Chapter 35
Chapter Thirty-Five
S ierra
I woke up the next morning sore as shit. Jack and I had sex for hours after we put Ellie to bed to celebrate our love for each other.
“Are you okay?” Jack asked as I stumbled into the bathroom.
“I’m very sore, compliments of your large manhood.” I smirked.
He chuckled. “I’m sorry. I told you we shouldn’t do it again that last time, but you insisted.”
“I know.” I started the shower. “You’re forgiven. But keep your dick in your pants for a while.”
“How long are we talking?” His brows furrowed.
“I’ll let you know, big guy.” I patted his chest before climbing into the soothing hot shower.
I met Becca for lunch that afternoon to tell her the news about Jack and me.
“So, what’s been going on with you?”
“Jack and I are a couple now.” I smiled.
“Stop it! Are you serious?”
“Yeah. We professed our love for each other yesterday.”
“Gah, I’m so happy for you!”
“Thanks. He’s all gun-ho for Christmas now. The decorating company was at the office before we even got there this morning and already decorating. He’s having a big office Christmas party at the house, which you’re invited to, and he wants me to join him.”
“Join him? Where?”
“On the other side of holiday hell. He wants me to revel in all the festivities and be happy and overjoyed about them like he is.”
“Thank God someone had the nerve to knock some sense into you.”
“He said we’re both starting over and going to experience Christmas as if it were the first time.”
“I think that’s a great idea.”
“Yeah. Maybe. But I can’t just flip a switch like he can.”
“Then just let some holiday joy into your heart one day at a time.” She smiled and reached across the table, placing her hand on mine. “You deserve so much happiness, Sierra. You love Jack and Ellie. That’s all you need. The rest will follow.”
“Maybe you’re right.” I smiled.
After lunch, I stepped out of the elevator and gasped, walking down the hall.
“I see Christmas threw up in here.” I walked into Jack’s office.
“Did you see the small Christmas tree sitting on your desk?” He grinned.
“Yep. I sure did. Thanks.”
“How was lunch with Becca?”
“It was good. I’m going to get back to work.”
“Okay. Ellie is going over to Gretchen’s for a while tonight.”
“Why?” I narrowed my eyes.
“Gretchen texted me and asked if it would be okay. She and her mom are baking Christmas cookies.”
“Sounds dreadful, but I’m sure Ellie will love it.”
“Be nice, Sierra.”
“I’m always nice, Jack.”
G retchen came over at five-thirty and took Ellie home with her. Jack walked in a few minutes later.
“Is Ellie gone already?” he asked, kissing my lips.
“Yeah. You just missed her.”
“I’m going upstairs to change. How are you feeling down there.”
“Not as bad, but it’s still closed until further notice, just in case you had any ideas running through your handsome head.”
“I didn’t.” He kissed me again.
I had just poured myself a glass of wine when I heard the doorbell ring.
“I’ll see who it is,” Jack shouted.
I was leaning against the counter with my wine in one hand and my phone in the other, scrolling through Pinterest to get some more ideas for that damn elf.
“Sierra, someone is here to see you,” Jack said.
“Who?” My brows furrowed.
Suddenly, the woman from the bakery appeared. When I saw the tears in her eyes, a sickness formed in the pit of my stomach.
“Hi, Sierra. My God, look at you.”
I started shaking as my heart raced out of my chest.
“What is she doing here?” I stared at Jack.
“You’re not crazy, sweetheart. Jeanine is your mother. She’s the one that owns the bakery you were at.”
“Mom?”
“Yes, Sierra. It’s me.” Tears streamed down her cheeks.
“You did this, Jack? You did this behind my back?”
“Sweetheart—”
“Don’t you fucking sweetheart me! I hate you for this.” I went to run out of the kitchen until I heard my mother speak.
“I never stopped loving you, Sierra Ann! Not a day went by that I didn’t think about you!”
I whipped myself around and looked at her, pointing my finger. “I waited for you to come back, and you never did! You have no idea what you’ve done to me!” I shouted.
“Let me explain. Please, Sierra. I didn’t have a choice. I couldn’t raise you.”
“I don’t want to hear it! Get out!”
“I was a prostitute when you were a child. You were the only thing I’d done right in my life, and I had to protect you!”
I stopped dead in my tracks when I heard her say she was a prostitute. I stood, with my back turned, frozen. Jack walked over and gripped my arms.
“Hear her out,” he whispered in my ear. “I know it hurts, but just hear her out. Let’s go sit down, Jeanine.”
Jack guided me to the living room, and my mother followed, sitting in the chair across from the couch where Jack and I sat.
“I had no money. The man I worked for took almost every penny I made. When I told him that I needed money for food for you, he told me to work harder. He was a horrible and evil man. I cried every time I looked into your eyes because I couldn’t escape that life. I tried so many times, but he threatened me and you if I quit. I came from a broken home and ran away when I was sixteen. I left you in the church because I needed you to have a better home and life. I was so afraid that Rocco would hurt you. He’d hurt kids in the past, and I knew he wasn’t joking around. I couldn’t take that chance. I did what I did to protect you.”
“Well, I didn’t have a good home or life. I was bounced around in the system for years. After the last family died in a car accident, I was thrown into the group home, where I stayed until I was eighteen.”
“I’m so sorry.” Tears streamed from her eyes. “I tried to find you once I got out of the business. I contacted Minnesota Social Services, and they told me that your information was sealed, you were doing fine, and I had no rights to you anymore. Nobody would help me. I even tried to hire a lawyer, but he dropped me when I couldn’t pay.”
“How did you get out of the business?” Jack asked.
“Rocco and his guys were eventually busted for murder. The FBI had their eye on them for a while. My and a few of the other girl’s testimonies put them away. After I couldn’t find my daughter and no one would help me, I packed up and moved to New York. One of the girls that I used to work with called me not too long after I came here to tell me that Rocco was killed in jail.”
“You seem to be doing very well for yourself now,” I said.
“I met and married a wonderful man a year after I moved here and cleaned myself up. He passed away four years ago and left me a sizable life insurance policy. I used that money to open up the bakery. I don’t know if you remember, but we always used to bake together.”
“I don’t remember that. The only thing I remember is that night.”
You never had any more children?” Jack asked.
“No.” She shook her head. “I couldn’t. Not because there was anything wrong, but because I didn’t want another child after what I’d done.”
“Did your husband know?” I asked.
“No. I never told him, but it haunted me. You have turned into such a beautiful young woman.”
“Don’t, Jeanine. Just don’t.” I put my hand up.
“I know you hate me, Sierra. And I don’t blame you. I hate myself, too. I have since that night. But you have to understand that I was protecting you from me and some very bad men.”
“All I understand is the woman who was supposed to be my mother took me to church on Christmas Eve and left me there. I waited for you throughout the entire service. I was five years old!” I shouted, tears streaming down my face. “You never came back! You never came back!” I ran up the stairs.