He’d managed to pull together a more “acceptable” appearance for his family, but when she looked at him, Sierra could still see the man she’d watched from a distance for almost a decade. He looked more like the Dalton of old now, but there was no unseeing what she’d seen of him.
Sierra wasn’t sure if the girls were aware of Dalton’s career. After Benjie, the girls were the oldest of the grandchildren, but they were being raised by protective parents who wouldn’t want their children to know about the kind of lifestyle their uncle had lived. At least not at this age.
Benjie was aware of Dalton’s career, but it seemed rock music wasn’t his thing, so he didn’t gush all over him. Instead, he treated Dalton much like he treated his other uncles. He talked with them. He joked with them. He treated them with respect. From the couple of times she’d seen him with Dalton, he interacted just the same with him. Sierra was sure that Dalton appreciated that.
It didn’t take long for the women to finish with their nails. Dalton was done before her since he hadn’t even gone for clear polish. He’d settled for having them clean his nails up and then buff them. When they were done, they walked to the front counter.
“I’ll get this,” Dalton said, pulling his wallet out of his pocket.
“You don’t have to. I planned to cover this for the girls.”
“Just let me treat you guys. I missed out on being able to do that for my friends and family all these years.” He gave her a quick smile. “I mean, I assume we would have become friends as the years went on.”
Sierra’s inner teenage-self gasped and then sat in hurt, stunned silence at his words. He hadn’t considered them friends? She’d always thought they’d been friends—not close friends, but still friends—and now to hear that he hadn’t ever viewed her as that momentarily robbed her of words.
Sierra wasn’t sure what to do with the turmoil within her. And she wasn’t even sure why she was feeling like she was. It shouldn’t matter that they hadn’t been friends back then. It shouldn’t matter that it was becoming pretty clear that he’d barely known she existed when they were teens.
“You okay?” Dalton asked as they stepped out of the nail place. “I mean, you’re not really upset I treated for that, are you?”
“No, it’s fine,” Sierra said, forcing a smile. “Are you going to treat for supper too?”
He arched a brow at her. “Are you going to fight me on it if I want to?”
“Are you two fighting?” Stephanie asked.
“No,” they said in unison.
“Sounds like you are,” Olivia countered.
Sierra fought the urge to roll her eyes. Dalton, however, didn’t even bother to fight that battle. He rolled his eyes, and in the process looked so much like Makayla that in spite of her mood, Sierra found herself wanting to laugh.
The eye roll was an action Sierra was well acquainted with from her sister-in-law, and it was usually in response to something her children had said or done. For some reason, they seemed to think they could pull one over on her. Of all the women in the family, Makayla was the least likely to fall for her children’s attempts to get her to change her mind about something. Or better yet, believe them when they were telling a lie—usually blaming a sibling for something they’d done.
“We are not fighting,” Dalton said. “We’re having a difference of opinion.”
“Isn’t that the same thing?” Stephanie asked as they walked toward the car.
“No, it’s not. We can have a difference of opinion and not be fighting.” Dalton pointed a finger at the three girls. “It’s a good lesson to learn early in life.”
This time it was Stephanie’s turn to roll her eyes. “Now you sound like Uncle Bennett. He’s always trying to teach us lessons.”
Sierra opened the back door of the car and gestured for them to get in. Thankfully, the interactions with the girls and Dalton had helped to pull her out of the quicksand of emotions she had unexpectedly found herself in. She was determined not to go back there, so she let the “disagreement” go, and if he wanted to pay for their meal, she’d let him do that without argument.
The girls chimed in with where they wanted to eat supper. All in agreement, which made Sierra think they’d been discussing it while they were getting their nails done. It wasn’t her first choice for a meal out, but since they served ice cream for dessert, she was willing to go along with it.
CHAPTER TWELVE
It didn’t take long to get to Dairy Queen from the nail salon, and after Sierra parked, the girls eagerly got out of the car. Once inside, they found a table in the small restaurant then each of the girls told Sierra what they wanted. She and Dalton left them at the table and went up to the counter to place the orders. When Dalton pulled out his wallet, Sierra let him take care of it.
“Thank you,” he said.
She shot him a look as the teen behind the cash register moved away to start filling their order. “For what?”
“For not arguing with me again.”
Sierra sighed. “I might not have been doing it out loud, but you can bet I was doing it inside.”
“I’m sure your objection is that you don’t want me to think you’re taking advantage of me.”
“That’s part of it,” Sierra admitted.
“Well, first of all, I don’t think that at all, so if I offer, assume that I really want to.” He turned to lean a hip against the counter, crossing his arms and tilting his head. “And what’s the other part?”
“I’m just used to taking care of myself.”
His brows rose a bit. “Never had a boyfriend?”
“First of all, having a boyfriend doesn’t mean a girl can’t take care of herself.”
“That’s not how us Callaghan boys were raised. We were supposed to take care of the girls we dated.”
“Pretty sure that most of the ladies your brothers ended up with would have insisted they could take care of themselves.”
Dalton seemed to consider that for a moment before nodding. He shifted away from the counter when the teen began to put things on their tray. “Especially Maya. Gabe landed himself a sugar mama.”
“I’m assuming that since I’ve never seen you with a black eye, you must not have told Gabe that when he was dating her.”
Dalton laughed. “I had no idea what that even meant back then, but I did mention it to him the other day.”
“And what did he do?”
“He laughed and said that I should only be so lucky.” Dalton shook his head. “Like I need a rich woman. I’m more likely to be the sugar daddy.”
“Well, let’s not discuss that around the girls.” Sierra nodded her head in the direction of where the trio sat, their heads close together. “The last thing we need is for Stephanie to ask Makayla what a sugar daddy is.”
A grin spread across Dalton’s face. “Is that really the last thing we need?”
Sierra gave him a warning look. “I like hanging out with the girls, and I’m pretty sure that Makayla would forbid that if Stephanie started talking about sugar daddies.”
“Okay, for your sake, I’ll shut up about ugarsay addiesday.”
This time Sierra went ahead and rolled her eyes at Dalton’s attempt at Pig Latin then she turned back to the teen. She took one of the trays he slid across the counter to her. “I’m going to take this to the girls.”
“I’ll be right there.”
At the table, the girls picked through the food to find what they’d asked for. The tables were set up for groups of four, so Sierra let the girls sit by themselves at one table, while she and Dalton took the one next to it. Sierra said a prayer for their meal then focused on the tray of food Dalton had set on their table.
“Wow,” Dalton said as he looked over what he’d ordered. “It’s been awhile since I was last in a DQ.”
“You didn’t eat fast food in Toronto?” she asked as she picked up a chicken strip then bit into it.
“Oh, we ate plenty of fast food, just not much
Dairy Queen. We had lots of McDonald's and Burger King. Even Wendy’s.”
They ate in silence for a bit as Sierra listened to the girls chatter away next to them. It felt like an eternity since she’d been their age, and even then, her life hadn’t been as uncomplicated as theirs were. She’d been dealing with parents who seemed to view her more as an inconvenience than a child they had wanted.
If it hadn’t been for Ethan, she had no idea where she’d be now. He’d loved her more than her parents had, and he’d done his best to make sure that she was taken care of. The times she’d spent with him had been the highlight of her life, and when the judge had given Ethan custody of her, her life had finally seemed to right itself.
The fact that she was happy and had a career she loved could be one hundred percent attributed to Ethan and later Makayla when he’d married her. She’d been willing to marry Ethan, even knowing that he and Sierra were a package deal.
She was so thankful that none of her nieces or their cousins had to deal with a life like hers had been years ago. She was comforted knowing that they were growing up in homes where they knew they were loved and where they experienced the stability that came with that knowledge.
Ethan had turned out to be a fantastic father, but Sierra had never doubted that he would be. He’d stepped up for her when he didn’t have to, so if he’d do that for her, he’d do even more for his own children.
“So you’re still on for some driving tomorrow?” Dalton asked.
“If you are,” Sierra said with a nod. She picked up a fry and took a bite. She wasn’t sure if she should tell him she planned to do a little research on how best to help someone learn to drive.
“I am. But Danica definitely wasn’t,” Dalton said as he laughed. “It’s good to know that even all these years later, some stuff never changes.”
“Maybe you can drive with her again after you’ve had a few lessons.”
“I’d probably have to blindfold her first.”
“Oh, that would make things infinitely worse.” Sierra could only imagine how things would be if Danica had to be blindfolded. “I’m not sure there’s enough money in the world to pay her to do that.”
Dalton tilted his head as he regarded her. “And you’re not worried about driving with me?”
“As long as you aren’t going to goof off while you’re driving, I’m not going to stress out. I’m a little more laid back than Danica, so I think I’ll be okay.”
“Thanks for being willing to help me,” Dalton said. “I suppose I could have asked JD, but he’s been pretty busy with that volleyball camp.”
“I thought he and Danica would have had time off during the summer, but they’re as busy as ever.”
“Kinda makes me feel lazy,” Dalton said after he finished chewing a bite of his burger.
“Are you finding it difficult not having a lot to do?”
“Some days are easier than others.” He picked up his drink and took a sip, his gaze not meeting hers. “I do try to keep busy with things like spending time with Mom and Dad and the siblings when they’re available. Life is definitely easier now than it was a couple of months ago. The cravings have lessened, for the most part.”
“Do you attend meetings?” Sierra asked. She wasn’t sure that was something she were supposed to ask a recovering addict, but she was curious. “You don’t have to answer me if you don’t want to.”
Dalton nodded, his gaze lifting from his food. “I haven’t gone to a meeting yet, but I’m meeting regularly with a counselor from the rehab center.”
“Isn’t the center out by Gimli?”
“Yes, but they have an office here in the city with counselors. Part of what they do is help their clients get back to a normal life. Most of us don’t live out in Gimli, so they have counselors here in the city to come alongside the people who live here.”
“That’s good that you still have that support after leaving the rehab center.”
“Yes, I’m dealing with additional pressures that I had not anticipated, so I’ve been glad of the support here. It’s one of the reasons I stayed on so long at the center. I knew I couldn’t go back to my normal life and then try to implement what I’d learned on my own. I wasn’t even sure what a normal life would look like for me sober, to be honest.” He picked up his drink and took a sip through the straw. “Jesse had told me before I left that the band had to be over, so I had no idea what lay ahead for me. Suddenly I had no drugs, no alcohol, and no career.”
“Your music will always be a career for you. It just might look different than it did before.”
“You’ve said that twice now,” Dalton remarked with a small smile.
“Said what?” Sierra asked.
“That something might look different.”
“Oh. Well, I’ve learned in my life that things change, and even if they end up different from how we thought they would, it doesn’t mean anything is wrong with how things turn out. Sometimes they’re even better.”
“Things certainly didn’t turn out how I had thought they would,” Dalton said with a wry smile.
Sierra wasn’t sure what to say. There would be some who would say that Dalton’s fame and fortune, earned doing something he loved, should be enough, but she was aware of the price he’d paid for it.
“Are you done eating?” Stephanie asked.
Sierra looked over to where the girls sat. “Almost. Did you girls want to get some ice cream?”
When all three nodded their heads, Dalton leaned over to pull out his wallet from his back pocket. When he pulled out a fifty and handed it to the girls, their eyes went wide.
“Bring back the change,” Sierra said.
Dalton glanced at her, and for a moment she thought he was going to say they could keep it, but instead, he just said, “You can get whatever you want as long as you’ll eat it.”
The girls rushed toward the counter, moving close together.
“You’re spoiling them,” Sierra said.
Dalton shrugged. “I haven’t had much chance to spoil my nieces and nephews, so I’ve got a little bit of lost time to make up.”
“I suppose they’re not my kids anyway,” Sierra said. “If their parents have a problem with it, I’m sure they’ll let you know.”
“Do you hope to have kids?” Dalton asked.
His question caught her off-guard, so she hesitated before answering. “Uh…I suppose. I haven’t really spent much time thinking about it. I mean, I’d need a husband first, and with no prospects around, there’s not much use in dwelling on that thought.”
Dalton regarded her curiously for a moment then nodded. “I never thought I’d have kids. My music was so much of a focus for me, but after everything that’s happened, it’s made me think I might like to have a couple one day.”
“I’m just glad that your parents are such good grandparents, especially considering that Ethan and Makayla’s kids only have one set. Actually, Maya’s parents are also really good at playing the role of grandparent to all the kids, not just her and Gabe’s.”
“Here’s your change,” Stephanie said, as she set the bills and coins down on the table. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Dalton said.
He shifted in his chair a bit so he could talk to the girls as they ate their ice cream. Sierra was glad he was making an effort to interact with them. All of the siblings and their spouses were good at interacting with each others’ kids. Dalton had always been an absentee uncle, one they hadn’t talked about much, even to the older kids. It was nice to see him making up for lost time.
Once the girls were done their ice cream, they all left the restaurant and headed back to Makayla’s. Ethan’s truck was in the driveway when they got home, so Sierra pulled in behind it.
They got out of the car and headed up the steps to the front door. Stephanie opened it for them, and they all trailed inside after her.
“Hi guys,” Ethan said as they all walked into the kitchen. From the look of things,
they were just getting ready to sit down for their dinner. “How was your afternoon?”
“It was great,” Stephanie said. “But they were fighting.”
“Who?” Makayla asked as she poured milk into cups on the counter. “Olivia and Ella?”
“No. Them.” Stephanie pointed at Sierra and Dalton.
Makayla turned to look at them. “You guys were fighting? What about?”
“We weren’t fighting,” Sierra said with a pointed look at Stephanie. “We had a bit of a disagreement.”
“About?”
“Who was paying the bill,” Dalton volunteered. “And it wouldn’t have even been a disagreement if Sierra had just let me pay.”
“I assume you won that disagreement?” Ethan said, looking at Sierra.
“No, I did not.” Sierra went over to give him a hug. “You can lecture him if you want.”
Ethan chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her for a tight hug. She felt him press a kiss to the top of her head and smiled.
“If he treated all you girls, I’m not going to get upset about it.” When he released her, he reached into his pocket then held his hand out. In his palm lay her candy. The one he’d started giving her as a young girl and never stopped, even though she was well past childhood now.
Snatching it from his hand, she went up on her tiptoes to press a kiss to his cheek, the bristles of his five o’clock shadow rough against her lips. “Thanks.”
“Always, sunshine,” Ethan said with a smile.
“Well, I guess we’ll leave you to your supper,” Sierra said as she unwrapped her candy and popped it in her mouth, relishing the strawberry taste that she would forever associate with Ethan.
Makayla gave her and Dalton hugs then said, “Thank you for spoiling the girls for the afternoon. I’m sure they had a great time.”
“Sorry for the extra sugar they ingested. Hopefully, they won’t be too out of control.”
“They’ll be fine,” Ethan said then turned to look at the three girls. “Right?”
They nodded their heads then they hugged her and Dalton and said thanks. Once they disappeared upstairs to Stephanie’s bedroom, she and Dalton left.
When He Returns Page 11