Page 13
Sierra
I trail behind Bella as she and Beckett take the bags to his room. I feel weird right now, but I don’t know why. They unload all of the bags, and I just watch them place them all on the floor under the giant bay window. Bella steps out, but Beckett shuts the door. “Did you have fun today?” he asks.
“Yeah,” I say, looking down at my hands.
“Hey,” he says, squatting down in front of me to take my hands. “Did you really?”
“Yeah, I had fun,” I say with a small smile.
“Good,” he says, smiling brightly. “Did Bella feed you?”
“She tried,” I admit.
“Okay, well, we will have burgers, hot dogs, and I believe some grilled chicken,” he says. “You know how these people are. There will be enough food to feed an army.”
“Yeah,” I say, still quiet.
“What can I do?”
“I’m just… I feel bad.” I admit with a sigh. “Bella spent so much money.”
“I’m glad,” he says. “You deserve it.”
“She bought me a Kindle,” I say with a frown.
“We can set it up with my card, if you want. I know you like to read, so we can load you up with as many as you want.”
“You don’t think it makes me antisocial?” I ask.
“Sweetheart, I am the president of antisocial,” he laughs. “Find a book, and we can read it together. I have a Kindle on my nightstand.”
“You read?” I ask.
“I know how to spell my own name, too,” he says with a grin. “I do. I read every night. When we aren’t busy at the shop, I read there, too. It drowns out the idiots.”
“Yeah,” I say with a smile.
“Everyone knows that this room is off limits. So I am telling you this, too,” he starts. “If you need space, if they get annoying, anything… You come in here and shut the door. I’ll be the only one to come in here, but if you don’t want me to, I’ll give you space also.”
“You don’t have to…”
“I want to,” he counters before I can finish. “You deserve a space to decompress, and I hope this is where you can do that.”
“You make me feel safe,” I admit. “I haven’t felt safe in a long time.”
“You don’t know how happy that makes me, Kitten,” he says. When he stands, he gently pulls me up to wrap his arms around me. I bury my face in his chest and breathe him in, soaking in the comfort. “Ready, or do you need some time?”
“I’m ready,” I sigh.
“Let’s do it,” he says, holding my hand as we go to the door. “Don’t feel obligated to talk. You owe no one anything. Okay?”
“Okay,” I whisper.
When we walk out, everyone is chatting, but there is a clear divide in the room. Mason looks pissed, but he says nothing. I keep walking with Beckett into the kitchen and avoid my brother. The way he is looking at Beckett… It just makes me feel uneasy, and I don’t like it.
“Hey, kiddo,” Dad says with a smile.
“Hey, Daddy,” I say quietly. He puts his arms out, and I automatically go to him. He wraps me in a hug that reminds me of being a kid again. Emotion gets stuck in my throat, and I sniff back tears. Instead of acknowledging my sudden wave of sadness, he holds onto me.
