Meet Me in Myrtle Beach (Hunt Family Book 1)

by St. James, Brooke

  "I'll go with you."

  "I'll head up as well, Diane said.

  "I might as well go, too, if the rest of the girls are going," Christy added. She looked at Cody. "Do you want me to bring Ryan with us so she can go ahead and get her bath?"

  He thought about it for a few seconds while he stared down the shore at Ryan and Evan. "I'll give her a little while longer and bring her up with me," Cody said. He looked directly at me. "I guess I'll stay here if the girls are headed up with you," he said. He spoke in hushed tones, and I could tell he would have come with me if I had asked him to.

  "Of course," I said, smiling and trying my best not to seem disappointed. "Just so I'm not alone."

  Chapter 8

  Diane, Christy, and Mia all stayed downstairs, but I excused myself, saying I wanted to finish the book I was reading. They made sure I knew I was welcome to stay downstairs and visit with them, but I had a lot to process and was glad for the excuse for some quiet time.

  I had several texts on my phone when I went upstairs. Three were from my friend Becca, and two were from my dad. Becca's first text was asking me if I could put her hair in an up-do for a work function she had tomorrow night. Her second text said, "Helloooo? Are you there?" And her third text informed me that she broke down and called Seth, and he told her I was out of town. She asked for details, and I smiled as I texted her back.

  Me: "I'm at Myrtle Beach for a week! Can you believe it?"

  Becca: "With who?"

  My first instinct was to tell her that I was with Logan Ritchie because I knew that would make her go crazy, but I decided against it.

  Me: "I met a lady at breakfast the other day, and she hired me for the summer."

  Becca: "Hired you for what?"

  Me: "I'm not quite sure. I think I'm gonna help her with some gardening when we get back home. For now, we're just chillin'."

  Becca: "At the beach?"

  Me: "Yep."

  Becca: "Weird. Just you and her?"

  Me: "Her whole family."

  Becca: "Any hot guys?"

  Oh, boy. I giggled as I tapped out the next text.

  Me: "Her grandsons are pretty cute, but they're not all here yet."

  I came extremely close to telling her that Logan would be there, but for whatever reason, I decided not to. Maybe it was because I didn't really believe it myself.

  Becca: "Well, here's hoping! Glad you're chillin', but I wish you were here to do my hair!"

  Me: "Search YouTube and get Mallory to help you."

  Becca: "Good idea. Have fun. Miss you"

  Me: "I will. Miss you too. See you soon. We'll go to the movies when I get back. Maybe Killing Streak."

  Killing Streak was the name of Logan's new movie. It was as close as I'd let myself come to telling her what was going on.

  Becca responded with, "Sounds good," and a heart emoji.

  I text my dad and brother after that. I felt extremely tempted to tell both of them about Logan's potential presence at the beach house, but again, I decided not to.

  Instead, I put in my earbuds, and found some music to listen to while I searched Logan's name on Google. Yep. There he was. Endless photos came up for my viewing pleasure. He'd been in show business for so long, that there were photos of him in every stage of life with every possible haircut and hair color known to man. I was informed by Wikipedia that he was a 25-year-old screen and television actor who was born in Charlotte, NC but lived in Los Angeles, California.

  I stared at recent photos, trying to imagine what it would be like to talk to him in person. I figured if I imagined having conversations with him beforehand, it would be easier once the time came for me to actually do it. I played out the whole scenario in my head. He would say something like, "How'd you meet Dee-dee?" and I would tell him about her rescuing me from a job interview… or maybe I could style his sister's hair and he'd offer to get me a job doing hair on a movie set. What was I thinking? It's not like I could do hair on a movie set or otherwise without a license.

  I smiled down at his photo, feeling silly for even having such thoughts. I caught myself comparing him to Cody and Evan. The family resemblance was unmistakable. They shared the same big, dark eyes, and strong, square jaw. They were like an all-American dream family. I stared at his smile in the photo, and the memory of Cody's smile came to the forefront of my mind. I closed my eyes, trying to remember exactly what it looked like.

  "What are you smiling at?" I heard someone ask loudly enough to cut through the music.

  It startled me, and I gasped as I pulled the earbuds out of my ears. I had been daydreaming about Cody, and now here he was, staring down at me with a huge smile as if he was entertained by my jumpiness. How embarrassing to get caught smiling with your eyes closed. I just hoped against hope that I hadn't been whispering his name or anything.

  "What are you doing?" I asked, glancing at my phone, which was, thank the good Lord in heaven, turned screen-down. Had he seen what I was looking at? Oh, great, I hope not.

  "I just came up to see what you were doing," he said. "We're gonna put on a movie downstairs, and Dee-dee wanted me to ask you if you wanted to join us."

  He was leaning onto the arm of my couch, and I stared up at him wondering how in the world he left me so breathless. "I think I'll probably just hang out up here unless Ms. Diane needs me for something. I have been wanting to finish this book, and I need to get some rest if I'm trying to face Jaws tomorrow."

  He laughed, and the sound of it made my heart race. I took an unsteady breath, which I quickly disguised as a yawn.

  "You sure you guys don't need to use this TV?" I asked, pointing to the giant screen on the far wall. "If so, you won't bother me."

  "Not tonight," he said. "I'm sure we'll be all up in your space once everyone else gets here, but they're using the downstairs family room tonight."

  "Okay, just don't go out of your way for my sake," I said. I lifted up my earbuds. "I can read through anything with my white noise."

  He smiled. "Don't forget about the real white noise right out there," he said, tossing his head toward the ocean.

  I smiled. "I'll keep an ear out for Ryan if you're planning on putting her to bed."

  "She's sleeping downstairs with my parents tonight," he said.

  I glanced into the open door of the bedroom he was occupying. "I guess that means you're staying outside," I said.

  He smiled. "Scared to be up here alone?"

  "No," I said, playfully narrowing my eyes.

  "Evan and I were planning on crashing outside if you're okay with that."

  "Fine," I said, shrugging.

  "I figured you could use some quiet up here anyway since everything's gonna hit the fan tomorrow."

  "What do you mean by hit the fan?"

  "There's not enough bedrooms for all of us. Evan and Logan usually crash on couches up here. If it's too much for you to deal with, I can let you have the bedroom, and I'll move out here to a couch. I usually just grab the bedroom since Ryan's with me, but she's fine with my parents."

  "I'm good here," I said, shaking my head. "I told your grandma I could sleep anywhere, and I meant it." I held up my earbuds and smiled at him.

  "We'll see if you change your mind once we're all playing Call of Duty at one in the morning."

  I wanted to say I'd be fine with that, or that I would play Call of Duty with them. I wanted to say something cool and witty. I wanted to say anything, but I couldn’t think straight. I just kept staring at his smile. It was masculine and sweet at the same time, and in that moment, Cody was ten times more desirable than Logan Ritchie.

  "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush," I said absentmindedly, wondering if that was even the right phrase for how I was feeling.

  He stared at me for a few confused seconds and cleared his throat. "Give a man a fish, and you feed him for the day, teach him to fish, and you feed him for life," he replied.

  I hadn't even realized that I said the bird in the bush thing out
loud, and now he thought I was just spouting off random quotes.

  I giggled. "It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice," I said. "That's one my dad says all the time."

  "Your dad must be a nice guy."

  "He is. He's a good man. He's always looking out for Seth and me."

  "Seth's your brother?"

  I nodded.

  "How old is he?"

  "Nineteen."

  "Codyyy! You cominggg?" we heard someone yell from the direction of the staircase. He turned his head to yell in that direction.

  "Coming!" He stared back at me. "You sure you don't want to come?"

  I wanted to, I really did. But all those feelings were too much too fast. My heart was already beating out of control. Plus, I'd apparently have Evan and Logan sleeping in the same room with me for the next week. I needed to pace myself. "Thanks for telling me about it, but I think I'll catch up on my rest tonight."

  "Come down if you change your mind," he said.

  I smiled and waved at him as he walked away.

  I read for the next two hours before turning off my Kindle. I stretched out onto the couch and covered myself with the clean, comfortable blankets I had taken from the closet. I had my eyes closed and was listening to music quietly when I heard footsteps in the room. I could see a change in the light, but I kept my eyes shut.

  My stomach filled with butterflies as I imagined things like Cody coming over to tuck me in or place a kiss on my forehead. I should never have finished that romance novel. I vowed right then to only read adventures or mysteries for the rest of the vacation. Maybe I'd download Indian in the Cupboard or some other children's book just to be safe.

  I heard someone bustling around the room for a few minutes, and then I heard the shower running. I tried to fall sleep, but I was just too amped up. I had listened to a song or two while the shower was running, and then I started hearing footsteps again.

  I couldn't take the suspense any longer. I barely peeked out of my eyes, just enough to try to see who is in the room with me. Cody was standing in the doorway, staring down at his phone. He had on pajama pants with no shirt and I squeezed my eyes shut instinctually. My heart was pounding like crazy at the sight of him and the fear that he might have noticed me peeking.

  And just like that, the light was off. I could see the change through my closed eyelids. There had been no tucking me in, nor had there been a kiss on the forehead. He just came up, showered, and went to bed. It only hit me after he had already disappeared into his room that he was supposed to be sleeping outside on the hammock with his brother. The first thing I thought when it came to my mind was that he had decided to sleep up here for my sake—so I wouldn't be scared. I almost got off the couch to go tell him I was fine sleeping up here alone, but I knew it was ridiculous of me to assume such a thing.

  I tried to drift off right away, but it took me another hour or so. Once I fell asleep, I didn't wake until the next morning just before 8AM. I tried to be really quiet when I got up and use the restroom, but I could see after a quick glance in Cody's bedroom that he wasn't in there, and I was upstairs alone.

  It was hard for me to comprehend that I was waking up in a beautiful beach house with the ocean as my backyard. I decided to take a look outside before I got dressed for the day, so I slid the door open and stepped onto the balcony.

  The salt and the sound were the first things to hit me again. This was what people were referring to when they made up the phrase, "This is the life." I caught myself letting out tiny little, Ahhh, ahhh's at the beauty of it. Getting dressed could wait a few minutes, I decided. What's the good in having a balcony if you're not going to sit on it for a few minutes?

  I smiled and sighed as I sat on one of the comfortable patio chairs. They were made of waterproof fabric stretched over metal frames, and I leaned back into one, basking in the glory of it all.

  I had only been out there for a few minutes when I heard a group of people come onto the second-story balcony below me. I knew it was a group of people, because I could hear them talking the instant they stepped outside.

  It was then that I overheard a conversation that I was never intended to hear. I guess I could have tiptoed back inside and made the effort not to hear it, but I couldn’t talk myself into doing that. Once you hear your name in someone else's conversation, tiptoeing away is almost impossible.

  Chapter 9

  Whoever had come onto the second story balcony, came out chattering. It seemed like there were two different conversations going on at the same time, so I assumed it must have been at least three people. The exact words they were saying were unintelligible, but I heard my name mentioned, which obviously made my ears perk up.

  "Close the door behind you," a woman's voice said, cutting through the chatter.

  I could tell it was Diane.

  "Mom, you can't bring a girl on vacation with hopes that Evan will suddenly fall in love. It doesn't work like that anymore."

  I figured that the man who had said that was Dan, and my stomach turned, knowing he was talking about me. I curled into a ball, wanting to hear the rest of the conversation, and at the same time, wishing I could just vanish into thin air.

  "What do you mean anymore?" she asked.

  "He's saying there's no arranged marriages anymore," a woman's voice said.

  I assumed it was Christy, and I cringed, imagining a big intervention taking place.

  Diane laughed. "I'm not that old," she said. "And I'm not assuming they'll fall in love or that I can arrange a marriage." She paused. "I'm a good judge of character, that's all. She's a good person and I wanted him to meet her. I thought the Lord was leading me to bring her with me on this trip."

  "I'm sure you did, Mom. And maybe He was. She seems real nice. But you can't get your hopes up that Evan's gonna feel a certain way about her. You know how he is."

  "I know, and that's exactly why I think she'd be perfect for him. I mean, really, you can't tell me you're okay with him chasing whalers in freezing temperatures. It's dangerous, Dan."

  "I know it is, but he's a grown man, and he's gonna decide what he's doing with his life."

  "And the second we tell him we think he should settle down and start a family in Charlotte, he'll turn tail and do just the opposite," Christy added.

  "She's exactly right," Dan agreed. "I hope you didn't already tell him you brought that girl for him."

  "Her name's Paige," Diane said. "And, no, I didn't. I'm smart enough to know he doesn't want to be told who to fall in love with. I was just hoping to use the power of suggestion."

  "He's too smart for that, Mom."

  They were silent for a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity. My heart was pounding as I waited to hear what they'd say next.

  "Well, she's adorable, and she's got a good head on her shoulders. She's a Christian, her family's in Charlotte, and she doesn't just like me for my money. She thought I was planning on scrounging up enough money to help her pay her phone bill when I asked her to come help me. She probably would have done it for free. I happen to love her, and I think she'd be perfect for him."

  "She probably would be, but don't tell him that," Christy said. "You know how hard-headed he is."

  "We want him home, too," Dan said. "Don't you think we worry about him? Christy stays up at night thinking about him facing off with those hunters."

  "So, we're in agreement!" Diane said. "All the more reason for you to join my plan."

  "Your plan of making him suddenly fall in love with the perfect stranger you brought on vacation?"

  "Yes!" she said.

  I could hear the smile in her voice and I sank my face into my hands. Evan? I was invited here for Evan? I let out a long silent breath, trying not to feel overwhelmed.

  "What are we supposed to do, Mom? Make them an accidental candlelight dinner?"

  "No, but you could happen to mention how nice or pretty she is."

  "He can see that for himself," Dan said.

&n
bsp; "Bottom line is… if he knows we've got an agenda, he'll do the exact opposite, and he'll probably break her heart in the process," Christy added.

  "He won't break her heart," Diane said. "I saw how he was looking at her when she came down with her hair all messed up. He liked that."

  "Yeah, well, so did Cody," Dan said.

  "Cody liked it because he loves Ryan. Evan liked it because of what it said about her character."

  "I think you're reading into it too much," Dan said. "It's all gonna go to pot once Logan gets here, anyway."

  "What's that supposed to mean?" Christy asked, defensively.

  "It means the girl probably won't know Evan exists once she has stars in her eyes," Dan said.

  "That's not true," Diane said. "She's not like that."

  "I agree," Christy said, although her agreement was more in defense of her son's appeal rather than my integrity.

  Dan laughed. "We'll see." He paused for a second. "Here's Mia," he said, warning them to be quiet.

  I heard the sound of the door open followed by Mia's voice. "The quiche is ready," she said.

  "Thanks, sweetheart, we'll be right down," Christy said.

  "Not a word of this to any of them," Christy said, once Mia had the chance to close the door.

  "Obviously," Dan said.

  I remained as still as a statue until I knew they had all gone inside, and then I quickly but silently opened the door and ran in.

  I almost ran straight into Cody's arms. He had to catch me. "You okay?" he asked.

  "Yeah, why?" I asked, smiling as if nothing at all could possibly be wrong.

  "Because you were out there with your face in your hands, and then you ran inside like something was chasing you." He tilted his head and smiled ever so slightly. "Jaws?"

  I giggled and let my shoulders slump. "No. I was just out there thinking, and I didn't expect to run into you when I came in. I thought I was the only one upstairs."

  "I came up to tell you breakfast was ready."

  "Quiche?" I said, not even realizing that it was a slip.

  "Yeah, how'd you know?"

  "I probably smell it," I said.