Page 101 of Hiss and Make Up
Her dad smiled. “A little bit.”
“You’ll get used to it,” Sierra said.
“Oh? Is this something I should get used to?”
Marc pressed his lips together to hide a smile, and Sierra rolled her eyes, putting both hands on her dad’s shoulders to aim him in a different direction.
“You’ll have plenty of time to harass us later.” She pointed at the swing. “Go talk to Dale about dirt or poop or something.”
He chuckled as he walked away.
“Drinks are in the ice chest,” she shouted at his back.
A second later, Liz replaced him beside her. “How you hanging?”
Sierra shrugged and finally popped open her drink. “Still adjusting.”
“To what?” Liz raised her eyebrows and tilted her head toward Marc at the grill.
She sighed and gestured at the yard. “All of it. I mean, I love you, but you and Luna with a kiddie pool and a dog and a bunch of other people at myboyfriend’shouse. It’s all a little much, you know?”
“For you, maybe. For the rest of us, it’s just life, babe.”
“So you’re saying I’m blowing everything out of proportion?”
“Nope,” Liz said. “I’ve seen you blow things out of proportion. This is downright serene for you.”
They both laughed. She was right. By Sierra’s standards, this was as calm as she would ever get. And if Marc could live with that, then she could live with a teeny weeny barbecue.
But something was making her even more anxious. Something she had to ask Liz before she chickened out.
“Take a walk with me for a sec’?”
“Okay…”
Sierra couldn’t blame her friend for being nervous to talk to her. Not after all the weird stuff that had been going down out there and the stories she’d told Liz about it all. But this would be a good story. One with a happy ending for everyone.
Or at least that’s what Sierra hoped.
They walked through the gate and out to the road. Sierra gestured at the huge stretch of property where Denise’s half-burned house stood.
“What am I looking at here?” Liz asked. “Besides a very sad situation.”
“You’re looking at the proposed site of the future St. Martin Animal Sanctuary.”
Liz gave her a questioning look.
“The name’s still up in the air, but you get the idea.”
“No, I don’t get the idea at all. Which group is doing this? Did Denise sell the property or did she get a wild hair up her butt to go into animal rescue? Because if the later, I’m highly skeptical.”
“Not Denise. Me,” Sierra said. “And, I’m hoping, you.”
Denise’s jaw hung open, and she turned her stunned gaze from the blackened house to her best friend. “I should have known if there was a wild hair up anyone’s butt it would be yours.”
“So is that a yes?”
“No! Besides, doesn’t Denise kind of need her house?”
