Into the Tide (Cottonwood Cove #1)(11)

We were seated at the enormous farmhouse table they’d had since I was a kid. There was food and drinks and laughter. Everyone talked at the same time, but somehow, they were all able to keep up. It had always been this way when we were growing up.

This was the family everyone wanted to be born into.

The Kennedys of Cottonwood Cove.

They were all gorgeous and smart and funny.

Confident and cool.

And I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I’d daydreamed more than once when I was a kid about what it would be like to have a family like this.

Cage was the oldest, and he’d always been a bit broodier than the rest. A little more serious than his siblings. He’d been raising Gracie on his own since he’d had a one-night stand with some supermodel in Los Angeles, where he’d been attending vet school. The woman didn’t want to keep the baby, and Cage agreed to raise her on his own. He’d moved back to Cottonwood Cove to have the support of his family, and it was easy to see how much they all adored his little girl.

Chocolate eyes the size of saucers and two little light brown buns on top of her head that were bursting with curls. She was adorable, and I didn’t miss the way she’d moved onto Hugh’s lap when we sat down to eat.

Finn was next in line, and he’d been working as an actor since he’d graduated from college. He’d been the star of a soap opera the last few years, but apparently, he’d been cast in some upcoming Netflix production that was being filmed at the old Scott Ranch not far from Cottonwood Cove. Everyone in town was thrilled about it, and having a local guy who’d grown up here starring in it, made it even more amazing. It sounded kind of like a twist on my favorite show, Yellowstone, and his family was talking about this being his breakout role.

“Yeah, I’m not holding my breath. We’ll see how it goes. Sometimes they don’t make it the whole way through production, so I’m taking it one day at a time.” Finn shrugged and then winked at me, which earned him a growl from Hugh. The table erupted in laughter as they were always giving one another a hard time.

“It was a wink. Take it down a notch, big guy,” Finn said with a smirk on his face.

“Yeah. It always starts with a wink.” Hugh forked a carrot and held it up for Gracie to take a bite. My ovaries nearly exploded at the sight of this big bear of a man holding this little angel on his lap and feeding her like it was nothing out of the norm.

“Georgia, would you please do something about your shirt? You know how I feel about bras hanging out at the table,” Alana said, which made everyone chuckle again.

“It’s not even really a bra, Mom,” Georgia groaned. “It’s more of a fashion statement. I mean, when you’re the president of the Itty-Bitty Titty Committee, you don’t need the support. But a little black lace can add a little something-something to a white tank top, you know?”

“What’s a titty?” Gracie tipped her head back to look at Hugh, and Cage hissed something under his breath.

“Ah, fabulous question. What is a titty, Georgia?” Hugh asked, with a wicked grin on his face.

“Can we please not say titty around my daughter?” Cage grumped.

“Why? More than half of the people at this table have them,” Brinkley said over her laughter. She was the second youngest in the family. Hugh was the middle child, and he appeared to be close to every single one of his siblings. They’d always been a tight family.

Brinkley was a sports journalist, who lived in San Francisco, which was a two-hour drive from here.

“Do I have a titty?” Gracie asked in the sweetest voice, still looking up at Hugh like he set the sun. Alana gasped. Her husband, Bradford, barked out a laugh, Cage rubbed his temples as if he were exhausted by the conversation, and Finn’s fist came down on the table as he laughed so hard it made everyone else do the same.

“This is all Aunt Georgia’s fault, isn’t it? She and her fashion bra trend has caused quite the commotion.” Hugh tried to hide his grin and stroked the little girl’s hair away from her face.

“Will you get me a bra, too, Uncle Hughey?” Gracie asked, placing one hand on his cheek.

“There’s a lot I’d do for you, sweet girl, but I pray to God that bra shopping is not one of them.”

Even Cage laughed now before raising a brow and looking at his daughter. “Okay, that’s enough about that.”

“Daddy doesn’t like titties?” she asked, and even I couldn’t hold it in any longer. Laughter bellowed around the room, and Alana covered her face with both hands, but it was easy to see her head shaking with muffled laughter, even if she was trying to hide it.

“I assure you, your daddy does not have a problem with titties.” Georgia took a sip from her wine glass and smirked.

“I have to agree with that one,” Brinkley said, agreeing with her younger sister.

“Girls. That’s enough.” Alana shook her head and dabbed at her eyes as she pulled herself together.

Hugh looked over at me. “Welcome to Sunday dinner, where nothing is off limits.”

I loved every second of it. The banter and the arguing and the love. It was impossible to miss.

“So, Lila, how long are you going to be here for?” Bradford asked me. “I hear you’re helping out Hugh quite a bit down at the restaurant. We’re grateful for that because he’s working way too much.”