Every instinct in Jacob’s body insisted he take Sierra back to the hotel. He didn’t like seeing his baby girl sad, hurt, or scared, and he was certain she would experience those emotions once she saw Sierra. It had been so long for Kaitlyn. He’d always been open with Kaitlyn when she had questions, and the same was true now, but he still wanted to shield her from harm. Sierra had failed in her duties as a mother and a wife, but he hoped Kaitlyn could find the answers to her questions and maybe her nightmares of the accident would finally stop.
He got up out of his office chair and began to pace. Once they’d left the hospital, Jacob reluctantly brought Sierra to the house. Marissa met them in the hallway and told them Kaitlyn had gone down for a nap. The two women had eyed each other curiously before Marissa asked to speak to him alone. He’d left Sierra in the hallway to go and talk to her.
“I hate to do this to you, but I have to leave and go back to the condo. I purchased some items that weren’t supposed to be delivered until next week. But I just got a notification that they will be by to drop off my stuff between one and three. It’s after eleven now.” Marissa tugged at the ends of her sleeves of her coat, looking at her watch then back to him. “I will be back soon after,” she assured him.
“No, it is okay. Take the rest of the day off. I want to spend the time alone with Kaitlyn.”
Though she nodded in understanding, there was hesitation in her posture. Still, she leaned in to give him a gentle kiss. He responded and she let out a contented sigh, moving closer. His mind went to Sierra standing in the hallway and hisinsides twisted. Fighting back the discomfort, he pulled away and gave her a brief kiss on the forehead.
Marissa looked a bit surprised but brushed a kiss on his cheek in return. “I left sandwiches and soup for lunch.”
He nodded. “Thanks.” He walked back with her to where Sierra was supposed to be standing. At first, he stiffened, annoyed that she wandered off, but he quickly noticed her peeking into the kitchen. After the divorce was signed, he had renovated the whole house, wiping away any traces of her. He wondered what she now thought of the place, then squashed the query; what she thought about the changes didn’t matter.
Once he returned to the kitchen after seeing Marissa out, Jacob intended to have a conversation with Sierra, but she looked exhausted. He knew the tests weren’t pleasant and a lot had happened in only a day. So he led her to the old nanny’s room. Now it served as a spare room and playroom for Kaitlyn. He suggested Sierra rest on the single bed, surrounded by Kaitlyn’s toys.
With time on his hands now, Jacob returned to his office to attempt getting work done, but his concentration was shot. His cell phone rang interrupting his pacing and he saw his brother Colin’s number on the screen.
“Hi, Colin.”
“Jacob, how is everything going?”
“Fine.” His voice was clipped; as much as he confided in Colin, he didn’t want to talk to his brother about his situation.
He heard Colin sigh, though it was almost drowned out by a lot of noise in the background. “Where are you?” He softened his tone, trying to change the subject.
“At our hanger, waiting for the pilot to finish all his checks before we board.”
“We?”
“Yes, flying to Barbados with Coco and her parents and grandfather.”
“Oh really, Grandfather?”
“Yes, did you know that grandfather and grandma used to come here a lot when they were younger. But he hasn’t visited since grandma died.”
Jacob’s eyebrows raised at that piece of information. He’d thought their grandfather had told them everything. “So how is your fake engagement going with Coco?” He teased sardonically. The last time they’d talked about it, Colin had sounded smug, but things hadn’t gone his way either.
Another sigh sounded through the phone. “Well, her father still wants to kill me, and Coco is keeping me at arm’s length, but you know how determined I can be when I want something. I just need to work on my patience and continue to show her how much I care and am very serious about us being together.”
Jacob lifted his brows, caught off guard by Colin admitting he needed to improve anything about himself. “I can see how much I hurt her, and I will do everything in my power to make it up to her.”
He heard a female voice speak from a distance. “You better and don’t be ruining my track record of being right.”
“I promise, Mrs. Hunt.” His brother chuckled. “Well, since you won’t talk about Sierra, how are things going with Marissa? Time is ticking on grandfather’s ultimatum.”
Jacob winced, not in the mood to think about that ridiculous ultimatum. Sierra being there complicated everything. Caught up in his own thoughts, he just mumbled responses to whatever Colin was rattling off on the other end.
“Congratulations!”
The sudden exclamation jerked him back to the conversation, and Colin prattled on. “We need to let everyone know and when I get back. I will take you and Marissa out with me and Coco to celebrate.”
Jacob shook his head, groaning. “Colin, celebrate what?”
“You just said yes when I asked you if you were going to propose to Marissa. I know you probably want to keep this quiet, but brother, this is a cause for celebration, and hopefully this will also keep Sierra from getting any ideas.”
Jacob couldn’t believe he’d lapsed in focus enough to cause such a misunderstanding. And Colin was like a dog with a bone when something stuck in his head. “Colin don’t say anything to anyone yet and I didn’t pro—”
He heard Kaitlyn suddenly began to wail and she sounded close.
