Page 84 of Hiss and Make Up
“No, dang it. Don’t put words in my mouth.”
He grabbed her hand again and turned her to face him. When he stood, they were face to face. She stared at the workshop.
“Look at me, Sierra.”
She took a deep breath and met his eyes. He was right. They were different. He wasn’t the same boy she’d left standing in this same backyard fifteen years ago. But those eyes revealed the same expression, the same longing, the same plea for her to stay.
“You’re not running away this time. Not without talking about this.”
“I never ran away,” she said. “I didn’t have a choice.”
“But you do now.”
He was right. She did have a choice, and it had nothing to do with that reward money.
She could leave right now. She could save Marc from the disappointment of one day realizing she couldn’t give him the life he wanted.
Or she could let her heart choose. She could give them a second chance.
But how many second chances had her father given her mother before she’d walked out on them for good?
Could she choose him and ignore the fact that this would never last. Could she ignore inevitability and enjoy the short time they’d have together? Could she choose that path, knowing the heartbreak destined to break them both? Again?
“No one’s dragging you away this time, Sierra. It’s your choice.”
Her hands trembled. It was an impossible choice. How could he ask her to make it?
Marc took her hands in his. “I know you’re scared. I know I hurt you, even if it was a long time ago, and I know you’re scared to open yourself up to hurt again. But I’m not your mom. I’m not going anywhere. So what’s it going to be?”
As her eyes filled with tears, she slid her hand along his side and took a step forward, erasing the space between them. They stood there for a moment, their bodies touching and neither of them breathing.
Then, she pressed her mouth hard against his, unsure if she was saying goodbye or not. Desperate to find the answer in his lips.
He cupped the sides of her face, and she relaxed as he returned her kiss. If she had to make a choice, she would choose to stand there kissing Marc on the back porch forever. That’s what she’d choose.
His phone rang. “Arson investigator. He’s next door. Denise doesn’t have anyone to watch the kids, so I need to talk to him.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“No.” He slipped his fingers into the hair at the back of her neck and pulled her in for one more kiss. It mimicked hers, hard and desperate. When he stepped back, he looked into her eyes and said, “Choose. I’ll be back in a little while.”
Every muscle fought to follow him to the gate. She couldn’t just stand there and wait. Orchoose. She wanted to go with him. To keep moving. She didn’t want to sit-and-think-and-debate. She needed to be in the middle of the action with him, not waiting around for him to return.
Her heart raced and her mouth went dry. If she was already panicking, her body poised and ready to bolt, how would she feel ten minutes from now? Ten days from now? Her body had already made the decision for her. She just had to convince her brain that it had been a goodbye kiss.
“If it makes a difference,” Marc said, closing the gate latch from the other side of the fence, “I really hope you’re still here when I get back.”
20
Sierra fluffed the dog’s fur with a dry towel and steadied herself while he licked her face. He already smelled better after a plain old bath with the garden hose, even without any dog shampoo. She’d have to do something about the doggy breath, but defunking his coat was a massive odor improvement.
“You need a name, buddy.”
The dog licked her nose while she considered options. She’d found him on the edge of the woods, and he was playful and bouncy. Kind of sprite-like.
“Puck? How does that sound?”
He wagged his tail. When she wiped his ear with the towel, he dropped down into a play bow and barked.
