‘Good.’ When the Sheriff approached, Sierra held up one hand, halting him in his tracks. She leaned forward, put her lips by Silas’s ear, and whispered, ‘Now get the fuck off my land.’
Silas stumbled to where he’d parked his truck, but the Sheriff, Bob, shouted after him. ‘You get in that vehicle, and I’m gonna hit you with a DUI, Silas!’
Silas didn’t listen. He slammed his door and sped out, his rusty truck kicking up dust behind him.
Bob just sighed and tipped his hat in farewell. ‘Sierra.’
‘I appreciate you coming out, Sherrif Gaffrey,’ Sierra said, because calling her childhood best friend’s dad ‘Bob’ still felt odd, even after all this time.
Behind him, Sierra saw Benji running toward her, Poppy in his arms, his eyes wild. ‘Shit,’ she said under her breath.
The Sheriff moved towards his cruiser, but right before he climbed back into his vehicle, he looked back at her. His hard eyes softened. His voice, when he spoke, was gentle. ‘When you’re feeling up to it, Jade would love to see you, Sierra. She barely gets out with the baby, and I know she needs the company.’
Sierra’s throat burned with unexpected guilt. There’d been a time when she and Jade had been inseparable, a time when they’d been young girls, giggling and whispering at sleepovers, talking about how, one day, they’d be grown-ups with apartments of their own, dreaming about how each of them would find the perfect man – Benji for Sierra and some faceless, (yet hunky) stranger for Jade – and fall in love, get married and raise their children side by side.
Now, Jade was just another person she’d let down, and Sierra was glaringly aware of that when she promised, ‘I’ll make a point of stopping by.’
Chapter 19
The Sheriff drove away in a cloud of dust, lights flashing as he drove after Silas, just as Benji reached Sierra. ‘What the fuck did he do?’ he demanded. His eyes frantically searched her, stopping when he saw the red mark across her face.
Realization dawned in his eyes, turning them cold with hatred.
Slowly, carefully, he put Poppy down.
‘Benji—’
‘I’ll fucking kill him this time.’
When he would have spun around and gone after his father, Sierra gripped his wrist. ‘Stop.’
‘Sierra—’
‘Benji.’ She shamelessly tipped her head in Poppy’s direction, using her niece’s wide-eyed fear because she knew it would be the one thing that calmed him down.
The moment Benji saw Poppy’s terrified expression, he exhaled a deep, purposeful breath. It took a few seconds, but he eradicated the hard glare in his eyes. He crouched down and opened his arms, and Poppy flew into the embrace without hesitation. ‘Sorry, Pops. I didn’t mean to scare you, sweetheart.’
‘Your daddy hurt Sisi.’
‘Yeah, he did. He’s not a good man.’
Sierra frowned, wondering how the news had travelled so fast.
Benji caught the look, and said, ‘Deb called the barn, and José told me in front of her.’
He set Poppy back. He took both of her little hands in his, and then he broke Sierra’s heart when he explained gently, ‘I get angry sometimes, bub. But I’m not like my dad. I’ll never hurt you or Sisi. You’re my girls. It’s my job to love you and keep you safe.’ He looked at Sierra, his eyes hot with vindication. ‘I’ll protect you. Always.’
Perhaps it was just that Silas was so fresh in her mind and the contrast between father and son was so stark right then, but for the first time ever, Sierra truly marvelled at that. She’d meant what she’d told Benji when she’d said that she’d never seen him as trashy or beneath her, but here, now, she realized how truly remarkable it –he– was. He’d been raised by an abusive drunk and a woman who couldn’t defend herself let alone her son, but somehow, instead of following in his father’s deep footsteps, Benji had become this kind, patient, gentle man with the biggest goddamn heart. He was a diamond when he could have so easily been coal.
Poppy frowned as if she was seriously confused. ‘I know,’ she said,so simply.
Benji laughed at her certainty. But his voice wasn’t quite even when he replied, ‘Family can be really complicated sometimes, huh?’ Poppy nodded. ‘But we’re also really lucky because we get to choose our family too.’
With all the accumulated wisdom of her five-almost-six years, she said, ‘Like, sometimes I don’t like my mom. But I love Neens.’ She raised one chubby hand and tapped Benji’s cheek in an oddly maternal gesture. ‘I don’t like your dad. He’s scary. But I love you, Uncle Benji. You’re my bestest after Daddy.’
Sierra’s throat burned with emotion. Poppy’s mom, Shannon, hadn’t really been in the picture much until recently. And even though Shannon seemed to be making more of an effort since she and Nina had a heart-to-heart, Poppy was still wary of her.
‘Thanks, bub.’ Benji gave her one last hug, and then pushed to his feet, Poppy’s hand still closed in his.
