Meet Me in Myrtle Beach (Hunt Family Book 1) (6 page)

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.

"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.

"Breakfasttt!" Ryan called as she came up the stairs. The very second she appeared, Evan came out of the bathroom. He was obviously fresh out of the shower because steam rolled out with him. He had on cargo shorts and no shirt, and he was towel-drying his long hair. All I could think about was the conversation I had just overheard. How in the world did they expect me to charm someone like him… and did I even want to?

Cody caught sight of me shifting to avoid staring at his brother, and he said, "Why don't you put on a shirt?"

Evan laughed at that. He scooped up Ryan. "Where's this breakfast I heard you talking about?"

"Downstairs in the kitchen," she said, giggling like crazy. She ended on a squeal, because he began tickling her as he carried her down.

"It's probably gonna seem like Grand Central Station in this house for the rest of the week," Cody warned.

"I'm okay with that," I said. "I always wanted a big family when I was younger."

He gave me a half smile. "What about now?"

"It's just me, my dad, and my brother. I've sort of gotten used to it that way. I guess, when I was little, I just thought a huge family would appear out of nowhere if I wished hard enough. My dad was an only child, so I don't have any cousins or anything. I always imagined a ton of us gathered around a big dining room table with a turkey sitting in the middle of it like in the movies."

"I don't think we'll have a turkey on this trip, but you'll get your wish about having a ton of us around. You'll probably be good and sick of us by the end of the week."

I let my eyes drift over him, which was a mistake. He had on a loose fitting tanktop with cargos similar to his brother's. He was a good six inches taller than me, and I sighed as I peered up at his face. He smiled sweetly at me, and my heart was beating like a wild bird because of it.

"I really appreciate you guys having me here," I said. "It's a special treat for me to see the ocean for the first time."

"This might sound silly, but in some way it's special for me to see you see it for the first time," he said. He shrugged. "It's cool for me to watch you fall in love with it—makes me not take it for granted so much."

Just hearing him say the phrase
fall in love
, made a peculiar feeling wash over me. My first thought was that he was referring to me falling in love with an actual person, not the ocean, and this made me remember the whole conversation about his brother.

"I guess we should go downstairs," I said.

Within minutes, we were all sitting around eating breakfast together. It was just like my childhood fantasies minus the turkey, and as I looked around, I wondered what it'd be like once everyone else got there.

"Evan, you need a haircut," Dan said, during a break in conversation.

"I don't think he does," Mia said. "He's got a good man-bun going on."

"Paige can cut hair," Diane said.

She tried to make it sound like a casual suggestion, but I knew what she was up to. I giggled nervously.

"I'm a business major who happens to like doing hair. My friends just let me mess with theirs because they're in college and too broke to go to a salon. I definitely wouldn't want to give a haircut, especially to someone who doesn't want one." I smiled at Evan. "I think it looks good anyway."

"Thank you!" he said, running his hand through it.

I glanced at Diane just in time to see her give Dan a sly wink.
Boy oh boy, did I wish I could have unheard that conversation.

"It's this one who could use a haircut," Mia said, reaching over to tousle Cody's hair. It was cut short, but she managed to mess it up a little.

"She can cut my hair if she wants," Cody said, swiping it back into place.

"I didn't bring any supplies," I said. "And it would just be awkward if I gave you a bad haircut and then was stuck in the same house looking at it the rest of the week."

Everyone cracked up at that, even Ryan. I didn't want Diane to think I wasn't thankful for the opportunity to be there. I was, after all, "working" for her. "I'd be happy to do braids if anyone's interested, though."

"I want one!" Ryan said.

"Me too!" Mia said. "Can you do cornrows?"

"Yeah, that'd be pretty on you," I said. "We could do some cornrows in the front with a bunch of little braids in the back. It'd be perfect for the beach."

Mia started clapping excitedly at the thought. "Can you really do that?"

"Sure," I said. "Whenever you're ready."

"I might want to get some cornrows," Evan said, running his hands through his hair again as if imagining the possibility.

"I'm first," Mia said.

"Not if it's while you're gone to the spa," Christy reminded her.

Mia looked at me sadly. "That's right, I forgot we have a girl's spa day planned for when Charlotte gets here. You should come with us!"

Before I could refuse, Evan said, "You weren't supposed to tell Dee-dee they were coming. It was supposed to be a surprise."

"Oh, I know they're coming," Diane said, throwing a hand through the air nonchalantly. "Denise is terrible at keeping secrets. She just tries to act like they can't make it to torture me."

"You should come with Char and me when she gets here," Mia said. "We'll get a massage and a mani-pedi. It'll be fun."

"Oh, that's okay," I said. "Thanks for the offer, but I'm still trying to make friends with the ocean."

"Ohhh, come on, it'll be so fun. And you'll love Charlotte."

I had no earthly idea what a massage and a mani-pedi would cost, but I was relatively sure the eighty dollars my dad gave me wouldn't cover it. Including the cash he gave me, I only had a few hundred dollars to my name, and I really didn't want to go charging up my credit card.

"You're so sweet for offering, but I'm sure you should have an appointment. I really don't mind chilling here."

"She'll go," Diane said with an assurance I didn't bother contradicting. She smiled at me and gave me a little wink. "You'll have fun with the girls."

After breakfast, Diane discretely called me into her bedroom. I followed her inside and she closed the door behind us. She dug in her overnight bag before handing me an envelope. "I meant to give you this yesterday, and I forgot," she said.

She stood there as I opened it. There was a ton of cash inside. It must have been at least a few hundred dollars in twenty-dollar-bills.

"You don't think I'd bring you on vacation and not give you a per diem, did you?"

"I can't," I said, handing it back to her. "I don't need anything. You're already doing too much. I'm fine with just hanging here at the house. I already feel indebted to you as it is."

"Take it," she said. "It's not going to be enough. You'll probably spend half of it today at the spa. I'll get you some more when I go to the bank."

"That's just it. If it were up to me, I wouldn't spend money on a massage. I'd probably buy a haircut."

"So get yourself a haircut, "she said, pushing the envelope back toward me. "I'm sure they have those at the spa, too. I don't really care what you buy with it. It's yours. I had it in an envelope to give to you yesterday, and I just forgot."