months. He and I were going to be an item soon. He just had to get rid of Sienna first.”

He was never planning on getting rid of Sienna. He’d killed himself trying to get to her before I

could.

“And you killed his baby,” I said, needing to hear her admit it.

She shrugged as if what she had done meant nothing. “I wasn’t gonna have a baby without a man to

help me take care of it. I have my life ahead of me.”

That was all I needed to know. I took two steps toward her as the blood roared in my veins. Then

arms that could only belong to Rock wrapped around mine and hauled me back against his chest. “Not

gonna let you do this,” he said in my ear. “You’re gonna sleep this shit off, and then you’re getting

counseling. She’s high as a fucking kite. Do you think she would have stopped that while she was

pregnant? I can answer that. No! She wouldn’t have. That baby didn’t stand a chance. It would have

been born an addict if it had even been born at all.”

I glared at her. I hated her. I hated everything she stood for. But he was right. She’d have killed the

baby one way or another. She was trash. My brother had made mistakes, and a girl willing to meet his

every sexual whim had been his downfall.

“Let’s get the fuck outta here,” Preston said.

“You gonna walk out of here, or am I gonna have to haul you out? We can fight right here, but I’m

sober and I’m gonna win. I won’t let you throw your life away over revenge. You have your parents to

think about. They need you.”

My parents.

I was all they had. Me. The son without the golden halo. The screwup. Me. That was all they had

left.

Present Day . . .

SIENNA

Had I always known? I sat in the middle of my bed, staring at the wall. Even back then Dustin had

been weird when Kimmy was around. And she’d always hated me. I knew she went to the parties he

went to. I always thought if they ever did anything, Kimmy would make sure the world knew. But

maybe they all knew and no one told me. Because Dustin was their god. They kept his secret.

But why keep it a secret? Why not just break up with me? If he was sleeping with Kimmy and

wanted her, then why was he staying with me? Had it always been a friendship between us? Was there

ever love between us? Because it certainly wasn’t what I felt for Dewayne.

Dewayne.

I wrapped my arms around my stomach as the pain started again. He had lied to me. I’d trusted him

and he’d lied to me. Did everyone lie? Was that the way life was? I couldn’t trust anyone but myself.

Dewayne had made me happy. He wanted me, but would I be enough for him? I wasn’t enough for

his brother. It was possible I wouldn’t be enough for anyone. There had to be something wrong with

me.My parents had walked away from me. They’d betrayed me. Dustin had betrayed me in the worst

way. And now Dewayne had kept it from me. I expected it of the others, but what hurt the most was

Dewayne not telling me.

I wanted to be more important to him than Dustin was. That was selfish and wrong, but it was true.

I wanted to be the most important thing to him, because other than Micah, I had been willing to put

Dewayne before everyone else. He hadn’t felt the same. He had protected his brother’s memory. He

hadn’t wanted me to know the truth about Dustin.

Not to mention all those letters my mother kept away from the Falcos because of this. She didn’t

want me to be another girl Dustin Falco had left knocked up. In a twisted way I understood her logic.

But I had made that decision and, unlike Kimmy, I had been Dustin’s girlfriend. Not his secret fuck

buddy. It made more sense that I was the one pregnant.

She’d had an abortion. She had aborted Dustin’s baby. Images of Micah as a newborn when they’d

placed him in my arms flashed before me, and my heart broke. He’d been so beautiful and perfect.

He’d looked just like Dustin. Would Kimmy’s baby have looked like Dustin too?

Did she ever wonder? Did she care? Or was Dustin Falco and every memory of him a part of her

past she rarely thought about? I would remember Dustin every day of my life. My son was my

reminder. And I was thankful for it. Even if my memories were tainted. Even if I hadn’t been enough

for Dustin and he had never really loved me. I had loved him. Maybe not real love, but a pure, young

love. And I loved our son. Enough for both of us.

There was a knock on the front door, and I knew Dewayne was here with Micah. I had to pull it

together and spend time with Micah until his bedtime. Standing up, I walked to the front door and

opened it. Without saying anything, I reached for my son, pulled him into my arms, and hugged him

tightly. The feel of his little heart beating was like a balm. He was here. He was my world. I had him.

Thanks to Dustin Falco, I had this precious boy.

“I missed you too, Momma,” Micah said as he patted my back with his little hands.

I eased my hold on him and pressed a kiss to his head before standing back up. “Go on inside and

clean your room. You left it a mess this morning. We’ll play Monopoly when you’re done,” I told

him. He beamed up at me, and I realized it wasn’t his father’s smile. It was his smile. His own unique

smile. One that was a mixture of Dustin and me. He was part of me. I was a good person too. I had

good qualities. Things I hoped Micah got from me.

“Sienna,” Dewayne said, and I looked up at him, wishing I didn’t have to do this. I wasn’t ready to

face him yet.

“You lied to me. You protected your brother’s memory. I understand that, but I also understand that

you chose protecting his memory over me. I need more than that. I need to know I can trust the man

I’m with. That he’ll never betray me. Maybe that man doesn’t exist, and if he doesn’t, that’s fine. I’m

good alone. But I can’t do this with you.”

Dewayne’s face went pale, and the desire to wrap my arms around him and comfort him was

strong. But I wouldn’t. Today I would protect me. I would comfort me. It was time.

“I was protecting you. If you’d let me explain. You’ll see it was you all along.”

No. I wasn’t listening to any more. I knew the truth now.

“Leave, Dewayne. You’re welcome to visit Micah. He needs you. But for a while it’s best you do

that at your parents’.”

Then I closed the door and locked it.

Micah ran back into the living room and frowned. “Where’s Uncle Dewayne? Is he not playing

Monopoly too?”

No, he wasn’t playing Monopoly. That dream was over.

“Just me and you, Ace. But we’re a good team, right?”

Micah frowned, then nodded. “Yeah, Momma. We are. But I like it when Uncle Dewayne is on our

team too.”

* * *

Three hours of Monopoly up in the center of my bed, a big bowl of mac ’n’ cheese, and convincing

Micah he needed a shower, and I was exhausted. It was bedtime. I had never needed a bedtime more

than I did tonight.

Micah knew something was wrong. He kept kissing me and hugging me. I needed all those hugs

and kisses, but it made me try harder to keep smiling.

“Momma, why is Uncle Dewayne sitting on a sleeping bag on our front porch? Can I go out there

with him? I think he has cookies,” Micah called from the living room.

What? I dropped the towel I was using to dry my hair and walked into the living room. Micah had

his face pressed to the window, waving at Dewayne. Who was sitting on a camo-green sleeping bag

and eating cookies with a thermos beside him. Had he lost his mind?

“Micah, go to bed. I’ll be in there in a minute to tuck you in. I’m going to see if Uncle Dewayne got

confused and thinks y’all are camping out tonight,” I said.