Page 33 of The Kid Sister

I didn’t care that Sawyer excused himself to do his homework. No, I was pleased he left Sierra and me alone. Sawyer hadn’t known what to say about my grandfather’s heart attack. Heck, I could barely speak about it myself. But Sierra, she knew exactly what to do. She knew what I neededwhen I didn’t even know what I needed.

Mrs. Huntington hugged me first, validating that I wasn’t being over dramatic, that Granddad’s condition was something to be upset about. Unlike Dad who viewed it as an inconvenience.

And Sierra, she’d embraced me too. Though there was more to it than comfort and kind words. In her arms I found myself at peace, at home, this tiny kid shielding me from my wretched reality—again.

And when she kissed me, I wanted it. Heck, I wanted her lips against mine, to touch, to caress, to taste her. I died and went to heaven in that moment.

But I couldn’t let it happen. No time to rationalize—just instinctively knowing it shouldn’t be happening.

But I didn’t need to be so callous, I could have pulled away more gently, more slowly, but when your heart is beating wildly and your brain is shrouded in fog and you lose all acuity—well, you react.

Gah! I’d messed up so bad. One second she was beside me telling me everything was going to be all right, and then there was that heart-pounding moment where we’d looked at one another, where I was lost in the depths of her brown eyes, the universe pausing just for us as her lips met mine.

But my reaction was to run. Yep, I was out of there in a flash. Leaving Sierra without an explanation.

I drove to Nana and Granddad’s house in a daze, adrenaline pumping, thought processes muddled and jumbled. Too much to think about. Granddad’s impending surgery, the encounter with Dad that would have consequences for sure, and...well, I wasn’t going to let my mind wander to thatotherissue.

Mom reassured me that Granddad was going to be all right, that he would make a full recovery. It was a relief to hear, but surgery always came with risks and I insisted on being at the hospital with Granddad.

“I appreciate that,” Mom said, “but this is a big week. I’ll let you know the minute he’s awake.”

“No,” I said. “I need to be there.”

“Cullen, there’s nothing you can do. You’re better off keeping busy, training, schoolwork.”

“I’m going to be there, Mom. I don’t care what you say. I’m going,” I said, surprising myself with my absolute conviction.

“But this is the biggest week of your—”

“Mom,” I cut in assertively, “I’m going to be there for Granddad. Okay? Football isn’t everything.” It was like a feeling of invincibility came over me, like I’d found my own voice and could speak my mind.

“But it’s the semifinal—”

“Yeah,” I said, “and I’ve been training every single day for the past three years, heck, my whole life, to get here. And if I miss a practice, if I miss one session, you know what? It should be okay. If it’s not, then I don’t deserve to be the starting quarterback.”

Nana Nat sidled up to me and tucked her arm around my waist. “I’d love you to be there, sweetheart. It’d mean the world to Granddad. And me.”

I squeezed her back, firing a gloating gaze at Mom.

“Of course we want you there,” she said on a sigh, taking a complete one eighty turn, “It’s just that the team needs you.”

I pondered that. Yes, I was captain, but it was a team that won a game, not one person.

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The next morning Iwas awake before my alarm, actually looking forward to my run. Or maybe I was wanting to get out of the house to avoid Dad. I had expected him to be waiting for me when I arrived home from Nana’s, but he must have gone to bed early. In my room, I kept listening for a knock on the door, sure he would want a confrontation.

Speaking my mind to Mom had been liberating, but facing Dad was going to be a different battle. As I slipped out the front door undetected, I smiled ironically as I remembered being labeled The Dragon Slayer in the school newspaper by Millie. Yeah, Cullen Mercer had destroyed his opponents on field, but if only everyone knew he was scared to have a conversation with his own father.

Going down the Covington hill, my legs flew, barely touching the ground, but the grind over the bridge into a headwind slowed me down. I pushed through to the River Valley side with a multitude of scenarios playing out in my head. Dad might disown, denigrate, or even dismiss me from the team. The latter seemed unlikely, but who knew where his head would be in times like this. I had to be prepared for every situation.

That’s what I tried to focus on, that’s what I was willing myself to concentrate on, but my weak mind kept taunting me with the vision of Sierra, her long, wavy hair, the sweet smell of her skin, the graze of her lips. I pushed harder, trying to outrun those thoughts. I had no business thinking about Sierra Huntington and her big, brown eyes that seared into my soul; she couldn’t be on my radar, not when my Granddad was about to have surgery, when the semifinal was only days away.

But as I crossed the street back towards Covington Heights, a car tooted its horn and braked suddenly. I’d been so lost in the daydream of Sierra’s kiss that I hadn’t checked for traffic. With an apologetic wave, I carried on. It would do no good for the quarterback to be run over while training.

There had been no option but to back off. The kiss, I mean. Sierra was a junior, Sawyer’s younger sister, part of the Chargers squad. I was older, the football captain, a school leader. And it didn’t matter that she’d made my skin sizzle, that my lips craved her, that she held my heart hostage—she was off-limits.

Totally off-limits.

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