Chapter Seventeen
Sienna flipped the button on her phone to vibrate and shoved the device into her purse as she walked through the hospital doors later that morning.
Her mother had called earlier, but Sienna wanted to speak to her dad before facing Dana and her expectations that Sienna would be leaving Crimson.
She wasn’t finished in this sweet little town. Despite her mixed emotions, Colorado was quickly beginning to feel like home. She wouldn’t give that up without a fight.
She waved to Dixie at the receptionist’s desk and headed for the elevators.
“Your mother hasn’t aged a day since she left here,” the older woman called. “I recognized her the minute she walked in.”
Sienna spun on her heel. “In where?”
Dixie chuckled. “The hospital, of course. She got here about twenty minutes ago.”
“Is Jase with her?” Sienna asked, already backing away.
“Haven’t seen him.”
Dana was alone with Declan. The implications screamed through Sienna’s brain, as if she was standing too close to the tracks when a powerful freight train came speeding by. She bypassed the elevator and pushed open the stairwell door, taking the steps two at a time to the third floor.
It was difficult to tell whether her gasping breath was a result of racing up two sets of stairs at altitude or the overwhelming panic at the thought of her parents together.
The door to her father’s room was open halfway, and she paused outside to catch her breath, gather her thoughts and try to discern whether any blood had been shed yet.
“We had an agreement, Dec. Nothing has changed.”
The sharp edge in her mother’s tone wasn’t a surprise, but her words certainly were.
“She showed up here. That changed everything.” Declan coughed, painful and raspy in a way that couldn’t be good for his continued recovery. He sounded out of breath and agitated. Sienna started to interrupt the conversation but stopped as her father spoke again. “What was I supposed to do? Send her away? Reject her to her face?”
“Yes,” her mother said, exasperation clear in her tone. “If you want to keep receiving the monthly check, then yes.”
Sienna felt like she’d taken a punch to the gut. She reached out and put a hand on the wall to steady herself.
“Let him explain,” a quiet voice behind her said.
She turned to find Jase standing a few feet behind her, Emily at his side. Her sister-in-law’s gaze was gentle, and Sienna understood she’d been duped by everyone. As far as she’d seen, Emily wasn’t one for sympathy...ever.
“I’ve got to get out of here,” she muttered, but her legs were rooted to the polished linoleum floor.
“Sienna?” The door to the room opened to reveal her mother standing stiff as a statue, her mouth pressed into a tight line even as her gaze tracked wildly from Sienna to Jase.
“Baby girl, come in here,” Declan called from over Dana’s shoulder. “We need to talk.”
“Did you pay him to stay away from me?” Sienna didn’t move, ignoring her dad’s request.
“I helped out with living expenses.” Dana glanced at Jase again. “For your brother.”
“Sienna!” Declan shouted. “Get her in here.”
Dana gave a small nod. “We can discuss the details behind closed doors. No need for the entire hospital to overhear you.”
But Sienna was beyond caring who knew this latest detail in their sordid family history. “Did yourhelpinclude an agreement that he wouldn’t try to contact me?”
Her mother tipped up her chin and gave Sienna the patented mom stare that used to shut her down when she asked questions about her dad and brother.
Sienna pressed her palm flat against the wall and stared back.
