“Your father and I had an understanding. I never forbade him from contacting you.”
“The hell you didn’t, woman,” Declan called from inside the room. “Now someone get me out of this dang bed.”
“You had no right,” Sienna whispered to her mother.
Dana’s eyes narrowed. “He cashed the checks every month.”
“Dad had some rough times,” Jase explained, stepping forward. “He needed—”
“Did you know about this the whole time?” Sienna demanded, pulling her hand away from the wall and fisting it at her side.
“Not at first,” Jase said after a moment. “But eventually I started managing the bank account.”
“Inappropriate to put a child in that situation,” Dana muttered.
Sienna felt like she was at the center of a tornado, all the parts of her life spinning around her in a whirlwind.
“Do you want to get a cup of coffee?” Emily asked. “A few minutes away might help you collect your thoughts.”
“I don’t need time.” Sienna looked between the three people facing her. “My thoughts are clear. You’ve all lied to me. I want nothing to do with any of you.”
* * *
Sienna paced back and forth in the corner office of the sheriff’s department, anger and humiliation buzzing through her like a swarm of insects.
The friendly woman at the front desk had offered her a cup of coffee, then led her to Cole’s office. He was on his way back to the station, she’d explained, and Sienna was welcome to wait.
The door burst open a few seconds later, and Cole appeared, his gaze frantic. “Marlene called me,” he said, moving toward Sienna. “She said my girlfriend was in the office crying and that I’d better get my butt back here stat.”
Sienna’s cheeks grew warm as a thrill coursed through her at his casual use of the wordgirlfriend. Did that make her optimistic or pathetic? Probably a bit of both. “I hope she didn’t actually use the wordstat.”
“She did,” he confirmed. “Marlene’s a big fan of medical shows. She’s also happy to give an armchair diagnosis of any physical ailments you might have.”
“I’ll remember that.” Sienna smoothed her fingers across her cheeks. “For the record, I wasn’t crying when I got here. I was totally composed when I walked into the station.”
“But you’d been crying?” He didn’t wait for an answer, only reached for her. His strong arms wound around her back as he pulled her against his chest.
She sucked in a shaky breath and let herself sag against him. They stood together for several minutes, Cole gently tracing circles on her back with his palm. She splayed her fingers across his shirtfront, feeling the steady beat of his heart. The sorrow that had tightened around her chest, ensnaring her heart like a vine, slowly subsided.
It was this moment more than any other that made her certain of her love for him. He felt like home, and she’d been yearning for a place to belong for as long as she could remember. She drew in her first normal breath since leaving the hospital, realizing she could handle anything with this man at her side.
“My mother went to visit my dad in the hospital this morning,” she said, pulling away.
As reluctant as she was to leave Cole’s embrace, she had to have a little distance to get the words out. She walked to the edge of the desk, ran her fingers along a deep scratch in the oak top.
“I take it things didn’t go well.”
“Not exactly. They argued over the money she’d been giving him all this time.”
Cole’s thick brows furrowed, but otherwise he didn’t respond. She’d expected him to be as shocked as she was by the revelation so she didn’t quite understand his calm reaction to the news.
Maybe he didn’t understand the implication of what she was telling him. “Mom has been sending a monthly check to Declan for the past twenty years,” she explained. “She tried to tell me it was for Jase, but obviously my brother is a grown man now and even when he was a kid...” She shook her head, confused that Cole still looked unsurprised. “They had an unspoken agreement that Declan wouldn’t contact me. Jase knew about it. He’d started depositing the checks when Declan was having issues.”
“That’s a lot of pressure for a kid,” Cole said quietly. “Your parents never should have made that arrangement.”
“Yes,” she agreed slowly, an uncomfortable feeling—an itch she couldn’t quite reach—skittered along the back of her neck. “That’s not the point. Jase knew and never mentioned it. My mom made me believe my dad wanted nothing to do with me. Declan took the money and was willing to stay out of my life to ensure it didn’t stop. It’s untenable that they’d all have kept this from me, even once I arrived in Crimson.”
“I’m sorry, Sienna.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “It was a bad situation all around. But you have to understand—”
