“Thank you, Cugino. I appreciate all your help.”
“And you don’t have to worry about anyone getting onto the property. You should let her know that it’s safe here for her. She should stay on the property, unless you go with her to the campgrounds. But we’re pretty full there, so keep your eyes open there too.”
“I will, thanks. I better head back too. We have a lot to talk about.”
I hug all three of them and head back to my house. I hope Sawyer takes the news well, you never know how someone willfeel when they find out who my family is. When I get back to the house, my parents and brothers are still up. I let them know what’s going on.
“Maybe you, Sawyer and River should stay on the property tomorrow. Or at least until we find out what her mother wants,” Da says.
“I think it’s really sad that her mother’s treated her this way for so long. I don’t understand how a mother could do that to her daughter. No matter what.” My mama frowns.
When Sawyer told me how her parents treated her, it made me grateful that I have the parents that I do. They’ve always made all of us feel important. And I knew growing up that wasn’t easy with five of us. But somehow they did it.
“I need to go and talk to Sawyer. I just hope what I tell her about the family doesn’t scare her off.”
My parents hug me.
“I think she’ll be able to handle all of it. Especially if she cares for you the way you do for her,” my mama says.
“Thank you. See you guys in the morning.”
I go and check on River, he’s sound asleep, clutching his motorcycle toy. He’s the best kid. I quietly close the door and walk into our room. Sawyer sits up in bed and smiles at me.
“Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, I have some things I need to talk to you about. And I had to get permission to do that.”
Sawyer frowns. “Permission?”
“You’ll understand. Let me grab a quick shower and then we can talk.” I walk over to her and kiss her.
I take a fast shower and get back out to my girl. As I’m walking out of the bathroom, her eyes are glued to me. I chuckle.
“Do you like what you see?”
“Hell yes.” She grins.
I flex for her as she laughs. Then I get on the bed and hover over her.
“As much as I want to lose myself in you, we need to talk first.”
“Okay…Should I be worried?
“Not at all.” I smile at her as I sit facing her.
“So there’s a few things. First, my cousins are going to figure out how your mom got your number and how she knew you’re back. That’s the easy part. This next part is a little more difficult. I need to know what your thoughts are about us.”
“What do you mean?”
“I know I want to be with you. And only you. I want to marry you and if you’ll let me, I want to adopt River. I want all of it. More babies and being with you for the rest of our lives.”
“A-are you serious? What if you find out I’m a raging bitch?”
“Then you’ll bemyraging bitch.”
Sawyer chuckles. “I’m serious, Emerson. You don’t really know what I’m like, so how do you know?”
“I’ve asked my cousins who have found their person. And each of them has said they just knew. And while I can’t explain it, I just know. What I need to know is what you want and how you feel.”
