Dan got everyone's attention and said the blessing for all of us, thanking God for the food we were about to eat and for "the tremendous blessing of family," which made me want to cry. Evan reached over and grabbed my hand while his dad prayed, which only made matters worse. I could barely pay attention to the end of the prayer because I was trying to suppress my urge to cry.
I was an only child raised by parents who were divorced. My dad's mom was the one who owned the restaurant, and I was pretty close to her, but she was getting older now, and couldn’t do all the things she once could. I had a few cousins in St. Louis, but I had never been close to them. I loved my family, and knew I had a good life, but I had never experienced anything close to the situation I now found myself in with the Hunts. They were all wonderful people, and I felt so blessed by the way they wanted to take me into the fold.
Thankfully, his heartfelt prayer was brief; otherwise, I would have been wiping my eyes. As it stood, I got by with several exaggerated blinks to clear the tears. I smiled at Evan once his dad finished praying, and he squeezed my hand before letting go so he could grab one of the dishes in the middle of the table.
The servers had brought three types of pasta and a few pizzas, and we all just passed dishes around the table so we could serve ourselves. Evan asked me what I wanted and helped me with my food. He knew I was perfectly capable of doing it myself, but he almost seemed to enjoy taking care of me.
Male chivalry, especially when coming from a devastatingly handsome man, gives girls all sorts of warm-fuzzy feelings… at least it did for me. Being a gentleman could make a not-so-handsome man more appealing, so just imagine how good it looked on Evan Hunt. It was a surreal experience having his attention and affection focused on me.
The restaurant had set up two huge tables in a semi-private room. We could see the main dining room, but we were on the other side of a half-wall. Evan and I sat next to each other near the middle of one of the tables. The other table was behind our backs, so we were nearly back-to-back with Logan and his wife, Rachel. Paige and Cody were directly across from us, and Evan's mom and dad were sitting on my right.
We ended up talking to the people right beside us as we ate. Paige had been answering someone's question about the salon when she turned the conversation to me and the fact that I got them connected with one of the local women's shelters.
"In a couple of weeks we're gonna do a spa day at the Hope Center," she said. "We have ten stylists who are going to set up over there and bring some fresh, new looks to those ladies."
At least six or eight of the people sitting around us were listening to her talk.
"I think that's amazing!" Christy said, sweetly.
"Annabel's the one who hooked us up with that," Paige said, gesturing to me proudly. "She was planning on volunteering all by herself, and she got me feeling like I wanted in on it. You should tell them about the girl," Paige added, looking directly at me from across the table.
I shook my head almost imperceptibly at her. I didn't necessarily want to tell the story. Mostly because I felt like I had already been blessed by it enough. If I got any sort of praise out of the deal, I would just feel guilty.
"What girl?" Evan asked, since I hadn't even told him about it.
"I'm gonna tell them if you don't," Paige said stubbornly.
The only reason she knew about it was because she knew I had been up at the salon until after 10PM this past Monday night. "Annabel fit a week's worth of clients into a few days," Paige said. "We're normally closed on Monday's, but she had to move her clients around to make arrangements to be here with us this weekend. Anyway, long story short, the woman from the shelter called Annabel on Monday to see if she could help out one of the women who had a job interview on Tuesday."
"She knew it was last-minute," I said, taking up for her. "They didn't think about asking me until right before they called, and she said for me not to feel pressure to do it."
"Well, Annabel ended up doing it," Paige said. "She worked at the restaurant Monday morning, then she came in and did seven hours worth of rearranged hair appointments before the woman came in. I think they were there till ten-thirty that night. At least that's what the alarm record says."
"That's so sweet," Christy said, patting my back like she was proud of me. The woman's story was all the thanks I needed, and again, I felt unworthy of any further pats on the back.
"That's not all!" Paige said. "That's not the best part."
I sent her a shocked look that made her laugh.
"Mrs. Cartwright called me," she said.
Mrs. Cartwright was my main contact at the Hope Center. She had called me, too, which was why I knew the rest of the story—I just didn't know Paige knew it.
"Brenda got the job," Paige said. She shook her head as tears welled in her eyes. "The lady said she'd never seen such a transformation. She said having her hair done made the difference… That the confidence it gave Brenda was the reason the interview had gone so well." Paige's face crumpled slightly as she was talking, which made tears begin to form in my own eyes. "She said you helped that lady get back on her feet. That her life will change because of what you did."
It was completely ridiculous that Paige was crying and making me cry in front of all these nice people. I wiped my eyes and shook my head at her smiling through the tears that I was trying to keep at bay.
"Well, it was Evan who inspired me," I said, since it was the truth. "He's always doing something to help someone."
"I love my grandbabies so much!" Dee-dee yelled from the other end of the table, since pretty much the whole table was now listening to our conversation. "Seriously, y'all," she said. "You don't know how happy it makes my heart to hear about how much you do for others. All of my babies have such kind, giving hearts."
"Who do you think we get it from, Mom?" Dan asked from the other side of me. My eyes stung again as everyone at both tables agreed that they were the way they were because of Dee-dee.
After that, everyone just sort of continued eating and began talking in small groups again. Evan put his hand on my leg and gave it a squeeze. I had on shorts, so we were skin to skin, and the feeling of it sent chills up my spine. I literally shivered. He leaned over so he could whisper in my ear.
"You're never getting rid of me, you know," he said as a statement of fact and not a question.
"I guess I don't really want to," I said, seriously.
"Good, because you're not."
"Good, because I don't want to," I said, cracking a tiny smile.
"I'm taking you to the beach when we get back," he said.
"You are?"
"Yep."
"I haven't been to the beach yet," I said.
"I know."
"I'm probably gonna like it."
"Yep, you are," he said, giving my leg another squeeze. "And I am too."
"You are?"
He nodded with a mischievous grin.
"What's gonna happen at that beach?" I asked, feeling that familiar buzzing sensation. For the next few seconds, Evan blatantly stared at my lips. He unabashedly sat there and stared straight at them as if thinking of what he wanted to do with them. I had to bite my lip to keep from breaking into a huge grin, and he glanced up to meet my eyes with a funny expression like he thought I was trying to egg him on by biting my lip.
I laughed and pushed at him with my shoulder.
"You know what's happening at that beach," he said as he looked away, casually reaching over me to take a dish from his mom.
We had taken several cars to the restaurant, so half of them went to an ice cream place, and those of us who didn't want ice cream went straight home. Evan and I went with the non-ice cream bunch so that I could get back and check on Cupcake. I knew she'd be fine, but I was so amped up about this supposed walk to the beach that I wasn't hungry for ice cream. Evan was glad to get back to the house, so I didn't feel bad about that being my vote.
The sun was deep in the sky, but it was still daylight by
the time we got back home and decided to head out to the beach. All of the little kids had gone out for ice cream, so the house was quiet as we made our way through it.
"What do you think about living in this house?"
"The life!" I said, smiling at him as I made a swooning gesture.
"So you want to?" he asked.
"Unless you're kicking me out to a hotel," I said, pinching him in a flirty way. "But I already put my things upstairs, and I'm pretty attached to that spot."
"I mean permanently. With me."
We had been walking through the living room, but Evan stopped once we were in the kitchen and leaned against the counter. There were a couple of people in the living room, but they had already turned on the TV, and were preoccupied. I smiled at him, but furrowed my eyebrows as if to ask what in the world he was talking about—at least that's what I hoped he understood by my expression.
"I'm sort of serious," he said. "I've been talking to Dee-dee and my parents and uncles this week. None of them are interested in living here full-time, so they're willing to let me buy it from Dee-dee. She said she'd love to know it's in the family and being lived in." Evan paused and smiled at me patiently as if he knew he'd just dropped a bomb on me. "I looked at a couple of places for a restaurant, and the girls know of a spa where you could maybe work." He gestured around him. "We'd have to be open to having these hoodlums around every summer, but I didn't think that'd be such a big deal." He paused and glanced at me with a genuinely curious expression. "Would it be?"
"Would it be what?" I asked since I was basically in the middle of mentally short-circuiting.
"Would it be okay with you to have them take over our house like this every June?"
"Our house?" I asked, tilting my head.
He smiled. "Yes. I mean obviously you'd have to think about it or whatever, but I thought I should tell you sooner rather than later that it's on the table since you're a part of the equation."
I pointed at myself. "Are you asking my opinion about whether or not you should buy this house?" I asked, feeling genuinely confused.
He smiled and reached out to pinch me gently. "Well, I'm not buying the house unless I plan on moving here, and I'm not moving anywhere unless it's with you, so yeah, I guess I'm sort of asking your opinion." He paused and smiled. "No pressure, though."
"So we would move to Myrtle Beach?" I asked.
He shrugged. "It's an option."
"Me and you?"
Another smile. "Yeah, me and you. We don't have to decide tonight or anything, but it's on the table. Dee-dee would give me a fair price, and everyone agrees that they want to keep it in the family."
"And you're Aunt and Uncle are okay with it?" I asked.
"We've worked it out where it's fair for everyone. None of the others want to live here full time, and they're happy for me to be here to keep up with it."
Just then, his mom came downstairs and into the kitchen, making us stop our conversation. Evan pulled me into his arms and situated me with my back against his chest where I was facing his mom. For the next few minutes, we talked to her about sandcastles and other random vacation-related things that didn’t include major life decisions.
Chapter 19
Evan and I talked to his mom for a little while before we decided to go down to the beach. Cupcake wanted to come, but we left her at the house because I knew she'd be excited about her first visit to the ocean, and I didn't feel like keeping up with her.
There was a huge deck extending off of the backside of the house. It was accessible from the first story, which meant it was set up on pillars like the rest of the house. A straight, wooden staircase led from the deck to the sandy path below that took you to the beach. Evan led me across the deck and down the staircase for our much-anticipated walk.
"This all needs to be pressure washed and stained," he said, gesturing to the rail as we walked down the stairs.
It had been a few minutes since he first mentioned the idea of buying the house, and I was still having trouble letting the idea sink in. The thought of being responsible for this grand place was inconceivable to a girl like me who grew up with her mom in a tiny, two-bedroom house.
"How in the world would you afford a place like this?" I asked since it was the main worry on my mind.
He put his arm around me. "Honestly, it's a lot for me to take on while I'm trying to get a restaurant off the ground. I would basically be buying my aunt and uncle out," he said. "My mom and dad want me to have it, and they're willing to wait on their piece until I can afford to give it to them. Plus, Dee-dee and the other two are being really fair with the price since they'd all like to see it maintained. I'm not sure about the timing, but I figure it's best to consider it while everyone else is on board with making it happen. It's a cool place, and it's almost too good to pass up."
He took my hand, and we walked down the path toward the beach. It was windy and the closer we got the more I could smell and hear the ocean. I tried to imagine this being my backyard, and let out a little uncontrollable laugh at the thought.
"What?" he asked.
"It's just a lot to think about," I said.
"I obviously have some money saved, otherwise I couldn't even think about something like this, but I'll be honest, it might be a little tight for a while. Between the restaurant and the house, we might be eating ramen for a couple of years." He glanced at me as we walked, and I smiled at him.
"I know how to make biscuits," I said. "They're cheap. Plus, I'd be working. Don't forget about that."
He smiled and abandoned holding my hand in favor of putting his arm around me. "I feel like I should go ahead and disclose something else," he said, cringing like he thought it might be some kind of deal-breaker.
"Termites?" I asked, making him laugh.
"No."
"Hurricanes?"
"No."
"Bad neighbors?"
He laughed again. "No."
"Hit me."
"The family visits probably won't be limited to one week out of the year. I think each of the families, maybe all but the California crew, are accustomed to visiting the house a time or two on their own during the year."
"You're saying if we live here, then the members of your family are going to come visit us?"
He nodded. "They'll probably want to stay here, too." He shook his head. "It shouldn't be that big of a deal, though. It's not like it's all the time."
I laughed.
"What?"
"You're saying the people we just had dinner with will be coming to see us every once in a while."
"Yes," he said, seriously as if waiting for my reaction. He shrugged. "It's part of the reason I'm getting a good price on the house. They sort of think they can some spend the weekend once or twice a year. I know Cody and Paige do for sure."
I glanced at him and I could tell he was actually concerned. "Evan, I love your family," I explained. "The idea that they'd come visit us only makes me more okay with moving here. Oh my goodness," I said, coming to a stop once we were on the shore. With all the talk of buying the house, I hadn't been able to appreciate the breathtaking expanse of water in front of me. It was amazingly beautiful, and I took a deep breath in, feeling like my lungs were better off for having a little salt-air in them. "It's a lot to think about," I said. I paused and gestured around me. "But who wouldn't want to live here if given the chance, right?"
We were both quiet for a minute before I said, "I love your family. Please don't ever feel like I wouldn't want them around. If anything, I'm the new girl, and they're tolerating having me around."
"Not when you're the lady of the house," he said, pulling me into his arms. I turned into him so his body would block the wind coming off of the ocean. His hair was pulled back, but little wisps of it flew wildly in the wind all around his face. Had he just called me the lady of a house? And if so, had he been referring to this house? What kind of backwards world were we living in? I stared up at his scar, wondering if God had used
that accident to bring us to this—to bring him to me.
"My mom will probably want to visit quite a bit, too," I said. "She might even end up selling her house and moving here once she sees this," I gestured at the ocean, and absentmindedly shook my head at its magnificence.
"I figured it might come to that," he said, "which will be good since before too long we might be needing a babysitter."
"Evan Hunt, you're saying all sorts of stuff I'm gonna wish I could hear all over again."
"Then, I'll just say it again," he said wearing his confident smile as he stared down at me. "What you need me to say? That I love you and I want to have babies? That I want to buy you this house because it's the best thing I can think of buying you?" He paused and smiled at me. "Just ask me when you want to hear me say it again, and I will." He shrugged. "I might not get it word-for-word, but I'll get close."
"How close?" I asked, smiling up at him as he held me around the waist.
"You want me to try again?" he asked.
I nodded. "I want to buy you this house, Annabel, because it feels right. You feel right. I'm pretty sure we're gonna live here and have babies, and your mom will probably end up babysitting like I said."
I giggled at the feeling of pure joy that came over me. "Evan, this is crazy," I said, staring up at him.
He tilted his head at me. "Really?"
"Yes, really. This is the last conversation I planned on having with you when I drove over here today."
"Is it okay?" he asked.
"Yes, it's okay," I said, smiling and shaking my head. "It's just crazy. I feel like I'm in some sort of crazy dream world."
"It's a pretty good backyard isn't it?"
"Are you kidding me?" I asked. "I haven't even fully taken it in because my brain's going haywire on other stuff."
"Like picking up your life and moving to the beach with me?"
I smiled. "Yep," I said. "Like that."
"Like marrying me and making babies and stuff?" he asked, smirking at me.
It's About Time (Hunt Family #5) Page 13