Family Legacy (Mancini Legacy #10)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

Emerson

I was two when my mama took me and we fled for our lives from my biological father.

I have vague memories of him and most of them are him screaming at me and my mama.

I found out later that he abused her, physically and mentally.

When she escaped, she had help getting to Chicago, Illinois.

And she got a job at the Mancini Grill. She says that’s where our new life started.

My da and mama ended up having four more kids, three boys and a girl. Elias, the twins, Easton and Ezra, and the baby, Eden.

Growing up, we spent a lot of time in Lake Renegade, Illinois.

My cousins, Lorenzo and Giovanna were kidnapped when they were two years old.

I was eight at the time and I remember all of it.

My da had to travel a lot for his racing and I was also in training.

But whenever we had a break, we were in Lake Renegade with our family.

Two years ago, my cousins were found and things have changed a lot. But we’re still all very close.

I was sixteen when I started my career in the MotoGP championship.

There are three classes, Moto 3, Moto 2 and the GP class.

When I started in Moto 3, my da was in the GP class and he was already a five-time champion.

We spent the next seven years racing together.

The last year, my da and I were on the same team in the GP class.

My brother Elias was in the Moto 2 class and the twins were in the Moto 3 class.

It was the year we made history in the sport for the third time with five of us O’Connors in the championship.

That year we watched our da win his seventeenth title.

Elias and Easton won their championships and Ezra and I came second in our classes.

That was also the year my da decided to retire, he said that year was everything he dreamed of and he couldn’t see anything topping it.

To this day, my da still holds the record for the most championship wins.

This year, I’m starting my fifteenth season and all three of my brothers are in the GP championship with me.

We’ve had a lot of fun doing this together.

And I look forward to many more years, we’ve all just signed new contracts which will last for the next two years.

My brothers and I aren’t the only ones in the family that are in sports.

My cousin Domenico is the starting goalie for the Chicago Redhawks.

And my cousin Gianluca is the third baseman for the Chicago Panthers.

Family time is always a lot of fun because we all share our sports of choice with each other.

But I still fall a lot on the ice and as amusing as that is to my family?

It’s not to me. It’s a good thing I’m great on my bike.

Lately, I’ve been seeing a lot of my cousins and our extended family finding their true loves and settling down.

I have to admit, I’m a little jealous. When I do date, I wonder if they’re with me because I’m a MotoGP champion or if they really like me for my personality.

That thought makes me sad because I want them to want me for me, not because of what I do.

This year we’re getting a few new technicians on our team.

Santiago, who’s from Spain, Tommaso’s from Italy and Sawyer’s from the United States.

We don’t usually get new crew members, but my crew chief, Matteo Russo, said it was time.

A few of my techs worked with my da, and when he retired, they asked to come and work on my team.

But now they’re ready to retire themselves, and they didn’t want to leave me unless we had new people to take their place.

So we had them help us find our new crew members.

I’m sad to see them go, I’ve known them for most of my life.

But I’m also excited to meet the new guys and see what they can bring to our family.

That’s what my crew is to me. They’re a part of my family and I always stress to Matteo that whatever any of them needs, we will help them.

We have a month left for our winter vacation. Next month, we head to Italy for the first testing weekend of the season. One month after that, we start our new race season in Qatar. It’s our only night race and it’s always been one of my favorite races.

“I wish your vacations were longer. We miss you boys when you’re on your racing schedule,” my antín Graínne says to me.

“I miss you guys too. Maybe you can all come to more of the races? I can’t believe how much our family has grown in the last few years.”

“We were planning on coming to a few more this season. And when are you going to find a nice girl and start your family?” She smiles.

I chuckle. “I’m hoping I’ll know when I meet her.”

“I think you will. When you meet that one woman? You’ll know she’s the one.” Aintín Graínne hugs me.

My family always makes it a point to come to at least one race per season.

They’ve always supported my brothers and me as much as they can.

But I do miss them and as I get older, I miss them even more.

Especially since my cousins are having kids and I want to be around to see them grow up.

My plan is to come back to Lake Renegade after I retire.

Which won’t be for a while, but I will come back.

My brothers and I have talked about it and that’s the plan for each of us.

Ezra has even said he doesn’t know if he’s going to keep racing.

Out of all of us, he’s the one that’s had the most accidents.

And the last one he said felt like it took longer to fully heal.

That’s a big thing for us, the accidents and healing time. And it’s definitely harder as I get older.

Sawyer

Growing up, I always knew my mom didn’t want me.

It’s something she told me all the time.

I have two older sisters, but they were fifteen and thirteen when I was born.

And my parents had lost the only boy they had when he was two years old.

He got sick and they couldn’t save him. I tried asking my parents and even my sisters what happened.

But that’s all they would tell me. So when I was born a year after my brother died, I was a mistake, according to my mom.

She wanted her son back, and sadly, I was never close to either of my sisters.

In fact, I’m still not close to them. I can’t remember the last time we spoke to each other.

My dad went to prison when I was ten. That’s the last time I spoke to him, because my mom never took me to see him.

She took my sisters, but always left me home.

I learned to rely on myself at a very early age.

It’s hard to make friends when you can’t invite them to come and play at your house.

And when I was invited to parties and play dates, my mom would just say no.

When I was sixteen, I graduated early and went to college.

I got my bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in three years.

I disappointed my parents again when I told them I was pregnant.

I never planned on telling them how I got pregnant.

But somehow they found out I used a sperm donor.

Not because I didn’t want to find someone to spend my life with.

I just wanted to be a mom and this was the one way I wanted to do it.

I had a degree and a good job with a local racing team.

So I knew I could support myself and my baby.

It’s been three and a half years since I had my son, River.

And now I think it’s time to start a new chapter for us.

So I spent the last year taking the classes I needed to get certified as a technician.

And I’ve been hired to be a technician for a MotoGP rider.

His name is Emerson O’Connor and I’ve followed his career.

He’s a great rider and I’m so excited to start my new job.

Women aren’t usually given the chance to do this.

And if they do, they have to start in a Moto 3 class.

I was told by his crew chief, Matteo Russo, that they’re giving me the chance because of my grades in school and the letters of recommendation I had from my current team.

I’m so grateful for the opportunity. They even said that they would have someone there to watch River on race weekends.

I have a month to pack up our lives and move to Italy.

That’s where the team is based, they’re even providing us with an apartment.

I never thought I would get all these great things from a job.

Matteo said that Emerson and his brothers always make sure their crew is taken care of.

That no matter what they need, they’re all family.

Now that’s a word that has never applied to me. Family.

“Where we going, Mama?” River asks me as we’re packing his stuff up.

I look into his green eyes and kiss his face.

“We’re going to start a new adventure in Italy. Remember Mama told you I got a new job?”

He nods as he brings me some of his clothes to pack.

“Well, I’m going to be working on motorcycles.”

“Can I wide a motocycle?” he asks, making revving noises as he runs around his bedroom.

“I think we can find a way for you to learn.” I laugh.

River is the best kid I could’ve asked for, he’s kind and loving.

And I hope he never changes. When I chose his donor, I chose one that said he came from a big, close-knit family.

He also said he was six foot three, with green eyes and black hair.

The place I used even had his baby pictures and a picture of him as an adult.

I have to admit, part of the reason I chose him was because of how handsome I thought he was.

He was also an educated man, he listed that he has a master’s degree in finance.

River has some of his features, but he mostly looks like me.

I love my son so much, and I promised him when he was born that he would never wonder about how much I loved him.

I would show him every day. So from the day he was born, I’ve hugged him and kissed him and told him I love him.

River’s started to ask why he doesn’t have a daddy.

Even at three years old, he sees on the TV that kids have daddies.

I told him that maybe one day he’ll have one. But until then, we’re a team.

Part of me is sad that my family doesn’t care what’s going on with me. But the other part is saying fuck them. It’s not like I’m missing out, I really can’t miss what I never had.