13. Sienna
Chapter 13
Sienna
"W ait… I don't get it."
Julian pulls the blanket over his legs and throws his arms over the back of the couch as he watches me pour popcorn into a bowl.
"What's so hard to understand? Obviously, I need to prove myself to Levi, but in the meantime, I can at least win over the respect of the crew. I take it they’re not too keen on outsiders here.”
“Right. So how is spending the night in an old, haunted lighthouse supposed to prove anything?”
“According to Big Mike and Rooster, that’s how it’s done here.”
"Big Mike and Rooster? Is that… a band?”
“No, J. They’re like local legends or something.”
Julian just looks at me, still confused.
“Theo introduced them.”
Julian laughs.
“Well look at you, getting in with the locals, cuz. I’d say you’re welcome, but I can’t take all the credit. Looks like you’re finally coming out of your shell. Probably helps that your daddy owns the entire island.”
“He doesn’t own the entire island,” I say, rolling my eyes. “Besides, people can’t know about that. It’s not like we’ve confirmed it.”
“He gave you a job, Sienna. If he’s trying to keep it a secret, that’s not something one would do.”
“Maybe. But look, it’s already hard enough being the new girl in town. I just don’t want people to resent me because I’m Brody King’s daughter. Besides, he hasn’t spoken to me since giving me the job,” I mutter that last part.
“Maybe he’s still in shock. Hell, I know I’d be if somebody just knocked on my door claiming to be my kid.”
I cradle two Dr. Pepper bottles in the crook of my elbow and drop one onto his lap as I take the empty spot next to him.
“I wonder if Aunt Amalie knew,” he thinks out loud.
“That twenty years ago she had a one night stand with the man who’s now the owner of a freakin NHL hockey team among other things? No, I highly doubt it. All she had was an address. At least that’s what I read in her journal.”
“And she never talked about him to you? You never thought to ask?”
“Why would I? Up until her condition started worsening, it was Mom and I against the world. She made it pretty clear we didn’t need any men. So I never thought I needed to know,” I admit.
“Well, I can’t blame her. Men can be pretty stupid.”
“Julian,” I say.
“Yeah?”
He pops the cap on his soda, sucking on the contents that fizzle out before he takes a swig.
“You’re a man,” I feel the need to remind him.
“Which kind of makes me an expert in our stupidity, don’t you think?”
He winks, as he licks his hand where the soda spilled.
“Fair enough.”
“Speaking of your daddy owning a team,” he says. “I need you to know that I expect season tickets with the best seating considering I’m blood and all.”
“I shouldn’t have told you a damn thing,” I murmur, as I open my own drink.
He reaches over and grabs my phone off the coffee table.
“What are you doing?” I say, eyeing him.
“Texting him.”
He thumbs through the contacts in my phone.
I drop the bowl of popcorn, the buttery kernels spilling onto the floor as I reach for my phone. He holds it just out of reach.
“Come on! What are you supposed to do? Sit around and wait for him to make the first contact? Ah!,” he says, when he finds Brody’s name.
“No, J. I made the first move. I’m just giving him time to let it all sink in.”
“It’s been three days, Si.” He types something out.
“Julian Angelo Mercer… give me… the damn… phone!”
I struggle to reach for it as he tosses pillows, blocking my reach until he’s able to jump off the couch.
“You’re gonna thank me later,” he says, running off into his room.
“Julian!”
He slams the door, locking it just as my fist hits the door.
“I swear to God… if you don’t open this door right now…”
I hear the swooshing sound of a message being sent and start drumming on his door like a mad woman.
Almost instantly, I hear the ding of an incoming message.
“Look who answered back immediately,” his muffled voice says from the other side of the door.
“Julian. Stop. This isn’t funny.”
“Don’t worry, Si. When have I ever led you astray, huh?”
Another swooshing sound. I beat the door again.
“Open this door now!’
He does, just in time for me to stumble inside, mid beating.
“You. Are. Dead!”
He holds the phone out to me so I can see the screen. I snatch it out of his hand to get a better look at the unsanctioned conversation.
Me
Hey. I’m not really sure how to do this except to just do it. Would you like to meet up and chat sometime?
Brody
Hey kiddo! I’m so glad you reached out. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve picked up the phone to say something only to delete it again. I would love to meet up.
Me
Great! How about tomorrow?
He wants to meet.
My dad wants to meet with me. “Oh, wow.” I breathe out. I hadn’t realized how much that had been weighing on me until I saw those words written on the screen.
“So?” Julian says, crouching down next to me. “You still gonna kill me?”
I slap him on the shoulder.
“Don’t ever do that again,” I warn him.
My phone dings in my hand and Julian and I both look down to see his response.
Brody
Depends… do you like hockey?
Julian shakes me by the shoulders.
“Yes! Tell him yes, a thousand times yes! He’s gonna take you to a freakin Thunderhawks game. You little lucky daughter of a billionaire,” he shrieks.
“I don’t know the first thing about hockey.”
“You are an incredible disappointment,” he says, shaking his head. “Don’t you read romance? Those books have all you need to know about hockey.”
“Wait… do you read romance?”
“Duh, Si! Why do you think I’m not a neanderthal like most of the guys out here nowadays? I am well-versed in all things swoony and spicy. Try it sometime.”
Okay, Julian and his romance novels aside, I stare at my phone.
“What should I tell him?”
He snatches the phone out of my hand a second time and turns his back to type something quickly, then sends the message.
I grab the nearest pillow off his bed and whack him on the side of the head with it.
“I said don’t ever do that again. And you are a neanderthal, by the way.”
A ding for a reply comes in instantly and he looks down smiling before handing me the phone.
Me
Depends… can I bring my cousin?
Brody
Of course! Family is always welcome.
“See,” Julian says. “Uncle Brody gets it.”
As annoying as Julian can be, it does make me feel better to have some backup.
If I’m going to be chatting with my biological father who I know barely anything about over some sweaty athletes that beat each other up on ice skates… it’d be nice to have Julian to keep the awkward conversation flowing.
* * *
The next morning, I’m early to work at the shop. For the last two days, Levi Steele has had me shadow him for everything.
And I’m starting to see why he doesn’t have a foreman already for the shop.
For one, the man can’t let go.
He has to oversee pretty much everything. Making sure nothing falls through the cracks.
But, by doing so, things are falling through the cracks.
Builds are behind schedule. Parts are getting lost in transit. There’s no clear system of organization, unless you count the playing card notes that the crew uses as their personal messaging board.
Today, there’s a new vague message, nailed onto it. Skid did it.
“Skid did what?” Levi says, eyeing the board.
I startle at the sound of his voice. He wasn’t supposed to be in for another hour.
“Oh,” I grab onto my chest. “You’re early.”
“So are you,” he says, dropping two lunchboxes onto his desk. “What’d Skid do?” he repeats.
“Don’t know. That message was here when I got in.”
“Hmm.”
The sound of metal clinking to the ground inside the bay has us both jumping up. Levi hauls ass out of the office.
I follow him out to see him pick up a handlebar that fell onto the floor.
The culprit? A cute little girl wearing her own little SKC uniform. The name Josie is embroidered onto it. She’s covering her ears as we approach.
“Well, hello,” I say with a smile. “I didn’t realize we hired another mechanic.”
The little girl looks at Levi, as if asking if I’m okay to talk to. Levi nods to her.
She has big beautiful brown eyes that remind me of a Precious Moments figurine my mom had.
“And who might you be?” I say, taking a knee to meet her at eye level.
She slowly approaches me, but doesn’t say anything.
“This is Josie. She’s… well, she’s Theo’s sister,” Levi says, looking slightly uncomfortable.
Theo’s sister?
I had no idea Levi had another kid. From my understanding Theo was it.
And wikipedia says he and Evie split up years ago, but here’s living proof that that may not have been the case after all.
“Oh,” I say surprised. Then turn back to the little girl, “Hi, Josie. I’m Sienna.”
The girl still doesn’t say anything. Instead, she reaches for the two small braids I have going down either side of my face and gives them a tug.
“How old are you, Josie?”
Still nothing. She seems absolutely captivated by my braids.
“Hey, bug, you wanna help with the papers today?” Levi attempts to get her attention.
Josie looks at Levi for a split second, but keeps playing with my hair.
“Sorry about that,” Levi says, “She’s four and she doesn’t talk. Her doctor says she has a speech delay.”
I look at the little girl, she keeps running her little fingers up and down my braids.
“You like them? I can do them for your hair, too. If you want.”
She drops her little fingers and reaches for her own hair.
“Yes? Do you want braids?” I put my braids against hers to show her.
Josie doesn’t respond. She just keeps touching her own hair.
“Can I?” I say, looking to Levi for permission.
He clears his throat. “Sure.”
I hold my hand out for Josie to take it, and when she does I lead her to an empty bucket, flip it over and pat it for her to sit.
She looks at the bucket and back at me in question.
“You can sit here. And I’ll do your braids.” I point to my hair and then hers.
She seems to understand that and sits down, putting her little hands on her lap like a perfect little princess.
Oh my gosh, this girl is so freaking cute.
Levi hasn’t moved from his spot. He just stays watching us, like something crazy just happened.
“You okay over there, boss?” I say, brushing my fingers through Josie’s soft, wavy hair.
“Uh… it’s just,” he stumbles over his words. “She usually cries around strangers,” he replies, dumbfounded.
“Well,” I say, looking down at Josie. “I’m honored that you trust me to style your hair.”
The little girl doesn’t look me in the eye. She, instead, looks down at her feet, kicking them against the overturned bucket, and smiles.
I make quick work of braiding two strands on either side of Josie’s face, just like mine. And the whole time, her little feet just kick against the bucket, a happy little rhythm.
When I finish I kneel down in front of her.
“All done,” I sign with my hands. She follows my movement with her eyes and then does the same thing with her own hands.
I look at Levi who’s still watching us, just outside his office.
“Does she sign?”
He shakes his head.
I sign, “Thank you.”
And again, the little girl does the same.
Well… she might not speak vocally, but from the looks of it she can communicate.
I smile at her and help her down from the bucket and together we walk back to Levi.
He has his hands in his pockets, and licks his lips before he speaks.
“Um…” He clears his throat. “We have a lot of work to do. Come on, Josie girl.”
She lets go of my hand and takes Levi’s as he leads us back to his office. The sight reminds me of what it would be like to see a delicate flower next to a rocky mountain.
Inside the cluttered office, he clears up a corner and sets up a little workstation for her in the with her own little makeshift desk, chair, and lamp.
And Josie happily scribbles in the notebook that Levi gave her.
“Sorry, she’s usually with her mom,” he says to me when he catches me watching her.
“There’s no need to apologize. It’s sweet that you bring her to work with you,” I give him a half smile.
Levi might not want me here, but that doesn’t mean I can’t acknowledge a sweet dad move when I see one.
“Yeah,” he says thoughtfully, before drawing our attention back to the spreadsheet on the computer. “We should talk about payroll. I handled it this week, but it’s done every Friday.”
“And then you take the crew out for poker?” I ask, not even trying to hide my grin.
“Poker night was Brody’s idea,” he says. “If you can imagine it.”
Somehow I can.
Brody does seem like the kind of guy that works hard and plays harder.
I perk up at the mention of my dad.
“Does he go to them?”
He gives a dry chuckle.
“Used to. That man’s been… busy.”
He clicks around and shows me the system he has for doing payroll, almost like he’s ready to move on from the subject.
I thought they were best friends, but right now, it almost seems like Levi doesn’t want to talk about him.
Interesting.