Bed & Breakfast

Ch. 30 Cappadonna Charm

*** Lou's POV ***
Three years later...

"I has this?" The little girl asked, batting her eyelashes and oozing that Cappadonna charm.

I knew better than to give in. "You'll have to ask your Momma, Sonya."

And here comes another Cappadonna trait as her face twisted in anger and she crossed her tiny arms over her chest. As I held in my laughter and reached for her, she spun away from me like I was written off for good.

"What's going on in here?" Andie's melodic voice seemed to soothe the little miss.

Sonya continued pouting. Parker stepped in behind Andie. It was remarkable how much he had grown these past few years. He just recently turned 16 and we gifted him a car. It was nothing special, just a reliable rustbucket we picked up through auction, but to him, especially living out in this rural area, it was just the freedom he craved. He was responsible, doing odd jobs at the inn for Andie and now around town. He even watched his half-siblings with few grumbles.

Riley was coming home after her first year off at college. She wasn't far, a few hours east in New York City proper, but now that she had a taste of city life again, getting her to spend more than a few days home, in "the middle of nowhere" as she called it, was a stretch.

"Where's Wilson?" I asked suddenly, realizing the mischief maker was awfully quiet, which only ever signaled trouble.

Parker grinned and waved me over to the window. I could barely make out the top of Wilson's head as he laid snoozing in the hammock. Parker bragged. "I told him to count the clouds and he passed out."

"I has this?" Sonya appeared at Parker's side and tried to get him to cave.

"You know Momma's rules." Parker tried to take the iPad out of her hands but she squealed shrilly.

We looked to Andie. She had the power to make this stop. She laughed at us, apparently finding our discomfort amusing. "Do you want to bake some..."

"Coooookies!" Sonya cheered, abandoning the iPad on the floor with a thud.

I scooped it up and handed it to Parker. "Hide this."

He nodded. I watched as Andie lifted Sonya and sat her on the counter. She washed her hands while keeping the little girl distracted by asking about what type of cookies to make. Sonya was too young to have much input but babbled away anyway.

I loved watching these tender moments. Andie could be going a mile a minute on her to-do list and yet she would always make time for the kids as if they were her own. It surprised me that she was wary of having any of our own.

I eventually peeled myself away to record some videos while all was quiet. While I still consulted regularly at area colleges, the commute wasn't sustainable. I was losing too much time and money driving in and it wasn't an option to relocate. So I did some rehabilitative coaching remotely based on word-of-mouth recommendations. I also bought a parcel of land nearby and was working on building a small gym. We figured it can be used by guests of the inn if they were interested, and I included a small residential space for when Andie and I needed time away without going too far.

I walked back to the inn, noticing Wilson was no longer in the hammock. I hurried my steps. That kid was a handful alone. I walked in to find a few guests being entertained by Sonya who was eating up the attention. I peeked around and found Parker with a giggling Wilson under his arm. Based on Parker's flustered look, Wilson was up to something.