Page 38 of Michael: The Hawthornes

Chapter 5

Emilia

“Mama,” Rhett whispered,his morning breath making me wrinkle my nose in disgust. “Mama, awake?”

“I’m awake now,” I whispered back, opening my eyes.

“I’m hungry.” His face was about two inches from mine.

“You’re always hungry,” I teased, brushing my hair out of my face. “Did you sleep good?”

“Yes.”

“Good,” I said, pulling him down next to me in bed. “You sure you don’t want to sleep some more?”

“No. Hungry.”

“Oh, right,” I mumbled, looking around the room. At least he’d let me sleep until the sun was up. The bedroom looked different in the light of day. The colors were warmer and even more welcoming than they’d been the night before. Whoever picked them out had good taste.

“Lunch?” Rhett asked, pulling away so he could slide off the bed.

“Breakfast, baby. Lunch is in the afternoon,” I reminded him with a sigh. I would have liked putting off seeing Mick again for at least a little while longer after that kiss the night before, but I knew Rhett wouldn’t let me stall. If I didn’t get up and start getting ready for the day, he would quickly melt down. The word hangry could’ve been invented with my kid in mind.

The fact that he didn’t once ask where we were made a little starburst of shame flare in my chest. We’d woken up in so many different places lately that he wasn’t concerned by one more.

After getting us dressed and a quick trip to the gorgeous bathroom upstairs, Rhett and I ventured down to the kitchen. Mick was seated at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee in his hand.

“Hey, how’d you sleep?” he asked, his eyes on Rhett.

“Great,” I replied, jerking to a stop so I wouldn’t trip when Rhett paused in front of me. “That bed is really comfortable.”

“Kinda pointless to buy one that isn’t,” Mick replied with a shrug. “There’s coffee on the counter if you want some. You guys hungry?”

I looked down at the top of my son’s head, waiting for him to answer. The entire reason we’d gotten out of bed was because he was hungry—but Rhett was silent. The moment grew awkward as Rhett and I both stood there silently.

“Rhett’s starving,” I said, ruffling the top of his head as I moved around him to toss his pull-up in the trash. “But I could get away with just coffee.”

“You wanna go get some pancakes, Rhett?” Mick asked casually. “There’s a restaurant a few minutes away that makes killer pancakes.”

“Like pancakes,” Rhett replied tentatively as I poured myself a cup of coffee. “Syrup?”

“Absolutely.”

I turned around and leaned against the counter, watching their interaction. Rhett had moved a few steps closer and was standing with one sock-covered foot on top of the other.

“Mama too?” Rhett asked, glancing at me.

“Of course. Mom’s gotta eat, right?”

Both of them looked at me expectantly, and I set my full coffee cup down on the counter with a sigh. “Okay, let’s do it.”

Everything was going smoothly as we got our jackets and shoes on, but the moment we walked outside and Mick started toward the garage with Rhett following behind him like a duckling, I had to break the spell.

“Uh, Rhett,” I called, chuckling. “Where you going, bud?”

“Pancakes!”

“Your car seat is in our car,” I pointed out, literally jerking my thumb toward our car. “You gotta ride with me.”

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