Benji put his feet flat on the ground and rested his forearms on his knees. ‘I just need five minutes.’
‘Sisi?’ Poppy called.
‘In here, Poppy!’ Sierra replied, and pushed to a stand. She walked to the door of the closet. She turned back. Benji was sitting on the floor, his eyes closed as he brought his body back under control.
‘Hey, Benj?’
‘Yeah?’ He cracked one eye open to look at her.
‘Will you take me to Wrangler’s Clearing tomorrow?’ she asked.
Benji grinned, and it was wicked and excited and impossibly intimate. ‘Fuck yes.’
Sierra’s heart thumped once. She bit back her smile, tapped the doorframe once. ‘See you out there.’
She stepped into the hallway just as Poppy was coming out of her bedroom. ‘Sisi,’ Poppy enquired, ‘where were you? I was looking and looking.’
‘I was just going through some boxes.’ Sierra held out one hand, and when Poppy took it, she led the five-year-old towards the stairs. ‘Did you have fun dancing?’
‘Yeah. Me and Uncle Markus did the “Git Up”. And Neens and Daddy danced too, but slowly because Daddy’s still tired.’
‘Sounds like you had a blast, kiddo.’
‘We did. But we missed you. That’s why we came home. And we brought you some food,’ Poppy said brightly.
‘That’s so sweet,’ Sierra replied and gave her niece’s hand a squeeze. ‘Thank you, Poppy.’
And as sincere as she was, for the first time ever, she wished her family had been just a little less considerate.
PART THREE: BREATHE
Chapter 15
As was their old habit, and by unspoken agreement, while Benji packed the tent, sleeping bag, pillow, camping stove, and small essentials for an overnight trip to Wrangler’s Clearing, Sierra organized a basket with wine, food, coffee for the following morning, and the tin plates and cutlery kept in the pantry for such occasions.
Because it was winter, she dressed warmly in black sweatpants, a hoodie, thick socks, and Ugg boots, but underneath the seriously unsexy outfit, she had opted for seductive black lace.
The decision to wear the lingerie hadn’t been an easy one. As she’d held up the flimsy lace, she’d remembered a time when wearing lingerie with Benji in mind had been commonplace. Things had once been so easy, so natural. But after all this time, nothing was the same. The puzzle pieces had changed, and Sierra wasn’t entirely sure that the final image would be what either of them wanted or expected.
Even her body, which he had seen and loved in every season of life, would be new to him. The stretch marks on her sides from when her stomach had grown during pregnancy he’d seen before. But they’d been faint, white lines of promise then. Now they were the angry red of disappointed dreams. Maybe if she’d had a child to show for them, she wouldn’t have felt so self-conscious. But she did. They reminded her of roots, climbing up her sides. Roots that had never managed to grow anything.
She’d also made sure to tell Maverick and Nina that she would be going on an overnight trip with Benji, and although neither of them had pushed, Nina had smiled like a feral Cheshire Cat while Mav had looked at her in silence, his concern obvious.
Now, as she lugged the laden picnic basket to the porch to wait for Benji to arrive, she saw her brother sitting on the swing with Poppy. His dog, Shadow, was asleep at his feet, her head resting on his booted foot. He was leaning forward, his forearms on his knees as he rolled a single beer between his hands. He was chatting to Poppy, his gentle, ‘Did you have fun with Neens today?’ reaching Sierra where she stood inside.
‘Yeah! We went and got our dresses pinned up again so the lady could sew them.’ Poppy’s sigh was one of deep contentment. ‘We have pictures, but Neens said we can’t show you until we get married.’
Mav couldn’t quite hide his amusement when he replied, ‘Oh, okay.’
Sierra opened the screen door and stepped outside.
Mav looked up. ‘Hey.’ His eyes flickered to the picnic basket. ‘You heading out?’
‘Yeah. Benj should be here any minute.’ When he only nodded, she sighed. ‘Just say it, Mav.’
‘Say what?’
Poppy’s gaze tracked back and forth between them but perhaps sensing the unfamiliar tension between her dad and aunt, the five-year-old didn’t say anything.
