Shit.
She knew from Jacob’s increasingly red face that he wasn’t going to believe her. “I can explain.”
Chapter 28
“Get your shit and get out now, Sierra.” Jacob could barely see through the red-hot fury clouding his gaze.
“No, listen to me. This isn’t what it looks like, Jacob.” Sierra’s voice was infuriatingly calm, given the situation.
“Is that a drink in your hands?” he snarled out, stepping into the kitchen.
“Yes, but it is not mine. You—”
He cut her off, tension rising through his shoulders and gripping his neck. “Jesus Christ, not again with the excuses.” He shook his head when she tried to speak again. “Do you want me to drag you from the kitchen and out the door or will you get your things and leave with what little dignity you have left?” He loomed over her.
She looked up in dismay, shock and hurt in her eyes now. He could see her body shake slightly. “No, but what I expect is for you to hear me out, Jacob.” She put the glass down on the counter, the clunk sounding like a shotgun to his ears. “This is not my drink.”
“Then whose is it?” He seethed.
“Your father was just here and he—”
He flung his hand out and waved off her lies. “Sierra, my father called me a half hour ago to tell me he was out of town but will be flying in tomorrow to see me and Kaitlyn.”
Her eyes widened. “Jacob, he is lying.”
He shook his head, voice deepening with anger and he moved closer. “No, I don’t think he is. You have put on a prettyact, but now you have been caught. Were you really going to those AA meetings or directly to a bar?”
His head snapped back from the blow of her slap.
“You arrogant ass. You know full well I haven’t!” Sierra spun and dumped the contents of the glass, splashing the whole sink with the dark liquid. “And you are using this as an excuse to push me away. Well, tell your father he has won. Because right now, I can’t even look at you.”
“Me? You are the one that got caught red-handed, Sierra. Just—”
She shoved past him without another word, heading straight to her room. He followed, his heart racing, the blood rushing through his veins. He couldn’t believe he’d let her sink her claws back into him and now she would again hurt Kaitlyn when she woke up and saw her mother gone.
He stared at the woman he’d been falling in love with again. Even his brothers had teased him that they’d never seen him this way, not when he first married Sierra or when he spoke of any other woman. They were glad that he was finally happy.
He was until the bottle once again was more important than him or their daughter.
He had missed her and Kaitlyn while he was away at the family cottage. After he’d hung up with his father, he’d put his phone on silent and he raced home to be with them as soon as he could.
“Get out. I am almost done and need to change.” She hissed furiously at him, yanking the zipper on her luggage closed. He moved to stand outside the door, and his gut clenched when he heard her call for a taxi. Every fiber of his body wanted him to keep shouting at her. He’d opened himself up for the firsttime in his life and let her in. But she’d just betrayed him again and he didn’t know how he was going to deal with his scattered emotions.
When she walked past him, she paused and set her luggage down to adjust something. As she went to lean on her cane, he bent to help her with the suitcase. His fingers barely made it around the handle before she ripped it away from him.
“I don’t need your help. I will wait outside for the taxi.” She said coldly.
His world was crashing down around him, and he couldn’t stay there to watch her walk out. He stumbled to his den and fell into the chair behind his desk. Dropping his head in his hands, Jacob tried to ignore the growing throb at his temples as his thoughts whirled.
How could he have missed the signs? Had her manipulation gotten better than he realized, or were there no signs to see? Maybe today was the first day she’d taken a glass to drink, but what had triggered her relapse then? Was it him not being home and she’d been left alone by herself—but that didn’t make sense because she’d been fine when he went away for Colin’s bachelor party.
A part of him couldn’t believe what he’d seen; he wanted to believe her words, the earnestness in her voice telling him the drink wasn’t hers. But his father had told him he was out of town, so her excuse didn’t add up. Something was not right. The Sierra he had been living and getting to know now, she was not the person she used to be, and he knew that. Jacob took a deep breath, knowing he needed a moment to calm down and he would go out to talk to her. He’d reacted so wrong and let his emotions and doubt get the best of him.
He sat up straighter, eyes blurry from the strain. With a deep steading breath, Jacob got up and made his way over to the small liquor cabinet. He’d installed a passcode to get in just in case Kaitlyn tried to see what was inside out of curiosity.
Sierra knew about it, but he did not tell her the passcode and she never asked for it. Only his family knew what the passcode was.
The decanter on top of the cabinet was whisky, his father’s drink of choice, and the glass he’d use when he’d come to visit wasn’t next to it. Sierra hated whisky, never touched it in all the time he’d known her.
