while I eased the ache he inspired.

This wasn’t the first time I’d fantasized about Dewayne. For so long I’d felt guilty that it was him

and not Dustin I used as inspiration. But I’d finally resigned myself to the fact that I’d never felt any

pleasure with Dustin. Dewayne was a fantasy, and that was all this was. Something that wasn’t real.

I slid my fingers inside, closed my eyes, and let Dewayne’s body take shape in my mind. His sexy

grin and those arms. Lord, those arms were something else. Wrapping my hands around them as they

flexed and he moved inside me . . . My body trembled at the thought. The beautiful thing about using

Dewayne to satisfy my need was that the idea of him touching me and being inside me set my body on

fire.

It was so easy to forget that he wasn’t there. That he wasn’t touching me. The gleam in his eyes

when he looked at me sometimes made me think he thought about this too.

But it could never happen. I’d get hurt. I knew that. Still, the thought of having him on top of me,

rocking his hips as he moved in and out of my very neglected body, made me ache. Just once I wanted

to know how it felt to be loved by Dewayne Falco.

* * *

“Momma? Wake up!” Micah’s voice broke into my dreams, and I opened my eyes, only to

immediately close them again. The sunlight was pouring into the room and blinding me. “I know you

like to sleep late on Sundays, but there’s someone knocking at the door.”

Micah’s words sank in, and I sat up in bed and rubbed my eyes before slowly opening them and

looking down at him.

“Sounds like Dewayne and Mama T arguing outside, but you said not to open the door without you,

so I didn’t. I came and got you.”

Oh crap! I threw my legs over the bed and reached for the silk wrap Janell had given me for

Christmas last year. I needed to get dressed, but the knocking and voices were getting louder. I had to

go out there and deal with them. Now. Before Micah heard something he didn’t need to hear.

I tied the belt around my waist and ran my hand through my hair, then bent down to look Micah in

the eyes. “You and I have something to talk about later. It’s about a good thing. But first I need to go

outside and talk to them, and I need you to stay in your room and play like you were doing before they

knocked, okay?”

He nodded, but the frown on his face told me he didn’t like that he wasn’t going with me. I kissed

his forehead, then hurried to the door before Tabby Falco broke it down.

Glancing back, I saw Micah go into his room, and I took that moment to open the door and step

outside on the porch with a red-eyed Tabby Falco; her husband, Dave; and of course Dewayne.

I didn’t let myself think about the look in Dewayne’s eyes as he took in my appearance. I was a

mess, with bed head and no makeup. But I wasn’t out here to impress Dewayne. I wouldn’t think about

that.

“I never got a letter. Not one letter, Sienna Roy! If I had gotten a letter, I’d have come after you and

my grandbaby. What were your parents thinking? You were a kid! A baby having a baby, and they left

you! I just don’t understand it. And that precious boy who looks so much like my Dustin.” She choked

up, covered her mouth, and sobbed. Dave pulled her against his chest.

“Please, I know this is a lot. And I know you’re upset, I can see that. And as thankful as I am that

you do want to be a part of Micah’s life, I don’t want him hearing this. He needs me to explain it and

talk to him first. This would be too traumatic for him.”

“She’s right, Momma. You gotta calm down,” Dewayne added.

I wouldn’t look at him. I couldn’t. I kept my focus on Tabby. She nodded, then dropped her hand

from her mouth and looked up at me. She had always been a tiny woman, which was so weird in

contrast to her huge sons. Then again, Dave Falco was a massive man.

“Look at you,” she said in a whisper. “You’re all grown up and beautiful.” The sincere smile on her

face made me tear up, and I blinked back the tears burning my eyes. I wouldn’t cry. I had Micah to

think about. She looked back at Dewayne. “She is much more than average, Dewayne Falco! Are you

blind?”

That hurt so much more than it should have.

DEWAYNE

Motherfucking hell. My mother had no damn filter on her mouth. Maybe that was where the kid got it

from. The color on Sienna’s cheeks at my mother’s words told me Momma had seriously embarrassed

her. Fuck!

Sienna had come out of the house in nothing but that short silk wrap and her hair looking like she’d

been properly fucked, and my imagination went to just that. To what it would be like to have those

legs of hers wrapped around me and that gorgeous face of hers in the throes of an orgasm. The idea of

anyone else seeing her like this pissed me off. I’d moved to the side so the view of her was blocked

from anyone driving down the road or looking out their windows. Did she not realize she looked like a

walking fantasy?

Then my mother had gone and told her I’d said she was average. Damn, that sucked. I didn’t want

her thinking I was attracted to her, because that would complicate things, but I also didn’t like her

thinking I was talking bad about her. I wanted her to like me. I wanted to be around Micah as much as

possible.

“She’s absolutely beautiful. You have to beat those men off with a stick, don’t you, honey?” my

mother continued with her praise of Sienna. She was right, of course, but what was I supposed to say

now? I already looked like a douchebag. I kept my mouth shut.

“I, uh, I . . . Thank you,” she said with an unsure, forced smile.

“How are you still single? You should have a man taking care of you,” my mother said.

The pink on Sienna’s fair cheeks only got brighter. “I don’t date. I have Micah to think of first.”

Shit. She was a good mom. I had known a lot of single moms, and none of them sacrificed a social

life because of their kid.

“But you’re young, and Micah needs a man. Don’t worry about that. He’s gonna have his uncle

Dewayne and his grandpa Dave there for him. Maybe you can think of spending some time with a man

soon. It’s a shame for a beauty like you to live life alone. Dustin wouldn’t have wanted that.”

Sienna swallowed nervously. “It’s okay. I’m happy with it being just me and Micah.”

Momma waved her hand. “Nonsense. You have us now, and we’ll make sure you have a life too.

Being a momma is the most important job you can have, but you have to think about you, too. Enough

of that for now.” She walked up and pulled Sienna into her arms and held her tightly. “You’re here.

And you have Dustin’s boy,” Momma said, choking up again. “I’m so happy. I’m just so happy.”

Sienna’s eyes misted over as she looked up at me briefly, then over at my dad, and she smiled. “I

sent letters,” she said, feeling the need to defend herself.

Momma nodded and pulled back. “I believe you did. But I didn’t get them. I think you might want

to give that aunt of yours a call. That’s the only explanation I got. But those letters never made it to

me.”

Sienna nodded. “Okay. I, uh . . . I need time with Micah. When he’s ready, we’ll come over for a

visit. He enjoyed his last visit over there. He’s a fan of cookies,” she said, smiling so sweetly.

My mother had always loved Sienna Roy, and she’d encouraged Dustin’s relationship with her, but

right now I realized that the love she’d had for Sienna just multiplied by a thousand because Sienna

had brought Dustin’s child into the world. She’d given my momma a part of her son back.

Which was something I’d never been able to do.