Playing with Words (Boggy Creek Valley #2) - Kelly Elliott Page 0,83
the rumor mill was going to explode. Not only was it painfully obvious to the whole town I didn’t date much, but now I was not only out with Hudson, but his parents as well. Hudson had been right: Doug asked Kyle question after question about being a cop in Boggy Creek. He asked for the best locations for wildlife photography that no one knew about, and also about the growth of Boggy Creek. Melinda and I got lost in a conversation about books and who our favorite authors were. I loved her immediately and was excited we were hitting it off so well.
Every now and then I would glance over at Hudson just because I wanted to look at him. He had spent the evening bouncing between both of our conversations.
After everyone finished eating, Melinda pulled out her phone and smiled. “Doug, I just got the text.”
Stopping mid-conversation with Hudson, Doug smiled. “Now?”
Melinda nodded, about ready to burst with excitement. “I sent our location.”
“What’s going on?” Hudson asked.
“Well, you know how we said we wanted to go dancing this evening?”
Hudson nodded, then looked at me and shrugged before turning his attention back to his folks. “Yes, we’re going to Brew’s place. They have a live band tonight.”
Doug chuckled. “The dancing wasn’t our idea.”
Hudson frowned as he glanced between the two of them. “It wasn’t?”
Melinda stood, covered her mouth, and then jumped like a little girl while she stared at the front entrance of the restaurant. We all turned to see a beautiful young woman—maybe a few years younger than me—standing there. Her dark blonde hair was pulled up into a ponytail, and I could see her meadow-green eyes from across the room. She had on jeans, knee-high boots, and a dark green sweater that hugged her body in all the right ways. And when she smiled, I instantly knew who she was.
Hudson’s sister.
“Who’s that?” Kyle whispered, leaning in closer to me.
“I think it’s Hudson’s sister, Everly. She’s been living in Greenland the last few years.”
“Greenland? Why?” Kyle asked. We watched Hudson and his mother and father join Everly at the entrance of the restaurant to greet her with hugs.
“She’s some sort of scientist, though I can’t remember what exactly. Hudson said she’s been doing some research on global warming up there.”
“Well, she just warmed up this entire place.”
Turning, I looked at my brother with a blank expression. “That’s all you’ve got? A cheesy line like that?”
“I’m rusty, give me a break. I haven’t seen a woman that beautiful in Boggy Creek in forever. No wait—I’ve never seen a woman that beautiful in Boggy Creek.”
“Hey!” I said, giving him a playful punch on the shoulder.
“Excluding present company. Please tell me she’s going to Brew’s tonight.”
I shrugged. “I didn’t even know she was going to be here.”
We both stood and watched all of them walk back over to the table.
“I can’t believe it—I had no idea you were back stateside!” I heard Hudson say when they were close enough.
Everly smiled at me. She had the same dimples as Hudson and their mother. Her gaze drifted to my left and her eyes widened a bit, but her smile never faltered. I knew my brother was good-looking. Growing up, I’d had to listen to all the girls in high school tell me how handsome he was or beg me to get him to call them. There had even been a few girls who were only my friends so they could get close to Kyle.
He was very handsome. And the fact that he had the strangest eye color didn’t hurt. They were green, but a dark emerald green that almost looked black at times. Bishop used to tease him all the time, claiming he must be wearing contacts.
Kyle never had a problem with women, at least not that I knew of, and it appeared Everly wasn’t immune to his good looks either.
Hudson started the introductions. “Everly, this is Greer Larson; Greer, my sister, Everly.”
Everly pulled me into a hug, just as her mother had, and squeezed me tight. “I’m so happy to meet you! It’s not every day Hudson talks about a girl the way he does about you.”
My face heated as I smiled back at her, suddenly at a loss for words. I was prepared to meet his folks, but meeting Hudson’s sister had thrown me for a loop. What if she hated me?
Oh God, she was going to hate me and then tell Hudson he could do better.