“You ready?” he asked with a wink.
“Yep!” I gave him a wink back.
He jumped out of his truck and ran over to help me out. I was never going to get used to his Southern charm and manners. I glanced around, looking for Courtney. She was so outgoing that I wasn’t worried about her feeling left out.
I looked around to see where the music was coming from. Gesh, it almost sounds like a DJ is here. I turned and saw about five huge speakers.
“Wow! Do y’all have parties here often? That is a major setup you guys have there. ”
Layton laughed and threw his arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer to him. “Mike used to be known for his parties. He wo
uld go all out. We called them pontoon parties. We haven’t had one in a long time. ”
“How come?” I asked.
“I haven’t had a reason to party…until now. ” He stopped me and pulled me closer to him, and then he gave me the most passionate kiss ever.
I let out a small moan, and I couldn’t believe that my body was aching for him again. “Layton,” I whispered.
“Layton!”
I turned and saw about three girls walking up to us. They all had huge smiles on their faces, and one girl with short blonde hair walked right up to me and hugged me.
She leaned down by my ear and whispered, “I don’t know what you did, but thank you for bringing my cousin back. ” She pulled away and gave me the sweetest smile.
I grinned back and felt my face blushing.
Each girl took a turn giving Layton a hug and a kiss, and then they turned their attention to me, each thanking me. We stood there for a few minutes, talking. I found out they were all sisters and Layton’s cousins. Each was married and had at least one child. I absolutely loved talking to them and had not laughed that hard in so long.
We made our way over to a fire pit with a huge grill next to it. Kevin was manning the grill, wearing an apron that said, Kiss the Cook. I saw hot dogs, hamburgers, and sausages. A nearby table had buns and all the fixings.
“Hey, Kevin,” I said with a chuckle.
“Hey, Whit! Glad you made it to your party!” he said with a wink.
I let out a giggle and shook my head. “How in the world did y’all plan this so fast?”
Kevin laughed. “Oh, baby girl, we are pros at throwing together a party. Mike and I used to be known for our parties. As soon as Reed called and said Layton wanted to have a pontoon party, that was all I needed to hear to spring into action. ”
I smiled as I glanced over toward Layton. He was talking to a few guys I’d never seen before. At least ten kids, all under the age of six, were running around. One little girl ran by, and I swore she was the spitting image of Layton. I laughed as I watched them play.
I turned back to Kevin and gave him a slight smile. “Um…Kevin, what did you mean when you said this was my party?”
Kevin’s smile faded for a quick second. He looked around for Layton. He grinned when he saw him. Layton turned toward me, and his smile about knocked my socks off.
“Whitley, Layton lost a part of himself when Mike died. Then, that bitch of a girlfriend walked out on him the night after Mike died. We were all worried about Layton. For a while there, he didn’t even seem like he wanted to live. We tried like hell to throw a party. Layton and Mike loved having parties. We’ve all seen a change in Layton since the very first day you showed up. ”
I looked down to the ground, and I could feel my face getting hotter.
“Whitley, he’s having this party to show everyone that he’s okay. He’s letting us know that he found you. I also think that bastard is trying to tell all these horny country boys that you’re his. ”
I laughed as I peeked up at Layton. He was taking a drink of his beer and looking right at me. My heart stopped, and my knees felt like they were going to buckle out from under me.
“Whitley?”
I didn’t even take my eyes off of Layton’s. “Yes, Kevin?”
“Please don’t hurt him. ”