Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
Sawyer
Emerson stayed for a couple of hours. After he left, I packed a suitcase for River and me.
I don’t know what to take, but since it’s February, I know it’s still pretty cold there.
Emerson did say to bring a swimsuit because they have heated pools.
River’s so excited about going on vacation with Emerson and his family.
He hasn’t stopped talking about them since he got up this morning.
Emerson: Hey. What are your plans for today?
Sawyer: Hi. We were just about to have lunch and then hopefully River will take a nap. He’s been bouncing around all morning. He’s so excited. Thank you again for doing this
Emerson: You should get used to traveling. Not only will we be traveling for races, you’re both going to be coming with us on vacations
Sawyer: I need time to save up for that. LOL
Emerson: …Don’t make me get my parents into this chat
Sawyer:
Emerson: Hahaha. Let me bring you both some lunch, what do you feel like? Or I can pick you up and bring you here. My mama made grilled cheese and tomato soup
Sawyer: I can’t ask you to do that
Emerson: Good thing you didn’t ask, then. I’ll be there in 20 minutes. And bring your luggage. We’ll all leave from here
I shake my head and smile. I hope I don’t screw this up with Emerson.
“River, get your backpack ready, Emerson’s coming to get us.”
“YAYYYYY! EMERSONNNNN.”
I watch him run to his room making motorcycle noises. I laugh and follow him because I don’t actually trust him to pack his backpack. Sure enough, he’s stuffing all his motorcycles in it.
“Baby, you can’t take all that. You can take one, and your blanket and a jacket.”
“But Mama, I need to have all of dem.” He frowns.
“I promise, you won’t need them on our trip.”
“Okay, if you say so.” He sighs as he picks out his favorite. Which just happens to be a replica of Emerson’s bike. I’ve noticed that he plays with that one more than the others lately.
“Are you ready?” I ask him.
“Yes, Mama.”
I pick him up and kiss his face. “Thank you for listening to Mama. We’re going to have a great time on vacation.”
“Where are we going?”
“We’re going to Lake Renegade. It’s a town in Illinois.”
“What’s in Lake Wenegade?”
“Emerson’s family is there and they’ve invited us to come and visit.”
“Will dere be other kids there for me to pay with?”
“Emerson says there will be.”
“Yay!”
I always worry about River not having anyone to play with.
There were other kids at the play area when we were at testing.
And Matteo said that there will be kids there at race time too.
So at least he won’t be alone. When I got offered the job, I worried about being a single mom.
And trying to find child care. But they’ve made it so easy. I can’t believe how lucky I am.
River runs to the door asking who it is. We hear Emerson laugh and tell him. River opens the door and flings himself into Emerson’s arms.
“Mama says you’re taking us to Lake Wenegade.”
“I am, and you’re going to love it there. We have animals for you to play with too.”
“What kind of animals?”
“Well, we have otters, tigers, polar bears and a few other animals.”
“And I can play with dem?”
“Yes, you’ll be able to play with them and I have nephews and nieces that are your age. You’ll get to play with them too.”
“Yay! I can show dem my motocycle.”
Emerson smiles. “I think they’d love that. Are you hungry? My mama made lunch for everyone.”
“Yes. I hungry.”
I smile as I watch them interact, this is what I’ve secretly wanted.
River to have a strong man to look up to.
And I don’t mean he has to be physically strong.
But Emerson is everything I could’ve hoped for.
He even holds my hand when we’re in the car.
I’ve had relationships, but none of them have ever done these little things he does.
Holding my hand, kissing me randomly, always touching me as he walks by and just making me feel wanted no matter what we’re doing.
When we get back to his house, everyone is waiting on us to start eating.
“It’s about time. I’m pretty sure I’ve lost weight while I’ve been sitting here starving,” Easton says as he squints at us.
“Why couldn’t you eat?” I laugh.
Easton and his brothers all look at their mom. She smiles at them and I’m not sure it’s a nice smile. It feels like a ‘don’t mess with Mama’ smile.
“I raised all of you to be thoughtful of others. And now that we’re all together, we can eat.”
“Finally,” Elias says under his breath.
“Maybe you don’t need to eat,” élodie says to him.
“But…I’m sorry, Mama. I’m really happy to all be together and I can’t wait to eat this delicious lunch you made.”
River is giggling. He has no idea what’s going on, but the looks on everyone’s faces, I’m sure that’s what’s making him laugh.
élodie frowns at Elias as she passes out the food, making sure she serves him last. Everyone tells me about Lake Renegade and I love it already.
“The jet is ready whenever we are,” Aiden says to everyone as he’s looking at his phone.
“Should we leave early? If we leave now, we’ll be there by 10 p.m. our time, and it’ll be like 4 p.m. there. And River will probably get a good nap in on the plane,” élodie says.
“We could have dinner with them and then sleep, so that sounds good. Let’s clean up and head to the airport,” my da says.
I stand up and help élodie and Eden clear the table and get the dishes done.
“Come on little man, let’s get the suitcases in the car.” The smile on River’s face is huge. I love how they make him a part of what they’re doing. Like he’s always been a part of the family.
Emerson
River gets so excited when he sees the plane. I love how curious he is about everything. And I can tell my parents love having him around. They’re always asking us when my brothers and I are going to find a nice girl and settle down.
“Do you think I should bring River over here to sleep?” Sawyer whispers to me.
River has finally pooped out and is sprawled over both my parents as he sleeps.
“No, I think he’s fine.” I chuckle. “My parents are in heaven having him around.”
“I can’t tell you how much I appreciate everything. River was always a happy kid, but being with all of you? He’s so much more energetic and he seems so much happier.”
“He’s a great kid, and so easy to love.”
“Thank you for saying that, that was a huge worry for me when I decided to have him. I worried that I wouldn’t be enough for him.”
“You’re a great mom and it shows. River’s only three, yet he knows how to be polite and he has manners. That’s not something all kids have,” I say to her as I kiss her.
“I got lucky with him.”
“I think you’re both lucky to have each other. And me? Shit, I’m the luckiest one because you’re both mine.”
Sawyer snuggles into me as she smiles and yawns.
“Get some sleep, the time change is kinda crazy. Plus, you won’t be able to sleep for a while, my family can be a lot. And they’re all excited to meet you and River, so I know they won’t let us leave for a while.”
“Do you live close to them?”
“We all have houses on the property. It’s a big property and it’s kind of hard to explain. But you’ll see. It’s a great place.”
“I’m excited to meet everyone and explore Lake Renegade.”
The flight takes almost ten hours and most of us slept on and off through it.
When River wasn’t sleeping, he was eating or watching TV.
When I told Sawyer he was a good kid, I meant it.
He didn’t yell and scream or cause any problems. Even though you could tell he was tired and bored at times.
When my brothers and I were little? We would’ve been yelling and screaming while my parents threatened us that we wouldn’t be able to play with our cousins if we didn’t stop.
When we land, we see three cars waiting and a few of our cousins are there. I introduce everyone to Sawyer and River as we get into the cars and head to Lake Renegade. River falls asleep again on the drive to Lake Renegade.
“Dinner’s ready if you’re all hungry,” Lorenzo tells us.
“I’m starving,” Apollo answers as he’s driving.
“Seriously? I wasn’t talking to you.”
“Well, I’m in the car and you said ‘all’ of us.”
Lorenzo looks at Apollo and sighs. Apollo’s a polar bear shifter and he’s always hungry. All the shifters eat a lot, but he’s the most vocal about it.
Apollo pulls out something to eat and I laugh.
He always carries what he calls ‘pocket sammiches’ with him.
When he makes them, they’re pita pockets stuffed with meat, cheese, lettuce and various condiments.
When his mama makes them, she makes hers with gyro meat, and those are delicious.
I always make sure to get my fill of them when I’m back home.
Sometimes she even makes them when they come to races.
“Did he pull that out of his pocket?” Sawyer asks quietly.
“Yes, he did. And it’s gross,” Lorenzo answers her.
“You want some?” Apollo asks as he holds it up.
“Uh. No, thank you.”
“How many times do we need to tell you, no one wants crap you’ve pulled out of your pocket?” His older brother Ares sighs.
“Seraphina loves my pocket sammiches.”
“Seraphina also makes a conscious choice to kiss you everyday. I don’t think we can rely on her opinion.”
“I’m going to tell her you said that.”
Ares flips him off. “Your wife doesn’t scare me. Pay attention and drive. Or else pull over and I’ll drive.”
“You should be afraid of her,” he says as he rolls his eyes. Sawyer is giggling beside me.
As we get closer to Lake Renegade, Sawyer sits up and looks around.
“We planned on taking a quick drive through town. Unless you want to save that for tomorrow?” Ares asks.
“I’d love to see the town if that’s okay. I’ve been here once, years and years ago. But we never stopped, just got gas and kept going. Could we can do more exploring tomorrow?” Sawyer asks.
“Of course. Our mamas own Precious Rising’s Bakery and Cafe. And there’s a coffee shop coming soon. I think it’s supposed to open in a few months.”
“Anyone we know opening it?” I ask.
“No, just that it is a woman, I think Mam said her name is Riley? Or something like that. She’s from Kentucky and told Mam she just needed a new start and was driving through Lake Renegade,” Lorenzo explains to us.
“Well, we’ve been saying that we needed a coffee shop.”
“We’re excited to see what she does with the place. She went back home to get her things together.”
“Maybe it’ll be ready when we come back to visit next time,” I say as I kiss Sawyer’s head.
“I do like a good cup of coffee. Holy shit. You all live here?” she says as the property comes into view.
“There are four main families here. The Mancinis, Bastianinis, Athanasious and Nikolaidises. And in the middle of all our properties are the campgrounds,” Ares explains to her.
“So the whole town is really yours?”
“Well, the Mancinis are the original owners. Then came the Bastianinis and then Athanasious and Nikolaidises. It’s been quite the expansion of families.” I chuckle.
“And you’re related to the Mancinis?” she asks me.
“Yes. Enea Mancini is married to my antín Graínne, she’s my da’s sister.”
“I love how much history is here and how you know exactly who did what to bring your families together.”
“We can trace our families back at least three generations,” Lorenzo says.
“That’s incredible.”