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“But she’s in her thirties—”
“She was seven when she came to Hot Springs. She was a surprise, to say the least. My father had an affair with a woman in Oklahoma City that my mother never knew about. He didn’t know he’d fathered a child with that woman and it was a mess, Sierra, for a long time.”
I could see the questions burning behind Sierra’s eyes but she said nothing.
“My mom and dad put on a united front, however. She forgave him and raised Keely as her own daughter. Keely was loved and sheltered from the fallout of how public her arrival in ourlives had been. My parents’ reputation shattered. Our church shunned us. The bar… my dad owned it at the time. Business failed for a while, several years. But my parents never acted like anything was amiss. It didn’t stop the town from turning on them and it didn’t stop me from turning on the town.”
“I picked fights with those who had anything to say about my family, especially my mom. I got in more trouble than I needed to, making myself look like the bad guy instead of my dad. My parents almost sent me to military school to try to straighten me out if you can believe it. They died in a car accident Keely’s junior year of high school and I had to man-up and take over the family business and make sure Keely continued to be protected. I… went too far, drove her away, and last year tried to get between her and George. I caught them and… George and I got into a physical altercation that almost ended our friendship.”
Sierra was watching me closely, her eyes roving over my face. Was she judging me? Could she see through the wall I’d built around myself and glimpse the man underneath?
“I’m not a good person,” I said after a moment, holding her gaze.
“You spent your youth shielding Keely from this town, Pete. That doesn’t make you a bad person.” She grabbed my hands, knitting her fingers in mine. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because everyone knows me as one thing—a dickhead. The dickhead bartender who picks fights and isn’t worth—”
She slid into my lap, her hands caressing my face as she pressed her forehead against mine. “I don’t think you’re a dickhead,” she whispered with a gentle kiss. “Most of the time.”
I couldn’t stop the short laugh from leaving my lips as she wrapped her arms around my neck.
“You protect those you love,” she whispered. “That’s obvious to me. I think it’s admirable. And it seems like Keely and George have forgiven you. Did you think I’d think less of you, or something?”
“Yeah, I did.” I still didn’t understand why she knew all of this now and was on my lap, kissing me, knowing the full truth.
“Well, I don’t.” She smiled against my lips. “I like you a lot, you know.”
“I like you, too.”I love you. I love you. Please, don’t leave. Even if this baby isn’t mine.
“I think I’m going to go check out that church.” She kissed the corner of my mouth.
“I can go with you if you want.”
“Oh, it’s fine. I’ll be back soon. I’m sure they have an evening mass.”
“I always hear the bells at seven.”
“I better get going then,” she quipped, sliding off me and padding to my room to change.
“Take the truck,” I hollered over my shoulder.
She was gone after a few minutes. I washed the dishes and sat back down on the couch, feeling a little less tension in my shoulders.
This was the most we’d spoken about our lives since she came back to Hot Springs. Everything else had been superficial, surface level. Honestly, we barely talked about the baby, and if I brought it up, she quickly changed the subject. I knew it wasbecause of the paternity test. I felt like a jerk for making her do it now that it didn’t matter to me.
How was I supposed to backtrack from that? She probably wouldn’t believe I was sincere if I said I’d be with her and raise that child as my own, not after that.
I made a mental note to start asking her more questions about her life. We needed to get to know each other better. At least, I wanted to know her more.
The church thing had thrown me for a loop, to say the least.
But two hours later, after I’d started to doze on the couch out of sheer boredom, my phone rang.
“What’s wrong?” I said, sitting up and Sierra’s choked voice rang out over the phone.
“I’m pretty sure I just saw my mom.”
Chapter Eighteen
