19. CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 19
KASON
Mark gives Sierra an affectionate embrace. “Missed you,” he says, warmly. Then he pulls back so Tony can hug her and crosses his arms over his chest, studying me while Tony looks to me with a smile on his face.
This is like a good cop, bad cop scenario. I laugh internally. Although I met them briefly the other night, but this is a different Mark today. Tony sticks his hand out, and I grasp it after looking over at Sierra. She’s rubbing her hands together nervously. His grip is firm but not threatening. “It’s great to see you again, Kason.”
“Likewise, sir,”
“There’s no sir, necessary. You can call me Tony.”
“Then nice to see you again too, Tony.”
I face Mark, who is sizing me up, and extend my hand. “Hello, Mark.”
He doesn’t take my hand for a few moments, but when his hand finally takes mine, his shake is much firmer than Tony’s was. Releasing my hand, his arms cross over his chest again. “You can call me, Officer Duncan. And I need you to know that my gun is always loaded, and I’m a hell of a shot. Hurt one hair on Sierra’s head, and there’s nowhere you can run that I won’t catch you. You might be fast on the football field, but my bullet is much faster.”
“Oh my god, you didn’t just threaten to shoot him,” Sierra squeaks in horror.
Tony laughs. Mark would never have to worry about me harming Sierra. I’d never hurt his niece. Hell, I’d willingly stand still and allow him to shoot because if I ever hurt her, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.
“Sierra means everything to me. My whole life I had one goal and that was playing football. Not much outside of life mattered more. I’m doing what I’ve loved for as long as I can remember. But I’ll tell you right now, if I had to choose between playing the game I love or having Sierra in my life, Sierra would win hands down. So, if, and I do mean if, I ever hurt even one hair on her head, I’d let you catch me.”
He analyzes me, if he thinks that was some line, he’s wrong. He must come to that conclusion because he nods. “You know, I really believe you would.” Then he smiles. “Good to see you again too.”
I chuckle lightly. When I glance at Sierra, she’s wearing a soft smile and her eyes are glassy with unshed tears as she gazes tenderly at me.
“Kason,” she whispers but doesn’t say anything else. I think my words to her uncle have left her speechless. She has to know how much she means to me, and if she didn’t before, she sure as fuck does now.
I pick up her hand and kiss the back of it, and her smile brightens as we stare at one another. Saying so much without having to verbalize a word.
The clearing of a throat has us breaking our gaze. This time both men are smiling when I face them. “Sierra, why don’t you and Kason take your luggage to your room and come down to the kitchen after and join me for a nightcap? Mark has to head back to the station.” Tony suggests.
Mark looks at his watch and then back at me. “I’ll be back around midnight. I’ll see everyone in the morning.” With that, he strolls to the door and opens it. He stops before stepping out and spins back toward me. “And Kason, you can call me Mark.” He winks then leaves. I guess we’re good then.
After that, Tony heads into what I’m assuming is the kitchen. I take a step to grab our luggage when Sierra’s soft touch on my arm stops me. No sooner do I turn back to her and she cups my cheeks. Her gaze is soft, and her eyes are bright. Slowly, she lifts onto her toes and gently presses her lips to mine. I wrap my arms around her waist and her arms wrap around my neck, and we continue to kiss. This kiss is different. It’s not demanding but tender. Once again, we are saying so much more than any words we have spoken up until this point.
At least she hasn’t spoken them yet. I’ve worn my heart on my sleeve for her.
Although her kiss has me hardening, it isn’t about a prelude to sex and sex is not what I want or need right now. I want to hold her in my arms and enjoy this affection between us. When she does pull back, her face is serene and beautiful.
“You mean everything to me too. I don’t want a life without you in it.”
Her words, fuck her words have me thinking how lucky I am to have this woman. It has me thinking about happily ever afters and having this woman in my life as my wife and the mother of my children. As much as I want to tell her this, I will wait until a more proper time and place. Maybe once my season is over, I can take her away and propose to her. I know there will never be another woman who will ever mean more to me than her. She’s mine.
Taking my hand, she leads us up to her bedroom with our luggage. I have certainly stepped into a girl’s room. It has gray walls and pink bedding on a queen-sized bed with an end table on either side. She has a floor-standing mirror with fairy lights around it, and on top of a dresser is a jewelry stand that holds different necklaces and earrings. Walking over to the mirror, she flips on the light that glows softly and those are pink as well .
She shows me the en-suite bathroom before we head back down to Tony, who is sitting at the table with a beer. I have a seat with him while Sierra goes to the fridge.
“You’re quite the receiver, and I’ve got you on my fantasy football team next game for a league I’m in.”
“I’ll be sure to play my best for you then.”
Sierra comes over and places a beer in front of me. I open it and take a sip. She also carries a glass and a bottle of wine over. She uncorks the wine and as she’s pouring some into her glass she asks, “What is fantasy football?”
God, I love her. She doesn’t know much about football but has been asking me lots of questions so she can learn. I appreciate her trying. She’ll be coming to my first game, and I want her to enjoy the sport I love so much.
“Fantasy football is a game you play with other people that make up a league. You draft your own team from real players in the NFL, and each week you compete against other teams people in your league have picked. Depending on how well your players play, you score points.” I try to make it as simple as possible for her.
She shrugs. “I don’t care what the other players are doing, I’m going to be cheering for you alone.” I get the mental image of her wearing my jersey again. I’ll fuck her one day wearing that and nothing else. Then I realize I need to curb these thoughts in present company.
Ice baths, ice baths, ice baths. I can’t have a conversation with her uncle with a semi.
Sierra and Tony start talking about real estate, thankfully, while I continue to mentally chant about icy water. I hear enough though to learn that the business that Tony co-owns with Kylie’s mother, Nora, is doing well. As they talk, I get a text from my teammate.
Jonas:
You never told me who Sierra’s mother was .
That’s because she doesn’t talk about her much, if at all. I open the attachment. It takes me to a social media gossip website that is famous for finding out anything and everything about those they deem to have celebrity status.
Its headline reads:
KASON MORGAN DATING FORMER SUPERMODEL, MONICA LAWSON’S DAUGHTER.
I’ve heard of her. It was before my time though. I look up at Sierra who is still talking to her uncle, not catching my puzzled gaze in her direction. I wonder why she never told me this. If I remember the images in my head of her mother correctly, she was a beautiful woman. I peer back down at my phone to read the article.
KASON MORGAN’S CURRENT FLAME, SIERRA LAWSON, IS NONE OTHER THAN MONICA LAWSON’S DAUGHTER. MONICA DISAPPEARED FROM THE SCENE OVER TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO WITHOUT A TRACE. HERE ONE DAY AND GONE THE NEXT. IT TOOK SOME DIGGING INTO THE WOMAN NO ONE KNEW ABOUT TO FIND OUT WHO SHE IS, BUT WE’RE NOTHING IF NOT THOROUGH WITH OUR REPORTS. GRACED WITH HER MOTHER’S BEAUTIFUL FACE, SIERRA IS A HEAD-TURNER, AND WE CAN SEE HOW SHE CAUGHT THE ELUSIVE PLAYBOY FOOTBALLER IN HER NET. THE QUESTION IS…WILL SHE BE ABLE TO HANG ONTO HIM AS SO MANY WOMEN HAVE TRIED BEFORE?
I turn my curious gaze back to Sierra. She has never shared her mother’s name and I’m surprised that I know who she is. This time she must feel my eyes on her because she looks at me and cocks her head slightly to the side. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
Instead of answering, I ask, “Your mom was Monica Lawson? ”
Her smile instantly turns into a frown. She peeks down at my phone in my hand and sees the article on the face of it. With a trembling hand, she takes it and starts to read while chewing on her bottom lip. When she finishes, she sighs, lays my phone on the table, and stands. “I need a moment. I’m going for a walk.” She opens the back door and hurries through it.
I should have thought before I mentioned her mom, but the article caught me off guard because it was unexpected to realize that I knew who her mom was. I stand, ready to go after her when a strong grip on my elbow stops me.
“Give her the moment she asked for. She’ll be back,” Tony encourages, and as much as I want to run after her, his tone has me stopping in my tracks.
“She needs me. I can’t just let her go.”
“You should for now. You have to give her a moment to get her thoughts together. She’s safe but if she ever tells you to give her time, I’m asking you to please honor that request. She didn’t go far. I can tell you right now, she’s sitting in the tree swing.” The way he says it has me sitting back down. He cocks an eyebrow. “She’s never told you about her mother.”
It’s a statement more than a question, but I answer anyway.
“She’s told me a little. I know she passed away when Sierra was eight.” I also remember my being single was important to her that first night because her biological dad was a married man, but I’m not telling him about that considering I fucked her hard right after I confirmed I was indeed single.
Nodding, he explains, “Monica’s death, as well as when she was alive, was hard for her. She remembers more than I wish she did. It’s why she hurts when she thinks about it and why she doesn’t speak much about it.”
I feel my heart sink in my stomach, thinking about Sierra as a little girl, hurting. “What happened?”
His lips thin into a straight line, and I already know I’m not going to be getting any answers from him. “It’s her story to tell, but I’ll say this; Sierra believes her mother didn’t love her. Couldn’t love her. It was a lonely childhood for her and a part of her still carries some resentment. ”
I could try and get him to give me more insight, and I might succeed by telling him how much I want to heal her hurt but, in the end, I realize that I want her to confide in me on her own. I want her to trust me enough to let go and be open and vulnerable with me.
I see sympathy in Tony’s eyes, and I know he knows she’s choosing not to truly let me in. I can’t take his pitiful gaze and stand once again. This time he doesn’t stop me from leaving. I climb the stairs to her room. Once there, I shower, spending longer than I normally would under the water. Once done, I roughly dry off before knotting a towel around my hips, stepping out of the en-suite, and coming to a complete stop.
My girl is sitting on the bed with a box in front of her. The hurt she had on her face is now gone, and if I had to choose a word to describe how she looks now, it would be relieved.
She gives me a heartfelt smile and says, “Let’s talk.”
I already know what she’s going to tell me will be profound for us moving forward.
I hope she plans to fully let me in.