And while she wanted to blame her sister for everything—Heather was impulsive, reckless, and always felt like she was entitled to whatever her sisters had—David was equally to blame.
He’d carried on with Heather behind Sierra’s back for God knows how long. He’d fathered a child with her sister. He never said a damn thing to her about it. He never voiced even a hint that he wanted out of their marriage.
Of course she knew he’d been hiding something. But he still maintained their relationship. He was the perfect father. They still talked about their days, spent time together, kissed each other hello and good-bye, and yes, they’d had sex. Not as much as they used to, but they’d have a great night and then she’d wake up hopeful everything would go back to the way they were before, but then David would be distant again.
His guilt built a wall between them.
She hadn’t known what it was at the time. She’d blamed herself, thinking that it must be something she did—or didn’t do—that built the barrier between them.
But it had been David’s actions that had ruined them as a couple.
He had doomed them, and he’d known it.
Instead of doing the right thing and confessing and letting her go, he’d hid his dirty deed.
All those months she’d wanted to confront him. Yes, she’d kept silent, hoping things would get better and she wouldn’t have to upset the boys by fracturing their family.
But David had torn their family apart the second he slept with Heather.
The boys didn’t know the full truth, but they’d felt something off in the house. Just like they felt her dark mood now.
And just like David had done, she was going to have to hide the truth from them, for now anyway.
When she finally got to the house, she found her mom sitting on the porch reading the mail when they walked up the steps. She took one look at Sierra and the smile she’d had for them died on her lips. “What’s wrong?”
Sierra walked the boys to the front door, opened it, and stared down at them. “Please go upstairs, wash your hands, then you can have an hour of screen time. I need to speak to Grandma privately.”
Danny stared up at her, eyes wide and filled with worry. “Is everything okay? Will we go see Mason later?”
She touched Danny’s soft cheek. “I’m sorry, honey, but no. Something happened between us and I need to figure out what happens next.”
“I thought you liked him.” The concern in Danny’s eyes turned to dismay. “Tell him to apologize.”
“I wish it were that simple, sweetheart.”
“Don’t you want it to be okay?”
She put her hand on his shoulder and leaned over to look him in the eye. “I need some time to figure things out.” Her anger made it hard to think reasonably and rationally.
Danny’s eyes narrowed with frustration that she didn’t give him an answer that made sense. If she could make sense of her feelings right now, it would be a lot easier.
She’d asked Mason to find the truth about the money and what David had been doing with it. But now she thought he’d already known. Or suspected it. Either way, he must have known to look in Heather’s direction.
Danny took Oliver’s hand and tugged him into the house.
She closed the door and turned on her mother. “Did you know?”
Her mother’s head drew back at her angry tone. “I don’t know what’s got you so upset, but I do not appreciate being spoken to that way.”
Sierra took a few steps toward her mom and pinned her in a hard glare. “Did you know that Heather was having an affair with my husband and Hallee is David’s child?”
All the color drained from her mom’s face and her eyes went wide. “What? No.” She shook her head back and forth saying, “No. No, no, no. She wouldn’t do that.”
“She did do that. Again and again and again. She thought David was going to leave me for her.”
“Do you believe that?”
“That he was telling her the truth? No. I think he got caught up with her and wanted to somehow keep me and the boys. He strung her along, probably hoping he’d come up with some way to fix this.”
Dede stood and embraced her. “Sierra, I’m so sorry.”
Sierra didn’t want to hurt her mother’s feelings, but she didn’t want to be touched or held right now. And because she didn’t want to take things out on her mom, she gently pushed her away and took two steps back, her body tense, her chest aching with the expanding ball of emotions she tried to contain, but wanted to get rid of all at the same time.
“I think Mason knew about it.”
“What?”
“I don’t know how, or when he figured it out, but I think he suspected they had an affair and that Hallee belonged to David. He never said a word to me. Nothing.” She pressed her hand to her forehead. “I think that’s why he was reluctant to track down the money.”
Dede gasped. “The house. I thought Heather saved up for it.”
Sierra sneered. “Their private little getaway. David would sneak away from us, pretending he had a business trip, and slip right into her bed.”
Even more anguish filled her mother’s eyes. “Oh, Sierra. I’m sorry. I wish I knew what to say.”
“There’s nothing to say. David’s not even here to defend himself. Not that he could after what he’s done. No, he left me to clean up the mess.” She paced away, then back. “But you know what, I’m not cleaning up anything. As far as I’m concerned, Heather is just as dead to me as David is. They can both go to hell for all I care.”
Her mom touched her arm. “You don’t mean that.”
She snatched her arm back. “Don’t I? This isn’t the same as her stealing the keys to my car and taking it out on a joyride. She slept with my husband and had his child and hid it all this time, soaking up all the sympathy we showered on her because Hallee’s father wasn’t in the picture and poor Heather had to do it all alone.” It made her seethe inside to think of all the times she’d tried to soothe and sympathize with Heather. “She played on all of our heartstrings. We went out of our way to help and support her this past year and half. I’ve been such a fool.” She raked her fingers through her hair. “And to top it off, she’s the one who begged David to come see her the night he died.”
“What? No. What are you saying?”
“Hallee got sick. Heather panicked. She called and begged David to come. So he made a mad dash to get to her and crashed his car on the highway in the fog.”
Her mother pressed her fingers to her mouth and her eyes filled with sympathy and understanding. “He wanted to get to his sick child. Surely you must understand that.”
She fisted her hands. “I’m not some coldhearted bitch. But he might have thought about the children he had at home.”
Sierra went on. “Of course he wanted to get to Hallee and make sure she was okay. But it should have never happened because Hallee was never supposed to happen in the first place.”
“It’s not Hallee’s fault.”
She knew that but it didn’t ease her anger. “Of course not. It’s her parents’ fault. And now Hallee, Danny, Oliver, and I are paying for their selfish, heartless deeds.”