AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Thirty
"You look beautiful," Ronald told me from the table as we wandered into the kitchen and I came into view behind Sawyer. I felt a little awkward for the compliment and smiled shyly.
Pulling out the seat next to his father, Sawyer seated me then sat down beside me. A young, pretty maid in uniform came into the dining room. It reminded me how they all lived, and I felt a little intimidated again by their wealth.
"Morning, Catriona," Sawyer offered. He was rewarded with a sweet smile. "Scrambled eggs, bacon, toast and coffee for us both, please." He ordered without asking me. "That is okay for you, right? She'll also bring some pancakes and jelly, as usual," he informed me. Seconds later, she set some warm delicious-looking pancakes in front of us and placed two fresh coffee pots at the center of the table.
"Sleep well?" Ronald asked. I don't know why, but I immediately felt my cheeks burn. Sawyer and I had made love for most of the night and had only had around three hours of sleep. For a few seconds I panicked, wondering how noisy we'd been.
Sawyer chuckled when I hadn't answered and when I looked up at his father, he'd realized his question was loaded and was smirking over his coffee cup. Before my mortification could take hold, Ronald cut into the thickening air of the silence that threatened to grow between us. "Any plans for today?"
"Is James still here?" Sawyer asked, his voice flat as he regarded his dad with narrowed eyes. I immediately thought he was asking if Charlotte was and my heart squeezed, uncomfortably.
"No, your mom sent them home to Gregory and Violet's around 2:00 a.m. She felt …that under the circumstances it may have been difficult for you."
"Remind me to thank her for that," he said, nonchalantly. He reached over and grabbed the butter from the center of the table.
"Don't get too ahead of yourself. They'll be back for New Year's Eve," he warned.
"I figured that would be the case. At least it gives the rest of us some time to relax and for the girls, you and Mom time to get to know Billie without having to deal with the shit they create around them."
"You're a good boy to tolerate them. I don't doubt for a minute how hard this must be for both of you. Violet and Greg need to wise up to their princess; she's a slippery one."
"It'll only be hard if Billie and I allow it to be, and we're not interested in playing their games. All we want to do is relax and have a little fun … or a lot," Sawyer said, elbowing me suggestively. I almost died. Ronald laughed, and I saw more than a hint of Sawyer in his wicked grin. I wanted the floor to open up and swallow me whole.
"Billie hates when I'm honest about how she makes me feel." When I heard him talking straight about me to his father I almost choked on my coffee.
"Sawyer," I warned, pleading with my eyes for him to stop embarrassing me and he immediately pulled me toward him and kissed me gently on my temple.
"So, Dad, what do you think?" he asked, nodding toward me. I swiped him upside the head in a heartbeat and his father chuckled.
"Would you mind not talking about me as if I wasn't here?" I asked feeling shy at being thrust into the spotlight between them.
"Seeing how you look at her, I'd say she's the one, Saw." The way he said this stunned me, but it gave me a warm feeling at the same time. "I saw the same attributes Billie has in your mom: highly independent and said what she thought. That's not to say her great body and killer smile had nothing to do with me falling for her," he added wickedly, his eyes closing for a moment as if was remembering how his wife looked when he first met her.
The sound of three small children running on the hardwood flooring drew the men's attention away from me to focus on Tammy's children as they entered the dining room.
"Papa," the middle one cried, as she sprinted toward him.
"Belle," he mimicked back at her in a voice that was supposed to mirror hers. I sat watching her clamber upon his knee and wrap her small arms around his neck.
"Mommy said we're doing ponies with Rachel and Denise this morning," the four-year-old said.
"That's right, the stable girls are picking you up in an hour so you better get something inside that tummy of yours before you run out of time," Ronald replied, stood her back on her feet and patted her head. Instead of taking the seat next to her mom, she came around the table and stood shyly by Sawyer's side.
"And this is girlfriend number two," he stated, twisting from the waist in his seat and lifting her onto his lap. "This is Belle," he told me before turning his attention back to her. "Hello, beautiful. Do you have a kiss for me?" Belle immediately caught his face in her tiny hands and kissed his nose. Sawyer chuckled and cradled her head to his chest. "This one is a little sweetheart," he said affectionately. My heart opened a little more seeing how much his tiny niece loved him. "She hasn't learned the pouty mouth thing from Milly yet," he added, winking.
The rest of the breakfast was hectic with the children around. I found myself missing Colby and wondering how he'd fit into this world where the kids were all boisterous and chatty, when my son's nature was more like mine. Then I noted how kind and considerate they were toward one another and I guessed being around them would likely be good for him.
After breakfast, Ronald asked for Sawyer's help with something in the boathouse. I hadn't known until then there even was a boathouse and a lake. Reassuring me his sisters and mom wouldn't eat me; he took off, leaving me alone with them. If I am honest, this had felt daunting. It was hard enough with Sawyer by my side meeting new people, but to be left alone with my shy nature was something else.
Initially, I helped Tammy with her girls and once they had been driven away by the two stable girls, she led me into a huge garden room to join her sisters and their mom.
"I know this must feel a little overwhelming, but we couldn't wait to meet you. It's so good to see Sawyer happy," his mom told me again with a warm smile. I glanced at his three sisters and they were all smiling as well. "When Charlotte and James …" She stopped, shaking her head as if lost for the words to tell me how difficult it had been for everyone.
I was surprised she had brought the subject up with me. Eventually, she heaved a huge sigh. "What they did put a huge strain on our family, on both of our families, and poor Sawyer still rose above it as the better man."
"Sawyer mentioned all that. At first, I couldn't understand why he still tolerates being around them, but when I see him with all of you, I can see he thinks James is still important to your family. Knowing what I do about him, Sawyer doesn't like drama and I can see he has all the respect in the world for you."
