Hold On Tight(33)

I started to ask him what was wrong, when he swung his big eyes back to me. He looked upset. “Don’t tell Momma I said that ’bout the bread pizzas. It’ll hurt her feelings. She makes ’em ’cause they’re cheap.”

The boy was protecting his momma again. Made my chest fill with pride and an ache at the same time. He was just a baby, but he acted like the man of the house. He shouldn’t have that kind of responsibility on his little shoulders.

“It’ll be our secret,” I assured him, lowering my voice.

He looked relieved, and a smile replaced his frown. “Momma said you were getting me one with lots of cheese,” he said, excited again.

I realized that pizza like this was a luxury for these two. Which pissed me off all over again. Why the hell had Sienna’s parents done this to her and Micah? Sienna and Micah shouldn’t have had to suffer so much. My parents would have made sure they had everything they needed, and a fucking pizzeria pizza wouldn’t be a treat.

“Momma made some sweet tea, and Mama T brought over a whole basket of cookies this morning. But Momma said we gotta wait until dessert to eat ’em.”

I started to respond, but then Sienna filled the doorway and my tongue suddenly stuck to the roof of my mouth. She was dressed in a pair of cutoff jean shorts and a fitted George Strait T-shirt from a tour nine years ago. She had only been thirteen then, and I knew the Roys hadn’t let her go to the George Strait concert at the Wharf that year.

“Nice shirt,” I said, needing an excuse for looking at her curves. Perfectly delicious curves. Ones I wanted to run my hands over and brand with a trail of bites. Marking my path . . . Stop! No. I couldn’t do that.

“Dustin got it for me. I used it as a sleep shirt for years because it was too big. He went with friends, and you took them, I believe,” she said with a small smile.

I had taken them, but I’d forgotten. Dustin hadn’t wised up yet and made sure everyone knew Sienna was his, and she was changing back then. Guys were noticing her. He’d bought her a shirt, though, when I’d pointed out to him that she’d probably hear he had taken Victoria Harris to the concert. Victoria hadn’t been as pretty as Sienna back then, and she wasn’t anywhere near the looker Sienna was now. My brother had been obsessed with Victoria’s tits. That had been it.

So he had bought that T-shirt for Sienna. Funny how that was a memory I had pushed away. But seeing Sienna in that shirt brought it all back.

“I remember taking them. It wasn’t a great concert. You didn’t miss much,” I told her.

She laughed, and everything around her lit up. The sound of her laughter made all that was wrong seem right. “I know that’s a lie. But thanks for trying. Victoria Harris made sure I knew just how amazing that concert had been. She also made sure I knew that although I got the T-shirt, she got the guy.” Sienna smirked. “That was all before, though.”

Before. Before I forced my brother to wake the hell up and see what was right there for him to take. Sienna had worshipped him and he had loved it, but he hadn’t been ready to do anything remotely exclusive. Until I had lunch with her and until she caught the attention of every male at Sea Breeze High. That had lit a fire under Dustin’s ass.

“Come on in with those pizzas. I’ve already got the table set.” She stepped back so I could walk inside.

“Do I need to fill the cups with ice?” Micah asked her.

“That would be very helpful,” she told him.

He hurried off around me and into the kitchen. I set the pizzas down in the center of the table while he tugged a chair over to get cups down. I moved to go help him but Sienna’s hand touched my arm.

“Don’t help him. Let him do it,” she said in a whisper.

This was why he was so responsible for his age. Sienna let him feel important. I wasn’t sure if I liked the idea of him not getting a chance to be a kid or if this was good training. Maybe she was raising a better man than me or my brother had been. God knows I loved my momma, but she waited on me and my brother hand and foot. Can’t say it helped either of us much.

SIENNA

I silently ate my one slice of pizza while listening to Micah tell Dewayne everything Dewayne could possibly want to know and then some. I enjoyed savoring the pizza. It was delicious, and I was being careful to take small bites. There was no way I could eat two slices in front of Dewayne. I didn’t normally care how much I ate in front of men. But knowing that Dewayne would be thinking how much I didn’t need a second slice would make it hard to eat.

Besides, Dewayne had eaten five slices, and Micah was on his second slice. They were doing a fine job of putting the pizzas away themselves. Watching Micah enjoy the cheesy pizza was worth sitting through this with Dewayne.