Page 13 of Totally Off Limits

How many times had Sierra heardthatparticular speech growing up, especially when she’d wanted to go to parties in high school?

There was some clattering of utensils against plates but no one dared contradict Rebecca Hayden. While Paul was the breadwinner of the family, he let her rule over the house—but Sierra had found out the hard way that he was a silent partner. The two were always in agreement. Whether that was because their mother had bullied him into submission or they were of one mind, she’d never quite figured it out.

Now, she no longer wanted to.

Even Grandma Hayden, happy to have a roof over her head that wasn’t a nursing home, let Rebecca rule the roost.

Mia said, “Jasser,” and the retriever moved quietly from his spot on the floor in the corner to just behind her where he knew she’d be leaving treats. Before Mia was born, the dog wasn’t allowed in the kitchen or the dining room, but her daughter had softened her mother more than Sierra had ever thought possible.

When Faith spoke, everyone was able to let out the breath they were holding. “I just can’t stop thinking about the wedding. Not just her dress, but the whole affair. I love how they got married in that forest clearing, because it was like a dream. And the cake!”

Grace nodded enthusiastically. “Yes!”

Rebecca said, “When you find the right man, you can have as elegant a wedding as you like.”

Paul cleared his throat. “Your mother’s right. But get through school first. Sierra did it the hard way. She can tell you it’s harder when you have a little one to care for.”

Yes, by all means, learn from Sierra’s mistakes.

But she gave a small smile and nodded, because her father wasn’t wrong. Earning her nursing license had been challenging anyway but having a daughterhadadded an element that made it more difficult. But something she’d never said was that having Mia had also brought focus to her life. Mia became another reason why she’d wanted to finish. The first year of her child’s life had been spent living under this roof, so Sierra was driven to get her little family out of there as soon as possible.

But with Grandma Rebecca serving as a main caregiver, her influence was still more than Sierra would have liked. Until she earned her master’s degree, though, she didn’t have much of a chance.

Out of the blue, Hope asked, “Do you think you’ll ever get married, Sierra?”

“No way.” Knowing she couldn’t marry the man she’d yearned after for years, the father of her child, meant she would die alone. She’d long since come to peace with it. As long as Mia was happy and well cared for, nothing else mattered.

“Why not?”

“I couldn’t ask someone to care for Mia like she was his own.”

Rebecca set her fork down on the table. It hardly made any noise but the entire family took note of it and looked her way. As her eyes moved from one person to another around the table, it was clear to them all that she was pleased at how well they obeyed.

And then she spoke. “If a man loves you—trulyloves you, Sierra—he will also fall in love with your daughter. Mia is a beautiful soul and I defy any good man to turn her away.”

Sierra picked up her water goblet, yearning for the days when they drank mimosas with brunch. “Well, good luck with that. I’m not dating anybody and I don’t plan to. You kind of have to be in love to get to a marriage proposal.”

“Not necessarily. Butyouwon’t have to go that far.”

What the fuck was she talking about?

“As you’ll recall, Austin Ackerman is back in Winchester—and he told me in no uncertain terms that he wants to see you.”

Shit. Austin was a really nice guy, to be sure, and their parents had tried for years to matchmake the two of them. In fact, they’d dated in high school, so it wasn’t like they hadn’t given it a shot.

“He’s just being polite, mom.” Of that, she was certain, because her mother’s persuasive powers rivaled any salesman Sierra had ever met.

“No. He asked about you without any prompting. And we will be having him over for dinner sometime after he’s settled in. You will be here.”

Sierra wasn’t about to contradict or argue. Yes, she would be there. If she gave Austin a chance, her mother couldn’t say boo about it. But marriage? That was quite a stretch. Yeah, let Austin come to dinner and her mother would see how they had absolutely zero chemistry.

“Oh, my God,” Faith said. “You weren’t here at Thanksgiving, Sie.” Because she’d been working in the ER then and that night had been particularly fun with a drunk guy a guard had to babysit among all kinds of other traumatic shit. “Austin stopped by and he is dreamier than ever! A hard body, strong jawline, just like the models on—”

“Faith! That sort of talk is inappropriate…and not just at the table. We’re discussing Sierra’s future husband, so you will not covet him in any manner.”

Faith, usually the child who could do no wrong, clamped her mouth shut immediately. The way the light dimmed in her eyes and the way her face fell mirrored how Sierra often felt inside when sitting at this table.

And her own light had grown dimmer, thanks to the wordhusband.

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