Chapter 14 #2
It’s much cooler outside, and I’m certainly grateful to have the sweatshirt.
Wyatt, Cade, and Alex are standing at a table, working, and a handful of bag chairs are set up around the fire.
Camden is sitting in one of the chairs, tapping away on his phone, and his friend Quinn is walking from the house, making his way to the fire with a carafe of what I assume is coffee.
“Morning, sunshine,” Wyatt greets, wearing a big smile as he scrambles eggs in a large bowl. We’re talking three cartons of eggs sitting there, and he’s expertly cracking each one and adding it to the bowl.
“Hi,” I reply shyly, taking a seat beside Camden and crossing my legs in the chair.
“Sleep well?” Camden asks, putting his phone down and giving me his complete attention.
“I did,” I answer, knowing that’s because of the man I snuggled against. It didn’t even bother me to sleep on a bedroll, which is basically a glorified piece of padding. I still slept like a baby.
“Charli and Sommer should be up soon. They’ll be cranky until they get coffee and breakfast, just to warn you.
They were up half the night, sitting around the fire and telling lies about everyone.
” The way he grins lets me know they weren’t lies at all.
They were probably sharing embarrassing or wild stories, which seems to be a common occurrence with this bunch.
“Is the princess up yet? I brought her coffee,” Quinn says when he reaches the spot we’re all at.
“Not yet. I’ll let you do the honors and wake the bear,” Camden states with a grin.
Quinn pours coffee into two Styrofoam cups before moving to the cooler by the table and retrieving a bottle of creamer.
He pours some into both cups, a little extra into the one on the right, as if he knows exactly how they take their coffee.
I suppose, if they do this often, he most likely does.
Then, he takes off toward Camden’s tent to wake up the ladies.
“This’ll be fun,” Camden says, getting up to pour himself a cup of coffee. He doesn’t add any of the fancy creamer to his though.
About thirty-seconds later, noise erupts from the tent. The voice is loud, and clearly a woman. It’s just far enough away I can’t hear what they’re saying, but a man’s voice joins in quickly before Quinn stomps out of the tent, rubbing his head.
“That went well,” Camden deduces, smiling over the rim of his coffee.
“Charli hit me.”
I can’t help but grin, though I do try to hide it.
“The claws came out before I was even all the way inside the tent. She whacked me, causing me to spill some of the coffee on my hand before I could hand it to either one of them. She’s a menace.”
Camden barks out a laugh. “That she is.”
“I heard that!” erupts from the tent moments before Charli and Sommer come staggering out. “Why are we up so early?”
“It’s after eight,” Cade replies, having moved to the fire to begin cooking the French toast.
“Too damn early,” she grumbles before walking over to the chair beside me and plopping down in it. That’s when she notices my coffee. “Hey! Who brought you that?”
I feel my cheeks blush. “Umm, your brother?” I answer sheepishly.
“What the fuck? You didn’t think to bring me some? All I got was this cheap shit Quinn brought me.”
Cade smiles, flipping his first batch of French toast in the large cast iron pan. “She’s way prettier than you. You were hatched on a fence post, remember?”
Charli flips her brother off, sipping her coffee as she throws daggers at him.
A bubble of jealousy sweeps through me. Not at them, per se, but at the close relationship they all clearly have.
I didn’t have siblings, so this type of teasing is foreign to me, and even though they’re joking and harassing each other, you can tell it’s done with love.
That’s where my jealousy stems from. I’ve never had that type of bond, nor will I ever.
“Good morning,” she finally says, turning to face me. “You look…well rested.” She waggles her eyebrows.
I shrug. “I’ve never slept in a tent before. It was actually pretty comfortable.”
Charli nods. “I do agree, except when you’re rooming with your brother and his dumb best friend.”
“You could have slept outside,” Quinn mutters.
“It would have been quieter. At least out here I wouldn’t have had to listen to the freight train snoring all damn night,” Charli sasses.
He grins. “That wasn’t me snoring, sweetheart. That was you waking yourself up.”
She gapes at him, clearly getting worked up even more. “You’re an ass.”
He barks out a laugh. “You keep reminding me of that.”
She rolls her eyes and turns to face me. “Anyway, I’m completely jealous of your coffee and would probably do some pretty sketchy stuff to get it from you, but I’m overall happy you’re here.”
“Well, thanks?”
She laughs. After she sips her coffee, she leans her head back against the chair and sighs. “This is the life, isn’t it?”
I look around, at the trees with the tents scattered between them, and the people I’m sharing this moment with. It feels amazing, honestly. Right. Content.
And then my eyes zero in on the man starting his second batch of French toast for the group of people.
He’s compassionate to those he holds dear and wants to make sure they’re taken care of.
I noticed it last night, but this morning it’s more evident.
Not only did he run out and grab me my favorite drink, but he’s preparing breakfast for the dozen or so of us still here after a night of fun.
He's pretty special, if you ask me.
As if sensing my eyes on him, he looks up and smiles. It reaches his eyes, making them appear even brighter and more vibrant than ever before. Something about this man makes my heart race and my knees weak. He’s Kryptonite in one tall, gorgeous package.
He gives me a wink, like he can read my thoughts.
I watch as he flips the next batch and then places them in a roaster with the first set.
Wyatt is finishing up a massive pot of scrambled eggs with all the fixings inside, including a handful of shredded cheese.
By the time he’s taking it off the fire, it smells so delicious I can’t wait to dive in.
Cade places his pan off to the side, out of the way so no one can get burned, and turns his full attention to me.
He extends his hand, helping me stand from the chair I’m sitting in.
Warmth zings through my veins, rendering me speechless.
All I can think about is returning to the tent and maybe doing a little more kissing.
Of course, preferably after I’ve brushed my teeth.
“Come on, beautiful. Let’s eat.”