Chapter 34
Chapter Thirty-Four
Rage
Itake my girls out to a nice dinner, and then we end the night out by the lake, sipping champagne and looking at the stars. Of course Mila and I aren’t drinking the bubbly. She has sparkling grape juice, and I have beer in my glass.
And before anyone judges my lack of masculinity for drinking out of a flute, just know I would do anything to make my girls happy.
Mila rubs her eyes sleepily and rolls against Serenity, hugging her. Peanut sits less than a foot away from them, his ears up, always on watch.
The girls stare up at the inky night sky, lost in its vastness. The dog and I are stuck here on planet Earth, but that’s okay because we get a front row seat to view two of the prettiest stars in the universe.
Serenity’s fingers run absentmindedly through Mila’s hair, and slowly Mila succumbs to the magic of a mother’s touch.
“Did you want children?” I ask quietly, curious about it because she’s so natural with Mila.
“I never really thought about it much.”
I like that she’s honest with me and doesn’t say what she thinks I want to hear.
Her head falls to the side. “It was hard for me to see it ever happening, but when I met Mila,” she bites her bottom lip, “I don’t know how to explain it …”
I don’t rush her. I don’t even expect an answer. She might not know, and that’s okay. I can’t explain what’s been happening between the three of us myself.
“This is going to sound strange, but it feels like the universe glitched and dropped my baby off at the wrong address. So, it had to take drastic means to course correct and reunite us.”
Serenity gives me a deeper answer than I was expecting. It was vulnerable and real. She deserves that back.
“I’ve never told anyone this,” I begin, rolling to my back to stare into the abyss. “But Mila and I have another sister.”
Instantly, I feel Serenity shift into go mode. “Where is she? Let’s go get her.”
“She’s okay,” I assure her quickly.
“Oh, good.” She kisses Mila on the cheek before relaxing back.
“Mila and she have the same father but different mothers,” I tell her.
“And you and Mila have the same mother but different fathers,” she reasons quietly to herself.
“My stepsister’s name is Luna. She’s twenty-two.”
“Mila is so much younger than both of you.”
“Yeah, my mom and stepdad had Mila late in life,” I sigh, running my hand through my hair. “When my mom married Frank, Luna was four and I was twelve. She didn’t come to our house much, and when she did, she spent most of the time hiding in the closet. Her mom lived up in Montana.”
Out the corner of my eye, I see Serenity roll her head to the side to look at me.
I focus on a star, facing things head on. “I ran away at fourteen. About five years ago, we reconnected on social media, and a few years after that, she called me in a panic because she had just learned that Frank and Janet had a baby.”
My gaze goes to Mila before quickly turning back to the night sky. “We couldn’t let what happened to us happen to her too,” I say, hoping she understands. “I hopped on my bike and was in Cheyenne the very next day. I chased him out of here with the threat of reporting him.”
“I’m so glad you both were looking out for Mila.”
“If he comes back, we’re going to go to the police. I don’t want …” I squeeze my eyes closed, repulsed by the thought of seeing him again. “I don’t want to go through that, and neither does Luna. But for Mila, we will.”
She doesn’t make me explain further.
“I understand,” she says quietly, turning back to the sky.
“Luna is … unique,” I continue, not really knowing how to describe my stepsister. “I haven’t seen her in person since she was just a kid. She doesn’t stay in one place for very long.”
“Hopefully Mila and I will get to meet her someday.” She lifts herself up to her elbows, looking over at me. “But if Frank tries to get near my Mila …” Our eyes meet in the darkness. “I’ll kill him.”
I reach out and place my hand at the base of her throat, brushing my thumb over her collarbone. “I know you will.”