Sisters and Secrets

by Jennifer Ryan

“Excuse me?”

  “We named every adopted cat Tom.”

  “Why?”

  Mason grinned like one of her little boys. “You know, Tom and Jerry.”

  She smiled back at him. “Old school.”

  “What’s Tom and Jerry?” Oliver looked up at Mason, confused. Not surprising. The boys watched cartoons, but they were mostly newer ones.

  Mason stared down at Oliver, hands on his hips. “Your education is seriously lacking. If you get bored with the football game, I’ll queue up the cartoon on my tablet for you.”

  Oliver beamed Mason a smile. “O-tay.”

  They all headed into the stables. Horses greeted their entrance into the darker interior with sweet whinnies that made the boys gasp with surprise.

  “They talk, Mama.” Oliver’s eyes were filled with wonder.

  “They’re happy to see you, buddy.” Mason picked up Oliver and held him close to the beautiful buckskin’s head. “Give him a pet down the nose.”

  Oliver ran his hand down the horse’s tan nose, then reached up higher and felt his black mane. “He’s soft.”

  The horse moved his big head closer to Oliver, who giggled. “He likes me, Mama.”

  Danny stepped close and reached up to pet the horse. He was a bit too short to get a good feel.

  “Come down this way,” Mason directed and led them three stalls down. He set Oliver on his feet, then swung the stall gate open wide. A beautiful bay mare stepped forward, dark brown coat gleaming. She nudged her nose into Mason’s hand, looking for a treat. “Sorry, sweetheart, I don’t have anything for you right now, but I’ll bring you something later.”

  “Apples?” Danny asked, remembering what Mason told them earlier.

  “She loves green apples.”

  “What’s her name?” Oliver touched her high shoulder.

  “Star.”

  “Because of the white patch on her head.” Danny pointed up at it, unable to reach her head.

  “That’s right. She’s a sweet girl. Who wants to go for a ride?”

  Both boys raised their hands and bounced up and down on their toes.

  “Step back with your mom while I get her out.” Mason unhooked the rope across the stable door, took a lead rope from the wall next to the stall, hooked it on Star’s bridle, and walked her out of the stall.

  He turned to the boys. “Okay. Rules for riding. No yelling or screaming. You’ll spook her. She’s very sensitive. No kicking. You’ll sit on top of her and I’ll lead her around the pasture. If you want to stop or get down, you let me know and I’ll lift you off her, but no jumping down. You could hurt yourself or fall under her and get stepped on.” Mason pointed down at Star’s hooves. “See those? They can break your bones if she steps on you. She’s a calm girl. As long as you’re nice to her, she’ll be nice to you. Understand the rules?”

  Both boys nodded.

  “Great. Who wants up first?”

  Oliver ran forward, arms up.

  Mason scooped him up and set him on Star’s back. “Okay, buddy, you hold on to her mane like this.” Mason placed Oliver’s hands around two fistfuls of black hair. “Don’t pull or hold too tight.”

  Oliver nodded.

  Mason turned to Danny. “Ready?”

  Danny held up his arms.

  Mason lifted him up to the horse to sit behind his brother. “You hold on to Oliver’s waist and make sure he doesn’t slide off.”

  Danny nodded, looking unsure as the horse shifted under him.

  Mason put his hand on Danny’s thigh to steady him. “She’s going to move a lot while she walks. Move with her.”

  Danny nodded.

  Sierra moved in next to the boys as Mason took the lead rope at Star’s head. Mason caught her eye and nodded, acknowledging that she’d walk alongside just in case the boys got scared or nervous or slipped off.

  “Here we go.” He clicked his tongue and gently tugged the rope to get Star moving.

  Both boys’ faces lit up with bright smiles when the horse started moving under them and they walked out of the stables, down the driveway, and into the pasture.

  “Oh my God. She’s so tall.” Danny looked over and down at the ground.

  Sierra fixed her hand at his waist. “Sit straight up, or you’ll fall.” Without a saddle and stirrups to keep the boys in place, they needed to focus on staying upright.

  Oliver whispered, “This is so cool.”

  And just like that, the weight of all their troubles lifted off Sierra’s shoulders. She smiled up at her boys, who were amazed and filled with wonder, riding their first horse and falling in love with it.

  Oliver leaned over and hugged Star’s neck. “Can we keep her, Mama?”

  “Star is Mason’s horse, honey.”

  “You can come visit her anytime you want,” Mason offered. “She’d like it if you did.” Mason turned and gave Sierra a So would I look.

  One part of her hoped she read that right. Another part wondered if it was too soon to start dating again. Maybe she should focus on the boys and getting them a new home. But those were excuses for not putting herself out there.

  Truth be told, Mason was hard to resist, especially when he was so kind and sweet to her precious boys.

  But that wasn’t all that drew her to him. There had been something there when they were younger. So much so that at one point before she married David, she’d had a moment where she wondered if a relationship with Mason was the better choice.

  She chalked it up to nerves about getting married. Nothing but cold feet. Everyone experienced it. Second-guessing her compatibility with David just so she could be with another man, one she found intriguing and exciting and sexy as hell. They’d been friends so long, she knew so much about him.

  But she’d convinced herself they would only ever be friends because she didn’t want to risk losing that bond.

  In the end, she’d felt like she and David married thinking the other person fit the image of what they wanted, but down the road they each turned out to be unable to fulfill the other’s needs. David didn’t think she was spontaneously fun or outgoing enough. She saw David’s wild streak—at first so entertaining—as off-putting. He didn’t think things through.

  They turned into devoted parents but distant partners.

  She didn’t know when or why they both accepted that was their life, that the spark and fire between them had slowly burned out to ash. By the time David unexpectedly died, she’d been wondering for months if he wanted out of the marriage.

  They didn’t fight. They didn’t disagree. They didn’t care enough to do that. They simply lived their lives under the same roof for their children.

  Looking back, it made her sad to think he died unhappy and unfulfilled in their marriage.

  Still, she wondered if he’d had his foot out the door for a while.

  Mason broke into her dark thoughts. “You okay?”

  She nodded and smiled for the boys’ benefit. “Fine.” She checked her watch. “We should head back. The game starts in ten minutes and I’ve got to get the cooler of food out of the car and some of the things into the oven.”

  Mason studied her for a moment, then turned Star back to the house.

  “Oh, come on, Mom, just a few more minutes,” Danny pleaded. “I want to ride by myself.”

  “Not this time,” Mason interjected. “But we’ll definitely do this again. Come on, you don’t want to miss kickoff.”

  Mason slowed his pace, letting the boys get every last second they could of the ride before he plucked them both off Star’s back and set them on their feet again.

  Oliver gave Star’s leg a hug and glanced up at Mason. “I like her.”

  Mason brushed his hand over Oliver’s head. “I’m glad you had fun. You can come see her before you go home later tonight.”

  “If I lived here, I’d sleep with her,” Danny announced.

  Mason chuckled. “She sleeps standing up.”

  “Nuh-uh.” Danny stared up at the big
horse.

  “She sure does.”

  “I’m going to try that tonight.” Oliver closed his eyes and wobbled before he opened his eyes again.

  “Not so easy, is it?” Mason waved the boys back so he could put Star in her stall. He gave her a pat all the way down her back. “You made those boys’ day.” He pulled a roll of spearmint candies from his pocket, unwrapped one, and fed it to Star.

  He walked out of the stall, secured the door, and held the roll of candies out to the boys. “Want one?”

  “Horse treats.” Oliver shook his head.

  Danny peeled one off. “They’re candy. Duh.”

  Oliver wanted everything Danny had and peeled one off for himself. He hesitantly stuck it in his mouth, then smiled when the sweet, minty taste hit his tongue.

  Mason held the roll out to Sierra. “Want one?”

  “I’m good. Thanks.”

  He stuffed the roll back in his jeans pocket, then touched his hand to her back as they walked up to the house. Every nerve in her body flared to life at that simple touch. He didn’t crowd her but he didn’t remove his hand, either.

  She glanced up at him and caught him staring at her.

  “I’m glad you decided to come today.”

  “Me, too. It’s been a long time since I saw the boys smile and enjoy themselves this much.”

  “I liked seeing you smile.”

  “I haven’t had a lot to smile about lately.”

  “Then I’m glad I’m part of why you did.”

  She stopped and stared up at him as the boys continued toward the house. “What is this, Mason?”

  “It’s a start to something that seems a long time coming.” The words and sentiment rolled off his tongue so easily, like this was as inevitable as he claimed. He took her hand and gently tugged to get her to continue following the boys up to the house.

  The warmth of his skin pressed to hers spread up her arm and through her whole body. She didn’t pull away like she thought she should, but settled into the moment and the feel of his hand clasped with hers.

  It had been so long since Sierra felt connected to someone, since a man touched her. Holding hands with Mason seemed like such a simple thing, but her heart melted at the thought that he wanted to start something with her.

  At the end of her marriage, she’d felt undesirable and lacking in some way.

  Mason made her feel wanted.

  It made her stand a little straighter and feel lighter and giddy all at the same time.

  She’d been unsure about coming home, thinking she didn’t have anything besides family to come back to that would really make a difference in her life.

  But Mason proved her wrong.

  She’d wanted to find a way to get by. Mason gave her hope for something more.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Mason didn’t know what to call the feelings running through him. An hour into the football game and he simply felt . . . great. Happy.

  Sierra, looking beautiful in her dark pink top, long dark hair falling past her shoulders, stood in his kitchen, pulling a baking tray from the oven. She set it on top of the stove, then looked through the cupboards until she found the plates. She didn’t hesitate to make herself at home in the kitchen he barely used.

  The boys sprawled on the sofa. Danny watched the game, cheering with him when their team scored. Oliver watched Tom and Jerry on his tablet, giggling every so often and completely engrossed in the classic cartoon.

  This is what this house needed. A family.

  This is what his life needed.

  He’d wanted this for a long time.

  Once, he’d thought he’d get a chance to have it with Sierra.

  If this was the start of his second chance, he’d make it count. This time, he wouldn’t let her walk away without a fight.

  Only one thing could screw it all up: the secret he’d kept since her stepfather’s funeral.

  His clients were falsely accused of wrongdoings all the time. Divorces could cause hurt feelings, and the parties sometimes lashed out, making things worse.

  He knew better than to present something without evidence to back it up.

  If he said something and it turned out to be wrong, he risked her being angry at him for telling tales. She’d question his motives.

  “Mason. You okay?”

  He met Sierra’s inquisitive gaze and smiled just because having her here made him so damn happy. “Yeah. Fine. Just got lost in thought.” He tipped his chin toward the plate of pigs in a blanket. “Those look really good.”

  Danny took one and tried to see the TV around her hips. “Mom, move.”

  “Please,” she prompted him.

  Danny fell back into the cushions. “Please.” He leaned over to check out the play on TV and groaned over the incomplete pass.

  Sierra set the plate on the coffee table. “I’ll get the rest of the goodies.”

  Mason rose and stood next to her. Close enough to smell her sweet floral scent. He’d missed that about her. She always smelled so good. “Let me help.” He followed her into the kitchen, pulled the bottles of root beer and vanilla cream soda from the fridge and out of their cardboard holders, and placed them in the metal bucket he’d left on the counter.

  “I love cream soda.”

  “I remember.” He tried to play it off like it didn’t mean anything, but Sierra stared at him, getting that he’d stored away a lot of memories and tidbits about her. He didn’t know what it was about her, but she made him pay attention.

  Maybe if he’d paid attention to his fiancée the way he did when Sierra was around, he’d have made it down the aisle and filled this house with his own family.

  “I’m sorry, Mason.”

  At first he didn’t know what she meant, then he caught the remorseful look in her eyes. “We don’t need to do this, Sierra.”

  “I do. I’ve held on to it all this time. I’ve wanted to say something to you for so long, I just didn’t know what to say.”

  “You don’t need to apologize for being in love with David and wanting to be with him.” It sucked. But Mason couldn’t change the way she felt. Back then, he’d hoped maybe there was something deeper than friendship between them. Maybe there was, but she’d still picked David. Admittedly, he’d known she would. She and David had been seeing each other for a good long time. So Mason had swallowed his feelings and everything he’d wanted to say to her until it was too late and what little he had said hadn’t been enough for her to really believe he wanted her to take a chance on him.

  She shook her head. “I apologize for . . . whatever that weird scene was between us. I wanted to say something, then I didn’t, and you didn’t know what to say to me acting so weird, and then every time we saw each other afterward it was . . . strange. I made it weird.”

  “Look, I’m not going to deny that I hoped maybe you thought David wasn’t the man for you.”

  “Wait. What?”

  Mason thought she knew, but it looked like he’d been wrong. Great. What did that mean for them now? He didn’t know, but he continued anyway because he’d been caught. “You and I were always friends, but I hoped we could be something more. David was my friend, but I still hoped you and I . . . Well, I shouldn’t have made things more awkward when you were with him.”

  Her head tilted to the side and her gorgeous dark hair draped down her arm. “More awkward?”

  Shit. He hadn’t meant to bring this up. “David knew I had a thing for you.”

  “He did? You did?”

  Her disbelief made him chuckle without any real humor. He laid it on the line. “It’s more accurate to say I do.”

  Her brown eyes filled with surprise.

  “Come on, Sierra, I might have been trying to hide it when you were with David, but I think I’ve made it clear now that I’m interested in seeing if there’s something between us.”

  “I’m . . . not good at this. It’s been a long time since I dated anyone. You and I have history. We’re friends.
”

  “And I hope that never changes, but I want more.” He took a step closer, drawn by her wide eyes, so filled with disbelief, wonder, and hope, he couldn’t stop himself from falling into them.

  If they were going to rehash the past, he was going all in. “David knew you and I were friends when he started dating you. Let’s just say David and I had a friendly rivalry, always trying to best the other. He got the girl I wanted.”

  She wrapped her arms around her middle. “Are you saying he was playing some one-up game with you?” Anger and resentment flashed in her eyes.

  He wanted to dispel that immediately. “I think he saw what I saw in you and in no time he fell in love with you. You’re kind and generous and caring. He was drawn to you just like I was. I was caught up in building my career and I let my personal life slip. I let you get away. I didn’t go after what I really wanted and David did.”

  She raked her fingers through the side of her hair. “I’m having a hard time resolving the past and right now. I wished I’d known how you really felt.”

  He gave her the God’s honest truth. “I want you. That’s how I feel right now. That’s what I should have said to you back then. Not that it would have made a difference. You didn’t feel the same.”

  Her gaze dropped to the floor and she slid the tip of her shoe along the hardwood. “Actually, I did feel something for you back then.”

  Blown away, he didn’t know what to say. “Seriously?”

  She finally met his gaze again. “I just wasn’t sure what I thought I saw in you wasn’t just wishful thinking.”

  Mason didn’t think, he simply went with his gut, cupped her face, and kissed her, letting all his pent-up feelings and need loose. Her hands gripped his sides and her lips opened to him. He slid his tongue along hers and tasted the same need he had for her.

  “Touchdown!” Danny yelled.

  Mason certainly felt like a winner having Sierra in his arms.

  Sierra broke the kiss and held him away.

  He caught the desire in her eyes a second before he turned and caught Danny doing his own version of an end zone victory dance, pretending to spike the ball. Oliver barely glanced up from the tablet.

  He turned back to Sierra. “I should have done that that night in the bar.”