“Exactly. So unless you’re willing to negotiate with her again, you’re out of luck.”
With a sigh that could have won her an Oscar for most dramatic, Stephanie returned to her cousins’ sides. The three of them looked so cute in their matching flower girl dresses, but it was fairly apparent from their rambunctious behavior they’d each had at least one piece of the lovely wedding cake Danica and JD had chosen.
Of the three, Ella—Sammi and Levi’s oldest—had the most mellow personality. She tended to follow the other two, allowing them to boss her around most of the time. Olivia—Bennett and Grace’s firstborn—was more willing to go toe to toe with Stephanie, often citing being the oldest of the three as the reason why her way was the best way.
Over the years, Sierra loved to watch the dynamic, often wishing she’d had a sister. Thankfully, Danica had happily filled that role.
“Hey, Sierra. Ethan.”
They both turned at Dalton’s greeting. Ethan held out his hand. “Good to see you again, Dalton.”
“You too,” Dalton said as he gave Ethan’s hand a shake. His gaze shifted to Sierra, the blue of his eyes intense when framed by his dark lashes. His once medium brown colored hair had darkened significantly over the years with him carrying more of Steve’s coloring than Emily’s. “How’s life been, Sierra?”
For a moment, Sierra felt the ridiculous urge to sit down with him over a couple of cups of coffee and share how life had been since he’d left. Thankfully, the urge passed, and she settled for, “It’s been good. Thanks.” Rather than throw the question back at him, she said, “It’s so great you were able to make it back for the wedding.”
Dalton nodded. “JD helped make that happen. Wouldn’t have been able to do it without him and Jesse helping me.” He hesitated. “Jesse is one of my bandmates.”
This time it was Sierra’s turn to nod. “Danica and I have followed your band, so we know who they are. We were sorry to hear about Angel.”
Dalton’s expression sobered. “We were good friends who were probably not good for each other. I’m thankful to still be here.”
“We’re thankful you’re still here too,” Ethan said as he rested his hand on Dalton’s shoulder. “Are you back for a while or just the wedding?”
“For a little while, or that’s the plan anyway. JD and Elliot have been setting up the empty two-bedroom apartment at the family complex for me.”
Sierra exchanged a glance with Ethan then looked back at Dalton. “I guess we’re going to be neighbors.”
“You didn’t want to stay with your folks?” Ethan asked.
Dalton gave a shrug, his shoulders moving beneath the pressed fabric of his dress shirt and vest. “If I was only going to be home for a few days, sure, but because I’m planning for a little longer, I’d rather have my own space. I’ve kind of been on my own for so long now that living long term with my folks doesn’t really appeal to me. I just hope they’ll understand.”
Sierra hoped they did too.
When Makayla joined them along with Bennett and Grace, Sierra once again slipped away. She noticed that Danica and JD had left, so she hoped they were able to relax and put whatever may have gone down with Steve and Emily behind them. They needed to just focus on each other as they spent their first night together as husband and wife. They were going to fly out the next morning for their honeymoon.
The news that Dalton was going to be her neighbor left Sierra with some odd feelings. It would be a bit weird without JD and Danica there as well. It had been a real rarity as teens that she and Dalton had hung out together without the other two. In fact, Sierra couldn’t recall it ever happening. Not that it would be happening now with them as adults, either.
She didn’t know how Dalton planned to fill his days, but after taking a week off to help Danica with the final details of the wedding, Sierra was back to work on Monday. Part of her wished she’d asked for an additional week off, but another part was kind of eager to get back to her normal routine.
As the last of the things were carried out to Mitch and Belle’s truck, Sierra picked up her stuff and began to make the rounds to say goodnight to the people still there. When she saw Dalton in what appeared to be a serious conversation with his folks, she decided not to interrupt and made her way out of the hall to the foyer.
As she pushed open the door that led to the parking lot, a wave of warm July air greeted her. Sierra took a deep breath in then slowly let it out, exhaling the last of the stress of the day. And she didn’t care how late it was when she got home, she was going to take a long soak in the nice big tub that was hers now that Danica had moved out, relinquishing the master bedroom with its lovely attached bathroom to her.
“Everything okay, dude?” Elliot asked as he steered his car out of the parking lot.
“It’s fine.” Dalton sighed, not sure why he’d expected everything to go smoothly. “My folks just weren’t thrilled when they heard that I wasn’t going to be staying with them. I thought maybe knowing that I was sticking around longer might make it better, but I was wrong, apparently. And I think they may have torn a strip off JD for helping me plan this surprise, especially helping set up the apartment for me.”
“Man, I hope not,” Elliot said. “I know he was torn about not telling anyone about you coming, but in his mind, it was better to plan it how you felt most comfortable rather than have you not come at all.”
“I owe JD big time. Maybe I should buy him a new car.”
Elliot gave a choked laugh. “I honestly can’t tell if you’re joking, but I’m pretty sure JD wouldn’t say no to a new truck. His is kind of old.”
“Really?” Dalton liked the idea of being able to do something to help JD in return for all he’d done for him.
“Yes, but don’t tell him I said his truck was old. He might take it kind of personally.”
Though Dalton hadn’t hung out much with Elliot when they were younger, he found himself appreciating the guy’s sense of humor. “As far as we’re concerned, this conversation never took place.”
“Perfect,” Elliot said with another laugh. “Are you planning to go to church tomorrow? If you need a ride, I usually go to the late service.”
Dalton shouldn’t have been surprised by the question—after all, he’d already been asked it a handful of times since he’d arrived at the hall—but he kind of was. He had a feeling, however, that Elliot would be the one least likely to judge him on his reply.
“Haven’t decided just yet,” Dalton said. “But just for reference, is the late service still eleven?”
“Yep. I leave around ten-thirty, so just be downstairs by then if you want a ride.”
“Thanks. I appreciate the offer.”
For the remainder of the ride, Dalton tried to make light conversation with Elliot, but the emotions of the day were starting to catch up with him. And what a mess of emotions they were. From the highs of seeing Danica and his folks again to the lows of feeling guilty when his parents expressed their disappointment over his decision to live in the apartment on his own.
The confusion and hurt on their faces—especially his mom’s—had been hard to take, but his fear had been that if he’d gone to their place, he never would have been able to move out on his own. His mom would have insisted he stay where she could take care of him, and though his dad probably wouldn’t come right out and say it, he would want Dalton where he could keep an eye on him—no doubt waiting for any sign that he was about to relapse.
But Dalton wanted neither of those things. He needed to learn to take care of himself, and more than that, he needed people to trust that he could make good decisions. It was true he hadn’t made great ones in the past, but how was he supposed to learn if people wouldn’t let him?
At least living in the apartment kept him close to family while still giving him his own space. He understood why it wasn’t close enough for his parents, but if he was going to stay for any length of time, he needed his space. Dalton knew he’d have to make an
extra effort to see his mom and dad, and he was willing to do that. He just hoped that would be enough for them.
Still, in spite of the many reasons why he wanted space of his own, he was experiencing some nerves over it. His parents had made him feel like he was making the wrong decision, so now he was second-guessing himself.
It made him wonder if he should have just headed straight back to Toronto once the wedding was over. Jesse might have hovered at first, but as long as Dalton wasn’t doing anything that harmed himself or promoted unhealthy choices, he would have let him live his life.
“You okay, man?”
Dalton turned to look at Elliot, ashamed to realize that he’d zoned out on the guy. “Sorry. Just got a lot on my mind.”
“No worries,” Elliot assured him. “If you are ever in need of someone to talk to…well, I know you have a ton of people you’d probably go to before me, but if you do need someone, and no one else is available…just give me a shout.”
Though Elliot was right that Dalton had a lot of people he could talk to, a lot of them probably still viewed him as the seventeen-year-old that he’d been when he left. That was his fault, of course. If he’d kept in touch, they would have been a part of his life and would have seen him grow up.
Because of decisions he’d made, however, they’d had to watch his life from a distance. Likely all they saw were the ways he messed up or how his choices were completely out of line with how he’d been raised.
“Thanks for the offer. I might just surprise you.”
“Surprise away,” Elliot said with a laugh. “And just so you know ahead of time, anything you share with me would stay between us. I know how family can be sometimes. Wanting to be all up in my business. That’s why I finally decided to move out.”
“Have you been in the apartment long?”
“A few months. My mom has finally stopped calling me so often. Now it’s just once a day instead of twice.”
Before their conversation could go any further, Elliot turned into the parking lot behind the building. Once inside, Dalton said goodnight and made his way up to the second floor. He glanced at the door to Sierra’s apartment, wondering how much he’d see her. It might be nice to be able to hang with her and Elliot, especially while Danica and JD were gone.
CHAPTER FOUR
After he shut and locked his door, Dalton took a few minutes to explore his new home. He’d ordered a bunch of household items online, then JD and Elliot had made sure his purchases had gotten into the apartment. It was something of a surprise to Dalton that no one had discovered what the men were up to, but he supposed it helped that Elliot lived at the apartment building and could claim the deliveries as his own.
Though they’d offered to unpack it all, Dalton had turned them down except for the furniture. Unpacking would give him something to do, especially in the first few days as he adjusted to being on his own.
From what he could see, the guys had made the bed in the master bedroom and had set out clean towels. When he went to explore the kitchen, he noticed that JD had picked up a few groceries for him as well. Though he appreciated that, Dalton could see that he needed to get himself to the store to pick up a few more grocery items.
Along with dealing with his addictions, the center had given him the opportunity to learn how to live a healthier lifestyle. Part of that program had been centered on exercise, but another part had been learning how to prepare healthy foods.
While most of the people at the center had participated willingly, there were a few who had resisted. Dalton hadn’t been one of them. At one time in his life, he’d enjoyed learning to cook with his mom and Danica, so taking advantage of the classes had been a no-brainer for him.
Given that he didn’t have a car—or a driver’s license, for that matter—getting to the store wouldn’t be so easy. He might have to call for a ride if no one was available to take him. Maybe, in addition to the other changes he was making in his life, it was also time to get his driver’s license.
He’d gotten his learner’s permit and had even taken driver’s ed at school when he’d turned sixteen, but since Danica had her driver’s license, he’d never bothered to pursue getting his own. Once he’d moved to Toronto, there had been no need for a license there either. Initially, someone from his management team had driven him wherever he needed to go, and later on, if they couldn’t, they’d hired a driver for him. Jesse would also drive him around at times.
If he was going to stay in Winnipeg for any length of time, it would probably be a good idea to get his license and a car. He needed to have some independence.
With everything going through his mind, Dalton knew he needed to gather his thoughts. Back in the bedroom, he opened his laptop bag and pulled out one of his notebooks. Though he had a phone and a laptop, he preferred to keep track of things in notebooks. One for reminders and lists. Another for song writing.
Of late, the former had had a lot more use than the latter.
Pushing aside that thought, Dalton shoved the song writing notebook back into the bag and took the other one to the kitchen to begin to organize his next few days.
Sierra stood in front of the fridge, adding yogurt and milk to the grocery list on her phone. Normally she wouldn’t have gone shopping on a Sunday, but she hadn’t had any time during the past two weeks to get to the store.
With her shifts starting up again the next morning, Sierra didn’t want to have to hassle grocery shopping after her first twelve-hour shift, after more than a week off. That left her with the few hours Sunday afternoon to grab the things on her list.
After the hectic pre-wedding week, she was happy for a little quiet time, even if it was going to involve grocery shopping. So, after taking a nap when she got home from church, she gathered up her stuff to head to the store.
She was on her way down the stairs when she heard her name. Turning, Sierra saw Dalton at the top of the stairs.
“Hey, there,” he said as he jogged down to the step above where she’d stopped.
“Hi.” Sierra smiled at him. “How are you settling in?”
“Good. The apartment’s great, but I need a few things. You wouldn’t happen to be heading to a store, would you?”
“Uh, yes, actually, I’m going to pick up some groceries. Is that what you need?”
Dalton smiled as he nodded. “Yep. JD picked up a few things for me, but I need some other stuff.”
“Well, let’s go then,” Sierra said with a nod of her head toward the back door. “The store closes at six on Sundays.”
“Thanks for letting me tag along.” Dalton pushed the door open and held it for her.
Sierra got a whiff of his cologne as she walked past him. As a teen, he’d gone through a phase where his cologne had preceded him into the room. Thankfully, what he’d settled on as an adult was definitely more subtle.
At the store, Sierra thought Dalton would wander off and get his own groceries, but as she pushed her cart into the store, he stayed by her side.
“Do you mind if I put my things in your cart?” Dalton asked. “I guess I should’ve grabbed one for myself.”
“It’s not a problem,” Sierra said. “These carts are pretty big.”
She watched with curiosity at some of the things he picked up and placed in the cart. Surprisingly, a lot of what he chose was on the healthy side. She wasn’t sure why she’d expected him to live on junk food, but she had.
“What’s your favorite meal?” Dalton asked as they wandered through the fruit and vegetable section.
“Well, I do like pizza, but pasta is a close second.” Sierra picked up some strawberries, and after checking to make sure they were in good shape, she put them in the cart. “How about you?”
“It used to be Mom’s fried chicken, and while I still love that, I’ve kind of gotten used to a different type of food at the center. A little more health-centric. I took some cooking classes while in rehab.”
Sierra nodded. “I should probably take some of th
ose. I really do like to cook, but Danica usually has to rescue me. To this day, I still can’t make chicken and dumplings without her making the dumplings for me.”
Sadness filtered into her heart as she realized that the next time she messed up, Danica wasn’t going to be in the next room to help her out. She was going to have to figure out how not to screw up or else just eat whatever it was regardless of how bad it might taste.
“Well, I can give you a hand. I’ve discovered cooking is something I enjoy and seem to be pretty good at.”
“Must be genetic then. The Emily gene.” Sierra said, smiling.
Dalton returned her smile. “Maybe. I’m sure Mom would like to think so. That and her stellar cooking lessons. My preference, back in the day, was actually brownies. I’m not sure if you remember how I baked them at practically every opportunity.”
Oh, Sierra did remember. She had eaten a ton of them. After all, she’d been sure they were the best brownies she’d ever tasted since her crush had made them. “They were good. Better than anything I could have made.”
“Maybe I’ll make another batch. See if I still have the touch.”
“I’m sure your family would like that. Just like old times.”
Dalton sighed. “As long as that’s the only thing they expect of the old times.”
Sierra knew what he was saying, and she wondered how realistic that hope was for Dalton. “I’m not sure what they’ll expect.”
“How disappointed were they in me?”
With a frown, Sierra stopped pushing the cart. Dalton kept walking for a few steps before he swung back around and moved to the front of the cart.
“Dalton, I don’t think they were disappointed in you. Worried, definitely, especially when you seemed to just vanish off the face of the earth.”
The scowl that crossed his face perplexed Sierra. “I fell for someone’s promises about what they could do for me.”
“And they didn’t follow through on them?”
Dalton tugged the cart forward then fell into step beside her once again. “Oh, they did to some extent. They promised I could write the songs I wanted and choose who I wanted to work with, but first I had to be eighteen, so my family couldn’t intervene. Then they decided I’d do better as part of a band than just on my own. Then they decided my music wasn’t edgy enough. And it went on and on. By the time Dalton’s Cross debuted, I didn’t really care anymore. As long as they let me write some type of music and kept the drugs coming, I didn’t care about much else.”
When He Returns Page 3