“Yes. I didn’t mean to interrupt your dinner. I just came to give you this.” She handed him the sling.
Disappointment rose in his eyes. “That’s why you came?”
“I also wanted to apologize, but we can talk another time. I should go.”
He put his hand on her hip. “We’ll both go. We can talk at my place.”
“I’m not making you leave your family.”
“Then stay. Please?” The plea in his eyes burrowed deep inside her. “We’ll eat quickly and then go back to my place and talk.”
She looked around them. His father had one arm around Randi, the other around Gail, who was wearing a bathing suit and grass skirt, her thick, curly mane hanging loose around her shoulders. His grandparents and Tessa were laughing with his brothers, and Joni was pretending to swim around the yard in her tutu and mask. Cait had never met a family like this, and they were a little intimidating.
“Brant . . .”
“Dinner in two minutes!” Rowan hollered, and Cait saw that he had flippers on his feet.
Joni squealed and ran to the table. “I’m sitting next to Papa French Fry and Mermaid!”
Brant nudged Cait. “Joni calls you Mermaid?”
“She has ever since we first met.”
“That’s a sign.” He squeezed her hip, his sexy smile tugging at her. “Say you’ll stay so I can call sitting on your other side.”
She laughed softly. “Seriously?”
He leaned closer, and her entire body flamed. “Say yes, Cait.”
“Come on, you two!” Randi waved them over.
Brant cocked a brow.
“Fine,” Cait relented.
“Thank you.” He never took his eyes off her as he hollered, “I’m sitting next to Mermaid, too!”
What have I gotten myself into?
CHAPTER EIGHT
BRANT’S FAMILY WAS a boisterous crew, and as platters were passed and plates were filled, laughter and chatter rose around them. Cait tried to keep up as Brant and his siblings bantered back and forth and his family peppered her with questions and shared funny stories about one another. Brant’s more serious siblings, Jamison and Tessa, sat at one end of the table, and Randi, who was as feisty as ever, sat at the other end, while their parents and grandparents sat across from Cait, Brant, Joni, and Rowan. His parents held hands, kissed often, and had no shortage of praise and teasing for their children. His grandparents shared glances that told of a secret language Cait imagined only decades of coupledom could provide. Brant held Scrappy on his lap, feeding him bits of burger. When Cait questioned the dog being allowed at the dinner table, he’d said Scrappy was family and therefore he was welcome to join them. His mother had nodded her approval.
There was so much love around that table, it was easy to see why Brant was so open and genuine with his feelings—and how different Cait was from all of them.
Rowan leaned forward, catching Cait’s attention, and mouthed, Are they driving you crazy yet?
She shook her head, smiling as she’d been doing for most of dinner. She might be different from them, but she really enjoyed being in their company.
“Some of my favorite memories are of storms when you kids were little.” Gail looked thoughtfully around the table and set her loving eyes on Brant. “You were always watching out for the others. You used to make tents out of sheets in your bedroom and cover the floor with pillows and sleeping bags, and all the kids would sleep in there during storms. Do you remember?”
“I do,” Brant said.
“You read us stories and watched movies with us,” Rowan said.
“And that’s only one reason why Brant, the lifeguard, search and rescue volunteer, and savior of drowning girls and pups is the good one,” Randi said with a dose of sarcasm.
“That’s lucky for you, young lady,” their grandmother Millie said. She had short, layered gray hair with a hint of light brown throughout and a friendly face. “Brant came to your rescue more than once. Remember how scared you were to start middle school?”
Randi covered her face. “Gram! Don’t tell Cait that story.”
“What happened?” Cait whispered to Brant.
“It was nothing,” Brant said so casually, she had a feeling it was something.
“Randi was nervous about changing schools, so Brant went with her to her classes for the first two days,” Rowan explained. “He got approval from the principal and everything.”
“That’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard.” Cait looked at Brant, and he shrugged humbly, which made her like him even more.
“It was sweet, but also embarrassing,” Randi complained.
“It was better than you missing school, which is what you wanted to do,” Roddy said. “You kids have always leaned on each other. That’s what family’s for. Brant taught Rowan how to sail, and Jamison took Tessa on her first plane ride and explained how planes work. From that moment on, she wanted to be a pilot.”
“That’s really nice,” Cait said, wishing she had grown up in a big, caring family like theirs.
“It could be, but it wasn’t always rosy. Rowan once tried to pee on Randi when she got stung by a jellyfish,” Tessa said, making everyone laugh.
“Ew!” Joni wrinkled her nose.
“Don’t remind me.” Randi made a disgusted face. “That doesn’t even work, you know.”
“Hey, I was just trying to help.” Rowan chuckled. “I saw it in a movie.”
Their grandfather looked at Brant with an infectious grin, revealing the source of Brant’s and Roddy’s dimples. His hair was white as snow, and his skin was mapped with wrinkles that Cait imagined were from working on boats in the hot sun. He arched a thick white brow and said, “Do you kids remember the time your brother was saved by a mermaid?”
“It was Cait!” Joni exclaimed. “Cait saved him!”
Everyone laughed.
“Maybe that’s where you learned to tell stories, Jojo,” Rowan said. “From your Uncle Doodle.”
“Hey, that really happened,” Brant insisted, and his siblings talked over one another, telling him he was full of it. “You’re just jealous that you’ve never been saved by a mermaid.”
“I almost forgot! Uncle Tootsie, can you fix Mermaid’s tail?” Joni asked.
Jamison took a drink and looked at Cait. “That depends. How did you hurt your tail?”
Thinking quickly, Cait said, “I hit it on a rock.”
“Don’t be embarrassed to tell them the truth, Caity.” Brant bumped her leg under the table. “She got it wrapped around an anchor.”
His entire family said, “Ah,” as if that made total sense, and she remembered what Brant had said about his tattoo. This way you’ll always be anchored to my heart. Goose bumps rose on her arms.
“Shark!” Joni yelled, startling Cait.
Brant and his family began making swimming motions with their arms. “Faster!” his grandmother said.
“There’s a cave!” Roddy shouted.
“Wait!” Randi held up her hands, eyes wide, her long dark hair framing her face. “Stay very still and it’ll pass by us.”