“You ring the bell,” he told her when they were on the porch.
She knocked instead, earning a smile from Cole. “A rebel at heart,” he murmured. “You’ll fit in just fine, sweetheart.”
The door opened to reveal Jase Crenshaw standing on the other side. He was taller than Cole, probably close to six foot four, lanky and handsome and familiar to Sienna even as much as he was a stranger.
“I wasn’t expecting to see you tonight,” he said to Cole, looking more confused than surprised. “How many times have you been invited over but always managed not to make it?”
Cole flinched but covered it with a small laugh. “I made it tonight.”
“I invited him,” Sienna offered.
Jase raised a brow. “I’m glad youbothcould make it.”
“Your wife didn’t seem like she was going to take no for an answer.”
“That’s Emily,” he agreed, smiling.
Sienna glanced over her shoulder toward Cole’s truck. “I brought a bottle of wine but left it in the truck. I’ll go—”
“I’ll get it,” Cole offered and jogged down the walkway toward the street before she could argue.
“Is wine okay?” she asked, turning back to Jase. “I forgot about your dad being sober and—”
“It’s fine. And he’s your dad, too,” Jase added quietly. “He’s doing well right now, but sobriety and Declan are fickle companions.”
“I’m not going to do anything to sabotage him.” Sienna clasped her hands in front of her stomach. “I just want you to know I’m not here to cause trouble for either of you.”
“I’d ask why you are here,” Jase said, stepping back into the house and gesturing for her to follow, “but I suppose you’ll let us know that in your own time.”
“Do you remember me?” she asked suddenly. “From when we were kids.”
Jase frowned. “Yes. You’re my sister.”
He said the words with such certainty, it made Sienna’s chest tighten. “I can picture the night we left,” she told him. “I remember turning around in the back seat and watching you get smaller, then disappear in the darkness as Mom drove away.” She shook her head. “But nothing else in any detail.”
“There wasn’t much worth remembering,” Jase said with a small laugh.
“It was the first seven years of my life,” Sienna countered. “And it’s all a jumble to me.”
“Is that part of what upsets you?” He studied her, his gaze intense, and a whisper of familiarity brushed over her like the touch of a feather. She could see in her mind the image of a solemn boy putting a bandage on her knee as she wiped away tears after a fall.
“I think so,” she admitted. “Although I didn’t realize I cared until I came to Colorado. Did you teach me to ride a bike?”
“Maybe you remember more than you think,” Jase said.
“Here’s the wine,” Cole said as he came through the front door. “Everything okay?”
He pressed his fingers to the small of Sienna’s back, handing Jase the bottle of wine. The light touch was more comforting than she could have imagined.
“It’s fine,” she said.
“Come into the kitchen,” Jase told them both. “We’ll eat soon.”
Cole kept his hand on her back as they walked, reminding Sienna that she didn’t have the option to run away, even if her hammering heart told her that would be the smart thing to do.
She heard voices and laughter as they walked toward the back of the house, but silence descended over the group as she entered the bright and airy kitchen.
Jase and Emily’s house was an old Victorian, but the inside had been remodeled recently. The kitchen had white craftsman-style cabinets with dark soapstone countertops over them. The floors looked original in a deep mahogany stain. There was a vase of fresh flowers on the island and framed photos and kids art decorated the walls.
