Heather missed David. She’d loved him. They’d had a child together.
If David hadn’t been Sierra’s husband and she saw her sister in this state over a man she’d loved and lost, how would she feel?
She’d sympathize. She’d want to comfort and console her sister.
No one had done that for Heather because David had been Sierra’s husband.
What they did was wrong, no doubt. It caused a lot of damage.
Heather deserved to feel terrible for what she’d done.
But for the first time Sierra put herself in her sister’s place. Heather mourned David. She missed him. She wished for him.
Sierra felt all those things when he died and she was just a widow, not the wife of a philanderer. That’s who David turned her into after she grieved and found out about what he did.
That’s not who David was to Heather.
“I need to talk to her.”
Amy scoffed. “You’re not seriously going to forgive her for what she did.”
Sierra met Amy’s disbelieving gaze. “She’s been carrying the weight of what happened for both her and David.”
“Because she deserves it.”
“She knows that. But I can’t keep feeding this anger. I’m working harder at hating her than I am on forgiving her. Maybe if I did it the other way around, this pit in my stomach every time I think about her would go away, because I don’t want to hate my sister.” It hurt her heart to shut her sister out like this, to think such terrible things about her, to wish bad things for her. She couldn’t do it anymore.
Amy sighed. “I know what you mean. It’s hard. She left me a message last week asking if I’d call her with the name and number of a good babysitter. I don’t know if she didn’t want to ask me to watch Hallee for her, or she wants someone as backup, or what. I want to see my niece. I want her to know that I’ll always help with Hallee and that if she’s really in a bind, I’m here.”
“That’s just it. You and Mom got sucked into our drama. I’m sure Heather feels like it’s us against her because of what she did. I don’t want it to be that way. I don’t want Mom to feel like she’s stuck in the middle of us for the rest of her life, like she can’t support both of us without feeling guilty or disloyal to either of us. As a mom, I feel for her, because I don’t know that I could do that with Danny and Oliver.”
“Me, either. P.J. and Emma have their squabbles. I help them work it out. Mom can’t fix this with forced apologies and making you two talk it out. This is a deep kind of hurt. Talking about it will only hurt more.”
“Maybe the only way past this is through the hurt.” Sierra grasped Amy’s arm. “Thanks for being on my side, but I want you to know it’s okay to have her back, too.”
“You’re a kinder person than I am. I don’t think I would have worked my way through this the way you have and gotten to a point where I could even contemplate talking to her, let alone trying to work it out.”
“I feel like if I don’t try, I’ll regret it. If David was still here, I’d want to find a way to at least be civil with each other for the kids’ sake. The least I can do is give my sister the same courtesy for the same reason.”
“When you put it like that, yeah, it makes sense.” Amy bounced her gaze from Sierra to Heather and back. “We do a lot for our kids.” Amy hugged her, then gave her an encouraging smile.
Sierra walked toward Heather, stopping briefly to clasp hands with Mason who’d stood by watching her and Amy quietly talking alone. He had to know the gist of the conversation and where she was headed. He gave her a reassuring smile and let her move on toward her sister.
Heather sat alone, her head down, holding a drink she hadn’t touched. Her head snapped up when Sierra approached the table and took the seat across from her.
“Uh. Hello.”
“Hi.” They had to break the ice somehow. Inane greetings seemed a good way to start, but Sierra wanted to make this as quick and painless as possible. “You hurt me.”
“I know.” Heather looked her in the eye, hers filled with remorse and pain. “I’m sorry.”
Sierra took that in and let it settle in her heart. “I believe you.”
“You do? Why? After what I did . . .” She shook her head. “I can’t take it back.”
“I sincerely doubt you’d want to.” Otherwise it wouldn’t have continued after the first encounter. And then there was Hallee.
One side of Heather’s mouth drew back in a half frown and tears glistened in her eyes. “I don’t know what to say to you.”
Because they weren’t meant to share the details. Those memories belonged to Heather. Sierra didn’t need to pile on to the hurt by hearing all the sordid specifics.
“I was just talking to Amy.”
Heather glanced over at their sister spying on them from across the yard. “She hates me, too.”
“No, she doesn’t. And I don’t want to hate you, either. But you made it damn hard not to. You’re my sister. I used to clean and bandage your skinned knees and push you on the swing and talk to you about boys and kissing. I’m pretty sure I’m the one who gave you the sex talk.”
Heather’s cheeks pinked. “Mom’s idea of a sex talk was telling me not to do anything you and Amy were doing.”
They shared hesitant smiles and it felt like it cracked the shield Sierra put between them to keep Heather away. “I suppose we should have taught you to be careful who you fall in love with.”
“I’m sorry, Sierra. I never meant—”
Sierra held her hand up to stop her. Heather’s mouth snapped closed. She deflated, her shoulders sagging.
“I don’t want to hear any more apologies. What I told Amy was that if you were David, I’d make an effort to be civil. That’s probably the best I can do right now. The kids deserve at least that much from us. I don’t want to necessarily tell them they’re siblings right now. But I don’t want to keep them apart, either.”
Heather’s gaze went to Emma and Hallee out on the lawn, rolling a soccer ball back and forth between them. Danny and P.J. sat nearby eating a bunch of grapes from the fruit plate they served earlier.
Sierra sighed. “I don’t want them to miss birthday parties and holidays together because you and I can’t be in the same room with each other.”
“I don’t want that, either. I’ve been trying to figure out a way to make things up to you in some way. I didn’t want to do this today, but I went to my boss and applied for a promotion that I deserve but probably would have gone to someone else because I tend to think everything will be handed to me, and that’s not how things really work.”
Sierra had pointed that out to her.
“I told my boss that I deserved that position. I’d earned it. I did half the work already without being paid.” Heather stared down at the table, then met Sierra’s gaze again. “I want to provide for my daughter and give her the best life I can. I want her to know that I worked hard to better myself. And I’m working on it.”
“What does this have to do with us?”
“I want you to know I’m working on being a better me. And that starts with standing on my own two feet, taking responsibility for what I’ve done, and finding a way to pay you back for the money David gave me. So I got the promotion I deserved and the raise that goes with it, so I could get a loan to pay you back half the money David gave me.” She shrugged. “I didn’t do it for the whole amount because I believe David should support his daughter.”
Sierra reluctantly agreed with that.
“I’ll get the check to you this week. I didn’t know he took out the loan. I didn’t really think about him taking money away from you and the kids.” Heather sighed, her eyes filled with regret. “Let’s face it, I tried really hard not to think about you.”
Sierra appreciated the honesty, even though it stung.
Heather kept going. “I will never be able to apologize enough or make this right, but if you’re willing to set this aside, at least for the kids, then I’ll
follow your lead on how you want to handle getting them together and how and when we tell them the truth.”
“Hallee is too young to understand. The boys might get the concept, but they’re still too young to grasp the gravity of what having a sister means. Maybe when Hallee is old enough to understand the concept of siblings we’ll tell them. Until then, let’s stop rehashing what happened and live in the moment. We can be civil. Who knows, maybe one day we can even be friends again.”
Heather pressed her lips together, eyes watery, and nodded. “Thank you. It’s more than I deserve.”
“No more talk like that, either. All the energy I poured into being angry, all the energy you put into thrashing yourself over this, it’s not good for either of us.”
“Why are you doing this now? Or at all?”
“I’m about to get married to a man I really, really love. I have a chance to have the life I always wanted with a man who only wants to love me back and make me happy. The last thing I want to do is carry this with me and let it drag my heart down. I don’t want to carry this weight with me into something that is so . . . perfect.”
Heather gave her a sad smile. “I’m happy for you.”
Sierra stood and stared down at her sister and gave her the truth. “I hope one day I’ll be happy for you, too.” She turned to go and spotted the kids playing Duck, Duck, Goose on the lawn. She smiled when Oliver goosed Hallee and the little one jumped up and tried her best to chase Oliver, who was faster and steadier on his legs than the toddler. Hallee lost, but the sweet grin on her face said she didn’t care. She started around the circle of kids, touching each of their heads, saying Duck each time.
Sierra hadn’t put a lot of thought into the wedding details, but one thing she absolutely wanted was all the kids to participate. Danny and Oliver would share the duty as best man to Mason. She’d ask Amy to be her matron of honor. But Emma and Hallee would be adorable flower girls. P.J., though older than the rest of them, would still make a great ring bearer.
She turned back and found Heather staring at the kids, too, a single tear rolling down her cheek.
“I’d love it if Hallee was a flower girl in my wedding.”
Heather’s surprised gaze shot to hers and she gasped.
“I’ll get her a pretty dress. All the kids will be included.”
Including Hallee in her life seemed an easier way to move forward. With Heather, she’d need to take baby steps to rebuild the trust that had been shattered. It would take time. Maybe they’d never get back to what they had, but Sierra would try to find peace with what happened and with her sister.
She left Heather and went back to Mason and their celebration, content she’d not only salved the discord with her sister but made wedding plans that amped her anticipation for their big day.
She couldn’t wait to get married and look back on it knowing she’d done her best to leave the past behind and start fresh with the man she knew would be her perfect partner.
Chapter Forty-Two
Sierra stood at the back of the ballroom in her gorgeous white wedding gown feeling like a princess. The wedding coordinator handed her the bouquet. The heady scent of white roses filled the air. The simple bouquet complemented the lavender hydrangea, pink peony, and white spider mum bouquets decorating the tables at the back of the ballroom and the aisle leading to the temporary stage in the middle of the dance floor.
Mason stood there with Danny and Oliver waiting for her grand entrance. They all looked dashing in their black tuxes. P.J. stood just inside the door holding a white satin pillow with the rings tied to it. He tugged at the collar of his dress shirt.
Amy stood next to him wearing a gorgeous fuchsia A-line chiffon off-the-shoulder dress, looking spectacular. She brushed P.J.’s hand away from the offending collar. “Stop fidgeting.”
Emma and Hallee stood behind them in their matching pale pink dresses with the tulle overlaid skirts and, tied around their waists, fuchsia satin ribbons that matched Amy’s dress. So sweet and cute.
The florist handed them each a basket filled with pink rose petals.
Hallee spotted her and ran over, the basket bouncing against her side. She set the basket down and grabbed fistfuls of her beaded wedding gown. “Pretty.”
Sierra stared down into Hallee’s beautiful hazel eyes. For the first time, she allowed herself to really see the resemblance to Danny’s eyes and she saw David in the little girl. There was of course a hint of her sister in Hallee’s pert nose and bowed mouth.
Hallee threw her arms around Sierra’s legs. “Auntie. Pretty.”
Sierra’s eyes teared. She patted Hallee on the back, then dipped down and traced her finger along the curve of Hallee’s sweet face, admiring her dark curls that always seemed to be in disarray. Just like Heather’s. “You look like a princess in your dress, too.”
Hallee spun around and almost toppled over with the momentum, but Sierra caught her waist and kept her upright.
“It’s time to start,” the wedding coordinator announced.
P.J. started out first.
Sierra touched her fingertip to Hallee’s nose, making her smile. “It’s your turn, sweetheart. Go with Emma.”
The girls followed P.J. down the aisle tossing flower petals into the air and watching them fall in disarray on the white draped aisle.
Amy took the edges of Sierra’s dress, pulled and shook it out, then let it drop. “Gorgeous, sis.”
Sierra smiled, but a pang in her heart made it stop before it hit maximum wattage. For a heartbeat she wished things were better between her and Heather. She’d excluded her from all the wedding preparations. She hadn’t even included Heather in picking out Hallee’s dress.
She’d needed the space and to keep the preparations and wedding happy and all about her and Mason.
“Don’t tell me you’re having second thoughts.” Amy studied her, then glanced over her shoulder as the girls stepped up on the stage, making it Amy’s turn to go.
“Not at all. Mason is my future.” She waved Amy to go. “Hurry up. I want to kiss my husband.”
And later, she’d thank her sister for letting Hallee be a part of the wedding and attending despite how frosty things were between them. Maybe it wouldn’t be the same as it used to be, but they could definitely be better than this.
Amy glided down the path, turning her head slightly to give Rex a sexy smile on the way. Sierra had no doubt they’d make it to their rocking chairs on the porch watching their grandkids play in the yard.
The wedding march started. She didn’t hesitate to take her place in the double door entrance and paused to take in the smile on Mason’s face when he saw her. She took him in, standing with their sons, and that smile. The connection they shared drew her right to him.
She felt the stares from their avid audience of friends and family, but she only had eyes for the man who stepped forward and held his hand out to her. She took it and stepped up onto the stage.
“God, you’re beautiful.” Mason gave her a soft kiss.
Sighs erupted in the audience along with a few woots from the guys.
Mason smiled down at her, then gave his neighbor and buddy Luke, who’d become certified online to perform their ceremony, a sheepish grin.
Luke teased him. “Give me five minutes and you can kiss her all you want.”
Everyone burst out with laughter.
Sierra handed her bouquet to Amy and took Mason’s hands and lost herself in his steady, loving gaze and the simple ceremony. His declaration of love and devotion along with the promises he made filled her up. She didn’t hesitate to give him back all he’d given her and before she knew it they’d exchanged rings and said, “I do,” and Luke pronounced them husband and wife.
Mason kissed her again, taking his time, the cheers washed out by the sheer joy emanating from both of them.
“I give you Mr. and Mrs. Moore.”
Hearing that felt so right.
Everything about being with Mason felt like
it was meant to be.
Amy handed her back the flowers.
Sierra and Mason faced their friends and family as husband and wife and she couldn’t smile big enough to convey the happiness bursting out of her.
They’d planned their exit for the photographer to get an amazing shot.
Emma and Hallee led the way with Danny, Oliver, and P.J. next, Amy at the side behind them, and she and Mason following them all back down the aisle, smiling for the pictures she knew would be amazing and capture the moment.
They left their guests to find their way to their tables for lunch while she, Mason, and the wedding party took more pictures in the hotel’s amazing gardens.
Twenty minutes later, they rejoined their guests to rousing applause and she and Mason took to the dance floor for their first dance. The kids joined in, making everyone smile again.
Mason danced with her mom and she danced with his dad, then she danced with her boys together before dancing with her dad while Mason danced with his mom.
They finally took a break to eat and chat with guests.
She spotted Heather sitting quietly by herself, the other guests from her table on the dance floor. Heather looked so alone. It should make her happy to see her sister get a little of what she deserved, but it didn’t. It made her sad. She didn’t want to feel this way today of all days. She wanted everyone, including Heather, to be happy and celebrating.
She didn’t have a solution that would bring her and Heather closer but she’d think on it later. Right now, she wanted to live in the moment and wallow in her happiness.
Sierra let it all go for now and enjoyed the rest of the reception by her husband’s side. She pulled Mason back out onto the dance floor for a slow song and found peace as they swayed to the music.
When it came time for them to leave for their honeymoon, their guests lined the exit and stairs to the waiting limo.
Sierra stopped and kissed her boys good-bye. “Be good. We’ll call you tomorrow and send pictures.” She looked forward to spending the next week in Hawaii at a luxury resort, soaking up the sun, and working on a brother or sister for the boys.
Sisters and Secrets Page 30
