Текст книги "Hold on tight"

Автор книги: Abbi Glines

сообщить о нарушении

Текущая страница: 5 (всего у книги 12 страниц)

Dewayne to satisfy my need was that the idea of him touching me and being inside me set my body on

fire.

It was so easy to forget that he wasn’t there. That he wasn’t touching me. The gleam in his eyes

when he looked at me sometimes made me think he thought about this too.

But it could never happen. I’d get hurt. I knew that. Still, the thought of having him on top of me,

rocking his hips as he moved in and out of my very neglected body, made me ache. Just once I wanted

to know how it felt to be loved by Dewayne Falco.

* * *

“Momma? Wake up!” Micah’s voice broke into my dreams, and I opened my eyes, only to

immediately close them again. The sunlight was pouring into the room and blinding me. “I know you

like to sleep late on Sundays, but there’s someone knocking at the door.”

Micah’s words sank in, and I sat up in bed and rubbed my eyes before slowly opening them and

looking down at him.

“Sounds like Dewayne and Mama T arguing outside, but you said not to open the door without you,

so I didn’t. I came and got you.”

Oh crap! I threw my legs over the bed and reached for the silk wrap Janell had given me for

Christmas last year. I needed to get dressed, but the knocking and voices were getting louder. I had to

go out there and deal with them. Now. Before Micah heard something he didn’t need to hear.

I tied the belt around my waist and ran my hand through my hair, then bent down to look Micah in

the eyes. “You and I have something to talk about later. It’s about a good thing. But first I need to go

outside and talk to them, and I need you to stay in your room and play like you were doing before they

knocked, okay?”

He nodded, but the frown on his face told me he didn’t like that he wasn’t going with me. I kissed

his forehead, then hurried to the door before Tabby Falco broke it down.

Glancing back, I saw Micah go into his room, and I took that moment to open the door and step

outside on the porch with a red-eyed Tabby Falco; her husband, Dave; and of course Dewayne.

I didn’t let myself think about the look in Dewayne’s eyes as he took in my appearance. I was a

mess, with bed head and no makeup. But I wasn’t out here to impress Dewayne. I wouldn’t think about

that.

“I never got a letter. Not one letter, Sienna Roy! If I had gotten a letter, I’d have come after you and

my grandbaby. What were your parents thinking? You were a kid! A baby having a baby, and they left

you! I just don’t understand it. And that precious boy who looks so much like my Dustin.” She choked

up, covered her mouth, and sobbed. Dave pulled her against his chest.

“Please, I know this is a lot. And I know you’re upset, I can see that. And as thankful as I am that

you do want to be a part of Micah’s life, I don’t want him hearing this. He needs me to explain it and

talk to him first. This would be too traumatic for him.”

“She’s right, Momma. You gotta calm down,” Dewayne added.

I wouldn’t look at him. I couldn’t. I kept my focus on Tabby. She nodded, then dropped her hand

from her mouth and looked up at me. She had always been a tiny woman, which was so weird in

contrast to her huge sons. Then again, Dave Falco was a massive man.

“Look at you,” she said in a whisper. “You’re all grown up and beautiful.” The sincere smile on her

face made me tear up, and I blinked back the tears burning my eyes. I wouldn’t cry. I had Micah to

think about. She looked back at Dewayne. “She is much more than average, Dewayne Falco! Are you

blind?”

That hurt so much more than it should have.

DEWAYNE

Motherfucking hell. My mother had no damn filter on her mouth. Maybe that was where the kid got it

from. The color on Sienna’s cheeks at my mother’s words told me Momma had seriously embarrassed

her. Fuck!

Sienna had come out of the house in nothing but that short silk wrap and her hair looking like she’d

been properly fucked, and my imagination went to just that. To what it would be like to have those

legs of hers wrapped around me and that gorgeous face of hers in the throes of an orgasm. The idea of

anyone else seeing her like this pissed me off. I’d moved to the side so the view of her was blocked

from anyone driving down the road or looking out their windows. Did she not realize she looked like a

walking fantasy?

Then my mother had gone and told her I’d said she was average. Damn, that sucked. I didn’t want

her thinking I was attracted to her, because that would complicate things, but I also didn’t like her

thinking I was talking bad about her. I wanted her to like me. I wanted to be around Micah as much as

possible.

“She’s absolutely beautiful. You have to beat those men off with a stick, don’t you, honey?” my

mother continued with her praise of Sienna. She was right, of course, but what was I supposed to say

now? I already looked like a douchebag. I kept my mouth shut.

“I, uh, I . . . Thank you,” she said with an unsure, forced smile.

“How are you still single? You should have a man taking care of you,” my mother said.

The pink on Sienna’s fair cheeks only got brighter. “I don’t date. I have Micah to think of first.”

Shit. She was a good mom. I had known a lot of single moms, and none of them sacrificed a social

life because of their kid.

“But you’re young, and Micah needs a man. Don’t worry about that. He’s gonna have his uncle

Dewayne and his grandpa Dave there for him. Maybe you can think of spending some time with a man

soon. It’s a shame for a beauty like you to live life alone. Dustin wouldn’t have wanted that.”

Sienna swallowed nervously. “It’s okay. I’m happy with it being just me and Micah.”

Momma waved her hand. “Nonsense. You have us now, and we’ll make sure you have a life too.

Being a momma is the most important job you can have, but you have to think about you, too. Enough

of that for now.” She walked up and pulled Sienna into her arms and held her tightly. “You’re here.

And you have Dustin’s boy,” Momma said, choking up again. “I’m so happy. I’m just so happy.”

Sienna’s eyes misted over as she looked up at me briefly, then over at my dad, and she smiled. “I

sent letters,” she said, feeling the need to defend herself.

Momma nodded and pulled back. “I believe you did. But I didn’t get them. I think you might want

to give that aunt of yours a call. That’s the only explanation I got. But those letters never made it to

me.”

Sienna nodded. “Okay. I, uh . . . I need time with Micah. When he’s ready, we’ll come over for a

visit. He enjoyed his last visit over there. He’s a fan of cookies,” she said, smiling so sweetly.

My mother had always loved Sienna Roy, and she’d encouraged Dustin’s relationship with her, but

right now I realized that the love she’d had for Sienna just multiplied by a thousand because Sienna

had brought Dustin’s child into the world. She’d given my momma a part of her son back.

Which was something I’d never been able to do.

Dad finally spoke up, tugging on my mother’s arm. “Let’s go back over to the house and let them

talk.” She nodded, but she looked longingly at the door to the house, knowing her grandson was in

there.

“Our door is always open, Sienna,” my dad told her.

She sniffed and smiled. “Thank you.” The look on her face told me just how alone she had been all

this time. I wanted to strangle her father. It was a shame I wouldn’t get the chance. How the fuck had

he done this to her?

My parents walked down the stairs and I waited. I wanted to say something to her, but I wasn’t sure

what. Explaining my “average” comment would sound insincere now.

“I’ll bring him over when he’s ready,” she told me, then opened the door and stepped inside before

I could say anything else.

“Come on, son. Let them alone,” my father called after me.

Frustrated as hell, I turned and followed my parents home.

When we got to the house, my mother looked back at me and frowned. “I don’t know what you

think is attractive, but apparently Dustin was the only one with good taste in females. That girl is a

beauty. Even just out of bed she is breathtaking. Nothing fake about her. She’s the real thing. She’ll

make a man a good wife one day. Shame you can’t see what a jewel she is.” Then she turned and

walked inside.

Dad chuckled and I looked over at him. “What?” I snapped.

He only laughed harder. “Reckon that ‘average’ comment was about the stupidest shit I’ve ever

heard. I may be an old man, but I ain’t blind. Hell, boy, she’s a looker. She left average a long time

ago. But then, you know that. Be careful what you say, because your momma will make sure the world

knows.”

He continued to laugh as he went inside.

I glanced back at her house and remembered the young girl who used to run across the street in bare

feet and a pair of cutoff jeans and a shirt tied up above her belly button. All that red hair flying, and

her smile big and bright. Dustin would meet her out front, and she’d fling herself into his arms and he

would swing her around.

I think it was about the time she had turned sixteen that I decided staying away from her was really

fucking important. Because I had watched her run into my brother’s arms, and I’d been jealous. The

emotion had startled me and taken me a moment to understand. I’d never been jealous before or after.

Because I had known in that moment that I’d somehow lost a part of my soul to a girl who would

never be mine.

I spent the next seven years proving just how much I didn’t need love. I just needed pussy, and I

could get it easy. I had fucked Sienna Roy out of my system with each redhead who wasn’t her. With

each girl I bedded, I’d felt further and further away from any emotion.

When Sienna had left, she’d taken a piece of me with her. I had suffered, and I was so trashed for

months that I couldn’t even remember half the shit I did. I had wanted her, and she had been my

brother’s. She had also been too damn young.

I was a fuckup and would never be good enough for the likes of her. My brother was what she’d

deserved. Someone like him was still what she deserved. Not me. Never me. I wasn’t good enough. I

wasn’t a golden boy. I couldn’t make her happy. But I’d be damned if I let anything hurt her again. I

could protect her. And Micah. They weren’t mine, but in my heart they were.

SIENNA

“What if I told you that Dewayne was your daddy’s older brother? Would you like having Dewayne as

an uncle?”

Micah went very still in my arms, and his frown grew. This was not how I wanted to do this with

him. I was hoping to watch Star Wars with him and have that as a happy distraction. But after our

morning visitors I knew this had to be done now. I wanted him to have Tabby and Dave Falco in his

life, and from what I had just seen, they did too. It was time Micah had grandparents to dote on him.

“Dewayne is my daddy’s brother? But . . . he didn’t tell me that.”

This was the tricky part. Micah was five, but our life had made him grow up fast. Emotionally, he

was a lot older than he should’ve had to be.

“Dewayne didn’t know about you until the other day, when you thought he made me cry. I had

thought he knew. I’d sent letters, but they never got them.”

“Who’s they?” Micah asked.

“Dewayne’s parents. Your daddy’s parents. Your grandparents.”

Micah’s eyes went wide with wonder. “Mama T and Dave are my grandparents?”

I nodded. “And they want to know you very much. They loved your daddy a whole bunch. And they

want to know his son. That’s why they came over this morning. They’re very excited to know you’re

their grandson.”

Micah’s eyes got bigger. “I have grandparents? I thought you said I didn’t.”

Sighing, I kissed his head. “I didn’t want you to think that your grandparents didn’t love you. I

thought they were turning their backs on us since your daddy was gone. So I was protecting you.”

Micah was quiet for several minutes. I let him think about all this and didn’t speak. He fiddled with

his thumbs as he studied his hands. Every once in a while he glanced back over his shoulder, out the

window to the house across the street. I couldn’t imagine what was going on in his little head. Saving

him from any more pain was my first concern.

“Do they have pictures of my daddy?” he asked. I’d only had a couple in my purse when I had been

shipped off, and that was all Micah had seen of his father.

I nodded. “They have a lot. You will even see pictures of him when he was your age. You can see

just how much you look like him.”

Micah fidgeted and looked out the window toward their house. “Can I go see the pictures and have

some cookies?” he asked, turning back to me.

Tabby would probably never be without chocolate chip cookies again. “I am sure they are waiting

anxiously for you to come over there. Do you want me to come too? Or would you like me to let you

visit alone?”

Sending him over there alone terrified me. I wanted to hold his hand through this, but just like

through everything else, Micah was a rock. He handled things with a strength that was unexpected

from a five-year-old.

“I want you there. She’s makes really good cookies. You can eat some too.”

I wanted to let out a sigh of relief.

“Okay, then. Let me get dressed and brush my hair, and then we can walk over there. Why don’t

you go get dressed too?” He was till wearing his Superman pajamas.

He nodded and hopped up, then ran off. This had been much easier than I’d anticipated. But then,

he hadn’t had time for it to sink in yet.

I followed behind him and went to the bathroom. Before I did anything else, I stood there and

looked at myself. I had always thought I was pretty. Guys seemed to like me. I wasn’t a raving beauty

or anything, but my body wasn’t bad. My legs were long and I had C-cup boobs. My hair was red, but I

had made my peace with that a long time ago, as well as the freckles on my nose. But knowing

Dewayne had described me as average stung. No . . . it was a serious blow to my self-esteem. Maybe I

had aged more than I realized. Maybe being a struggling single mom had put some wear and tear on

me. I leaned toward the mirror and checked for wrinkles. I did see my freckles, but no wrinkles yet. I

guess my nose was kind of stubby and my arms weren’t that toned. I didn’t have time for the gym.

Any sign of a tan had faded.

I guess I was average. He hadn’t called me ugly, at least. I could live with average. Besides, I was

Micah’s mom—who cared what a man thought of me? It wasn’t like I was looking to start dating. If

that were the case, I might have spent a little more time than usual making myself look less worn out.

When I was finished brushing my teeth and brushing my hair, I wanted to slap myself for letting

Dewayne’s opinion affect me. I was better than that. I was tougher than that. Being pretty wasn’t

something I worried about normally. I went to my closet, pulled out a pair of shorts, and pulled them

on, then grabbed a tank top. I would not think about my clothing choices. I was not going to dress

nicer than this for a visit across the street. I intended to do some yard work today and have a picnic in

the backyard with my son. No reason to dress up. I’d already spent more time on my face than was

necessary for those activities.

I slipped my feet into a pair of flip-flops and refused to care that I hadn’t painted my toenails since

taking off the old polish last week. It did not matter. At all.

“You ready, Momma?” Micah asked as he bounced on the balls of his feet, looking out the screen

door toward the Falcos’ house. He was anxious to see them again now that he knew they were his

family.

“Yes, sir,” I replied, reaching for his hand and opening the door. “Let’s go meet your

grandparents.”

“I already met them, Momma. Remember?”

I nodded. “Yes, you did, but this time will be different because now they know how important you

are to them.”

Micah seemed to take that in as he started walking toward the street, pulling me with him.

Dewayne’s truck was still in the driveway, and although I knew he needed to see Micah and talk to

him now that Micah knew he was family, I kind of wish he had left.

As much as I shouldn’t care about the ‘average’ comment, it had hurt my feelings, and it was going

to make me feel uncomfortable around him. I hated that. I wished I could just get over it. That teenage

crush I had on Dewayne was rearing its ugly head and taunting me with his opinion of me. Men

sucked.

DEWAYNE

Momma stood at the door, watching Micah and Sienna walk toward the house. She was wringing her

hands, barely able to contain herself. She’d been watching their house ever since we got back home. I

was glad Sienna wasn’t going to make her wait. She had talked to Micah right away, it looked like.

Figures the kid would be curious and want to come over. He was like his dad in that way.

“Look at him. He’s so perfect. Looks just like Dustin,” Momma breathed in awe as they walked up

the front steps.

“Open the door for them, Momma,” I told her.

Dad stood up from his spot on the sofa and walked over to join her as they greeted their grandson.

Dad’s hand settled on Momma’s back, and she reached back to squeeze his hand. This was good for

them. Micah was gonna be good for them.

Momma opened the door just as Micah arrived. He studied her for a moment, then looked at Dad.

Everyone remained silent, waiting on him to say something. Finally he shrugged and held out his

arms. “So, I’m your grandson.”

His statement caused everyone to relax, and both my parents started laughing. Then Momma bent

down and held her arms out to him. “Yes, you are, and I’d really like a hug from my grandson.”

Micah went into her arms willingly. His little gaze met mine across the room, and he smiled. “Hey,

Uncle Dewayne,” he said.

Nothing in my life had prepared me for that. I managed not to make an idiot of myself by getting

emotional like a fucking woman and nodded. “Hey, little man,” I replied with a grin.

He pulled away from Momma and looked up at her seriously. “You got any cookies?” he asked.

Momma’s laughter was musical and light. I hadn’t heard that in a really long time. “Yes, I do. I

made a batch just for you. Come on in the kitchen.”

“First I need my hug,” Dad said, and Micah walked over to him as Dad bent down to hug him.

“You’re really big. My daddy was really big like my uncle Dewayne. I seen pictures. Do you have

pictures of him?”

Dad tensed up for a moment, then relaxed. We hadn’t looked at photos of Dustin since his death.

We never even talked about him. But this kid was gonna want to talk about him.

“Yeah, we got lots of photos of your daddy. We can look at ’em together,” he said, and Micah

beamed up at him excitedly.

“You hear that, Momma? You was right! They got lots of pictures of Daddy,” he said, looking back

at Sienna.

It was the first time since they’d walked in the house that I’d allowed myself to actually look at

her. And it was a mistake because, damn it all to hell, she had on shorts and a tight little shirt that

showed just how above average she was. Her hair was brushed into silky waves, and I missed the

mussed look from this morning. I wanted to muss it up again. While those legs were wrapped around

me. No! Fuck! I had to stop that shit. She was Micah’s mom. Not a fuck buddy.

“Come on in, young lady. We have cookies for you, too,” Dad told Sienna, who hadn’t spoken yet.

She blushed and glanced at me, then back at my dad. “I’m okay. Probably shouldn’t eat cookies this

early in the morning.”

Dad put his arm around her shoulders. “Cookies are for all hours of the day. Don’t you know that? I

remember when you ate Tabby’s cookies whenever you stepped foot in that door.”

“I was younger and in better shape then,” she replied, her blush getting worse.

What the hell was she talking about? The woman had curves in all the right places. It didn’t get

better than that.

“You’re still a spring chicken. Better eat those cookies now. Middle age will change all that. Eat

’em while you’re young.”

Sienna laughed and walked with my dad to the kitchen. I remained where I was, unsure where I fit

in here. It was my parents’ house, but suddenly I felt like the outisider.

“Uncle Dewayne! Come eat these cookies with me. Mama T has real milk too,” Micah called out to

me. Then again, maybe I did have a place.

SIENNA

The Falcos hadn’t been ready to let Micah leave. He’d been catered to all day long, and he was eating

up all the attention. Dewayne had left around four, telling Micah bye and that he’d see him soon.

Shortly after Dewayne left, I’d tried to leave with Micah because I still hadn’t gone to the grocery

store. I always went on Sundays to get ready for the week. Micah, however, had latched on to the idea

of staying with Tabby and Dave while I did my grocery shopping. So I let him.

I wasn’t sure if I could remember a time that I’d gone grocery shopping without Micah. He was

always with me, so I was used to telling him no and talking him out of sugary snacks. This was a much

quieter and rather peaceful experience. I loved my son, but I decided I liked grocery shopping without

him.

I took my time walking down each aisle and thinking about what we needed and how much money I

had to work with. I kept a calculator in my purse for shopping because I had tried doing the math in

my head but it’s embarrassing when you get to the checkout and have to take things out of bags and

give them back because you don’t have enough money.

With no rent, we had more than we normally did for food, and it was nice to be able to splurge on

the mint chocolate chip ice cream that Micah loved and some lemon tea for me. I stopped in front of

the bread and looked for a sandwich bread that was healthy but still looked white enough that I could

trick Micah into eating it. I also had to find one that didn’t cost too much. Five dollars for a loaf of

bread was ridiculous. Most of the time I could find a honey wheat that was light enough that Micah

wouldn’t complain.

“Bread is a serious matter. I can tell you agree,” a masculine voice said beside me, and I turned

around to see a tall, dark-haired man who looked to be at least thirty. His slacks and button-down shirt

might have been one reason he looked older, but the crinkles around his eyes when he smiled aged

him. He wasn’t bad-looking, though.

“Pleasing my picky son is the trick,” I explained. Normally, if I brought up my son, the men backed

off. If this one was going to attempt to flirt with me, I might as well go ahead and send him on his

way.

The man nodded, still grinning as if he understood. “Yeah, I understand that completely. My niece

always goes for the white bread when she comes to visit. She’s nine, and her mother won’t buy it at

home. I’m the rule-breaking uncle.”

He picked out a loaf of the more expensive white bread and winked at me. “I have to break a few

rules every once in a while to feel cool. My job makes me so uncool I need a little pick-me-up now

and again.”

He was better than okay. He was actually really cute. He had that clean-cut look that I wasn’t a big

fan of, but he wore it well.

“Really? What uncool job is it that you have?” I asked, surprising myself. I normally didn’t

encourage conversations with men. But I liked this one. He was friendly, and it didn’t feel like he was

trying to pick me up in the bread aisle.

“Vice principal at Sea Breeze High,” he replied, then let out a sigh and shook his head. “Major

letdown, I know.”

A principal. He was young to be a principal. Or maybe he was older than I’d first assumed.

“That can’t be an easy job,” I replied, finally reaching for a bread I thought would work.

“It’s not so bad. But then there are days like today when I leave work late and stressed, then bump

into a beautiful woman studying bread.”

Beautiful woman. He had no idea how nice that was to hear. It was a balm to my ego, which

Dewayne had squished rather flat this morning. He wasn’t as devastatingly gorgeous as Dewayne, nor

could he be considered sexy exactly. But he was attractive, and he had a kind smile. He was definitely

more in my league.

“Was that too strong? Should I have been smoother?” the guy asked, and I had to laugh.

I shook my head. “No. I was just thinking about how nice it was to be called beautiful,” I explained.

He frowned. “I would assume you get that a lot.”

Not really. The guys who normally hit on me called me hot or just flat asked me out. Then there

were the guys who thought I was average. Ugh! I had to let that go.

I smiled and held out my hand to shake his. “Sienna Roy,” I said, deciding I liked the guy enough to

exchange names.

He slipped his larger hand in mine and shook it. “Nice to meet you, Sienna. Cam Dodge.”

He didn’t let my hand go right away, but firmly held it a second longer than necessary.

“So, Sienna, what is it you do? Other than shop for bread for your son?”

“I’m a hairdresser,” I replied.

“And I’m assuming you’re not married. I did the whole casual glance-at-the-ring-finger thing when

I walked up and got a good look at you.”

Laughing, I shook my head. “No. Not married.”

He nodded, and the easygoing smile on his face became more hopeful. “Let’s say I asked you to

dinner Friday night. . . . Would you go?”

He was sweet. The cockiness that I was used to in guys was missing, and I liked that a lot. I

normally said no to dates because of Micah, but now that the Falcos were in his life, they’d probably

love the opportunity to keep him on Friday night. Sure, my body and maybe my heart wanted

Dewayne, but it wasn’t like there was a chance of that ever happening. Crap! I had to stop thinking

about Dewayne. He was Micah’s uncle, that was it. Letting him sneak into my thoughts like this would

just end up causing me heartache I didn’t need.

“I need to discuss it with my son. Make sure he’s good with me going out. We normally do popcorn

and a movie.” I was telling this man way more than was normal for me. . . .

Cam grinned and held out his phone. “Why don’t you put your number in here for me, and then I’ll

text you so you’ll have my number. You can call me when you’ve spoken to your son.”

He wasn’t spooked by the idea of Micah at all. This was a first.

I took his phone and punched in my number, then handed it back to him. “Here you go,” I said after

texting myself. “I’ve already sent a message to my phone. I’ll let you know about Friday no later than

tomorrow.”

He gave me a crooked grin that was really very cute, then nodded toward the next aisle. “Guess I

better go get some peanut butter to go with this bread. I’ll be looking forward to hearing from you,

Sienna Roy,” he said, then turned and walked away.

I actually might have a date, I thought. A real date.

DEWAYNE

Micah had visited my parents’ house both afternoons this week, Monday and Tuesday. Momma had

called to tell me everything he said and everything he did while he was there. She was fascinated by

the kid. I was pretty damn thankful for him myself. I hadn’t seen my mother this happy in a long time.

Momma had called me this morning to let me know that she had to take Dad in for his routine

exam at his cardiologist and wouldn’t be home this afternoon. She was worried about Micah not

getting to come visit. I had assured her he would understand, but she hadn’t seemed too convinced. So

I’d told her I would take dinner over to Sienna’s and eat with them. That had pacified her.

I was eventually going to have to talk to Momma about this. She’d smother Sienna if she kept this

up. Sienna had been great about letting Micah go visit for a couple of hours every afternoon, but I was

expecting her to limit this soon. It had been just her and Micah for five years. She wasn’t going to let

my momma take her boy away all the time. I expected Momma to convince her to let Micah start

coming to her house after school. It would help Sienna save money and I was sure she’d like the idea

of him not having to go to after-school care. I just didn’t know if Sienna was ready for that yet.

Pulling my truck into Sienna’s driveway, I winced at the sight of her beat-up car. We were going to

have to talk about that. I didn’t like Micah riding around in that piece of shit. It was dangerous.

Sienna’s pride would be a hurdle. It was the only reason I hadn’t brought her a new car home already.

I knew she wouldn’t accept it. I had to find a way to make her accept it.

The front door swung open, and Micah came running out onto the porch, waving at me with a big

grin.When I had called Sienna and asked her if I could bring dinner and visit with Micah, she had

seemed reluctant at first. She was keeping her distance from me, and I understood that. I was okay

with it. Hell, I needed it. Getting close to her would be a huge mistake. I was going to take care of her

and the kid, but I wasn’t going to get too close to her in the process.

I reached over and grabbed the two large pizzas in my passenger seat. Micah would be coming after

me if I didn’t hurry, and I didn’t want him to see the six-pack on the floor. I stepped out of the truck

and made my way to the porch.

“You brought pizza! I love pizza! I love mac ’ n’ cheese better, but I love real pizza. It’s better than

the bread kind,” Micah said, grinning. Then his smile fell, and he glanced back at the house with a

concerned frown.

I started to ask him what was wrong, when he swung his big eyes back to me. He looked upset.

“Don’t tell Momma I said that ’bout the bread pizzas. It’ll hurt her feelings. She makes ’em ’cause

they’re cheap.”

The boy was protecting his momma again. Made my chest fill with pride and an ache at the same

time. He was just a baby, but he acted like the man of the house. He shouldn’t have that kind of

responsibility on his little shoulders.

“It’ll be our secret,” I assured him, lowering my voice.

He looked relieved, and a smile replaced his frown. “Momma said you were getting me one with

lots of cheese,” he said, excited again.

I realized that pizza like this was a luxury for these two. Which pissed me off all over again. Why

the hell had Sienna’s parents done this to her and Micah? Sienna and Micah shouldn’t have had to

suffer so much. My parents would have made sure they had everything they needed, and a fucking

pizzeria pizza wouldn’t be a treat.

“Momma made some sweet tea, and Mama T brought over a whole basket of cookies this morning.