time. He was just a baby, but he acted like the man of the house. He shouldn’t have that kind of

responsibility on his little shoulders.

“It’ll be our secret,” I assured him, lowering my voice.

He looked relieved, and a smile replaced his frown. “Momma said you were getting me one with

lots of cheese,” he said, excited again.

I realized that pizza like this was a luxury for these two. Which pissed me off all over again. Why

the hell had Sienna’s parents done this to her and Micah? Sienna and Micah shouldn’t have had to

suffer so much. My parents would have made sure they had everything they needed, and a fucking

pizzeria pizza wouldn’t be a treat.

“Momma made some sweet tea, and Mama T brought over a whole basket of cookies this morning.

But Momma said we gotta wait until dessert to eat ’em.”

I started to respond, but then Sienna filled the doorway and my tongue suddenly stuck to the roof of

my mouth. She was dressed in a pair of cutoff jean shorts and a fitted George Strait T-shirt from a tour

nine years ago. She had only been thirteen then, and I knew the Roys hadn’t let her go to the George

Strait concert at the Wharf that year.

“Nice shirt,” I said, needing an excuse for looking at her curves. Perfectly delicious curves. Ones I

wanted to run my hands over and brand with a trail of bites. Marking my path . . . Stop! No. I couldn’t

do that.

“Dustin got it for me. I used it as a sleep shirt for years because it was too big. He went with

friends, and you took them, I believe,” she said with a small smile.

I had taken them, but I’d forgotten. Dustin hadn’t wised up yet and made sure everyone knew

Sienna was his, and she was changing back then. Guys were noticing her. He’d bought her a shirt,

though, when I’d pointed out to him that she’d probably hear he had taken Victoria Harris to the

concert. Victoria hadn’t been as pretty as Sienna back then, and she wasn’t anywhere near the looker

Sienna was now. My brother had been obsessed with Victoria’s tits. That had been it.

So he had bought that T-shirt for Sienna. Funny how that was a memory I had pushed away. But

seeing Sienna in that shirt brought it all back.

“I remember taking them. It wasn’t a great concert. You didn’t miss much,” I told her.

She laughed, and everything around her lit up. The sound of her laughter made all that was wrong

seem right. “I know that’s a lie. But thanks for trying. Victoria Harris made sure I knew just how

amazing that concert had been. She also made sure I knew that although I got the T-shirt, she got the

guy.” Sienna smirked. “That was all before, though.”

Before. Before I forced my brother to wake the hell up and see what was right there for him to take.

Sienna had worshipped him and he had loved it, but he hadn’t been ready to do anything remotely

exclusive. Until I had lunch with her and until she caught the attention of every male at Sea Breeze

High. That had lit a fire under Dustin’s ass.

“Come on in with those pizzas. I’ve already got the table set.” She stepped back so I could walk

inside.

“Do I need to fill the cups with ice?” Micah asked her.

“That would be very helpful,” she told him.

He hurried off around me and into the kitchen. I set the pizzas down in the center of the table while

he tugged a chair over to get cups down. I moved to go help him but Sienna’s hand touched my arm.

“Don’t help him. Let him do it,” she said in a whisper.

This was why he was so responsible for his age. Sienna let him feel important. I wasn’t sure if I

liked the idea of him not getting a chance to be a kid or if this was good training. Maybe she was

raising a better man than me or my brother had been. God knows I loved my momma, but she waited

on me and my brother hand and foot. Can’t say it helped either of us much.

SIENNA

I silently ate my one slice of pizza while listening to Micah tell Dewayne everything Dewayne could

possibly want to know and then some. I enjoyed savoring the pizza. It was delicious, and I was being

careful to take small bites. There was no way I could eat two slices in front of Dewayne. I didn’t

normally care how much I ate in front of men. But knowing that Dewayne would be thinking how

much I didn’t need a second slice would make it hard to eat.

Besides, Dewayne had eaten five slices, and Micah was on his second slice. They were doing a fine

job of putting the pizzas away themselves. Watching Micah enjoy the cheesy pizza was worth sitting

through this with Dewayne.

When Dewayne had asked if he could bring dinner and visit Micah tonight, I had wanted to make

up an excuse. I wanted to relax after work, and being near Dewayne was not relaxing. But I knew how

much Micah would love this, so I had said okay. And now here I sat, taking the world’s smallest bites

of a slice of pizza while my stomach growled from missing lunch today. When Dewayne left, I was

going to eat a piece of leftover pizza. Maybe two.

“Isn’t that right, Momma?” Micah said, and I snapped back to attention and blinked, focusing on

my son.

“Uh, is what right?” I asked, feeling like an idiot.

“Don’t you have a date tomorrow night?”

What? Why was he talking about that? I had asked him if he cared, and then I’d talked to Tabby,

who had been thrilled that I was going on a date with Vice Principal Dodge. However, this wasn’t

Dewayne’s business.

I simply nodded and shoved a larger bite of pizza in my mouth.

“He’s a principal,” Micah added with pride. He had taken the idea of me dating much better than

I’d anticipated.

“Principal?” Dewayne asked, his eyes now completely focused on me. I swallowed the pizza and

took a drink of water. Then I nodded and forced a smile.

“Where?” Dewayne asked, not looking happy about this at all. “I thought you said you didn’t date.

You had Micah and that was enough.”

Whoa . . . wait a minute. Anger simmered in my blood, and I sat up straighter and leaned forward,

glaring at Dewayne with a warning I hoped he understood. “Cam Dodge. He’s the vice principal at the

high school, and if I get asked out by a nice man who doesn’t think I’m average, that’s my decision. I

did ask Micah how he felt first, and then I spoke with Tabby before agreeing to this date. Your mother

was thrilled.”

Dewayne clenched his jaw and didn’t flinch. “Where did you meet Cam Dodge?”

I was done. This was over. I stood up and threw my napkin on the table. “None of your business,” I

informed him, and began clearing off the table.

“She met him in the bread aisle at the grocery store. He was really nice to her,” Micah offered since

I wasn’t talking. That kid didn’t know when to keep information to himself.

“The bread aisle?” Dewayne asked, as if he was horrified by the idea.

I took several deep breaths before turning around to face him again after setting dirty dishes in the

sink. He was welcome into Micah’s life, but he was not welcome into mine. I didn’t need his approval.

Just looking at him made me crack just a little. I hated that he affected me like this. I placed my

hands on my hips. “Yes, Dewayne, the bread aisle. We discussed white bread and its healthy

alternatives. He was nice to me. It felt good. Six years, Dewayne. Six very long years. I think I’m due

a dinner date.”

Dewayne flinched this time. I smiled at him, although it didn’t reach my eyes. I was angry. I

wanted him to leave. But he was here for Micah. It was time I gave them some alone time.

“I’m going to soak in the bath while you two play. Come get me when Dewayne leaves,” I told