Page 11 of Totally Off Limits

Layne nodded while Sierra picked up the huge bowl of mashed potatoes. As she walked toward the dining room, their heavenly scent drifted toward her nose, making her realize she was hungrier than she’d thought. Of course, she hadn’t eaten since yesterday.

In the dining room, the triplets were setting the table—and it was a grand affair. Jesus. It was just Sunday dinner. Why they needed to eat with gold utensils and drink out of crystal goblets, Sierra would never know—especially when they still passed food around the table. Maybe that was why her mother insisted upon calling itservice à la française. She might not have hated it so much had she not resented the hell out of her family in the first place.

“Hi, Sie,” Faith said, her voice bubbly and cheerful. “Where’s Mia?”

“With mom. How are you guys doing?”

Faith spoke for all three. “Great!” But Hope and Grace nodded their assent while Sierra found a spot on the table where she could place the potatoes. Then she turned back to the kitchen to bring more food.

Her father, thus far, was nowhere to be seen.

By the time she got back to the kitchen, Layne was already carrying the large bowl of rolls, so her mother pointed to another large ceramic dish. “Take in the broccoli, Sierra.”

Hope appeared in the doorway before Sierra could exit. “Do you want me to put butter or anything—”

“Go fetch your father and tell him it’s time to eat.”

“Is he—”

“He’s in his study. And then fetch your grandmother. She’s in the library.” Then Rebecca touched her nose to Mia, still in her arms. “Are you ready to eat, princess?”

Turning, Hope walked down the great hall while Sierra took the last of the big bowls of food. Layne passed by her, a smirk on his face, and Sierra tried not to show any emotion. At this point, she’d begin the countdown. Two hours seemed like a fair chunk of time to share with her family. Sometime around three o’clock, she’d say she needed to get laundry done for the week. Of course, her mother would chide her, asking why she hadn’t done it yesterday, but this time, Sierra could remind her of the wedding taking up the entire day. Either way, she had just a little over two hours to donate before she could escape.

At least they weren’t doing Sunday brunches anymore. Those had started around eleven, so she’d felt obliged to spend half the day with them. But her mother had had to cook the eggs from scratch, so that was likely why they’d stopped that.

The early drinking might have been part of the reason for stopping that tradition as well.

As she looked for another good spot on the table for the broccoli, Grace surveyed the table, seeming happy with the results, while Faith scooted off to the kitchen—probably so she could steal Mia from Rebecca.

Instead, she wound up carrying a large gravy boat. “Sierra, mom needs you in the kitchen.”

After they’d transported another gravy boat, two butter dishes, and four carafes of water and iced tea, their mother declared dinner ready to begin—just as Paul Hayden entered the dining room, followed by Hope and Paul’s mother, the only remaining grandparent the Hayden children had left.

Paul was a tall man with thinning gray hair and a clean-shaven face. His green eyes were the only feature Sierra had inherited from him. The rest of her looked like her mother. Fortunately, she didn’t see her when she looked in the mirror, or she might not have been able to live with herself.

Grandma, hunched at the shoulders, took a little longer to get seated. Sierra gave her a small wave and her grandmother waved back before turning her attention to Mia. Faith was finally holding the child while Layne strapped the booster seat into one of the elegant wooden chairs surrounding the table. “There’s my girl,” Paul said, holding out his arms to a bouncing Mia, eager to see her grandpa. While grandma Rebecca spoiled the little girl to death, grandpa and the rest of the family were the ones who played with her. Mia’s grandma was more about instruction and learning proper manners, and good behaviors were reinforced with sugar and other treats.

After Paul kissed her on the cheek, Layne said, “Are you ready to sit in your chair?” Mia nodded, beaming widely so that all those little teeth in her mouth were visible.

Once everyone was seated, they began passing food around the table, and Sierra’s first job was chopping up a little bit of roast beef and broccoli so that they were small enough for her daughter to eat. After they’d all settled into taking their first bites, the triplets continued talking amongst themselves when Paul asked Sierra, “How’s the new job going?”

Well…it wasn’t really new anymore. She’d been with the doctor’s office since January, and it was both a blessing and a curse. She no longer had to deal with the rigors and horrors that came with working as an ER nurse, and she had weekends off. Nowadays, she actually worked more hours for about the same amount of pay, but nights and weekends were all hers. The cursed part was that she wasalwaysavailable for Sunday dinners. Once or twice, she’d considered telling her family she didn’t want to participate, but considering her mother was also her childcare provider, she didn’t feel like she could turn them down. She knew how much it cost to have someone watch your child all day long—especially if you worked overtime and picked up your child late. Her mother did it for free without complaint—so giving the family a few hours of her time every week seemed like a fair exchange.

Even when those meals were often painful.

It was worth it.Miawas worth it.

“It’s going just fine, dad.” Helping Mia scoop up some mashed potatoes in her tiny spoon, she asked, “What about you? How’s your job going?”

Paul smiled, the little lines at the corners of his eyes crinkling. “As amazing as ever.”

“It should be, considering you spend most of your life there,” Rebecca said.

“If not for my work, we would still be living on Oak Street.”

“That was a pretty cool place,” Layne said as he cut off a bite-sized piece of roast beef.

Sierra managed to keep her jaw from hitting the table—because she was pretty sure it was her mother’s inheritance and not her father’s job that had allowed them the move. But no one, including her mother, corrected him.

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