29. Chapter 29
Sienna and John sittin’ in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g!
Veronica’s singing filled Sienna’s head, and then V giggled like a schoolgirl.
Sienna had kissed him. The memory had her heart rat-a-tatting in her chest. There was something between them.
She felt it. Knew he felt it as well, and finally.
It. Had. Happened. Their lips fit together as if they were old friends with serious, amazing, wondrous benefits.
And having him kiss her tears away? That had shattered the rest of her defenses when it came to John Baker.
Especially after what she had said to him. Even though it had been the truth, it didn’t make her feel better for saying it. Truth can be cruel if wielded like a blunt instrument, and she had used a hacksaw instead of a scalpel.
You were mean, Veronica sniped.
And since V had no filter or fear about saying anything, her scolding meant Sienna had definitely gone too far. She had tried to apologize to John, she reminded Veronica, but he wouldn’t let her, instead agreeing with her.
Why had she lashed out at John? Because she was overwhelmed?
Because she had listened to every man in her life question what she was doing, and having John do it as well tipped her over the edge?
Or maybe John was right and she needed to stop trying to prove herself by doing everything on her own.
Did she have the right to chastise John for being an island when she was doing the same?
Had she not almost gotten Ryan possibly hurt or worse by insisting they didn’t need backup when they went to the vault facility?
Everything bad and scary was piling up around her.
And now it was her job to bring an end to centuries of hatred and curses.
Her. The youngest child who lost her mother too early and never really had her father to begin with.
A man who didn’t love or respect her. Although to be fair, he didn’t love and respect her older brothers either.
Being in the same neglected boat didn’t make her feel better.
But John was confident she could lead the clan.
Yet another thing to talk to John about when this curse business was behind them.
Because even though she had let him postpone the conversation, she would be having it with him.
“Earth to Sienna.”
She blinked and looked across the desk at Ryan. “Sorry?”
“I’ve been trying to get your attention for a while now. You okay?”
“Yes.” She nodded. “Have a lot on my mind.”
“I get it.”
She hesitated for a moment and then with V’s urging asked the question she had been wondering about. “Why did you tell John about the first time we met and I informed you we were going to be best friends?”
Ryan sat back from his laptop. “Because he asked me about our relationship.”
She frowned. “I already told him we were best friends.”
“And he questioned if it was more than that.”
She blinked again. “More?”
Ryan looked at her like he had a secret. “Yes, I believe his exact words were, ‘How can you spend so much time with her and not…’”
“Not what?” she asked.
“Love you.”
“I…” She couldn’t think of anything else to say. Veronica was not having the same sort of trouble since she was screeching like a winning contestant on a game show.
He gave her a hard look. “Wow. I don’t remember the last time you were speechless.”
“I…” She closed her eyes and told V to shut up.
Ryan chuckled. “I take it Veronica is giving you an earful?”
“When isn’t she?” There. Sienna could talk again. Ryan was the only person who knew about Veronica. He didn’t think it was strange, or that she was strange. Maybe because she had told him about her inner voice when they were children. Kids were a lot more accepting of things.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have told you,” Ryan said.
“No. I’m glad you did. He’s one of the things I have on my mind.”
“I bet,” he said with a smirk.
“Stop.” She took a deep breath and blurted, “I yelled at him and then we kissed.”
Ryan sat upright in his chair. “Holy shit.”
“I know! There is so much going on right now. I don’t—”
“Nope,” he interrupted. “You’re not going to use your clan leader job as an excuse. There will always be something going on in the clan and your family. That doesn’t mean you aren’t allowed to have a life.”
She cleared her throat. “After we kissed, John said we needed to talk about us, but not now. He wants to wait until after the curse is broken.”
Ryan reached across the desk and laid his hand on top of her clenched one. “And what do you want?”
Wasn’t that a loaded question? “I want a lot of things. But now isn’t the time. And my head keeps going over it again and again, with Veronica weighing in on things.”
He squeezed her hand. “How about we talk about clan business that has nothing to do with Templars, curses, or grumpy males?”
“Yes, please,” Sienna said. “Where are we with the paperwork for the children’s center?”
Ryan reached for a folder on the desk. “Pulling everything together. Susanna sent over a couple potential places for us to look at.”
“Great,” she said with a sigh. They spent most of the afternoon working on the plans and next steps, which let Sienna’s nerves take a break. Of course she should have realized that wouldn’t last too long when her phone dinged. There was a message in the chat group from Mia.
“What is it?” Ryan asked.
“I have a message from Mia. She attached a file. Let’s get Jonas on the phone so he can check the file before we open it.”
Ryan reached for the office phone. “Yeah, we don’t need some Templar virus in your phone or our network.” He called Jonas and spoke to him for a moment before hanging up. “He’s on his way.”
Minutes later Jonas walked in carrying a black laptop and sat down across from Sienna.
“Thanks for coming,” Sienna said. “Where’s Skippy? Are you cheating on your laptop, Jonas?”
Jonas rolled his eyes. “This laptop is not linked to our network. I use it to run scans to check files and links for malicious software and other harmful things. Can you give me your log-in details for the chat group so that I can access the file?”
Sienna gave him the information and then pushed back her chair. “I’m going to let you check the file. Ryan, can you stay and finish the document we were discussing?”
Ryan narrowed his eyes, quickly figuring out her flimsy matchmaking attempts. “Sure.”
Sienna smiled. “I’m going to go grab some cookies from Marilyn’s cookie jar. I’ll bring some back for both of you.”
Jonas’s head was already down as he typed on the laptop, and she winked at Ryan before heading out of the office.
She was sure there would be payback from Ryan after what she shared earlier, but she could handle it.
When she walked into the kitchen, Sienna wasn’t surprised to find Tessa having tea and cookies.
Her sister-in-law was a food connoisseur, especially when it came to desserts.
Adam sat next to her with an exasperated but loving expression on his face.
Something tweaked in Sienna’s chest at how happy her brother was now.
“Did you leave some cookies for the rest of us?” Sienna asked.
Tessa smirked. “Maybe. Marilyn made homemade salted caramel brownies and ice cream, but I’m not allowed to have any until after dinner,” she announced with a small pout.
“Since when have you not done what you want to do, allowed or not?” Sienna asked.
Adam snorted. “Amen.”
Tessa narrowed her eyes at her husband before answering Sienna. “Marilyn told me to wait. And I always listen to the person who supplies me with sweets.”
Adam nudged her. “I think you love Marilyn more than me.”
“It depends on the day,” Tessa said, her eyes dancing.
Sienna laughed. “At least you know where you stand, big brother.”
He wrapped his arm around his wife and kissed the side of her head. “I do.”
Sienna walked over and grabbed a plate and then set a few cookies on it. “I came in here to raid the jar of cookies for Jonas and Ryan. Jonas is checking a file I just received from Mia in the chat group. He’s making sure it doesn’t have any surprises attached to it.”
Adam frowned. “So she actually did send some of her research like she promised.”
“We’ll see. As soon as Jonas says the file is okay to access, I’ll have Megan take a look at it, and then we can all get together to discuss if there’s anything helpful and plan next steps.”
Adam looked at his wife, and they exchanged some nonverbal communication before Tessa stood. “Lily should be finishing up with school. I’ll see you at dinner.”
Sienna set the plate she was holding down. “Now that your wife ran off, what are you wanting to talk about?”
His eyes widened. “I just want to check in on how you’re doing. It’s been a lot lately, especially Mia.”
She held up her hand. “I know you’re worried about dealing with her. I don’t trust her fully either. But we have to do something. She’s given us some information and hopefully the file will help us even further.”
Adam walked over to her. “I’m worried about you.”
She bristled a bit and then stopped herself from spouting off like she had to John. “I’m sorry if I’m not doing what you would if you were still in charge.”
He blinked before scowling. “Why would you say that?”
Surprised at his reaction, she swallowed. “Because with everything blowing up around us, and me insisting I didn’t need more guards to go to the vault, I wondered if you think leaving me in charge is a mistake.”
Adam stepped forward and placed his hands on her shoulders. “Absolutely not. You’re a great clan leader. Better than me.”
“Oh, come on, Adam.”
“I mean it. As oldest I was forced into the role whether I fit it or not. And yes, I ran the clan, but it consumed me. You are a natural-born leader. I’m sorry if I’ve ever given you the impression that I thought you being in this role is a mistake. Far from it.”
She sighed. “I think it’s my own insecurity. I just want to prove that I can do this.”
He squeezed her shoulders. “I know that Father’s affection was conditional and it messed up all of us.
I was always second-guessing myself as clan leader.
And I almost died because I took everything on my shoulders and kept what was happening a secret.
But you don’t have anything to prove, and you can learn from my mistakes.
Which means you can let the rest of us help you when you need it. Asking for help doesn’t make you weak.”
She smiled. “You sound like John. He told me the same thing.”
Adam looked at her for a moment before speaking, “You’ve been spending a lot of time with John.”
“I have. Is that a problem?” she asked.
“No.” He blew out a hard breath. “I guess I still don’t trust him.”
“You ended up with Tessa, Adam. You don’t have anything to worry about. The picture Lily drew of John and Tessa holding hands didn’t happen.”
“I’m not worried about Tessa and my relationship. But John has made it clear that he’s only interested in breaking this curse. He’s spent his whole life mired in it, and that has left some big scars that none of us can understand.”
She nodded. “We all have scars. It’s a matter of choosing to dwell on them as past failures or seeing them as trials we’ve overcome along the way.”
“True. Just be careful when it comes to John. And before you ask, that’s big brother advice, not prior clan leader advice.” Adam pulled her in for a hug and her heart warmed at the show of affection. “When it comes to this clan, there is no one better suited to run it. Don’t doubt yourself.”