“For all eight of you, over and over again? And she only got 20 years?”
“Her lawyer played on the fact that she was a woman, she lost her way, and we were horny teenagers who would take what we could get.”
“You. Were. Children!” Sierra was pissed and she wasn’t having any of that bullshit the lawyers tried to sell the jury. “Fuck her, fuck that lawyer, and the fucking jury that sentenced her.”
“Honey, it’s all water under the bridge now.”
“Okay, I’ll shut up. Go ahead.”
“They drew our blood and swabbed our mouths and tried out this new test thing the second the baby was born. She went into foster care until the results came back and you, my beautiful friend, are looking at the lucky winner of the DNA lottery.”
“So, they gave the baby to you?”
“Technically they gave her to my dad, but yeah, she was mine. Dad hired an elderly lady who lived a few blocks over to come and teach us how to take care of a baby. And with that, my childhood was effectively over. She was my daughter and if she was awake, so was I. If she was hungry, I fed her; if she was wet I changed her. You get the picture.”
“Makes sense. I did that with Lexi.”
“It was a small town and this caused major waves, so going back to school that fall sucked. Things got so bad that Dad moved us here to Rojo, where some of his old friends lived. I ended up dropping out of school when I was a sophomore because Leia was sick a lot and I missed too many classes. But all in all, she’s got a pretty good life as far as I can tell. She’s happy, always has food in her belly, and cool shoes on her feet.”
“She’s a great kid. Funny, too. You can tell that she is loved.” Sierra reached across the table and took my hand. “And now her mother is trying to see her? Is that what’s going on?”
“Yeah. She was sentenced to 20 years, but you know how that goes. Model prisoner, worked to help others get their education, volunteered for what the fuck ever, was always a good inmate - all that bullshit. She’s up for parole next month and sent a letter to me saying she had been thinking about me all these years. She sent one to Leia saying that she couldn’t wait to see her.”
“Can she do that?”
“Well, while she was stewing in prison, she furthered her education and got a degree in family law. So, she’s had a lot of time to plot out her case. Add to the fact that I’m a single Dad who works odd hours sometimes, doesn’t even own a fucking house, and has no education to speak of - yeah she might just have a case.”
“I’ll marry you,” Sierra said suddenly. “Even if we don’t find a way to get the money, I’ll marry you. We’ll have a happy family and that woman can kiss my entire fucking ass if she thinks she’s getting her hooks into Leia. Fuck her.”
“Leia says she doesn’t want to talk to her. I even took her to a shrink and had Leia talk to her to make sure I wasn’t making that choice for her. Even the shrink said that Leia wants nothing to do with her.”
“Good.” Sierra had drawn a line in the sand and from the looks of it, I thought I might be married soon, but I was perfectly calm about it. “Either way, we’ll make sure she doesn’t have a leg to stand on. And if she finds one, we’ll have enough money to bury her nasty ass under so much legal bullshit she won’t be able to breathe wrong without someone knowing it.”
“We’re getting married?”
“Yes,” Sierra’s eyes got wide when she realized the magnitude of her decision. “Holy shit, we’re getting married.”
“We’ve still got some things to iron out,” I told her quietly. “I meant it when I said I wouldn’t be married in name only. I want a wife in all aspects of the marriage and I want to be a husband the same way.”
“You’ll take out the trash and mow the lawn?”
“And make love to my wife every chance I get.”
“Oh,” Sierra’s eyes stared into mine and then she glanced away. “I didn’t even think about that.”
“Is that something you can do? I mean, after what happened with…”
“Yeah,” Sierra smiled. “It hurt, it affected me, and sometimes there are things that make me remember the times with him, but I’m not opposed to sex in any way.”
“Are you seeing someone right now?”
“No.” Sierra shook her head. “It wouldn’t have been fair to me or him, in case I had to run. I wouldn’t even have time to say goodbye, I’d just disappear.”
“You have to promise me that won’t happen, Sierra. I couldn’t take it and I know it would kill Leia if she got used to you two being around and then you left us without so much as a look back.”
“It’s hard for me to promise that, Rowdy.” Sierra sighed and gripped my hand. “I need to make sure that Lexi is safe. I’ve never had to think of anyone else’s feelings when it came to us running away. But if you and I are together, it would make more sense for me to stay. If you had my back, I could put down roots.”
“There’s no ‘if’, sweetheart. I do have your back. So do Marcus and Reagan. And by now, Marcus has talked to his brother who will talk to the men in his club. He’s also talked to the men who run my club, Sam and Zeke, and they’ll also have your back.” I smiled
