Page 29 of Moonlit Hideaway
“Is someone there?” Mom asked.
“Yes. I’m using her setup. Don’t try to trace us because it won’t work,” Sierra added. “Do you have any news on my sisters? Are they well?”
“Your sisters are well. What is it you want to know? How your little stunt is backfiring? If you’re smart, you’d better get back here before the wolf’s eyes turn redder. His patience is running thin.”
“No more. I love you. How’s uncle treating you?”
“He’s waiting to see if you’ll come home.” Her mom’s message was cryptic, giving her no hint on which side Uncle Tony had taken.
“Wish my sisters well,” Sierra said, even though she had no relationship with her two half-sisters. “Give my regards to their husbands.”
“Oh no, you don’t,” Mom scolded. “You’re not bowing out of this so easily.”
“We’re family. I love them. Bye.” She clicked the ‘End Call’ on the app before her mom’s loose lips could sink more ships.
“Wow. Is your mom mad at you?” Emma asked as only an innocent teen could.
Sierra wiped her teary eyes. “I love her, but she wants me to do something I don’t want to do.”
“My mom used to do that, too,” Emma said. “Made me eat peas and carrots. Yuck. Dad lets me eat what I want.”
“Well, sometimes, moms are right, and other times they’re not.” She patted Emma on the shoulder. “Your mom sounds like a wonderful person.”
“I miss her,” Emma said with a shrug. “But Dad says life moves on. Mom wanted to make it big, but she crashed on the way to her big break.”
“I’m so sorry.” Sierra put her arms around the teen. “It must have been hard.”
“Yes, because my dad wouldn’t drive her. He was mad at her for putting music before us, so she went alone and got into a car wreck.”
“I’m sure your mom loved both you and your dad. She just wanted to express herself.”
“I get it.” Emma wiped her eyes. “That’s why I want to be like her. I want to be a singer so badly. Songs are burning inside me that want to come out.”
“Same.” Sierra hugged Emma tighter. “Let’s get your mom’s guitar and take turns riffing, okay?”
Chapter Eleven
Hank helped Sierra step onboard his Carolina skiff, a small flat-bottomed boat perfect for navigating the sandbars and shallow areas of the sound. Pelicans flew in graceful formations with their wings outstretched as they skimmed the glassy surface.
“Your boat’s name isSea Melody?” Sierra asked as she surveyed the thin veil of morning mist hovering over the harbor.
“Yes, do you like it? I’m hoping it’ll inspire you to sing another song.” He glanced at the red highlights crowning her hair after Emma had touched up her dye job. She was the glory of his boat, her eyes reflecting the endless blue of the sky and her grace an adornment wherever she went.
He’d known he was in trouble the first time he spotted the woman in designer clothes with the beat-up truck. She had that poise that he now knew came from being on stage in front of thousands. And even though she was fearful, she’d stared him down with a heated glare that had melted the ice around his heart in an instant.
“Out on the water, I can sing as loud as I want.” Her head tilted back, and her chest puffed forward as if she were on stage performing to a stadium full of raving fans.
“I’d love to be your audience of one in a million.” And here he was, acting like a hormone-addled teenager—no better than the millions of Sierra Rayne fans who lived for her songs and feasted on her videos like he was doing in secret every night before going to bed.
“Then you’ll have my complete attention.” Her laugh was a melody much like the siren of the sea as she launched into one of her hit songs while he brought the ice chest and crabbing gear onboard.
Emma would have loved to see Sierra sing; she was so spontaneous and natural. The sea and the sand dispelled the guarded look she wore around town, as he knew it would.
Maybe he should have invited Emma, but then, his daughter had been hogging up Sierra’s time with guitar lessons, homework help, and she’d even conned her into helping with her chores and playing with Oliver. One afternoon, Hank had walked into the two of them trying to give the potbelly pig a bath—that had turned into a water fight mixed with a bit of mud wrestling.
Today was theirs, and as he’d explained to Emma, the town had to believe Sierra was his girlfriend, Jane Dolan, and to do that, they would have to see them going on dates. Emma’s hopeful expression worried him more than if she’d demanded to be included. It told him she wanted this as much as he did—with a woman due to leave as soon as her life was back on track.
Was he being irresponsible? Perhaps. His mother was worried, but he didn’t intend to lose—not this time. He’d been hiding behind his grief, unwilling to venture out and live again, but something about Sierra, the popstar vibe or the sharp survivor in her, filled him with a need he’d nearly forgotten about. To ride high on the waves, risking it all, to whoop and to holler, and to take that tumble into the unknown. To gamble at another chance…
