Rescue Me(39)

“Sounds good, brat. Thanks for the call. Give Lucy a kiss for me, would ya?”

“I will. Bye.”

I enter the house and something smells so fucking good.

“Daddy! You’re home!” Sierra beams when she sees me, and runs right into my arms. Damn, that word feels so good to hear from her.

“Hi, Butterfly. Did you have a good day today?”

“I did! I keep looking out the window for Aunt Shelby. She called and said she should be here soon.”

My little girl is so excited her eyeballs are about to pop out of her head as she bounces up and down. She takes off running and perches herself right in front of the window. When I enter the living room my heart actually starts to beat faster as I take in the picture of both her and her mother staring out the window. It takes all of a few seconds for them to get up and take off running towards the front door as I notice a bright red sports car pull into the drive.

Peeking out the window, I watch the three of them embrace each other. I give them a couple of minutes and then I step outside. In a few long strides I am staring into three identical sets of eyes. Erin introduces us.

“Shelby, this is Adam. Adam, this is my baby sister.”

“Holy crap, Erin! You little bitch, you didn’t tell me how yummy he is! Hell, I may have to go back home and think of a dish to name after him at the restaurant,” Shelby grins. I am in love with this woman already. I watch the two sisters exchange some kind of stare down between them.

“Shelby, watch your mouth in front of Sierra,” Erin remarks.

“That’s okay, Mommy. Aunt Shelby says bad words all the time. I remember that one time when she said…”

“Sierra, enough. Come on you guys, I have lasagna in the oven and before you say a word about my lasagna, Shelby, it’s grandma’s recipe.”

My girl is a feisty little thing when she is around her sister, and I love it. I full out throw my head back and laugh because even though these two sisters look so much alike, they are such opposites. I have a feeling things will be all kinds of interesting around here as I am going to see a whole new side of my girl Erin I never even knew existed.

“What’s so funny?” Erin asks and puts her hands on her hips acting like she’s mad.

“Just wondering what’s up with the lasagna remark,” I say and shrug my shoulders as I place my hands in my pockets. The minute those words come out of my mouth the sisters start laughing like crazy. Must be some inside joke, I think to myself.

“My sister thinks she knows how to cook, that’s what’s funny,” Shelby laughs.

“Shut the hell up, Shelby,” Erin mutters under her breath.

“Come on, Aunt Shelby! Let’s go inside. I want to show you my room,” Sierra pipes up, bringing the sisters out of their own little world.

“You betcha, my angel. Let’s go.” Shelby reaches down and picks Sierra up.

“Aunt Shelby, guess what?”

“What, baby girl?” Shelby stops and listens to Sierra as she whispers something into her ear.

“Oh, really?” Shelby turns and gives me a peculiar look and continues into the house with Sierra.

“What was that all about?” I ask Erin as I carry Shelby’s suitcases into the house and set them down by the front door.

“I have no idea, but don’t worry about it. Shelby is totally harmless. She just likes to think she is a badass.”

“I am a badass, biotch. Don’t you ever forget it.” Shelby saunters back into the living room minus Sierra. “Look, I am just going to put this out there before Sierra gets back in here. I am here to make sure that rotten prick doesn’t come anywhere near my sister or my niece ever again. Thank God that precious little girl in there has no idea what kind of monster Joel is and that she doesn’t remember anything about him. However, she startled me a few minutes ago when she told me you’re her daddy. These two have been through so much, especially my sister here.” She pauses and I stand there watching tears form in her eyes as she continues. “All I am saying is, please don’t hurt them, Adam.”

“Shelby, Adam’s not like that, he would never do anything to hurt me. I have told you this,” Erin says.

I turn to face Shelby, pulling Erin in front of me and wrapping my arms around her waist.

“I would never do anything to hurt either one of them. That little girl in there is my daughter in every sense of the word. I love her, and as for your sister, I care about her, too. For the first time in my life I feel like I am building a family here, and that family now includes you.”

Erin sighs as she leans her head back on my chest.

“Well then, welcome to the family, Adam. But I will chop your balls off if you hurt either one of them, and I mean it.”