6. Sienna
Chapter 6
Sienna
T his is my dad.
I know it the second I lay eyes on him.
And thank God for that because the moment I saw Levi Steele open that door, panic wracked through my body in a way I thought I would never be able to recover from.
All I have is an address scribbled onto an old napkin.
That's all I was able to find tucked away in one of Mom’s old journals.
The entry was dated just eight months before I was born. Talk of her one night stand. A whirlwind night with a young man who was going off to fight on the other side of the world. She didn’t even know his name, but he told her to keep in touch.
Apparently, she never did.
That address is the reason I’m really here.
So I guess it could've been Levi this whole time.
And if that were the case, I would need the earth to just swallow me whole right where I stand. There's absolutely no coming back from that.
I follow the man’s tall figure down the hall, its hard to take my eyes off of him. He walks with a gait and immediately I wonder if he has the same condition my mom had.
But as we walk I take in my surroundings.
The home feels historic and full of old world charm. Crown molding lines the ceiling and we pass a spiral staircase that I’m pretty sure I’ve seen featured in a home decor magazine at some point.
The man who must be my father pulls out a chair in what looks like a kitchen nook. I'm sure a house this size has a formal dining room. It's a nice house. Very nice. And neatly kept for a bachelor.
Which makes me wonder if he's not. Maybe he's married. Maybe he has a family.
There's an older woman that appears at the bottom of the stairs. She has her hair up in a bun, but her clothes look pretty casual.
Is that his wife?
She gives me a puzzled look before moving into the kitchen.
"Should I make a fresh pot of coffee, Mr. King?" the woman asks.
King? Wait… as in Steele King's Customs? That King?
"That would be great, Mags. Thank you." The man says, looking back at me with a smile. "Please, have a seat."
I take it. Behind me is that looming presence I haven't been able to shake since last night. Levi hangs back at the entrance from the hall.
"Sienna Riley," the man says in thought. "You wouldn't happen to be related to an Amalie Riley, would you?"
I smile at the mention of my mom.
I can tell by the way he says her name that he must have fond memories of her. And who wouldn't? My mom is— was —amazing.
"I'm her daughter."
He cocks his head to the side and really looks at me. "I see the resemblance. Same green eyes. Pretty smile."
"You remember her?"
"I could never forget her," he admits. "How is she? Is…" his eyes flare with fear. "Is she okay?"
My heart sinks. Its in the way his browline wrinkles in genuine concern that immediately makes my throat dry.
I cough.
“No, actually.”
He lets out a breath. “Do you mind sharing what happened?”
Do I? With this man whom I don’t know but I possibly share a bloodline with? I didn’t think through this part. I didn’t think past the hellos and what I would actually say.
“Mom… passed.” That’s all I can manage.
He blinks. Then blinks again, as if trying to clear the fog of what I just said. “Oh.”
“It was about a year ago.”
“I’m… I’m so sorry to hear that. That must be devastating.”
As he says the words that are meant to console me, I feel a heaviness settle in the air. As if this news has truly affected him, too.
“Thank you,” I try to swallow past the lump in my throat just as I hear someone clear their’s behind me.
"Wow. Where are my manners? Sienna, my name is Brody, if you don’t already know that. And that ray of sunshine behind you is my best friend and business partner, Levi Steele."
I give Levi a quick glance over my shoulder.
"Uh, yes. We've met."
Brody lifts a brow to his friend. "Is that so?"
"I’m sorry for your loss, Sienna." Levi’s voice curls around me from behind, like being wrapped in smoke. “But…” he says.”If you're here about the job, you already know my answer.”
Brody's gaze lingers on his friend a moment before meeting mine again.
"No,” I say. “I mean, not exactly."
"Did Amalie give you my address?" Brody asks.
"No. I found it actually. In one of her journals."
Brody's smile falters as he takes in that information.
"I wasn't going to reach out, but then my cousin moved nearby and offered for me to stay with him. And well, it felt like the right time. Maybe even fate."
I wait to see if he's going to say anything. Anything at all. Before I word vomit all over my potential biological father's kitchen table from the nerves that are now overtaking me.
"Fate," he repeats thoughtfully.
The woman who I forgot was here, slides a warm mug of coffee over to me with a gentle smile.
Brody is deep in thought when he says, "So what you're saying is—"
"I think you might be my dad," I blurt out.
Levi coughs behind me like he's choking on something. Working extra hard to clear his throat.
Brody motions to the woman, who I assume is someone he's hired to help by the way she moves and grabs a bottle of water from the fridge, offering it to Levi who's still coughing.
"Thanks, Maggie," Levi says. "I think… I should… I'm just going to head out."
"Stay," Brody says to his friend. It's a plea. "Please, Steele."
He sighs. Then, I hear Levi's footsteps move slowly and reluctantly as he slides a chair out to my left. I'm sitting at the head of the table with each of these men on either side of me.
One who just had his tongue down my throat last night.
The other who might be the man my mother never spoke of—my dad.
And they’re friends. Fabulous.
"So," Brody says, trying to lighten the mood. "I might have been a father for… you’re how old?"
"I turn twenty on New Year's Day."
His eyes widen at that. And I swear I can hear Levi curse under his breath, but there's no way I'm going to look him in the eye at the moment.
I doubt he even knew I was that young last night when we gave in to our attraction.
And I wasn't about to tell him.
"Twenty years. Okay… alright." Brody says, definitely not sounding like he's any of those things.
He clears his throat and lets out a nervous chuckle, raking his fingers through his perfectly styled hair. "I'm sorry, Sienna. I think I'm a little at a loss for words at the moment."
"Rare for this one," Maggie mutters.
"Please, don't take it the wrong way. It's not anything to do with you… I'm sure you're a lovely girl," Brody continues.
I take a sip of my coffee, letting the cup shield me from the uncomfortable feelings currently rising up into my chest.
The feelings I've set aside for the entirety of my existence. Mom never made it weird for me growing up. She took such good care of me without the help of anyone but the occasional times Aunt Lu stepped in.
But a man, we never needed one. Until she got sick. And I wondered what life would be like if I had someone else to help care for her.
Of course, I wondered if he might be out there. But then what if he somehow did know about me and just had no interest in getting to know us. I wondered if he had a thrilling life and family of his own somewhere while mom and I struggled.
Now, being here, sitting in front of him. In his giant house on an island. I realize, that there might be an even bigger fear deep in the depths of my heart.
That he would come to find out about me… and still not want me in his life.
And that's the thought that decides to seize control of my muscles as I set the coffee mug on the table and slide my chair back.
"I'm so sorry," I stand. "I should’ve never—"
Brody stands too, his eyes flying between Levi and I as if he's looking for some backup from his friend.
"You don't have to go," he says in a hurry. "Are you hungry?"
Am I? I don't know.
At the moment I feel like my insides are churning and my heart is about to thump right out of my chest.
Millions of scenarios ran through my mind on the way here. But him being accepting of this—a daughter showing up on his doorstep. Somehow I let that unlikely outcome be the one I latched onto.
"I… could eat," I say, hesitantly.
"Bacon? Eggs? Biscuits and gravy?" Maggie asks.
"Make it a feast, Mags," Brody says, turning to her. Then beaming with his eyes back on me, he says, "It's not every day that I learn I'm a father."
Wait… is he though?
I don't even know if that's true.
Maybe I should suggest a paternity test. Maybe I should reassure him that I don't want anything from him. I just needed to meet him. To complete a missing piece in the puzzle of who I am.
Ever since Mom passed I’ve been flailing. The ground beneath me shifting like unpredictable sands.
But Brody seems to be taking the news in stride. Like he's waited his whole life for something like this to happen to him.
It's Levi's bristled posture that is more what I expected. When I look over at him, he looks stressed.
"Levi? You staying for breakfast, too?" Maggie asks him.
Levi sighs but then looks at Maggie. "If you're cooking it, I'm eating it, Mags."
I thought he would run. That he'd take this opportunity to get as far away from me and this situation as possible.
But instead, he stays.
His eyes reading my every word. My every movement. It's like he's analyzing me and trying to determine what my game is.
Levi doesn’t trust me.
And that unnerves me the most.