waited until someone told her where to sit, then glided into the chair next to Josh. Since she sat directly across from Kaden, maybe she could figure out why he hadn’t flirted with her.
She waited through grace, then passed dishes, asking Josh, “Can I serve you?”
He nodded and pointed to a large piece of fish on the platter. “I caught a big fish on the Fourth of July.”
“You did?”
“Yeah. A red fish. My mom cooked it.” He added quinoa salad to his plate and passed the bowl to her. “It was the biggest fish of the day.”
“That must have been fun,” she said. “I’ve never fished before.”
His brown eyes went big and his mouth dropped open. “Mr. Gray, why hasn’t your sister ever fished?”
Gray glanced over. “My sister doesn’t fish.”
“That’s just wrong,” Josh insisted.
Gray winked at him. “She might mess up her hair or clothes.”
Everyone laughed. At her.
Heat spread across Courtney’s face. “Father never took me fishing,” she explained.
There’d been so many boundaries in her life. Fishing was something only Gray and dear old Dad had done. It was not one of the restrictions she’d wanted to breach.
“I can teach you.” The kid looked from under his long blond eyelashes up at Daniel. “If we can take Uncle Daniel’s boat out.”
“Josh,” Cheryl admonished.
“I guess we could fish from shore somewhere.” The boy shot an innocent look at Courtney. “Do you wanna go tomorrow?”
This time she laughed with everyone. “I don’t think so.”
She joked with Josh and ate a fabulous dinner because, of course, her brother had married someone who was not only a businesswoman, but also an incredible chef. What sister wouldn’t be miffed that her sister-in-law overshadowed her in everything? Except beauty.
She glanced across the table. Kaden wasn’t even trying to attract her attention. Her stomach churned around the small bites of food she’d been able to swallow. She couldn’t take his indifference any longer. “Did you grow up in Savannah?”
Kaden looked up from his plate. “What?”
“Did you grow up here?”
“I spent most of my childhood down on Tybee.”
Josh leaned over the table. “I bet you fished down there.”
“My grandfather and I fished.” A smile broke across Kaden’s face, a dimple appearing on his cheek. My, my. He was handsome. “We’d take his boat into the intercoastal waters.”
“I don’t know what that is, but can you take me fishing?” Josh asked Kaden.
“As much fun as that sounds, I’m here to take care of my grandfather.”
“What happened to Nigel?” Courtney could almost pull up an image of a dapper older man with thick white hair.
Kaden’s smile slipped away. “He broke his hip.”
“Oh.” That didn’t sound good. “Is he okay?”
“He came through surgery well.” Kaden shook his head. “Now he needs physical therapy and time to heal.”
She nodded, not really understanding what healing from a broken hip entailed. “How is he handling being hospitalized?”
“He’s not in the hospital anymore. He’s in a rehabilitation center.”
“Oh.” She was so out of her depth.
“I like Nigel.” Josh bounced a little in his chair. “He let me help paint the walls.”
“Yeah. He’s a good guy.” Kaden’s face softened.
“I know Nigel told us you live in Atlanta, but what do you do there?” Gray asked.
Kaden blinked. “I followed his example.”
“Construction?” Gray waved his hand around the table. “We’ll have to talk.”
“So how long are you staying?” Dolley called down the table.
Courtney waited for Kaden to answer.
“Courtney?” Dolley asked.
“Oh, me?” She shook her head. “I’m not sure. A couple of weeks?”
“You’re not sure? Oh, right. You don’t have a job to go back to,” Dolley said snippily.
“No, I don’t. I miss my brother. I saw him a lot more when he lived in Boston.” Courtney hoped she sounded convincing. “If the mountain won’t come to Mohammad...”
The three Fitzgerald sisters’ reddish-blond eyebrows went up at the same time. Dolley said under her breath, “Well, bless your heart.”
“We’re glad you’re here,” Abby choked out, glancing at Dolley.
“Thank you.” She knew what Dolley meant. The bitch. They didn’t want her here. Well, news flash, she didn’t want to be here, either.
Everyone returned to their conversations, excluding her again. She didn’t care about remodeling or houses or Abby’s restaurant. Even Josh focused on Kaden and fishing.
Would dinner never end? Please, Mother; I want to come home. Convince Father to let me out of purgatory.
COURTNEY’S FLASHING BLUE eyes haunted Kaden as he headed up the Carleton House stairs to his room. She was a beautiful woman, but she knew it. Her moves were choreographed down to each flip of her hair. Was there anything interesting behind her stunning jewel-like eyes?
Kaden tugged off his shirt and threw it into the closet, then patted his full stomach. He couldn’t remember eating a better meal. No wonder his granddad raved about Abby’s cooking and hospitality. The Fitzgeralds were great. They’d invited him, a stranger, to a family dinner.
The sisters and their partners had all visited his granddad. Every day someone brought him food, flowers or company.
How did Courtney fit in? It was obvious she and Gray were related, but she had that uppity Boston accent he’d heard only when training at Quantico.
He slid open his phone and called Roger, updating him on his conversation with Nathan.
“So Forester hasn’t seen Bole since she left her kid two months
