stevie wagner

She nodded. "I will." She told her brother, but if he wanted this and trusted her, she was sure that she could do this. It was going to be interesting, but she knew she could do it between having Johnny tend to the kids and the Aarin at the cafe when she was needed for meetings. "I am. I'm very certain." She assured Julian. "Bring the papers in. I'll sign them and you'll have a new board member." @julianxhawthorne

She rolled her eyes playfully and shook her head. "I don't know about all that, but thank you." She knew that she had a big heart. It was something she had always had thanks to her grandmother. And it was something she hoped she was instilling in her kids as well. Laughing, she nodded. "I think the village I have both at home and around town helps a lot." Some days things could be crazy, but she had Johnny there and their families and friends that rallied around them when they needed. "I know the feeling. It's nice to have the tourists and keep us busy." She liked being around for it as well, but with the kids out of school and Johnny free for the summer, taking trips were a lot easier. "Speaking of tourists, I was thinking of updating the booth we have for events and stuff. It definitely needs a fresh coat of paint." @aarinxvaughn

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"You have a dress maker?" Stevie asked before smiling at her sister. "I think it's okay. My birthdays aren't exactly an event. It's more spending time with my family and having a nice dinner. My going out days are over." Though, sometimes her and Johnny went on a trip. It was nice to get away for the weekend when they could. Nodding, she agreed about braiding. "She'll definitely know between Zoe and I. She just likes to have fun with it right now. She likes watching Zoe when she French braids her hair for soccer practice." She had all the faith that Naomi would be a master at braiding before anyone knew it. Giving Alex a look, she shook her head. "You are not bad at being a sister. You have to remember that I have no experience with it either. We were raised as only children and found out we had siblings later in life. It's not like there's a book on it." Stevie laughed a little. "I was thinking this dress. You don't have to do that, though. I can get it." @alexandraxrivers

Watching her kids go over to the arts and crafts, she laughed and looked at Emma. "I'm sure it is. Naomi loves it and definitely sharing it with Tommy and Mikey." The toddlers were basically playing with the paper instead, before she nodded. "I'll watch them and make sure they're okay. If they go for the glue, I'll switch them to something else." Stevie assured her. "We'll look at a few books. We can always use something new to read. We'll just hang out for a bit, though, if that's alright." @emmajlin

She nodded. "I can attest to it, too. Zoe wasn't the biggest fan of me having more kids when I was pregnant with Naomi, but she definitely came around and loves her sister." She grinned as she thought about it. "Hey, a little boost isn't so bad." Stevie said before settling down to listen to the story while keeping an eye on her kids. Naomi was paying attention more than the twins were, but that was probably expected for the kids under two. @emmajlin

She laughed a little bit and nodded. "I think I'm definitely getting there. So many of my grandmother's friends lately have told me I remind them of her." She laughed a little bit and shook her head. "Not yet. Summer just started, though, so you know it could change at any time." She smiled at Aarin. "Though, a road trip sounds nice. At the moment. With three under five, that might change my mind." She laughed again. "What about you? Anything going on or planned?" @aarinxvaughn

She chuckled. "Maybe it's just a toddler thing." Which was definitely likely. It was harder to get toddlers to do anything. She smiled as she watched Naomi and nodded. "Definitely. And luckily, she loves her brothers. There was a time I was worried she was going to be jealous." But her and Johnny were able to make sure all their kids still got attention when Mikey and Tommy were born. "That's amazing, really. I bet all the kids love it. I know us parents do." @emmajlin

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She laughed and nodded. "It would be. Though, you make it sound like I'll wear a ballgown o something for my birthday." She teased her sister. It was really good to be out shopping with Alex. Despite everything with their mother, it was nice knowing they could have a good relationship, just like she did with her paternal siblings. "Oh, I could do all pink. I'll keep that in mind if I need to dress as Barbie." She teased, but would keep it in mind. "Well, it's not hard to better than a four-year-old." She chuckled again. Turning to her, Stevie shook her head. "Hey, you have nothing to make up for, okay? We're sisters no matter what. And I think we're doing a find job at getting closer." @alexandraxrivers

✦ closed starter for @steviexwagner ✦ based on: 🐘| where emma is hosting a story time at the library.

Stevie smiled as the woman greeted the twins as they walked in, but only Tommy said a soft hello before they wandered over to the other kids. The 18 month olds were ready for story time just as much as their mom was after a long morning of screaming and fighting over toys. "I would love to." She laughed and shook her head. "They are having a minds of their own today." Naomi came running up and went straight towards her brothers. "And she's their little mommy." Stevie laughed again. "What story do we have today?" @emmajlin

"And that you do." Stevie told her with a smile. "We both do. It's why so many keep coming back here." She knew her grandmother did the same thing and that's why Cobblestone Cafe succeeded. The people in the town counted on the kindness there and so did the returning tourists. "It's a staple and I'm glad we made it this way." She looked at Aarin. "We're here for them as much as they are here for us." @aarinxvaughn

She nodded at Aarin's words. "You're right. It does make the whole town special. It's because we're all friends here, basically. We care what the other person is going through and all of us are willing to listen and help if we can." She sat back a little bit. "Plus, you never know what someone is carrying and it's always best to be the nice friendly face that just makes your day other than adding to your baggage and making it worse. We never know what could be the breaking point for someone." @aarinxvaughn

Where: Sensara

Looking through the racks, Stevie pulled out a dress and smiled over at her sister. "Maybe this dress?" She held it up. "I think it'd be a good summer one. Or one I wear on my birthday." She shrugged, draping it on her arm so she could try it on. A soft laugh came from her and she nodded. "You're not wrong. My closet is always open to you, if you really want." She told Alex. "And I bet you're a better braider than Naomi is. She has an interesting take on it right now." She joked about her four-year-old; who absolutely loved playing with her hair. "Though, I think we're doing great at bonding, don't you?" @alexandraxrivers

"I do, actually." Julian stated, not sure why she was so surprised. Despite the clear friction between her and his parents, their father, it was more than clear to him that she was a true Hawthorne. She had the drive, the business hunger, all that made a Hawthorne a Hawthorne. But she was her own person, had built herself up from the ground, all without the family's influence. That was why he deemed her to be a better business person than he himself was. " 'Course not. Well, I would appreciate it if you'd power through the board meetings, or at least only show up for the ones where there is a vote and sit out the others. But if you really despise it I suppose you can give up your board seat. You can still keep the shares, use those to invest in the family. All I ask is that if you want to sell them, to keep it in the family." A pause, his hands folded in front of him as his legs stretched a little bit more forward, balancing himself on the edge of the table. "Truth is, Stevie. I could ask other people. There's Nate, there's Haven, there's employees that are still here from when my father started this company but I would like it to be you. You're my sister, you're a brilliant woman. You're my first choice." @steviexwagner

Her gaze met her brother's and she took a breath. The idea wasn't a bad one. She did know a lot about business after going to school for it and running the cafe for so many years. It just shocked her that they wanted her on board and be more part of the family than she was already. Sure, her siblings had welcomed her, but there was a difference between doing sibling things together and being part of their business. She was sure their father was rolling in his grave as Julian was offering this to her. And as he continued and told her she was his first choice, Stevie couldn't help but smile. "Okay. I'll do it. Even if it's just a test run, I will do this." She took another deep breath. "I'm assuming there's papers I need to sign?" @julianxhawthorne

Alec smiled softly as he nodded his head. Alec a lot of the times went off by vibes sometimes without knowing it and he was often never really wrong about people and plus he had known Stevie for a very long time so, in a way it was cheating but even if they just met, he was sure he would still think the same well. "Thanks for that. It's something to think about and not rush into things but am happy just having Cyrus for sure though,". @steviexwagner

Stevie nodded. "It is. And it's definitely something to really think about instead of just doing. It wouldn't be fair to anyone if you impulsively adopted or got a surrogate or anything." She reached out and touched his arm and smiled at her husband's cousin. "No matter what, though, we'll be here for you. We have a village, you know? I made a lot of them myself." She laughed. @alecxkincade

She took a deep breath and nodded. "You really did put so much into them, too." She smiled. She couldn't help but say it. She knew there were so many years where he had been gone, but when he came home, he was present and put everything into their kids as well. "You're right." Stevie said and took his hands into hers. "Thank god I have you. I would've spiraled about this for hours." @johnnyxwagner