Meet Me in Myrtle Beach (Hunt Family Book 1)

by St. James, Brooke

  I spoke with everyone in the house before heading onto the deck. Forget the smell of the ocean; all I could smell was barbecue. The scent of it hit me as soon as I slid the door open.

  "It smells good out here," I said when three or four people turned to look at me as I came out.

  "I'm gonna eat a hot dog," Ryan said. "And baby Ava's gonna have some, too, but we have to mash it up for her."

  "This must be baby Ava," I said, stooping to the tiny chair where Ryan was holding the little girl. She was a plump baby who seemed almost as big as Ryan.

  "What happened to your hair?" Ryan asked.

  "Ryan, don't ask like that," Cody corrected.

  I leaned over and stuck my head out so Ryan could feel my straight hair. "The lady at the salon cut it for me and straightened it, too. Do you like it?"

  "It's so, so, so, so, so, so beautiful," she said.

  She was so busy running her fingers through it, that she almost forgot she was holding Ava. I put my hand behind Ava's back to make sure she was sturdy.

  "Thank you," I said.

  "You wanna hold baby Ava?" Ryan asked.

  "Sure, if she wants to come to me."

  Ryan looked at Ava with a serious expression. "Do you wanna go see Ms. Paige?" she asked. She paused and stared and Ava who just sat there not comprehending the question.

  I thought it was so cute that Ryan was patiently waiting for an answer, that I almost forgot to intervene. "Let's see if she'll come to me," I said, reaching out for her, finally. She was a sweet baby and seemed content with sitting on my hip. I held her for a few minutes. Her mother's name was Willow. She was the only one I hadn't met, so I made my final acquaintance as we stood out on the deck with her little girl on my hip.

  "Aunt Willow, can you take Ava so Ms. Paige can braid my hair?"

  "Of course," Willow said, holding her arms out.

  "Ryan, Ms. Paige might not have time to braid your hair right now," Cody said.

  "I'm happy to do it if it's all right with you," I said, smiling at him. I snapped the band I was wearing around my wrist. "I even brought a hair-tie down with me just in case."

  "Can I have two braids or one?" Ryan asked.

  "Whatever you want."

  "I think one," she said. She sat in front of me, and I went straight to work on it. Cody came over to stand beside us as I braided. He had on khaki cargo shorts and a white button up shirt that had the sleeves rolled. I loved how he looked. I wanted to offer to cut his hair just so I could touch his head. I glanced at the famous movie star standing in our midst as a means of distraction before staring back at Ryan's braid.

  "Me and Daddy went to the ocean today, and we said you should come with us so you can get used to it," Ryan said.

  "I know!" I said. "I missed my swim in the ocean today."

  "We can still go after we eat a hot dog," Ryan said.

  "I might have gotten set back a little on that," I said.

  "What's set back?" Ryan asked.

  At the same time, Cody asked, "Why's that?"

  "We met these guys today who told us they have friends visiting from Australia. Apparently, one of them is that guy from Danger Reef."

  "That surfer?" Cody asked.

  I nodded with wide eyes, trying not to say too much in front of Ryan.

  "What were y'all doing out meeting guys?" he asked. "I thought you went to the spa."

  "What's a spa?" Ryan asked.

  "It's the place where I got my haircut," I said. I glanced at Cody. "And we met them at lunch. He's the guy who bought the white house down the street."

  "I know, I was in there when y'all came in talking about it." He seemed slightly annoyed, which made me have to fight to keep from smiling.

  "You don't have to be jealous, Cody, he said you guys could come to the party."

  Obviously, Mia had overheard our conversation, because she spoke up from across the deck. Cody shot her a somewhat insincere smile before looking at me.

  "So this Australian guy set you back?" he asked.

  "I haven't even met him yet. They were just talking about what happened to him, and I guess it didn't help my reluctance any."

  Cody shrugged casually. "If you knew anything about me, you'd know that I don't break promises. When I tell you that no harm will come to you if I take you into the ocean, I mean it. Just believe my promise, and you won't have any problems."

  "My dad's right," Ryan said.

  "So you'll protect me?" I asked, glancing at him. Goodness, hearing that phrase come out of my mouth made me feel like I was in some sort of historical novel, and he was about to slay a dragon.

  "There won't be anything to protect you from in the shallows, but if you want to look at it that way, you can."

  Again, I glanced at him. This time, he was regarding me with a challenging smile.

  "Why are you scared?" Ryan asked, since she was about five steps behind in the conversation.

  "She's afraid a wave's gonna knock her over," Cody said.

  Ryan cracked up laughing. "No silly, not if you hold my daddy's hand."

  "You scared of the ocean?" Mia asked, obviously intrigued by our conversation enough to walk over toward us.

  "This is my first time to see it," I said. "It's just bigger, and… more alive than I thought."

  My statement got the attention of a few others who were standing out there including Logan and Evan. They all came to stand next to us, and we had a big conversation about my fears, always careful to spell the words S-H-A-R-K-S, and J-A-W-S so Ryan wouldn't understand. Mia had a grand old time laughing about how my fears must have intensified when we all talked about the "S-H-A-R-K B-I-T-I-N-G a guys L-E-G off."

  I was being a good sport about it, but it was slightly embarrassing that I was afraid of the ocean when they were all so fond of it.

  "You know I'm dragging you out there, right?" Cody asked when everyone finally quit talking about it.

  I had finished Ryan's braid, and she was running around with her uncle Logan, so no one else heard him when he said it.

  "I'd love to try it again, actually," I said. "I want to get good at it. I'm not usually afraid of things. It was just a little freakier than I thought."

  He took a seat next to me, and I smiled at him.

  "But you'll have to be with me in case I have to jump into your arms to get out of the water."

  "I might have Evan strap on a shark fin if you threaten me with that," he said.

  The reference to wanting me to jump into his arms made me feel breathless. I literally didn't feel like I could get a good breath of air into my lungs. I imagined us standing in the ocean together, laughing as the waves hit us. I wanted him to be the one protecting me from Jaws. In fact, I wanted his brother to wear a shark fin so that I could pretend to be scared. I felt anticipation fall over me like a warm blanket. How could it feel warm and make me shiver at the same time?

  "You okay?" he asked.

  "Fine," I said, smiling at him.

  "I hope I didn't make you uncomfortable when I said that about dragging you out there. I was just messing around."

  "I'm not uncomfortable around you, Cody. It's just the opposite, in fact." My voice didn't sound right to my own ears. I was so nervous around him that I could barely even speak properly.

  "Are you cold?" he asked.

  "No," I said. "I just shivered for no reason."

  He smiled at me like he could see right through me. I wondered if it obvious that I was smitten. I made myself glance across the deck at Evan and Logan who were playing some sort of game where you were supposed to try to swing a ring on a rope and make it land on a hook. It was unbelievable to me that there were two extremely handsome, eligible men with no daughters and I was over there feeling breathless over Cody.

  Ryan had gone inside when her uncles started playing that game, and she came out again, this time riding on her grandma's hip. "Come eat!" she called.

  "You guys can come serve yourselves," Christy confirmed.

 
Those of us who were on the deck went into the kitchen and stood in line to make our plates. Dan said the blessing, but otherwise it was an informal dinner. Some of us ate on the deck, some stayed in the kitchen, and some went to the living room. We broke up into groups and sat wherever there was an open spot. I sat by Cody again. What was I supposed to do? There was an open place next to him on the deck. I felt really comfortable with him and Ryan both, so I went over there before I could second-guess myself about it.

  Evan came to sit beside us once he made his plate, and so did Logan.

  "Your hair looks so beautiful," Logan said as we were eating. I glanced at him to find that he was smiling at Ryan.

  "Paige braided it," she said with a mouth full of hot dog.

  "Ms. Paige," Cody said.

  "Ms. Paige," Ryan amended, still chewing.

  "Well, she did a great job," Logan said, causing Ryan to smile at him and bat her eyes.

  "I seriously want you to do mine if you don't mind," Evan said. "I think I'd look good with my whole head in cornrows," he said, running his hand over his head. "I've never had that done before."

  "That would look great on you," Diane chimed in from all the way across the deck. "I think you should do it."

  Evan turned to me. "You mind?"

  "Not at all, I just have to run to the drugstore and get some of those tiny rubber bands."

  "We can go in the morning," Diane said.

  I knew what she was up to and I held in a smile.

  "Paige might not want to spend her whole day braiding your hair," Cody said.

  "She said she didn't mind," Evan said defensively. "And it's not gonna take all day."

  "It does take a long time," Logan said. "I had to do it for a movie once."

  "Oh, of course you did," Evan said, teasing him.

  "I did, and it took like three hours. And I had a splitting headache for two days after that."

  "See?" Cody said. "Paige has better things to do than to sit and braid your hair for three hours."

  "She already said she wanted to," Evan said.

  "I can't promise it'll be like what Logan had," I said. "I'm not sure I'll get it as tight as they had it on him. That girl was probably a professional."

  "It's probably better if you don't do it that tight," Logan said. "That way you can skip the headache."

  "I just want to see what it looks like," Evan said. "You don't have to get it perfect or anything."

  I laughed. "Good, because I'm telling you right now, it probably won't be."

  They all laughed along with me—everyone except for Cody. "You don't have to do it if you don't want to," he said, where only I could hear.

  I smiled. "It's okay," I assured him. "I like to play with hair."

  Chapter 13

  Cody and I talked the whole time we ate. Part of me wished he would have said something ignorant or offensive to turn me off, but he never did. The more I talked to him, the more I cared for him. He was kind, funny, charming, and witty, and to top it all off, he was an amazing dad.

  I should have been scared by the fact that he had a daughter—should have gone running for the hills, but I didn't. I wasn't scared at all. Seeing the way he was with Ryan only made me fall harder. After a while, his mom took Ryan in for her bath and bedtime routine. Most of the grandkids stayed out on the deck enjoying night air. We were out there for a few hours, telling jokes and stories and having good, clean fun talking to and teasing each other.

  Cody and I did our best to speak with other people. We tried to share conversation with the rest of the family, but I think it might've been a little obvious that we kept gravitating toward each other—at least it was to me. I would have never imagined I would be in the same house with Logan Ritchie, and that I would be crushing on his cousin… a stonemason from my own hometown.

  It was pretty late when Cody and I decided to play that game where you swing the ring onto the hook, and it was during that game that we made significant physical contact for the first time.

  Cody was great at the game. He could hook it about once for every four or five times he threw. I, on the other hand, had tossed it what must have been fifty times, and still had no success.

  "What's wrong with me?" I asked letting my shoulders slump hopelessly. I glanced around and was relieved to find that no one else was paying attention to us. I was normally pretty coordinated, and it was freaking me out and I couldn't, for the life of me, get the ring on the hook. "Seriously, what's the problem?"

  "There's a trick to it," he said.

  He moved behind me, standing so close that I could feel the warmth of his body against mine. My stomach began turning flips, and I could barely breathe. The ring we were trying to toss was about two inches in diameter and was suspended from the trellis. The idea was that it was supposed to swing toward the house, and get stuck on a little hook that was mounted to the wall. Cody stood behind me and put his hand over mine, lifting it up to aim.

  "The trick is to approach the hook from the side. Try to make it swing like an inch or so to the side, and it will fall back on the hook." He held my hand in place for a second, lining up a shot before peeling my finger back to tell me to let it go. I have no idea what he even said. I think he started his sentence with 'the trick is'… but I was so distracted by his touch that he might as well have said, 'Blaggle maggle flaggle raggle plaggle'.

  He must've done something right, though, because the ring clanked onto the hook, nearly staying put like it was supposed to. It was the closest I had come, and I looked at him with a huge smile.

  "I almost did it!" I said.

  "Yep," he said smiling back at me. "Wanna try it on your own?"

  I thought about that for a few seconds. "I might need a little more help," I said, unable to stop staring at him.

  His smile changed when I said that. It was verging on predatory, and I swallowed hard. I was already short of breath, and we hadn't even got into position yet.

  He retrieved the ring and came to stand behind me with it in his hand. He put his arm around my waist for a split second to help me get into the right spot. I could feel his firm chest behind me. I wanted to melt into his arms.

  "Remember the trick?" he asked, holding my hand in the right position to let go of the ring.

  "Not really," I said breathlessly.

  He let out a laugh. I could feel his chest shaking. "What do you mean, not really?"

  "I mean I wasn't necessarily listening the first time you said it," I said.

  "I thought you said you were gonna kick my butt at this game," he said, with a teasing grin. "You were acting all big and bad earlier."

  "I am. I will. I just got distracted the first time you told me the instructions. I forgot to listen to what you were saying."

  The whole time we were talking, his hand was on mine. His hands were, beyond a shadow of a doubt, workingman's hands. I could just imagine him carrying huge stones with them, and yet, there he was, holding mine so gently. I felt like there was an electrical current going through me at the places we were touching.

  "Okay, so the trick is to—"

  "Yeah, I'm pretty much not listening to you now, either," I said.

  He chuckled. "Why not?"

  "Because I can't for some reason. I'm just really distracted. I think I might be tired."

  He glanced at his watch. "It's pretty late," he said.

  "I'm tired too," Charlotte said, overhearing our conversation.

  I didn't think anyone was paying attention to us. I was glad I blamed my delirium on being tired instead of coming right out and saying I was devastatingly attracted to him.

  Cody took a step away from me, and my surroundings felt empty without him there.

  "I could go to bed," Mia said. She looked at Charlotte. "You wanna head upstairs?"

  "I should go in as well," Andy added. "I told Willow I'd be right in about two hours ago."

  "Uh-oh, you're gonna be in trouble," Logan said.

  Andy smiled and shook his head. "
Naa, she's probably sleeping." He got up to go inside, telling us all goodnight on his way.

  "I'm up all night," Evan said holding out his hands as if waiting for a challenge.

  Cody smiled. "Good luck with that."

  "You sleeping out here with me tonight?" Evan asked him.

  "I'll sleep out here with y'all," Logan said before Cody could answer.

  Cody nodded his agreement, but glanced at me once Charlotte and Mia were heading inside. "You'll have the upstairs to yourself," Cody said.

  I nodded. "Me and my trusty ear buds."

  "You good up there alone?"

  "Of course!" I whispered, smiling as if he was being silly.

  "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

  "Yep."

  Our eyes remained locked. There was no way I was the only one feeling this. He had to be feeling it also.

  "Okay, so goodnight," I said.

  "Goodnight."

  "Night guys," I said, waving at everyone else.

  We all waved and yelled our goodbyes, and I followed Charlotte and Mia into the house. Some of their parents were still downstairs talking, and we told them all goodnight before heading upstairs.

  Mia and Charlotte went to the second floor, and I kept going to the third. I had only been upstairs a few minutes when I heard footsteps coming up. I just knew it was Cody, up until the second Logan came in.

  The room was dimly lit, and he squinted at me. "Sorry," he whispered. "I'll be out of your way in a second. We all needed blankets."

  "Don't worry about me," I said. "I sleep like a rock."

  Logan started digging in the closet, and left carrying an armload of quilts and comforters. He was gone as quickly as he came, and I was left with a feeling of disappointment that Cody had sent his cousin instead of coming himself.

  I finished deleting some junk emails, and put down my phone before going to the bathroom to take a shower and wash my face. I took one last look at myself in the mirror before washing off the makeup from earlier at the spa. She really had done a good job of it; I thought it was a shame to wash it off.