Page 44 of Summer Love

His mother waved a hand at me. "Of course."

"Elena, this is my mother, Joy. You already know my father, Jonathan," Hudson said.

"Nice to see you again," I said, shaking Jonathan's hand.

Jonathan raised a brow. "You came to see us in action, like animals in a zoo?"

I laughed. "Something like that."

"And you know my idiot brothers. There's a lot of them," Hudson teased with affection in his voice.

"Hey, that's not cool," Shep said, coming into the room and hugging me.

I hadn't expected his family to be so affectionate.

"Let's eat now, and then you'll have time to play on the beach," Joy said as she arranged tacos on a long tray that held them upright.

Hudson grabbed the tray and placed it outside on the table that was set up there. Then we all jumped in to carry out the toppings and drinks.

I stuck with the lemonade over the margaritas because I needed my wits about me around his family. For some reason, I felt pressure to make a good impression. I had to remind myself I wasn't here as Hudson's girl but as a journalist.

"You can grab whichever taco suits your fancy. There's fish and chicken." Joy pointed at each option. "You can add the toppings you prefer."

The brothers waited for her to give the go-ahead.

Joy shook her head. "Why don't you take what you'd like before I unleash the boys."

I laughed as I reached for two fish tacos, and then the cilantro, cheese, and tomatoes.

"Now everyone else can get what they'd like," Joy said, and it was a frenzy. The brothers reaching for tacos, knocking each other's hands out of the way.

Joy shook her head. "You would think I raised these kids in a cave or something."

"They must have eaten a lot of food growing up. I remember when my brother was going through a growth spurt. My mom complained about the grocery bill and never having enough food in the house. I can't imagine having six teenage boys."

"I got used to it. We always have a lot of food because their friends would come over for dinner too. Our house was always full."

"That sounds lovely."

"It was hard to find a quiet space to think, but luckily you can get around the island fairly easily by bike," Dalton said.

"That's true."

"And the beach is down that path." Jonathan pointed at the sandy area that had obviously been worn down over the years by their feet between the growth.

"That sounds like a lovely way to grow up." They had each other and the freedom to hang out with friends whenever they wanted to.

"We talked about moving to Captiva into a larger house, but we love the small town feel of this area. We can get anywhere within a few minutes. Since you grew up here, I'm sure you're aware of the higher volume of traffic during tourist season,” Joy said.

"Oh, I am." All locals complained about it, but there was only one main road coming onto the island. That was where most of the retail and restaurants were located too. Locals tended to congregate at the restaurants and bars off the beaten path.

"Hudson said you only recently moved home," Joy said to me.

"My parents moved off-island when my brother had kids a few years ago, and they were worried about my grandmother living here by herself. I wanted to be closer to her."

"That's sweet. Who's your grandmother?"

"Sofia Perkins."

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