“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 aswe 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.”
