“It’s not unusual,” said Remington.“Women are highly intelligent beings with the ability to have emotions just like men.Good and bad.Anger and joy.Happy or sad.Evil or not.We’ve all encountered women during our service time, and our time here at Belle Fleur, who earned the title ‘hateful bitch’.
“Even my great-great-grandfather, Trak was abused by his own mother.His scars are not something I’ll ever get used to and yet he found it in himself to forgive her when she appeared as a ghost to apologize.”
“Wow, you’re kidding?” she gasped.
“No.In fact, it was my father she was trying to get to deliver the message.He was just a kid and he didn’t know who the woman was.She was thin, dark hair, and looked old but she never said a name.She just kept telling him that she was sorry.”
“How did Trak react to that?” she asked.
“I think deep down he knew that she was sick.Her mental illness and demons were made worse by alcohol and drugs but it didn’t take the pain away from him that he endured as a child.Meeting Lauren changed his life forever and then becoming a father.He’s been my mentor for as long as I can remember.”
“We are so fortunate that they’re all here for us and the twins,” she smiled.“I want them to have family around them who loves them, cares for them, and is active in their lives in a good way.”
“Me too, baby,” he said kissing her forehead.“What else is wrong?”
“Remington?What if George and Maggie aren’t really my parents?What if I was one of those stolen children?”
“If you’re asking if it would matter to me, the answer is no.Nothing will matter to me.You’re my wife, the mother of my children and I love you.But if you want to know, we can try to find out.”
She thought about it for a long moment, walking slowly, hand-in-hand with Remington.She watched as dozens of other people milled around the property.Families laughing, couples holding hands, Rory and Piper were arguing, then suddenly they were definitely not arguing, kissing as if they were fifteen.
Saylor smiled to herself, realizing that it was true what the older women had said.Love always wins out.
“You know what?I don’t need to know.They won’t ever get near me or my children.I don’t need to know if they were really my parents or not.”
“Okay,” nodded Remington.
“Wait.What if, what if they have a predisposition to certain diseases?We would need to know for the boys.”
“Okay,” nodded Remington.
“Wait.No.No, I don’t want to know.”
“Okay,” he nodded again, smiling at her.
“Wait!”
“Honey, why don’t we do the blood work, ask the team to look into it.If there are any diseases or family history we need to know, they’ll tell us.But we’ll ask them not to tell us if there is a genetic match.”
“Right.Okay, that sounds good.I think,” she frowned.Remington only laughed.
“Come on.You’ll think better with a full stomach and so will I.”
The cafeteria was bursting at the seams with seemingly everyone home for dinner.Luke stared at the group, speaking to his father, Nine, Ghost, and Ian, Eric, Cam, and Hex close by as well.
“Looks like we need to expand,” said Luke.“I know you have your own cafeteria on your island but we obviously prefer eating together.”
“Well, I think we can find a way to build a new site,” nodded Gaspar.“Let me check with Pops to be sure he hasn’t already done it behind our backs.”They all chuckled realizing that in fact could be true.If they didn’t find an alternative soon, they would have to create rotations of diners to accommodate.
“Why don’t you just extend the building to the grove?” asked Saylor.They all turned and looked at her, then at the grove.“I mean, you could extend like it’s just outdoor seating but have something that can cover it as well.You have that now with the tenting but if it were say, screened in but with glass doors, you could open in good weather, but close it and heat it or cool it in bad weather.”
“That’s a great idea,” said Luke.“It’s why we did the screens out there so we could enjoy the outdoors without the bugs.If we glassed it in, like the front of this building, it would look like it’s always been that way.For those who prefer sitting outside, they could have the best of both worlds.Let me get with Grant and talk about laying a foundation so it’s solid.Thanks, Saylor.”
“You’re welcome.I didn’t mean to interfere, I just happened to hear you all talking and I love sitting out there.”
“You never have to apologize for giving an opinion,” said Cam.“All opinions are welcomed.Except from Eric.I don’t like his opinions.”
Eric just laughed, shoving his friend as they all chuckled.But they noticed the sadness on Saylor’s face.
