck. There was a metal ring hanging from a string attached to the trellis, and it looked as though they were trying to rope it onto a hook that was affixed to the house.

  "You forget because you don't need a spa day," Evan said, teasing Charlotte. "Every day of your life's a spa day in Cali."

  She pushed at him playfully, and he tickled her like she was a little kid. They were so cute; it made me wish I had been closer to my cousins growing up.

  "Wanna go down to the beach?" Logan asked, looking at me.

  "Plan on coming with us tomorrow," Mia said, sitting in one of the chairs.

  I smiled and nodded at her before regarding Logan. "A sandcastle?" I asked.

  "An epic one," he promised.

  He glanced at his cousin. "Cody we might need your help," he said.

  Cody smiled and nodded, obviously overhearing us. "Paige probably has Ryan down there already. I'll be down in a minute."

  Logan grabbed my hand, leading me down the stairs to the sand below. "Hang on," I said when we got to the bottom. I put my hand on his shoulder, using him for balance as I reached down to pull off my sneakers and socks.

  "Me too," he said. He waited for me to finish before kicking off his sandals. "You can just leave them here," he said, seeing that I was planning on carrying mine with me.

  I dropped them next to his sandals.

  "You look good at the beach," he said, letting his eyes roam over me.

  I smiled shyly. "You're not so bad yourself."

  "I can't believe you're standing right in front of me," he said. "I've been talking myself out of believing you were real."

  "Why would you go and do something like that?" I asked.

  "I hope I'm not interrupting," Cody said, coming down the stairs.

  "Heyyy," we heard from the direction of the beach. "We were just coming to get you guys."

  I looked that way to find Paige and Ryan.

  "You guys have the shovels and pails?" Logan asked seeing that everyone was empty handed.

  "It's all down there," Cody said, motioning to the beach.

  Chapter 12

  We walked as a group toward the sound of crashing waves. There was a stretch of deep, soft sand with a path through some shrubs and bushes before we made it to the shore.

  "This is our beach!" Ryan yelled, holding out her arms as if introducing me to the water.

  "I love your beach," I yelled back, smiling at her.

  "Did you ever see a beach before?"

  I nodded. "I've seen lots of beaches."

  "Did you see this one?"

  I nodded, thinking back to the time when we visited Myrtle Beach to do some fundraising at the Ryder's church.

  "What do you do," Paige asked, pulling me from my thoughts.

  Logan and Cody were already pointing at the sand, marking off the area for our sandcastle, and I smiled absentmindedly at the sight of them getting so into it.

  "I just graduated dental school," I said.

  "With honors," Logan added.

  "Wow!" Paige said, sweetly. "A dentist, huh? I don't think I know any dentists," she shrugged, "except for the one I go to."

  "I go to the dentist," Ryan said, showing me her smile. "And I have a loose tooth!"

  I gave her a big, excited smile. "You do? That's so exciting."

  "Is it your first one?"

  "Yeah."

  "Yes ma'am," Cody corrected from a few feet away.

  "Yes ma'am," Ryan said. She was actively shoveling sand into a pail as she spoke.

  "I think those are very nice manners," I said, causing Ryan to glance at me and smile. "I'm gonna be a kids' dentist when I start work, and I hope all of my patients have nice manners like you."

  "I can be your patient if you want me to."

  "She works all the way out in California," Paige said, sitting next to Ryan to begin scooping. She looked at me. "I assume that's where you live," she amended.

  I nodded as I grabbed a shovel and pail and followed their lead, not even caring that I still had jeans on. "Your mama's right, I work way out west next to a different beach."

&nb
sp; "Or in Kenya," Logan said.

  This caused Paige to give me a curious glance.

  "My parents have a rescue center over there," I said. "I'll travel there and run clinics a couple times a year."

  "What kind of rescue center?"

  "It's for kids who have nowhere else to turn," I said. "Orphaned, neglected, abused, left behind… they all have a different story."

  "What ages?"

  "They come to us at all different ages—we've had some come as babies, but others show up on our doorstep in their teens. Most of them from really tragic situations."

  "What's tragic?" Ryan asked.

  "It means they had something hard or sad happen to them."

  "But then they got happy again?" Ryan asked, peering up at me.

  "Yep, they sure do get happy again," I said. "I got to grow up over there, so I saw kids go from sad to happy tons of times."

  "That's so cool," Paige said, staring off as if trying to imagine what it must have been like. "Can we look it up online?" she asked.

  "Oh, of course," I said. "My parents would love for you to take a look at it. They're always trying to get the word out. They've really expanded over the years. It's amazing to see what God's doing. My mom started out with three little girls in a tiny house, and it's grown to homes, and farms, and schools on three different locations."

  "And we can see it and read about it online?"

  "Oh yeah, they have a Facebook page and everything."

  "That's so cool," Paige said. "I don't think I've ever known a dentist or a missionary, and now I meet a dentist missionary."

  I laughed. "I probably only deserve the first title since I only plan to make trips over there. I'll be the regular dentist and let my parents do the hard stuff."

  "Don't let her fool you," Logan said, as he and Cody began transporting sand to our castle site. "She's doing the hard stuff—just not always in Kenya."

  "It's really not hard," I said.

  "What?" Paige asked.

  I shook my head and smiled like I was embarrassed he had mentioned it. "It's really not hard," I repeated. "He's just talking about a free clinic I’ll be doing." I continued to scoop sand into my pail. "What about you?" I asked Paige. "What do you do?"

  "I'm in beauty school right now," she said.