Shan and Charlie
Shan hadn’t been eager to come to this family event, but it had been made pretty clear that it was sort of for her, so she was expected to be there. Caden had mumbled something about welcoming her to the family ... he hadn’t seemed too keen on it either. But if she was learning anything about him, it was that his family was a priority. She didn’t know enough to say that he did everything they said, or that he based all of his decisions around them, but they were obviously important to him. So she had agreed to go and behave herself. Shan even dressed down for her, donning a pair of tight jeans and a v-neck t-shirt that showed off her cleavage, her hair swept up into a messy bun.
The house they drove up to seemed small but nice enough, and the instant she got out of the car, Shan could hear cheerful chatter from around the back of the house. Once she and Caden had walked to the back, he did a quick round of introductions -- where Shan promptly forgot most of the names he rattled off. She remembered Aaron from the bar, and it was easy to suss out that Gavin was his other brother, but that was about all she retained. She said her hellos and smiled around at everyone anyway.
Caden abandoned her fairly quickly to get a beer and talk to his brothers, so Shan found herself at loose ends near the food table, plucking up a couple of small things to snack on. The burgers weren’t even ready, but her stomach was kind of touchy anyway, so some carrots and dip would do for now.
Knowing just how unhappy Gavin was about Caden getting married, Charlie had been convinced that getting the family together for a barbecue was probably the best way to go about introductions and maybe getting to know the woman a bit better. They couldn’t avoid one another and frankly, Charlie didn’t want that anyway. The marriage may not last but… it could. If Shan was going to be a part of their lives, they needed to get to know her.
While Caden was with Gavin at the grill, Charlie carried her drink over to Shan, Baxter close on her heels. The dog seemed intrigued by the new stranger but had stayed close to Charlie for most of the evening.
“So how are you liking Point Pleasant?” Charlie asked with a friendly smile. She was aware it was the kind of question that screamed small talk but she had to start somewhere.
Shan was glad that she’d brought sunglasses to this thing. The sun was actually on its way down, but the big dark lenses at least helped her hide some of her facial expressions. So her brief deer-in-headlights wide eyes were undetectable as she spotted Charlie approaching. Shan knew that chatting with these people was unavoidable, so she had to grin and bear it. She smiled back at the other woman, her eyes ticking briefly down to the dog. Why couldn’t she just make friends with all the puppies and call it a day? “Oh, um ... it’s a lot different,” Shan offered with a little laugh. “It’s okay, though. It’s a pretty town.” It was also super tiny and kind of boring already, but that was rude to say out loud, wasn’t it? Maybe Charlie loved small town living.