Hold on Tight
Page 23

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“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 f**ked, 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.”