Dear California (Martin Family Book 2)

by Brooke St. James

  Tyson was sitting at one of the tables near the window, looking down at his laptop with Wynn standing over his shoulder. They both turned to look at me when they heard the door.

  "Did we wake you up?" Wynn asked.

  I shook my head and smiled at her. "I'm surprised you two are awake," I said. "We went in there after midnight, and you guys still weren't here."

  "I woke him up," Wynn said with a regretful look on her face. "I had an 8AM class last spring, and I got used to waking up early. Even when we play a gig, and I'm out late, it's hard for me to sleep past nine."

  "She just wanted to look at the photos we shot last night," Tyson said, winking at me.

  "I did," she said. "But it's also true about the class." She gestured to the computer screen. "Have you seen any of these? They came out amazing."

  "We're looking at the ones I took of you in the French Quarter," Tyson explained.

  "I thought you were talking about the ones of your band," I said.

  "I was getting to them, but Wynn saw these of you and wanted to look through them."

  "I hope you don't mind," she said, "They're really beautiful."

  "Not at all," I said, rinsing out the pieces of the French press. "Tyson's wonderful. He always finds my good side, even when I don't have one."

  "T-shirt," Tyson said, still focused on the computer screen.

  I laughed and shook my head, knowing he'd write it down. I watched them looking at Tyson's photos feeling grateful that I had such good people in my life. Wynn was precious and obviously really happy about the photos, and I loved that they got along so well.

  "Have you heard this girl sing?" Tyson asked, glancing at me as he continued to scroll through the photos.

  I shook my head when we made eye contact. "She is awesome. I'm gonna talk to someone and see if I can find a place where their band could play if they come out to L.A. She and Claire do these harmonies, and…" he paused and glanced at Wynn. "You need to sing for Livy," he said, seriously.

  She smiled. "I will," she said.

  "Seriously, she will give you some goose bumps," Tyson said, making Wynn laugh.

  "He's sweet," she said. "And a great photographer. These came out amazing."

  We spent the next two hours eating breakfast, goofing off, and looking at photos. Wynn offered to pay Tyson, but he refused, saying he was on the clock with me anyway. He left at 10AM on the nose to meet the driver downstairs. Wynn and I stayed in the room, getting dressed so we could leave for lunch at Nana's.

  We talked about lots of things that morning, but we didn't get into anything too personal or juicy until we were in Wynn's car headed south out of New Orleans.

  "He didn't kiss me," I said.

  I didn't mean to say it, but I had been thinking about it so fervently that it popped out of my mouth. The radio was on, so I hoped Wynn hadn't heard me.

  "What?" she asked, turning down the music.

  "Nothing," I said, regretting it.

  "You said he didn't kiss you, and I assume you were you talking about Cole."

  "Yes," I said, knowing there was no sense in denying it.

  She turned down the music again. "Ever?"

  "No, we have before. I was just thinking about last night, and…" I felt suddenly shy for bringing it up, so I trailed off. "We were together all night and he just never…"

  "Cole's always a little guarded," she said. "That's what I was telling you about him not bringing people around. It takes a lot to work your way into Cole's heart. But if it helps, I've never seen him act like he does when he's with you. I saw those pictures of you two in the courtyard, and there was something in the way he looked at you." She smiled suggestively, and elbowed me. "You were kissing in those pictures."

  I smiled, remembering the barely-there kisses we shared out there. "I can't believe that was just yesterday."

  "I can't believe he punched that dude."

  I laughed. "I can. That guy was rude. I was standing there wishing he would do it, and the next thing I knew, he did."

  "You can always count on Cole," she said. "He's honest and dependable and he doesn't make promises he can't keep. He's smart with the family business, too. My dad's always saying how Cole knows how to take what you give him and double it."

  I just sat there, contemplating what she said and feeling like it confirmed what I already knew.

  "Do you love him?" she asked, surprising me.

  "Do I what?" I asked, feeling too embarrassed to answer.

  "Do you love him?" she asked again instead of letting me off the hook.

  The answer was yes, but I was afraid to say it. The words literally got stuck in my throat. I meant for them to come out, but I just sat there, unable make it happen.

  "It's a good choice for you to love him," she said.

  Chapter 18

  We were only a few miles from Nana's house when Wynn got a text asking if we could stop and pick up some small paper plates for the dessert. She pulled into a gas station, and we both went inside.

  "Hello there, the lovely Ms. Wynn Martin," a guy said when we walked in.

  He met us at the door, reaching out to give Wynn a hug. He closed his eyes as he hugged her, looking sweet and genuine. I could tell, even at a glance, that there was something different about him.

  "Who's this friend you have with you?" he asked, stepping back to look at me. "Usually it's Claire King, but this isn't Claire, is it?"

  "Claire's not with me today, Barry. This is my friend, Liv."

  "Where's she live?"

  "She lives in California, but her name is also Liv."

  He nodded with wide eyes. "Ohhhh, California. Famous people." He put his arm around Wynn and stared straight at me with an earnest expression. "Wynn sings in a really good band. I heard she's gonna be famous."

  "Liv's already famous," Wynn said with a smile as she patted Barry's shoulder and stepped around him. "We're looking for paper plates, Barry. I have to bring some to Nana's for bread pudding."

  "Ohhh, that's gonna be good," he said with a huge smile as all three of us walked down the isle.

  "I'll tell Pops to save you some and bring it up here when he gets gas."

  Barry smiled and patted his belly. "And it will not go to waste," he said. "What made you come to my store all the way from Carolina?" he continued as he followed us to the register.

  "California," Wynn said.

  "Oh yeah, now I remember cause that's where all the famous people are."

  "There are famous people everywhere, Barry" Wynn said.

  "Mostly in California," he said. He stood by us as the cashier quietly rang up the plates. I took some cash out of my purse, but Wynn waved me away. "You're right, there's a lot in California," she said.

  "Justin Bieber's in California," Barry said. "And so is Justin Timberlake. There's probably a lot of famous Justins there. Even Justin Wilson."

  The cashier (who had been quiet up until then), laughed at that. "Justin Wilson's not in California, Barry" she said. "He passed away already, and he lived in Louisiana."

  "See?" Wynn said, pointing at the cashier. "There are famous people everywhere."

  "Yep," Barry said. We took our plates and headed for the door with Barry by our side. "Did you meet Justin Bieber?" he asked, looking at me.

  "I did," I said, smiling at him. "And Timberlake."

  "Nu-uh!" Barry said. He looked straight at Wynn with an is she telling the truth expression, and Wynn nodded.

  "I'm definitely going to California!" Barry said. "Probably next week or so."

  "You'd probably like it," I said smiling at him as we walked out.

  He gave me a big thumbs-up. "Bye Ms. Wynn Martin and her friend from California!"

  ***

  Nana lived in a residential neighborhood, where all of the houses were set off the road and separated by really large yards. There were about five other vehicles (including Cole's truck) in the driveway when we pulled in, and I suddenly got nervous.

  "Nana and Pops us
ed to have a big farm when we were little, but they switched to this a few years back," Wynn said as we got out of the car.

  "I thought this was a farm," I said, giggling.

  We laughed about the city mouse coming to the country as we walked to the house. There were eight or ten people standing around the living room and kitchen when Wynn and I made our way inside. I scanned all of their faces, recognizing some of them from the hospital room the day before, but Cole was nowhere to be found.

  "He and Cameron are finishing up outside," Nana said from the other side of the room.

  I glanced at her to find that she was staring straight at me, obviously knowing what I was thinking. Just then, I felt someone's arms come around me from the side. It definitely wasn't Cole, and the sudden unexpected contact took me off guard.

  "Amelia, don't knock the poor girl over," Wynn said, catching us both.

  The girl (whom I now knew was Amelia) pulled back to stare at me. She was absolutely adorable with huge brown eyes that made her look like a doll. "I can't believe you're here!" she said. She held onto my arms but looked at her sister. "I always knew she'd like our family," Amelia said. She looked at me. "I can tell by all the stuff you say on your videos and your shirts. I love your shirts!"

  "We do too," Cole's dad chimed in from the other side of the kitchen. "We're about to get them in the store."

  "All this stuff just goes over my head," Nana said, with a perplexed expression. "I thought you were Cole's girlfriend." She paused and looked at Debbie. "Wasn't this the girl from the hospital last night?"

  Amelia squeezed me one more time and kissed me on the cheek before taking off toward the kitchen.

  "She's the same young lady, Mom," Cole's dad explained.

  "So, what does she have to do with T-shirts?"

  "We are going to be selling her shirts in the store. Cole met her in California when he went on a business trip. We're working with her dad's clothing company."

  Wynn motioned for me to follow her to the kitchen, and we both kicked our shoes off near the door before heading in that direction.

  "Where's Claire?" Kathy asked, looking at her daughter.

  "She stayed with a friend last night," Wynn said. "We ended up taking band photos. I’m really excited about them." Wynn got two glasses out of the cabinet and poured us each a glass of iced tea.

  "I didn't know you were doing that," Kathy said.

  Wynn laughed. "We didn’t either. Liv had her photographer with her, and we just sort of did it spur of the moment."

  "Why did she have a photographer with her?" Nana asked.

  "Because she's famous," Amelia said.

  Famous. I had just listened to Barry and Wynn refer to me by that word. It sounded foreign when they said it, and I still didn't identify with it now that Amelia was using it. It definitely seemed like the wrong descriptive word for me since I was trying my best to be the opposite.

  "I didn't know famous people carried around their own photographers," Nana said with a shrug, making me giggle. I thought watching their family interaction was the sweetest, funniest thing.

  "Tyson agreed to take some pictures of the band after Cole got kicked out of the concert," Wynn said.

  "Cole did what?" Nana asked.

  And at the same time, Debbie said, "I hope not!"

  Wynn laughed at her aunt and grandma. "He didn't get kicked out, but they left in a hurry after Cole punched some guy for looking at Liv the wrong way."

  "Did he really?" Amelia asked, as if it were the juiciest bit of gossip she'd ever heard.

  I smiled at her precious enthusiasm.

  "He totally did," Wynn said casually. "Tyson said the guy looked like he deserved it."

  "Who's this Tyson character?" Nana asked.

  "The photographer," Steve said.

  "Good job, Uncle Steve," Wynn said.

  "I knew he was the photographer, too," Kathy said.

  "Good job, Mom," Wynn said.

  "Oh, speaking of Cole," Amelia said, "you forgot to go outside and see him without his shirt on."

  "Amelia Marie!" Kathy said, turning toward her daughter with wide eyes.

  "I was gonna take her out there to see Cole anyway," Amelia said, grabbing my hand to tug me through the door on the other side of the kitchen.

  I pretended to smile like Amelia was being sweet and cute by doing such teenager-ey things, but secretly I loved her for taking me to Cole—especially if he was shirtless like she said.

  "You're awesome," I whispered once the door closed behind us.

  "I knew you'd love our family," she said.

  "I do love your family," I said, looking at her as we walked across the back yard toward a shed.

  She smiled straight ahead and nodded like she knew it all along, which made me laugh. "You're always saying how you want to live on the water somewhere," Amelia said. "I knew you'd like it here."

  "I guess I do say that," I said.

  Amelia pointed as we approached. "They're behind that shed." She let out a whistle, but it was barely loud enough for me to hear, much less Cole and his brother. "Hey!" she yelled since she couldn’t get her whistle to work right.

  A shirtless male came around the corner carrying a metal rake and dripping with sweat. It wasn't Cole, but he looked enough like him that I knew it was Cam. I smiled, and Cam smiled back just as Cole came around the corner. I had dreamed up all sorts of things about what he would look like without a shirt, and the image I saw before me was even better than I thought of on my own. He took the towel that was hanging over his brother's shoulder and used it to wipe his face. He came out from behind the shed, smiling as he came toward me. He held the towel by the corners, slowly letting it turn in his fingertips in a motion that said he was about to pop one of us with it.

  "Are you popping me with that?" I asked, pointing at it cautiously.

  Cole smiled at me as he shook his head. He cocked his head toward his little cousin. "I'm getting her," he said.

  Amelia squealed and ran off toward the house, leaving me standing there with the boys. "We're about to eat!" she yelled once she got to the back patio. "Y'all need to come in!"

  "You're not gonna get me with that, are you?" I asked, glancing at the towel that was still dangling from Cole's fingers. I looked up at him to find that he was smiling at me. It seemed that every time I was away from him, I somehow forgot how attracted I was to him—like every time I saw him, I noticed something new. Maybe this time it was the abs or chest. They were both extremely distracting.

  "I'm Cam," Cole's brother said, putting an arm around Cole's shoulders.

  I smiled at him. "I've heard a lot about you, Cam."

  "Likewise," he said with a smirk.

  "What are you two doing?" I asked, peering curiously around them to see behind the shed.

  "Just clearing it out," Cole said. "It's been a couple of years since it's been done, and the vines and weeds have gone crazy back there." Cole used the towel to brush off his chest and arms before wiping his face and head again. "We need to spray back there for ants, too."

  "Dad said Nana's having somebody come out."

  I had a warm-fuzzy feeling when I realized how happy I was with people who were talking about pulling Nana's weeds. I didn't realize how much I wanted to experience everyday normal things like that until I got there. Plus, as an added bonus, yard work happened to look really good on Cole.

  They had been waiting for us to eat, so Cole's dad said a prayer to bless the food as soon as we walked inside. He thanked God for Nana's roast, for family, and for new life, he thanked Him for getting baby Lane there safely and keeping Alex safe during the delivery (which caused more than one of the women who were standing around to make little noises of agreement, like they were thankful for that, too). He thanked God for new friends and for blessings in their business dealings. He mentioned the roast and bread pudding again before closing the prayer with an Amen that most of the people in the room agreed with and repeated. I thought it might be some s
ort of unspoken rule to repeat it, so I mumbled the end of it as well as I could on short notice.

  Cole and Cam left as soon as their dad prayed, heading to take quick showers before they joined us for lunch. Nana had plates, forks, and napkins set up on the kitchen counter, and we were supposed to get in line and serve ourselves buffet-style from the food she had on the stovetop and nearby countertops. This process and these dishes were a little foreign to me, so I watched what the others were doing, and followed along as best I could.

  "This is roast with gravy," Wynn explained since she was in line right in front of me. She scooped some white rice onto her own plate and then some onto mine before adding a spoonful of the meat with gravy.

  "She's gonna come back for more of that gravy," Debbie said, looking at my plate. "You better just go ahead and give her a lot."

  "Oh, it's okay, this is plenty," I said, since I was too nervous to eat much of anything anyway.

  We all scattered around the dining room, living room, and kitchen since there wasn't nearly enough room at the dinner table for everyone who was there. We were talking about Alex and the new baby when Cole came back into the room. I watched from my place at the table as he went into kitchen to make his lunch. His grandma was standing in the kitchen, still wrapping up some of her cooking duties.

  "Thank you, sha," she said reaching up to put a kiss on Cole's cheek as he came near her to get a plate from the counter.

  "You're welcome," he said. "There's still more to do out there, but it's getting hot. Cam said you had somebody coming about those ants."

  "We do. Pops called him and left a message earlier."

  Cole finished making his plate, and crossed the kitchen, headed in my direction with an easy smile—the smile that never failed to leave me breathless.

  Chapter 19