~*Chapter Five*~
"Well, well, well, if it isn’t the famous Kayti we’ve been hearing about!" Mr. Carter turned from Nick to see Kayti watching the family reunion, amused.
"It’s wonderful to finally meet you Mr. Carter," she said shyly, reaching out to shake the hand that was offered to her.
"You’re right Nick, she is pretty," Aaron told his older brother, beaming at Kayti. He bounced over to her, and took her hand. "I’m Aaron, and when I’m bigger, I wanna be just like Nick!"
"Hey Aaron! You wanna sing too? I’m sure you’ll be very good at it," Kayti smiled down at him, which seemed to be the right thing to say. He grinned, and then called to his mother. "Hey MOM! Kayti says I’m the best singer in the whole world!"
"She hasn’t heard you sing yet sweetie," she told her son, and she walked from Nick over to Kayti. "Welcome Kayti, I hope you’ll like staying with us. The kids can be a bit of a handful, but I think you’ve already found an admirer…" she smiled, looking down at Aaron’s hand now firmly holding on to Kayti’s.
Kayti smiled back at her. "Thank you for inviting me down here. I’ve not been to Florida before, and I’ve been told that it’s beautiful. I’m glad to have the opportunity to stay here with you."
Mrs. Carter laughed, and picked up Kayti’s shoulder bag. The family walked over to the luggage carousel, and collected their bags. Aaron held on protectively to Kayti’s hand as they walked to the family car.
"Kayti sits next to me!" Aaron cried as the door of the car opened. The Carters had bought two cars, and Aaron pulled Kayti to his dad’s car. Kayti laughed and looked at Nick. He too had a smile on his face, and shrugged, laughing. Kayti told Aaron, "Sure, I’ll sit next to you, as long as I get to sit in the middle. Then your brother gets to sit next to me as well. How does that sound?"
"Okie," he agreed, jumping into the car. He let go of Kayti’s hand as he buckled up. Kayti took that opportunity to walk over to Nick, who was watching her adventures with Aaron with an amused smile on his face.
Kayti reached up with her hands and gently touched his cheeks, pulling his face closer to her. Their lips met in a soft kiss. She broke away, smiling. "Thank you for this. I think it’s just what I need. And everyone has been so warm and welcoming," she told him happily.
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"So, how is everything going in here?" Nick peered around the door, smiling. Kayti was leaning over the bed, unpacking her bag. She looked up at him, and smiled back.
"Yeah, it’s cool. But I’m kinda stir crazy, you know? Like I just wanna get out and have some fun. So what can we do at night in this place?" she asked, standing up next to him. Nick took this opportunity to give her a kiss.
As they ended their kiss, Nick leaned back and said, "I can show you my most favourite place in the whole world. But you can never tell anyone that you went there, cos it’s supposed to be for Aaron and me only. But I’m sure Aaron won’t mind. You’ll need some walking shoes and a swim suit, though."
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"… And this is where we used to hang out when we were kids," Nick said, taking Kayti’s hand to lead her to the tree house.
"Wow, it’s so high!" Kayti cried, looking up at the great oak tree before them. "How did you get up there?"
"Like this," Nick replied, letting go of her hand, and walking over to the base of the tree. He glanced at the carvings on the side, carvings he and Aaron had done only three years earlier. He read "No Girls Ever!", and chuckled quietly to himself. Kayti heard and came over to him.
"What was that for?" she asked playfully, glancing over him at the tree.
"Just something Aaron wrote here awhile ago," Nick told her, leading her over to the inscription.
"Cute! But are you sure he wouldn’t mind me coming here? I don’t want to intrude on your ‘turf’. Although, I really don’t think Aaron would mind me coming here, considering he was practically attached to my side all day," she smiled at the memory of Aaron tugging on her hand, dragging her from one room to another, to show her all the ‘cool stuff’ he had.
Nick laughed, and rubbed his hand across the writing on the tree. He started climbing, beckoning for Kayti to follow. She quickly walked over to the tree, and began to climb behind Nick.
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