Ava stepped back first. She brought both hands to Sierra’s face. ‘Look at you. So beautiful.’ When she started tearing up, she shook her head and waved her hands in the air by her eyes. ‘Sorry. I’m just so happy you’re home. I have all my babies under one roof again.’ Her mom turned back to the house. ‘I have some grilled cheeses on the go. Figured you and Jade might want a snack, and if you don’t, Mav and Benji sure as heck will.’
‘I could eat a horse, Mrs H,’ Jade said, and followed Ava. Their lively chatter faded through the house as they disappeared inside.
Mav moved forward. He gave her a one-armed hug, picked up her bag, and then carried it inside without a single word.
‘Dad.’ Sierra moved in and gave her dad the same big hug.
‘Welcome home, Si.’ James looked at her, and Sierra tried not to squirm under his knowing gaze. If he had anything to say about the way she was dressed or, more specifically,whoshe was dressed for, he chose not to. Instead, he gave her upper arms one last squeeze, said, ‘It’s good to have you back.’
‘It’s good to be back.’
‘See you in there.’
She didn’t dare look at Benji until the door slapped shut behind her dad, but Sierra had been brutally aware of his gaze on her the entire time she’d been greeting her family.
Finally alone, she raised her eyes to his and smiled when she saw those same telltale nerves in him. ‘Hi.’
He wore his faded jeans, still grimy from the workday, a black shirt pulled taut over muscle, and his Hyer riding boots with spurs he’d forgotten to take off. His blond hair stuck out from beneath a 6666’s ball cap. His green eyes drank her in.
He didn’t say anything.
He walked to her, cradled her face in his big hands, and lowered his forehead to hers in a gesture that was so tender it brought tears of relief to her eyes. Her previous anxiety vanished; he would know how to make her feel good. He always did.
Sierra gripped his wrists. Rising onto her toes, she placed her lips on his, but it was Benji who shifted, Benji who coaxed her lips open and swept into her mouth like a man who’d gone without for far too long.
The kiss spun on until her head swam with it and her legs were unsteady beneath her. His familiar scent wrapped around her like some heady elixir, fuelling her desire. His hands, so gentle, stayed on her face.
Sierra released a frustrated moan.
The sound seemed to snap through Benji. He let her go abruptly and took a big step back. His chest heaved with the force of every breath.
Sierra raised one shaky hand to her swollen lips. ‘I missed you.’
‘I missed you too, Si. So damn much.’ But he didn’t try and kiss her again. He peered past her, towards his truck almost as if he was eager to be gone.
Sierra tried not to internalize it. There was so much she wanted to tell him, so much she wanted to hear, but because she had the entirety of winter break, she tried for patience, asked, ‘Are you coming in?’
‘Ah … No. I have some things I need to wrap up at the barn. Go.’ He shucked his head in the direction of the front door. ‘Spend the time with your family. We’ll catch up tomorrow.’
‘Oh.’ Sierra barely managed to hide her disappointment. ‘Okay.’
She watched him walk away, stayed on the porch until he’d driven off in his truck, and then promptly decided:Nope.
Still, because she did genuinely want to see her family, she waited. She ate her mom’s soggy grilled cheese and chatted non-stop about school and everything she’d been up to in New York.
It wasn’t until Jade had left and everyone else had turned in for the night that she made her move. She replaced her thigh-high boots with her scuffed riding ones and her faux fur jacket with her wool-lined denim. She crept down the stairs and, being painstakingly careful to minimize the noise from the creaky front door, let herself out and into the night.
Upstairs, Ava nestled closer to James in their bed as his fingers ran up and down her bare arm. ‘Not fixing that door was the smartest thing we ever did.’
He huffed out a laugh.
Ava levered up onto one elbow. ‘Did you ever think our babies would grow up so quickly?’
‘No. There were days I wished it would come sooner,’ he said, making her laugh, ‘but no. Christ, Ave, time just doesn’t give a shit anymore.’
‘Maybe not.’ She traced the planes of his handsome face with her index finger. ‘But we have everything we ever wanted.’
‘More,’ he agreed. ‘Those kids … They just make me so damn proud. All three of them.’
