Chapter Six
Sean
Sean Kowalski looked at the massive pile of what looked like everything they owned sitting on the front lawn and shook his head. “We can’t possibly need all this stuff.”
“We’re going for two weeks,” his wife replied. “We have a three-year-old.”
“People are going to think you got mad at me and threw all my stuff out the window.”
Emma gave him a sideways look. “They know better. If that was the case, the pile would be on fire.”
He laughed and stepped close enough to loop his arm around her waist and pull her up against him. “Good point. I hope you’ve talked to Cat and Russell and have some idea of where they are, because it’s supposed to rain later.”
“It’s not supposed to rain untilmuchlater, and they’ll be here anytime. She sent me a text about twenty minutes ago.”
Sean hoped the weather forecast was right, because given a choice between carrying that pile back inside only to carry it all out again or setting off on vacation tomorrow with wet belongings, he wasn’t sure which he’d choose. It was bad enough they were going to not only have to fit that entire pile into the camper, but make sure everything was stowed securely so they weren’t dodging projectiles like a bad arcade game going down the road tomorrow.
Emma’s grandmother and step-grandfather were taking two weeks off of their RV-ing-around-the-country life to house-sit for them, which Cat would love since it had been her home for most of her life and was the house that she’d raised Emma in. And he, Emma and Johnny would be taking their RV to Maine.
“How many texts have you gotten from Aunt Mary?” he asked.
“Sixteen.”
“This week?”
“Today.” She laughed. “And those are separate from the group text withallthe women. I swear I’ve had to remind them that Maine has stores every day this week.”
“And Aunt Mary reminds you they only have a small market in town and—”
“I’ll pay twice as much than if I just buy it now and take it with me,” she finished for him.
“Plus, if I know Rosie, she’ll have been baking and cooking and we’re all going to have to eat so much food, we won’t be able to ride our four-wheelers. Or swim. We’ll just sink to the bottom of the pool.”
“I think I’ve gained weight just fromthinkingabout spending two weeks with Mary and Rose.”
Sean bowed his head to kiss the side of her neck. “I’m sure we can come up with ways to burn off those extra calories.”
“There’s nothing sexier than being surrounded by your entire family.” She laughed when he nipped at her earlobe, but he winced when she yelled to Johnny. “Stop taking toys out of the pile or you won’t have them at Nana Rosie’s house!”
Johnny threw his favorite dump truck back in the pile and looked at them, scowling. “Put it in Daddy’s truck.”
“We’re not taking Daddy’s truck,” she said, and Sean guessed by her tone they’d already had this discussion a few times today. “Or Mommy’s. We’re taking Grammy’s camper, so when she and Papa get here, we’ll put your toys in the camper, okay?”
“He’s going to run himself ragged playing with his cousins,” Sean said. “We’ll be lucky if he can stay awake through supper.”
“I’m hoping a family-wide afternoon nap rule is put into effect. I think we’ll all have fun, though. It’ll be nice to relax. Did you finish up that job today?”
“All done.” They maintained separate businesses—the landscaping business Emma had established before they even met and his building business—but they often worked in conjunction. Since she specialized in low-maintenance landscaping for summer homes and camps, he offered decks, stairs and docks, and they were able to save clients money and aggravation by being a package deal. And they were able to coordinate their schedules so one of them was usually home with Johnny, though he’d visit Aunt Mary or one of his aunts if they were in a time crunch.
Emma’s phone chimed and she groaned, dropping her head against his shoulder. “You know that stretch of road on the way that has no cell phone reception? When you get there, drive really, really slow, okay?”
He laughed, but then his phone chimed, too. He pulled it out while Emma was typing out a reply on hers. “Crap. It’s Uncle Leo, making sure I packed all of Johnny’s riding gear. Is that somewhere in the pile?”
“Yes and, once again, he’s only three. His riding gear consists of a helmet and a pair of goggles.”
“Okay.” He typed out a response for his uncle, mentally cursing his cousin Kevin for deciding Leo needed a cell phone in the first place. “Isourriding gear in the pile?”
“Everything that was on the list is in the pile.”
