A smile tugged at her lips. “Honestly, we both are.”
Her mom put her hand on the coffee table and used it to help support her while she rose from sitting on her feet. She rubbed at her sore knees before she stood straight. “It’s been just as long since I spent that much time on the floor. I hope Mason knows what he’s in for.”
Sierra listened to the water running upstairs while the boys brushed their teeth. “We talked this morning about turning two of the rooms in his house into the boys’ rooms.”
“They’ll love that. Lord knows he’s got the space and then some in that big house.” Dede studied her for a moment. “I take it things with Amy went well.”
“Believe it or not, she had some great advice. She made me feel better. She thinks moving forward is the best thing for me.”
Her mom nodded. “I agree.” Her eyebrows drew together. “I spoke to Heather.”
“She stopped by Mason’s but I left without really talking to her.”
“I hope she apologized to him about her behavior.”
“She did.”
“I understand your frustration with her, Sierra. What she did . . . It makes no sense, and yet, I understand what she wanted.”
“You may want a chocolate bar, but stealing it still comes with consequences.”
“She’s feeling those consequences. And I understand you need time and distance. But I’d like you to consider something that I hadn’t really thought about until I spoke to her. I was so angry about what she did, I didn’t think about the similarities you share.”
Sierra wasn’t sure she wanted to hear this.
Her heart pounded as the answers came to mind and her mother spoke out loud.
“You both lost the man you love. You both have children who will grow up without their father. You both have to explain to them how they are connected. You both have to keep David’s memory alive for your kids.” Dede held up her hand, cutting off words Sierra couldn’t get out her constricted throat anyway. “I know it’s the same but different. I just wanted you to think about that. Heather scolded me for not understanding that she has her feelings, too. I guess what I’m saying is that you both have a side. She was wrong to do what she did, but she did love him. Not that that’s an excuse, but . . . I don’t know. It’s so hard to articulate and reason out.”
Sierra bit back the anger and focused on her mother and how hard she tried to make Sierra understand that somewhere in all this mess, with a little sympathy and understanding, Sierra could see her sister as a woman who’d loved and lost and who grieved like she had once. Heather faced a future similar to hers and a time when she’d have to explain David to Hallee and how their relationship started and ended. It was a tragic love story that might have ended differently if it had been born of truth and honesty instead of mired in lies and deception.
“No matter how you explain it, what she did was wrong. I know you want us all to be the way we used to be. I just don’t think that’s possible. But . . .” She took a deep breath and tried to wrap her head around the next words she gave her mother even if she didn’t wholly believe in them yet. “One day, I hope, Heather and I can understand each other and love more and hurt less.”
Her mom’s eyes overflowed with tears. “Yes. I’d like that very much.” Dede closed the distance and hugged her close. “Thank you, Sierra, for keeping your heart open to possibility.”
Sierra hugged her mom back. “I’m still angry. I still want to kill her. But I feel it a little less today than I did yesterday.”
Heather had been coddled and pampered far too long. Not anymore.
Sierra was taking care of herself first this time.
Her mom released her, but touched her hand to Sierra’s cheek. “I love you, sweetheart. I hope you know that I want the very best for you.”
“I know you do. I know you want that equally for Heather.”
“Well, maybe she gets ten percent less than you now.”
Sierra appreciated the teasing tone, but knew her mother didn’t mean it. And it was okay, because she’d have a hard time not wanting both her sons to be as happy as they could be, either.
“Does that mean you’ll miss me when I move to Mason’s?”