Meet Me in Myrtle Beach (Hunt Family Book 1) (3 page)

I saw her attention shift to the staircase, and I looked in that direction to find an extremely handsome young man staring at us with great interest. He was loaded down with bags, but made no move to set them down.

"You must be David or Dan," I said, stashing my phone into the back pocket of my jeans. I waved. "My name's Paige. I'm here with your mom."

"You mean my grandma?" he asked, looking somewhat confused.

I tilted my head and returned his confused expression. "I'm here with Ms. Diane," I clarified.

He smiled. "That's my grandma," he said.

"Dan's my dad. My name's Cody. This is my daughter, Ryan."

It took a second for what he was saying to sink in. Diane had told me she had great-grandchildren, but this whole time, she had been referring to her grandchildren as her "grandbabies", and this man was hardly a baby. His non-babyness threw me for a loop, and I stared dumbly at him as he crossed the room and came to stand near one of the doors.

"Ryan and I usually stay in this bedroom," he said, looking at me from over his shoulder. "If you were planning on using it, we can grab one of the other bedrooms downstairs."

"Oh, no. I'm already set up over… I, I was planning on sleeping on this couch over here, if that's alright."

Chapter 3

The little girl followed her dad into the bedroom, and I could hear her asking him a thousand questions. I couldn't hear them that well, but I still had the sense that I was intruding, so I opened the back door and stepped onto the balcony. I had never seen the ocean before, and the smell and sound of it comforted me instantly. I stood at the edge of the balcony, leaning on the rail and relishing the feel of the breeze hitting my face.

There were about ten different things going through my mind all at once. First and foremost was the fact that I'd mistaken Mrs. Hunt's "grandbaby" for one of her sons. I tried to remember what I said to him, and felt sort of embarrassed about the whole exchange. She didn't seem old enough to have grandkids his age. It should have dawned on me when she said she had great-grandchildren that she had grandchildren who were old enough to have kids of their own, but for whatever reason, that didn't register. It didn't help that he was extremely handsome. He had dark hair and eyes, and an All-American look to his face. I could easily picture him being the star quarterback of his high school football team.

Just as I was daydreaming about Mrs. Hunt's gorgeous grandson, I remembered the little girl who preceded him. I assumed her mother would be upstairs momentarily, and I reminded myself it might not be best not to daydream about someone's husband. I stared blankly at the waves as they rolled in, and smiled to myself as I imagined a catfight that would clearly never happen

My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I took it out to find a text from my little brother asking for a photo with about ten exclamation points behind it. I scrolled through the photos I had already taken, and choose a few to send. He responded with a text saying how lucky I was, and I smiled as I stashed the phone back into my pocket.

I was staring at the ocean again when I heard the sliding glass door open behind me. "My dad said I can make sandcastles in a minute after I eat my snack," the little girl said.

As she was saying it, she was grunting with the effort of closing the door. I watched her for a second, before deciding to help her.

"Thanks," she said, staring up at me. "My dad's gonna take me to make a sandcastle in a minute, and when Uncle Evan and Aunt Mia get here, we're gonna build a
giant
one! Did you ever build a giant sandcastle?"

I looked down at her, unable to believe that so many words were coming out of such a little girl. She had curly sandy-blonde hair that had been pulled back into a messy ponytail. Her one-piece bathing suit was pink with white polka dots and perfectly showcased that precious little potbelly that all toddlers had.

"I've never made any size sandcastle," I said. "I've never even been to the beach."

She cracked up laughing at that. "The beach is right there, silly," she said, pointing through the rail at the ocean.

"Yeah, but I just got here a few minutes ago, and I haven't even walked out onto the sand yet."

Her eyes widened and her face grew serious. "Why not?"

"Well, because I just got here."

"Why didn't you go to a beach before? Why didn't you go when you was a little girl?"

"Because my family just never did. I don't live near a beach, and we never drove to one."

"They don't have a beach by your house?"

"Nope."

"They don't have a beach by my house either, but we drive to this one all the time. My Dee-dee said we can sleep here whenever we want to, and we build a sandcastle every time—even when it's too cold to swim in the water."

She came to stand next to me and held both hands up as if expecting me to pick her up. My gaze shifted around as if looking for someone who could tell me if it was okay for me to do so.
Would it be weird if I picked her up without permission from her parents? Was she old enough to know not to jump out of my arms and fly over the balcony?
"Do you think you should ask your mom or dad first?" I asked.

"I don't have a mom," she said shaking her head. "And my dad said I can be your friend since you came here with my Dee-dee."

"Are you gonna stay still and not wiggle if I hold you? We're really high up."

Her hands were still extended toward me as she nodded. I stooped and tentatively lifted her up to sit on my hip. Obviously a pro at sitting in that position, she latched onto me.

"You have to get the sand wet or it won't build a good castle," she said, squinting at the ocean. "I have extra shovels and buckets if you want to help."

"I'd like that," I said. "I don't have a mom either," I added, even though it had nothing to do with sandcastles. It just felt good to say it to someone who might know a little bit about what I went through.

"You don't?"

"Nope."

She looked right at me and then reached up and grabbed my hair as if she was interested in playing with it. "Did she go away when you were born like me?"

"She went away when I was six years old."

"I'm three, but soon I'll be..." she held up four fingers for me to count. "My Dee-dee's sementy-pime. She has the same birthday as my dad, and we had a big party."

It was the first thing she had mispronounced since I had been talking to her. I figured she meant Diane was seventy-five, but it didn't seem right.

"Is Dee-dee Ms. Diane?" I asked.

She shrugged. "I think she's just Dee-dee," she said.

"You ready, squirt?" I heard her dad ask as the glass door slid open.

"Yeaaah!" she said, stiffening with excitement as I held her.

I turned and watched as her dad stepped onto the balcony. He had changed into swim trunks and a tanktop, which happened to expose his tanned, muscular arms. I tried not to stare, so I looked instead at the girl. I thought she would try to get down, but she remained clinched onto me.

"She's never been to the beach or made a sandcastle, and she doesn’t have a mom, too, like me."

"
She
probably has a name," he said. "And it's not very nice to announce something like that right after she told it to you… if she did tell you that."

"What's your name?" the girl asked, shifting to stare up at me, and ignoring the rest of her dad's statement.

I couldn’t help but smile. "My name's Paige. And I need you to tell me your name again, too."

"My name's Ryan Diane Hunt, and my dad's Cody Hunt. That's him right there." She pointed, and I looked up to smile at Cody.

"I think Ryan Diane Hunt is a beautiful name," I said, bending to set her down.

She shamelessly pulled the wedgie out of her bottom. "My dad and Memaw named me."

"You ready to go?" Cody asked, reaching out for her hand. "Tell your new friend you'll see her later."

I glanced at Cody. I wanted to say something about how sweet and charming his little girl was, but I couldn't find the right words. Everything I wanted to say seemed inadequate, and I just stood there and smiled at him.

"She's gonna come with us after she gets her swimsuit on," Ryan said. She reached up for her dad's hand. "She's never been to the beach before and she's a grown-up."

I tried to hide my amusement. She was too precious.

"You've really never been to the beach?" Cody asked, looking at me as if he was just understanding what his daughter said.

"Yeah, and she doesn't have a mom, silly."

"Okay, Ryan, that's enough of—"

"She's right about both, actually." I said, smiling at him. I shrugged. "Maybe one caused the other. My dad wasn't much for vacations."

"Where'd you grow up?" Cody asked, seeming genuinely interested.

"Charlotte."

"That's where I live," Ryan said.

I smiled at her. "That's where I met your grandma… great grandma, I guess." I regarded Cody. "Are Ms. Diane and Dee-dee the same person?"

He nodded, and I smiled, hoping I was putting the pieces together.

"Just wait till the rest of the family gets here," he said. "You'll be lucky if you can keep half our names straight."

"Why does she need to keep a name
straight
, Dad?" Ryan asked, tugging on his swim trunks.

"Keeping names straight is just another way of saying she'll be lucky if she can remember everyone's name." He scooped her up and put her on his shoulders.

"What's wrong with your membry?" she asked, looking at me.

"Nothing," I said. "Your daddy was just telling me it was okay if I messed up on your names a little while I'm getting to know you guys."

"Do you member my name?"

"Ryan Diane Hunt, the beautiful princess who's almost four and loves to build sandcastles."

"See?" she said leaning down to stare at her dad. "She got it right."

She sure did," Cody said.

He stared at me with an earnest expression that I couldn't pinpoint. I wondered if he might be thankful that I called Ryan a princess.

"So are you joining us on the beach, Paige who's never built a sandcastle?" he asked, after staring at me for a few long seconds.

"How can I resist?" I asked.

"I don't think you can," he said.

"Okay, so just get your swimsuit on, please," Ryan said, getting jittery.

I reached out and pinched her toes gently. "You guys go ahead. I'll meet you down there in a few minutes."

She wiggled back and forth as if she was riding a horse, and she was telling it to get moving.

"You sure you don't want us to wait?" Cody asked.

I shook my head. "Go ahead, I think I can find it."

His mouth curved upward into a grin, and I realized I loved his teeth. They were clean, and white, and all perfectly lined up just the way teeth should be. I swallowed hard, but tried my best to keep my smile in place as I stared at him. Wife or no wife, I was relatively sure Mrs. Hunt wouldn't like me crushing on her grandson within the first five minutes of meeting him.

"I guess we'll see you down there," he said, cupping his hands comfortably around his daughter's adorable ankles.

Cody and Ryan headed into the house, with me following them. He ducked to make sure she wouldn't hit her head on the doorframe, but then they crossed the room and disappeared down the stairs, leaving me by myself.

I had lots of good friends, but I wasn't really the
run and tell everything to your best friend
sort of person. In fact, if I had such a thing as a 'best friend', it would probably be my little brother. And since I wasn't going to call him and spill my guts about the hot guy I just met, I kept it to myself. It didn't do any good to tell anyone about it anyway. It's not like it would amount to anything. He had a daughter, for goodness sake.

I smiled as I searched for my swimsuit, thinking maybe, if I was lucky, he'd have a little brother who looked just like him. I shook my head and rolled my eyes, chastising myself for being so dang boy-crazy. I wasn't even usually like that. I blamed his gorgeousness—it brought it out in me.

"You're here to help Mrs. Hunt, not hit on her grandkids," I whispered almost inaudibly. And right then and there, I made it my mission of the week
not
to be attracted to any of them. I'd have a nice relaxing week with Mrs. Hunt and her family. I'd be my same old goofy self and not try to impress anyone, no matter how wonderfully handsome they were. Right after I made this resolution, I almost went to the bathroom to apply some mascara and a coat of lipgloss, but I knew that doing so would just fan the flame. "You're not here to impress anybody," I said again as I checked my teeth in the mirror and pulled my hair into a ponytail.

Chapter 4

Diane was coming into the first floor living room at the same moment I walked downstairs. "I had a phone call to make, and it took longer than I thought," she said with a sigh. She crossed the open kitchen and took a glass from the cabinet before filling it with water from the door of the fridge. "I trust you found a place to put your things."

"I did," I said, sitting on the edge of one of the barstools.

"Want something to drink?" she asked, coming to stand across the bar from me.

"I was thinking I might walk out to the beach if it's okay with you."

She smiled and nodded at me. "I figured as much based on the change of wardrobe."

I looked down at my outfit. I didn't have much in the way of beach attire, so I made due with a tanktop and jean shorts thrown over last year's bathing suit.

"If you were planning on going to the store, I can wait till later," I said. "Cody and Ryan asked me to come out there, and I'd forgotten about a trip to the grocery store when I agreed."

Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked around the house. "Cody's here?" she asked.

"Did you not see them?"

She shook her head. "I was on the phone in my bedroom. I must have missed them. Dan said he might come up early, but I hadn't heard anything for sure."

"Ryan's really cute," I said. "She couldn’t believe that I'd never been to a beach."

"You've never been to a beach?" she asked.

I smiled and shook my head, and she extended her arm to put her hand on mine.

"Oh, sweetheart, I'm so glad you came."

We hesitated for a second as we stared at each other. I had no idea what she was thinking. "What are you waiting for?" she asked. "Get out there!"

I let out a little giggle as I got to my feet. She pointed to the doorway on the other side of the kitchen. "There's a mudroom through that door. You'll find beach towels in the cabinet. Grab one on your way out."

I started walking immediately. "I'll just go for a little bit, and then we can take care of the groceries."

"Just go have fun," she said.

There was a gorgeous deck attached to the house. It, like the rest of the house, was set up on piers, so I had to go across it and down some steps before my feet officially hit sand. I had on flip-flops, so I didn't get the full effect until I shook them off.

I stood alone at the bottom of the stairs, loving the feeling of the warm sand under my feet. I shifted my weight and wiggled my toes, letting myself sink into it. I stood there for what must have been a full minute, just appreciating the feel of it. I had imagined it would feel like that, but there was a big difference between imagining it and actually feeling it. It was delightful, and I couldn’t stop a smile from spreading across my face.

After a minute or so of appreciating the simple pleasure of sand between my toes, I finally decided to put one foot in front of the other and head toward the sound of crashing waves. I had to walk several yards on a path through some shrubs before I caught sight of Cody and Ryan, who were already hard at work building a castle. The texture of the sand changed as I approached them. I went from trudging in the deep soft sand, to walking normally on the wet sand that was packed down.

There were other people on the beach further down, but Ryan and Cody were the only two in the vicinity. "Hi Ms. Paige," Ryan said, waving wildly at me as if I might have overlooked them.

"Hi, Ryan," I said, waving back as I walked toward them. Cody had taken off his shirt, leaving his muscular chest, abs, and arms on full display. He was sitting directly on the sand, helping Ryan fill a pail.

"Don't look, don't look. Paige, just don't even look," I whispered to myself without moving my lips.

"Did you see the ocean?" Ryan asked, pointing to the utterly gigantic mass of water that was taking up literally half of our landscape at the moment.

"I did!" I said, suppressing a smile. "It's really beautiful."

"You want me to hold your hand while you go in there?" she asked.

"I thought you'd never ask," I said.

She dropped her shovel and ran over to me, reaching up for my hand. "You don't have to take off your shorts if you're just sticking your feet in there," she said as we walked. "I can't swim in the ocean yet unless Daddy's holding me."

"I'm still a little nervous, so I was hoping to just let the water hit my feet this time if that's okay with you."

She nodded. "It's okay," she said.

We took a few steps toward the water line, and I turned to see that Cody was looking at us with an amused smile.

"Are there sharks?" I mouthed to him.

It was a genuine fear of mine. I could just imagine holding his little girl's hand one minute and a shark coming to snatch her up the next. He shot me a confused expression that clearly said he wasn't an accomplished lip-reader.

"Are there sharks?" I asked again, this time really exaggerating the words as I silently formed them with my mouth.

He shook his head and regarded me as if I was crazy. At least I was sticking with my plan to act like a big goofball and not impress anyone. I really wanted to know the answer to my question though, so I told Ryan to wait there for a second while I ran and asked her dad something.

"Are there sharks?" I whispered as I came near him.

"Are there what?" he asked cupping a hand to his ear like he was straining to hear me. The white noise provided by the crashing waves was so loud and I had to get right up next to him if I didn't want to yell. It was a mistake, because the closer I got the more I could see the defined lines of his chest and abs. I stared at the top of his head to avoid looking as I leaned over and whispered, "Are there sharks?" for what must have been the forth time.

"Did you just ask me if there are sharks?" he asked.

I wasn't looking at his face, but I could tell by his tone that he thought it was funny.

"Yes," I said, making serious eye contact with him. "Are there?"

He stared at me with an unreadable expression. His eyes were as dark as midnight, even in the bright light of day. "It's the Atlantic Ocean," he said, still seeming a bit amused.

I glanced behind me and could see that Ryan was preoccupied with using her toes to dig in the sand. Again, I turned to face Cody. "I know it's the Atlantic Ocean," I said defensively, "and I know there are sharks in the Atlantic Ocean."

He shot me a sly smile. "So you've answered your own question," he said.

"Yeah but I don't like that answer," I whispered. "I was asking if there are sharks specifically right here. I'm not trying to have Jaws come eat your daughter while she's on my watch."

He let out a hardy laugh that made his chest shake.

"I'm serious," I said, even though I was giggling right along with him. "I'm nervous."

He stared up at me with a half-smile that said he was trying his best not to laugh at me. "I promise Jaws won't come to the shore and drag you off," he said. "Just hold her hand and go in up to your knees. You'll both come back alive, I swear."

"But my knees is her waist," I said. "Isn't that too deep for her?"

He laughed again. "You want me to come?" he asked. But even as he asked it, he was standing up, assuming I would say 'yes'.

"I'm sorry," I said as we walked toward Ryan who was still waiting patiently.

"Don't be," he said. "I think it's cute."

We were too close to Ryan for me to defend myself with words, so I narrowed my eyes playfully at him.

"You're coming too, Daddy?" Ryan asked.

"Yep," Cody answered.

I thought he might explain that I was scared or something, but he didn't. He just grabbed her hand and started walking toward the ocean. I followed, but I remained couple of steps behind them. I was a good swimmer in a swimming pool, but the ocean seemed alive to me, and I had what I thought was, a healthy fear of it. I was planning on watching them and maybe letting the water hit my toes little bit.

Cody looked over his shoulder at me and smiled, gesturing with a flick of his head for me to come join them. "Come on," he said.

"I'm good," I said. "I'm easing into it."

"My daddy will hold your hand if you're scared," Ryan yelled, cupping her precious little hand around her mouth and yelling loudly even though I was standing a few feet away.

"I'm okay," I yelled back. "I'm just gonna let the water hit my toes a little bit."

"Come here," Cody said, confidently reaching his hand out in my direction. The problem was that his hand, which seemed harmless, was connected to a beautifully sculpted male body and perfect face. He was smiling and the pristine background made him look like something straight out of a music video. The temptation was great, and I almost reached out for his hand despite the fact that I was terrified of being drug into the Jaws-infested water.

"I'm okay," I repeated, shaking my head and gesturing with my hand that they could go on without me.

"I know you're okay," he said, still smiling. "And you'll still be okay when the water's hitting your legs. Come on."

I shook my head, and he smiled and pushed his hand toward me again. "Come on," he repeated.

"Come on, Paige!" Ryan yelled.

"Ms. Paige," Cody said, glancing down at her.

She jumped up and down. "Come on Ms. Paige!" She was literally irresistible. I smiled and took a few steps in their direction. Cody leaned forward and grabbed my hand. "It's just water," he said.

We took several steps into the ocean to the point where the water was right above my ankles. Just then, a wave came rushing to the shore, causing the water to rise to the middle of my shins, almost to my knees. Ryan let out a shriek of delight. I let out a tiny shriek as well, although mine was slightly less joyful. The water came upon us so quickly that, before I even knew what I was doing, I sided up next to Cody and took a hold his arm, poised to climb him if need be.

"Can you swim?" he asked. I had come to stand so close to him that I felt his warm breath against my forehead as he spoke. It made me realize just how close I had gotten. I took a step back and glanced up at him.

"Yes," I said. "Quite well… in a swimming pool where the water doesn't breathe and attack you like this."

I figured I could handle the water going up to my knees as long as I didn't go any deeper. I sighed as I let go of his hand.

"You okay?"

I smiled and nodded. "Fine," I said. "Sorry for being such a baby about it."

Ryan continued to jump and squeal as the waves hit her belly. Cody was holding her hand, but his attention was focused on me. "I'm glad I got to be a part of your first time in the ocean," he said. "I like that you said it breathes."

"That's probably a little dramatic. I just didn't expect it to be so…" I stared out onto the vast expanse of it. "…big."

"Do you like it?" he asked.

I nodded. "I think I love it," I said. "I've just got to get to know it."

"I love it too!" Ryan yelled. I didn't even know she'd been listening to us. "Look Daddy, there's a fish!" she called.

"Ahhhh," I screeched as I high-stepped backwards toward the shore. All I could imagine was a shark fin swimming in our direction. I was a good eight or ten feet away from them when I realized they hadn't moved and were laughing as they stared at me from over their shoulders.

"She probably saw something jump out of the water about a mile off shore," Cody yelled, unable to hold back a smile. "She's great at spotting fish."

"Yep," Ryan yelled. She turned and pointed. "It was over there. I think it was a dolphin!"

I smiled and shook my head, thinking of how silly I must have looked running for my life. I motioned by nudging my head in the direction of the beach towels.

"I love the ocean and everything, but think I'll ease into it. I'll try out your sandcastle supplies if you don't mind."