“Well, you’re adorable in your own way.”I grinned, ushering them inside.
The truth of it was that my cousin was gorgeous.With her long chestnut hair and light blue eyes, she’d always been striking.It was no wonder she’d produced such a gorgeous baby.Her loser ex didn’t deserve half the credit, that was for sure.
“Wow, the forest really did lose some trees on this one, didn’t it?”my aunt said with a chuckle as she looked at my new home.
“I told you.”Daphne shot her a look.
“I thought you were exaggerating.”My aunt shrugged as she placed the coffee tray and box of something that smelled delicious on the kitchen counter.
“Oh thank god, I’m starving.”I groaned as I lifted the lid and practically drooled at the pastries inside.
“I’d imagine since you ran out of the restaurant like your ass was on fire last night.”Goodie raised a knowing brow.
I looked at her sheepishly, a bear claw shoved in my mouth.“I sort of thought you wouldn’t notice.”
Daphne snorted.“You think she misses anything?What didn’t you miss?”she demanded of her mother.
“I didn’t miss Hudson Carter taking a shine to Miss Gorgeous over here and her giving him the high sign.”Goodie grinned.
Daphne turned to me in shock.“What?”
“I feel like I’m missing something that requires coffee first,” I muttered, picking up one of the cups they’d brought and taking a much-needed sip as I repositioned a squirming Jojo on my hip.
“Hudson Carter?”Daphne prompted, as though waiting for it to ring any bells.
And it did, distantly at first.I took another sip of coffee and awareness dawned.“The country star?”I squeaked.I wasn’t a huge fan of the genre, but you’d have to be living under a rock not to have heard the name.
“Yes, honey,” my aunt answered patiently, suppressing a laugh.“He’s from Green River.The Carter family has lived here for generations.He’s a local boy and treated as such, but he still gets his fair share of attention from the tourists and any woman not tied down.”
I thought back to last night.“Seems like an accurate assessment,” I muttered.
“The Carter family has always been good people.”My aunt reached out, taking Jojo from me.“Daphne went to school with half of them.”She hooked a finger in Daphne’s direction.
“Just how many of them are there?”I demanded.
“Well,” Daphne began, looking like she had to think about it.“There’s Griffin.He’s the oldest and chief of police.Still young to be chief, though—he’s always been an overachiever.And then there’s Riley, who runs their construction company.”
“Who had such a crush on you in high school,” my aunt interjected.“And still does,” she muttered to me with a lifted brow.
Daphne rolled her eyes, but her flushed cheeks betrayed there might be more to that story.“Then there’s Hudson,” she continued.“And the youngest is Haley—she’s just finishing up vet school a few hours north of here, with a toddler in tow.She lost her husband a few years back in a car accident.I honestly don’t know how she does it.”
“Well then, you two have that in common.”I reached over to give her hand a gentle squeeze.“And three older brothers?”I raised my brow.“Must have been tough growing up—at least when it came to trying to date.”
“Oh, trust me, Haley can handle herself just fine.”Daphne snorted affectionately.Clearly the two shared a kinship.
“So, I’m curious, what had you running like your ass was on fire last night?”My aunt cocked her head, assessing me.
“Can we stop talking about my ass?”I grumbled.“And I didn’t move here to be some country star’s good time.”I rolled my eyes.
They exchanged a look as though they were considering pushing me before thinking better of it.
“So, when can I start digging in?You need me to look at the books, right?”I asked my aunt, wanting to change the subject.“And help you with some hiring?”
Though my business major hadn’t been by choice, I’d always been good with numbers.
“That would be great, honey, but I want you to take a couple of days to settle in.Why don’t we plan on next week?”she suggested.
“I can do that.”I nodded before turning to Daphne.“And you know my real priority is to spend time with this little bugger.”I reached down to squeeze JoJo’s chunky thigh.
