Page 9 (1/2)

"Momma’s hoht, then took off running to ot out of her beat-to-shit car The boy loved his mother She must have raised him without her parents’ help, because Micah said he didn’t have grandparents He said he had an aunt Cathy they used to live with in Fort Worth That was it He hadn’t had anyone else to talk about

"Hey, Ace" Sienna’s voice caught my attention, and I tookhi hair wasn’t up like it had been earlier today She had pulled it loose and let it hang down her back All that red hair Damn I had to remember who she was and how off-li I could focus on Hooking up for a casual fk with Sienna Roy was never gonna happen She was themore than a casual fk Ever

Sienna was responsibility And she was mine already, even if she didn’t know it yet I would help take care of her and Micah, but adding sex to that ainst the rules It would fk up everything I had to be a part of Micah’s life That as is that didn’t stop, and a facedaeous eyes, and her lips Jesus, I had to forget this shit She was Micah’s ?" Sienna asked, looking from Micah to me

I tore my eyes off her and all that perfection and looked at Micah I needed to regroup Dealing with this wo her ned and in my bed I didn’t put woave me chocolate chip cookies and apple pie And she had real milk like us, and she said I could come eat anytime I wanted to"

The color drained from Sienna’s face as she looked from her son to me I had to explain why I’d taken him over there It wasn’t to undermine her, but to deal with it beforeway Plus, Micah had no idea who my parents were to hi she read the unspoken words from the pointed look on my face

She sed and took a deep breath, then turned her gaze back to her son "Well, now it’s o play in your room with all those toys you have while we talk, okay?" she said, with a treo unnoticed by the kid He frowned, and his happy slare as he looked at , but no one had told him that He was more than ready to take care of his momma if he needed to Dustin would have been so damn proud of that boy

"Don’t make my momma cry," was his simple demand

"It’s okay, baby I proood stuff, like Dewayne watching you again and ain Okay?"

Micah looked back at her and studied her face before nodding, but he didn’t look real sure Then he wrapped his aro He then turned and ran to the door

When the screen door closed behind him, Sienna turned to look atme"

I had been prepared for those to be the first words out of her mouth "They missed the first five years of his life, Sienna Dustin was their baby Their golden boy They have mourned him for the past six years It wasn’t fair that all this time they could have had a part of Dustin that they didn’t even know about"

Sienna’s back went stiff, and she raised her chin in a defensive pose Da in her eyes "I sent theed yourot nothing frorew up in that house" Sienna pointed to my parents’ house "It was my second home I loved those people, and then, when I needed them most, when Dustin’s child needed them, they turned their back on me too You have no idea how that felt No idea"

I heard the words she was saying, but I knew for a fact thatabout Micah My mother would have been in Fort Worth by Sienna’s side if she’d known So was off here

"You know Momma, Sienna She’d have been there if she knew She would have been there everystep of the way Momma loved Dustin, and she loved you Micah would have been the center of her world"

Sienna was shaking her head "No, she wouldn’t, because she wasn’t I see that she still lives at the same address, Dewayne She hasn’t moved I sent her letters More than I can count Not once did she respond Not once"

This wasn’t right I just didn’t have an answer other than that my mother didn’t know about Micah She couldn’t She would have wanted that baby She would haveshe needed

"We need to talk to Moht She doesn’t know, Sienna Hell, ured it out Momma still doesn’t knoho he is, but when I told Dad who Micah’s mother was, he saw Dustin in the boy immediately He wouldn’t move from his side from that moment on He asked him questions and he watched him with complete fascination When we left, he kissed his head My dad kissed Micah’s head My dad isn’t affectionate You know that So tell nored hi, she burst into tears Shit! Micah was gonna be so damn pissed at me

SIENNA

They wanted hied for Micah to have family Grandparents who loved him Someone other than just me and Aunt Cathy This was all too much I had sent those letters to Tabby Was it possible she hadn’t received them? So many of them?

"Fuck, Sienna Please don’t cry Micah will bla panicked The fact that Dewayne Falco orried about a five-year-old boy being mad at him made me cry harder He wanted Micah to like him He wanted to be a part of Micah’s life too I hadn’t expected this at all Returning to Sea Breeze had been so that terrified me

But thisI hadn’t needed to be scared of this I had been worried about Micah being hurt But instead Micah got others who love him and want to be a part of his life The fear of ould happen to him if I died wasn’t as heavy anymore I had always lived with that constant terror Micah was going to have a faroup of people who he could trust to be there for him

"I sent letterspictures," I said, mostly for my benefit, to remind myself I had tried to tell herto tell them