He just wanted to give her everything and make her happy.
He wanted to start each day with her.
And maybe one day, they’d have another child together and give Danny and Oliver a brother or sister. He didn’t care which. He just wanted to see his eyes and Sierra’s smile on his little one.
He wanted that future so bad.
But it all hung on the secret he knew and had to break to Sierra.
Heather stuffed her hands in her back pockets, widening the gap in her shirt as her chest thrust forward. “Hallee loves animals. I thought she’d love to see a horse up close and she can play with Danny and Oliver. It’s so nice to have Sierra home. I love seeing all the kids playing together.”
Mason bit back what he really wanted to say.
Oliver tugged on the hem of his shirt. “I have to pee.” He buried his face in Mason’s side.
Mason brushed his hand over Oliver’s dark head. “Okay, bub. Why don’t you and Danny go up to the house and take Hallee with you. There are Popsicles in the freezer. You can each have one.” To Danny he added, “Hold Hallee’s hand. Help her up the steps. Do not let her out of your sight.”
“Got it.” Danny took Hallee’s hand and walked with her while Oliver ran for the house to use the bathroom.
Mason watched them go, startled when Heather put her hand on his bicep and squeezed.
“It’s so nice of you to let us come over and go for a ride. I’ve been thinking about you ever since we saw each other at the mailbox. I’ve been meaning to come by, but it’s hard to find a spare minute being a single mom and all.”
He stepped away, putting a comfortable distance between them. “It must be really hard to do it on your own with Hallee’s father out of the picture.”
“It is. I hardly have any time to myself.” She bit her bottom lip and edged closer. “That’s why I wanted to see you. I thought maybe you and I could go out and have some fun.”
Stunned, he didn’t know what to say or do.
She had to know he and Sierra were seeing each other. Right?
Then again, they’d kept things quiet so the boys could get used to them seeing each other.
Heather closed the distance and put both hands on his chest and went up on tiptoe, her body brushing his, her face inches from his. “It’s been a long time and I really want to get to know you better.”
His brain finally caught up to what she meant. He took her by the shoulders and gently nudged her away while he let her go and took two steps back.
“This isn’t going to happen. Sierra and I, we’ve been seeing each other.”
Heather took a step back, her eyes filled with skepticism. “Really? I mean, you were like brother and sister when we were younger.”
“It was never like that and you know it.”
“She said she’s been coming over to see you, but I thought that was just so the boys could learn to horseback ride.”
“It’s a lot more than that. Sierra and I have a good thing.”
Doubt filled her eyes. “Sierra is just so serious all the time. Doesn’t that get boring?” She took a step closer again. “We could be so much more.”
Angry she didn’t back off when he told her he and Sierra were together, he blurted out, “Is that what you told David?”
The sexy smile died on her lips. She simply stared at him.
He let her know what he’d suspected all this time. “Danny and Hallee have the same eyes.” Hers went wide. “Their father’s eyes.”
They both jumped at the gasp that sounded behind them.
Before Mason even turned toward the stable, he knew who’d be standing there. He never heard a car because she’d walked across the pasture instead. He instantly knew he’d made a huge mistake in not talking to Sierra about his suspicions before confronting Heather himself. And the look of betrayal he saw in Sierra’s eyes now said she blamed him for keeping this from her.
Sierra dismissed him without a word and focused on Heather. “Hallee is David’s daughter.”
Heather’s eyes filled with tears. “I’m so sorry.”
Sierra looked so brittle the dust on the wind might shatter her to pieces, but it was Heather’s words that set her off.
“You’re sorry? Like you were sorry when you stole Miss Maisey when you were four and wanted my baby doll for yourself so you took her? Sorry like when you borrowed my makeup and clothes and never gave them back? That kind of sorry?”
Distress lined Heather’s forehead. “I never meant for it to happen the way it did.”
“But you did mean to sleep with my husband. Were you hoping he’d leave me for you?”
“At first, it was just something that happened.”
“At first? So it wasn’t a onetime thing? You were carrying on an affair behind my back.”
Heather caught herself with a gasp. “It wasn’t like that.”
Oh, yes it was. And Mason felt every ounce of pain he saw etched on Sierra’s face along with her anger.
“You weren’t sneaking around behind my back fucking my husband every chance you got? Without protection? For God’s sake, Heather, you got pregnant with his child.”
“That was an accident.”
“Right. You tripped and fell on his dick in the dark and didn’t realize he wasn’t wearing a condom.”
Heather’s mouth drew into a tight line. “You’re angry. Maybe we should talk about this once you’ve calmed down.”
“This is as calm as I will ever be when it comes to you fucking my husband. And this is the last time we will ever speak. Period.”
Heather’s eyes pleaded. “You don’t mean that. Hallee is Danny and Oliver’s sister. They deserve to know that and grow up knowing each other.”
“Is that right? So you want to tell those two little boys that their father lied to their mother and cheated on her by sleeping with her own sister. Their aunt. How do you think that will make them feel about their father? You think they’ll think he was a good man?”
“We can explain it in a way that doesn’t make them upset with David.”
Sierra laughed without any mirth in a nearly hysterical sound. “You stupid bitch. You didn’t think about anything but yourself. You just took what you wanted, consequences be damned. You didn’t think about how this would hurt me, let alone the children. Tearing up a family didn’t even give you pause.”
“I didn’t want anyone to get hurt. David and I had this amazing connection. He said I made him feel alive.”
“Stop talking,” Mason warned Heather, knowing every excuse out of her mouth was a dagger through the back and straight into Sierra’s heart.
Sierra stood rigid. “No. Go ahead. Tell me how much David wanted you.”
“He loved me,” Heather whispered.
“Did he tell you that while he was fucking you, then coming home to me?”
Heather looked unsure. “I knew he did. I felt it.” Sierra laughed again and it set Heather off. “You don’t know what we had.”
“No. I don’t. Because I was taking care of my kids while you were trying to steal their father and break up their home.” Sierra paused, then shook her head and laughed under her breath. “When I arrived, you were surprised I wanted to move back home. You thought David was the one who wanted to move back here and I didn’t want to leave Napa. You thought that because that’s what he told you.” She hit Heather with another hard truth. “What did you think he’d do, move us all down here and you two would carry on your affair right under my nose? He didn’t want to get caught. He didn’t want to lose his family. He didn’t want to be with you, Heather. If he did, he’d have left me. All he did was give you excuses.”