He gave me an exasperated sigh before opening his arms. Picking him up, I squeezed him close and breathed him in, glad to see him so happy and carefree. My little man needed this vacation as much as I did. “You smell like bar-b-que,” I said.
“Me and Nolan are helping Grandpa and Wasp.”
Nolan was Wasp’s brother Grant’s son. He and Trent were only months apart in age and had been inseparable since we’d arrived. Before the guys had put them to work, they’d been out in the field chasing little gray birds, laughing so loudly they had all the adults cracking up and videoing their shenanigans.
“Well, maybe I should just eat you,” I said, making gobbling noises at his neck.
Trent laughed, squirming until I set him down. “Hamburger or hot dog?” he asked again, all business.
“Hamburger.”
“Grandma?” Trent asked.
Elaine was teary-eyed. “Hamburger. Thanks Trent.”
He went scurrying off with our orders.
“Are you okay?” I asked Elaine as soon as Trent was out of earshot.
“Yes, of course. I couldn’t be happier, dear.”
I reached for her hand, squeezing it. “Family’s important. I get it.”
“Of course, you do.” She squeezed my hand back. “He’s lucky to have found you, Carly. We all are.”
My heart swelled. “Thank you, but I’m the lucky one.”
“Mom, Grandma, your burgers are ready!” Trent shouted through the screen, breaking up our moment.
Elaine snickered. “We better get out there before those boys try to bring our plates to us.”
Yep. That would be a mess.
The entire family ate in the backyard on four long wooden picnic tables with attached benches. We barely fit, and Stephen said something about ordering another one before Thanksgiving. Everyone chatted amicably, and the kids rushed through their meal, so they could hit the swimming pool.
“Doesn’t swimming after they eat cause cramps?” I asked.
“That’s not really a thing,” Noni, Garret’s wife, told me. She was eight months pregnant with their third child and looked miserable, fanning herself in the heat. “Swimming does wear them out, though, and we need that.”
“Amen,” Lacy, Tom’s wife, said, holding up her wine glass. “Ever since Stella started walking, I live for naptime. Noni, did I tell you she ate my fern?”
“Really?” Noni asked.
“Yep. It’s missing several branches. I called poison control.” To me, she added, “I have them on speed dial. Not even kidding. They said she should be fine, but to watch her. She had a stomach ache that night, but that was it. I swear, that kid puts everything in her mouth. You’d think I never fed her.”
“Dylan shoved a Lego up his nose when he was two,” Karin, Duane’s wife, said. “I have no idea what makes a kid look at a Lego and think it should be shoved up their nose. I thought we were going to have to take him to the emergency room, but Duane grabbed a pair of tweezers and got it out. The next week he shoved a gummy bear up there.”
Everyone roared with laughter as more horror stories were shared about the kids. Much to my dismay, Wasp piped in and told everyone about Penis Parker. Much like their parents, all his siblings loved that story and broke into equally embarrassing tales of Wasp’s younger days. I’d never fit in better with a group of people in my life.
Everything was perfect.
We swam with the kids, and then put Trent down for a nap. Getting rid of my swimsuit, I pulled on a cute little stars and stripes sundress, perfect for the occasion, and met Wasp outside. His eyes drank me in, the way they always did, making my stomach do a little flip.
“You look nice. I hate that I wasn’t in there to help you change,” he grumbled.
Since his parents were Catholic, and we weren’t married, they’d put us up in different rooms, something he’d been lamenting about ever since. In full vacation mode, he was still wearing his swim trunks and slides, his long hair wavy from the pool.
“You look tasty,” I said, licking my lips.
