“I wish I had the answers for you right now, but I promise I will have them soon. For now, have fun and enjoy your vacation. I know that’s easier said than done.”
“I appreciate everything all of you are doing.”
“We’re family, and if there’s one thing you’ll learn about Lake Renegade, we take care of each other. No matter what. I’m going to get back to this. Sebastiano’s working on finding out how he got your name and info. I’m going to find out why Palmer is here.”
Francesco hugs us both and heads back into the MC clubhouse. I have no doubt that they’ll find out what’s going on. The real question is, how long will it take?
CHAPTER TWELVE
Emerson
The month we spent in Lake Renegade went by way too fast. The guys still haven’t found out what Palmer wants. And now he’s resorted to texting and threatening Sawyer, just like her parents and sisters are doing. They figured out who I am and even went as far as to try and get me fired. We explained to my bosses at Desmo the situation and they said they’re behind us. They’ve also provided us with extra security. No one’s allowed in my garage or Easton’s since his is attached to mine.
We’ve also gotten the paperwork done for me to adopt River. I know she’s still worried, but now that we know who Palmer is, we need to protect River even more. Not only will I protect him, but he’s now part of the Mancini family. And here in Illinois, that’s a name a lot of people know. Kostas, Celestino, Oliver and Alfonso have come with us for extra security.
This weekend is the first race of the season and emotions are always higher. Everyone wants to do well for the first race. It sets the precedent on how we hope our season will go. I feel goodabout this weekend, but I’m still worried about Sawyer. I know how worried she is, but she’s told me that she feels safe. Desmos has also allowed us to have River in the garage with us. Which makes us both feel better.
“You ready?” Easton asks me as we’re stretching and getting our gear on.
“I am. I just wish I could make this all okay for Sawyer and River.”
“We all do. But I need to know your head’s in racing. Our jobs are hard enough, being distracted can be deadly.”
“I know, I promise, I’m all in.”
My brother’s right. Being distracted is the worst thing we can do. No matter what’s going on in our lives, when we get on that track? Our only focus has to be there on that track. So as much as I love both of them, I need to block it out for the next hour.
Sawyer
Emerson has done so much for me and for River. What worries me is that now Palmer has started to text me. Sometimes he threatens to take River and sometimes he acts nice and sweet. Saying he just wants to know his son. Which we all know is bullshit. I don’t know what he really wants. But I know he wants something. I want to know why he even gave his sperm to the clinic. Most do it because they want to help or they need some extra money. But he doesn’t seem like he needs money and I doubt he did it to be nice.
On race weekends, we have free practice one and two. There’s also a practice session in between. Then we have qualifying. After that, there’s the sprint race, and then Sunday is the big race. I hate to think that Emerson isn’t focused. He tellsme that he’s okay, that when he’s on his bike, he’s focused on what he has to do. And I hope it stays that way. I couldn’t live with the idea that he got hurt because of me.
Free practice one goes well and Emerson is in the top three.
“The bike is shaking a little more than usual on the hard braking turns,” he says to us.
We’re all taking notes as he briefs us on how the bike felt during FP1. We will have about four to five hours to get his bike more in tune for him. The practice session is where the riders go into either qualifying one or two. The goal is for Q2. But even if he lands in Q1, he can still get into Q2.
This weekend’s race was incredible. Emerson came in second after almost crashing. Another rider fucked up and almost took out three of them. It sounds like he’s going to get a penalty for the next race. There’s two racers that I’ve always thought took too many chances when they race. There’s that saying, ‘rubbing is racing.’ But this rider takes chances and goes beyond that. And he never takes responsibility for what he does. For some reason, they keep letting him get away with that shit.
“We can head back to Lake Renegade till our next race,” I say to Sawyer as we’re packing up to go back to Italy.
“I’d like that. Are you sure you don’t mind?”
“Not at all. We have a month till the next race. So that gives us a little over three weeks. And maybe we’ll finally get some answers.”
“That would be a relief.”
I walk over to him and hug him.
“Thank you for everything. I don’t know if I could’ve gotten through any of this without you.”
“You’re a strong woman. You would’ve found a way. But I’m glad I’m here to help you. I love you.”
“And you wuv meeeee,” River says as he zooms around the room.
“I do love you.” He laughs.
