Page 12 of Seven Year Itch
“She is growing so fast. She loves the tit,” Trista replies with a laugh.
“She’s not the only one,” my uncle Wyatt murmurs quietly causing my nose to wrinkle.
“Gross, Uncle Wyatt,” I groan and quickly make an executive decision to unbuckle my cousin and pull her into my arms. She smells like baby, and I love her.
“Be careful,” Wyatt chastises, and I roll my eyes as I slowly step out of the van behind him with his arms outstretched like I’m going to drop her.
“I got her.”
“Hey there, kid,” a voice says from the other side of the van, and I smile as I step into my father’s familiar embrace, unsurprised he’s wearing a suit and tie in Mexico. He’s always on the clock.
Cozy appears beside him and reaches in to join the hug just as my brother Ethan whizzes past us.
“Ocean!” he screams, taking off for the beach.
My grandma laughs. “Good thing I wore my tennis shoes,” she calls back with a wave as she chases after him. “Hi, Everly. I’ll get my hug later!”
Once released from my dad and stepmom, I turn to see my three bearded uncles all standing in a line with their arms foldedover their chests. Only these three weirdos would wear jeans to the beach. They all glower at me expectantly, and with a heavy sigh I pass Stevie off to Trista and make my way over to pay the toll.
The three of them crush me in a giant group bear hug, and I squeal when Calder begins ruffling my blond hair and yanks it out of the loose braid I tied it back into.
“Stop!” I exclaim with a laugh, pulling away and shoving at the three of them as they continue messing with me. “God, you guys are obsessed with me.”
“Damn straight,” Uncle Calder says without any humor in his voice.
“Missed you, Evie-girl,” Luke adds shamelessly, pulling the brim of his baseball cap down low to hide his eyes.
I smile warmly. The truth is, I’ve missed all of them too. Growing up, they were constants in my life. We had weekly uncle date nights in town, and I got to hang out on the mountain whenever I wanted. I tended to Wyatt’s pet goat, Millie. We even all saw Taylor Swift together! I mean, if that doesn’t bond a niece with her three uncles for life, I don’t know what could.
They’re the best.
Being all the way in Ireland for school is a lot harder than I thought it would be. I miss the comforts of home, and I feel like I’m missing out on so much. Uncle Wyatt has become a dad and a soon-to-be husband, and I only get glimpses of it! And I’m pretty sure my brother has grown an inch since Christmas. I don’t even know who this woman is that Luke brought to Mexico. I miss everyone something fierce, but I willnevertell my dad that. He’d be all too willing to sayI told you soand bring me back home for good.
I need to see this abroad experience through, even if I do cry myself to sleep on a pretty regular basis.
“Hola, señoras y señores,” Carlos says, joining us out in the courtyard. “Welcome to La Casa de los Pájaros... the House of the Birds. I am your butler for the week. Mi nombre es Carlos.”
“Did he saybirds?” Dakota murmurs from her spot by Cozy as she gives me a quick squeeze.
I inspect Dakota with fresh eyes, since it’s been a while. She’s dressed in an adorable linen matching short set, and her blond hair looks like it’s curling from the humidity already. She’s gorgeous.
We first met back when Cozy was my nanny and not my stepmom. Dakota does these tie-dye classes out of her T-shirt shop, and I always admired how easy she made running a business all on her own look. She’s the total package, beauty and brains.
But it wasn’t until I saw her and my uncle Calder fighting at my graduation party last year that I knew she’d be perfect for him. Calder needs a strong female figure to settle him down. And no one fights with someone that much if they don’t have some level of underlying passion. A matchmaker notices these things.
“We hope you had a pleasant journey,” Carlos continues, snapping my attention back to the moment. “I have keys to all of your individual suites, and our staff is here twenty-four seven to help you with your bags, schedule you for relaxing massages, make you fresh guacamole, take you on drives into town. Anything you desire... you just ask one of us and we will make your dreams come true. Okay?”
As if on cue, a couple of servers waltz out of the house with trays of margaritas to greet everyone. I grab a fresh drink, and my dad scowls at me.
“Hey, I’m legal drinking age here,” I state with a shrug. “And I’m legal in Ireland.”
My dad shakes his head. “God help me.”
“These are free too?” Trista exclaims with a smile and covers her mouth like she didn’t mean to say that part out loud.
I’ve missed her too. She literally barreled into all of our lives like the most unexpected miracle... giving me a cousin, filling my uncle’s barn with all sorts of amazing animals, and making my grumpy, quiet uncle Wyatt happier than I’ve ever seen him. The fact that I brought them together brings me so much joy I could burst.
Now it’s Calder’s turn.
