Though he confided in Colin, Jacob never told his family all that had happened at the hospital when Sierra finally woke up. “She didn’t have a choice.” The sharp edge on his words seemed to silence Colin, so Jacob tried to continue.
“She only needs to come and get tested and if she is a match, give some of her bone marrow to Kaitlyn.” He clenched his jaw, seeing red and reeling from the pain he experienced when he ended the marriage, something he too had just started to heal from. The reality that he would have to deal with her again, opening old wounds that had scabbed over. His voice went cold. “She won’t get to see my child or come anywhere near me.”
“What are you going to do if she says no?” Colin pried into his business.
“Drag her back here whether she wants to or not.” He vowed, glaring daggers at the phone as if this was all his brother’s fault. “I will dance with the devil one last time to get what I need for my daughter.”
“Yes, and let me know what you need from me to help find her.” Colin’s voice sounded stronger, even though he was still hushing his voice into the phone. “With both of us looking, we should be able to find her faster and then I can go and talk to her and make sure she comes back peacefully.”
“Thanks, but I can handle it. Appreciate it.” Jacob said gruffly, his anger dissipating a bit from his brother’s support. He didn’t want his brothers involved more than necessary, even Colin. He straightened up in his chair. “Don’t worry, I doubt shewill put up much of a fight. Money is a great incentive especially since she didn’t walk away from all of this unscathed.
“Sierra was hurt badly in the accident and is scarred now for life. Her being obsessed with her appearance—this was a blow to her vanity. I am sure she is starving by now for a little semblance of her old life.” His tone had shifted to mocking through his rant, but he didn’t get a chance to sit smugly in his admonishment; the creak of his office door intervened.
He turned and saw Kaitlyn rubbing her eyes sleepily. Slowly she padded toward him and placed her hands on his knees. “Daddy, I had a bad dream about the accident and now I can’t sleep.”
“Come here, pumpkin.” Shifting the phone to his shoulder, Jacob pulled his daughter onto his knees with one arm. “Colin, I will have to call you back later.”
“Yes, don’t worry. Go take care of Kaitlyn and tell her, her red teddy bear loves her.” Colin’s voice was gentle, even though Kaitlyn couldn’t hear him.
“I will. Night.” Jacob laid the phone on his desk and pulled Kaitlyn into his arms, rocking her back to sleep.
Chapter 5
THE END.
Accomplishment and happiness surged through Sierra as she wrapped up her third erotic thriller novel under the pen name, Kaitlyn Star. Her middle name and what Pat told her she used to call her grandmother: her shining star.
After the accident and enduring multiple surgeries, her face disfigured, Sierra had lost everything—the man she loved, her daughter, her so called friends and even her father.
She had prayed every night she would not see the morning and every day she laid in her hospital bed, disappointed. They had brought in a psychiatrist to see her, while the doctors and nurses needed her to start moving so that she could begin her healing process. She’d no longer given a damn about what would happen to her. She had almost killed her daughter, and her husband now despised her more than before.
She would just lie there, refusing food and sleeping a lot. The bottle didn’t call to her any longer.
One day, she’d woken to a surprise visitor. Dark brown eyes as big as saucers peered down at her, an immediate fright in her sleep-blurred vision. She opened her mouth to scream.
“Good you are awake finally; I thought I would have to pinch you to get you up.” The person straightened up and after a moment, Sierra had been able to make out the woman’s face. She was an elderly, dark-skinned Black woman who had her natural grey hair pulled into a small, bushy ponytail. The black-rimmed glasses were too big for her face and she pushed them up her nose. She was dressed as if coming from church, wearinga floral dress and white gloves on her hands. Sierra couldn’t see beyond her abdomen but she guessed the woman was wearing stockings and some sort of patent black shoes. A matching hat and purse were probably on one of the chairs in the room, or so Sierra had assumed.
“Who are you?” she croaked out, her mouth and throat dry.
“Oh, yes, my name is Patricia, Pat for short. I was your grandmother’s best friend and mistress until she passed away before you were born.” The woman named Patricia moved away; Sierra caught a whiff of floral perfume. She heard liquid pouring before Pat held her chin and touched a paper cup to her lips. She parted them and took slow sips like the doctor and nurses advised her.
When she had her fill, she raised her good hand and tapped Pat on the front of her wrist. Pat set the cup down and stood over her again.
“Why are you here?” Sierra murmured. She shut her eyes for a second; a slight headache was creeping from the back and making its way to the front.
“I’ve come to collect you and take you back home with me, but I can see you are not in any condition to leave the hospital yet. Have you been laying here all this time?” The disappointment in Pat’s voice stung.
“You don’t know me and don’t owe me anything. I am just fine as I am. Go away and leave me in peace.” Sierra snapped, closing her eyes again and turning away as much as her body would allow. Then came a pinch on her arm. Opening her lids again, turning her head slightly, she flashed an annoyed look at the elderly woman.
“No. I promised your grandmother that I would take care and watch over you because she could not, and I can see from your defeated attitude that I got here just in time.” The older woman leaned down and closer this time, her brown eyes with the blue ring of age peering down at her in judgment.
She firmed her lips to keep them from trembling. “I lost my husband and almost my child, I deserve to rot away in peace. You came and saw and now you can—”
“Oh, shut up, enough of the pity party. I can see that you have gotten away with a lot and even in this, as no one is going to fight you, but I will.”
She had only time to gasp before the bed buzzed and tilted up.
“What are you doing?”
