SIENNA
I was right in the middle of reading C.J. McShane’s new MC novel, My Brother’s Keeper, and the sound of motorcycles followed by my doorbell ringing sent chills down my spine. I ran from the kitchen to the living room window and pulled the blinds to the side. One motorcycle sat in the center of the drive, facing the street, with a man sitting on it. The other, which was clearly Vince’s bike, sat in the drive facing the street, but he wasn’t on it.
I quickly moved to the other side of the blinds and peered toward the porch. Vince stood with his hands in his pockets rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet.
Holy shit.
I ran to the bathroom, checked my hair, and made every effort to calm my nerves. I had no idea why he had come to my house, but I hoped it was at least to talk with me like an adult. I couldn’t help but wonder who he brought with him and why. After staring into the mirror blankly for what seemed like an eternity, I ran to the door and opened it slowly.
“Hi,” I said.
It sounded foolish, but I had no idea what else to say. It had been four months since we’d seen each other, and as with any other shitty time in my life, the time passed at an extremely slow rate, making the days seem like months. In many respects, I felt I had been away from Vince for a decade.
His face wasn’t cleanly shaven, but it was close. He looked like he had a few days growth of beard, seemed slightly thinner than normal, but not unhealthy. The expression on his face seemed to be one of worry. He raked his hair away from his eyes and did his best to smile.
“Hi,” he said.
I guess I’ll say something.
“So…”
He raised his hand, cleared his throat, and shook his head from side to side. “Hold up a minute.”
I stood in the doorway and wondered just what was going on. As I began to run through scenarios in my head, I wondered if something happened to his mother. Before I had a chance to ask, he cleared his throat again and began to speak.
“Look, I made a mistake. I blamed you for things and you didn’t deserve it. You did nothing wrong. And me?” he paused, shrugged his shoulders, and chuckled. “I’m far from perfect, and I did everything wrong. I’m selfish, self-righteous, and I apologize for being so blind and stubborn to not even be able to see how imperfect I really am.”
I inhaled a breath and considered speaking. He immediately raised his hand again to stop me.
“I’m sorry for what I did to you, and I hope you can find a way to forgive me,” he said.
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. All at once, my throat constricted, I felt flush, and I was afraid I was going to faint. But surprisingly, I didn’t say a word.
“I’m just going to cut to it. Sienna, I love you and I can’t possibly live without you. Will you take me back?” he asked.
I had rehearsed what I wanted to say over and over in my head if this day came. After reading for four months on a daily basis, thinking in my down time, and planting a hundred flowers, I decided if I took him back, I was going to be demanding of some things and do the best that a 125 pound girl could to make him feel like shit.
I widened my eyes and cocked my head to the side. “Take you back? Really?”
He nodded his head. “Will you?”
As much as I wanted to just say yes and immediately pick up where we left off, I wanted to make sure he understood how I felt.
“So?” he asked, standing with is shoulders perma-shrugged.
“If I do, there are gonna be some conditions. Gimme a minute, I’m thinking,” I said.
I shifted my eyes from Vince to the man in the driveway. I wondered who he was and what he was doing with Vince at this particular moment in time. Obviously a Selected Sinner, and more than likely doing some job with Vince or acting as his muscle on trying to intimidate someone, it seemed odd Vince would bring him to my home.
“So, who’s he?” I asked as I tossed my head toward the driveway.
“A friend,” he responded.
I widened my eyes comically and nodded my head in my best sarcastic manner. “Oh, so you’ve got friends now?”
He nodded his head. “One.”
Vince didn’t have male friends, and he didn’t run with any of the Sinners that I knew of. My guess was that this guy somehow convinced Vince to come talk to me after a long night or a drunken confession on Vince’s part.
“Tell him to come here,” I said.
“Jackson, come here for a minute,” Vince hollered over his shoulder.
Jackson?
“What’s his name?” I asked.
“Jackson,” he said.
I narrowed my eyes and stared. “Jackson?”
He nodded his head once. “Yeah, Jackson.”
Vince had no idea his mother had told me of his childhood friend, Jackson. Hearing the man’s name made goosebumps rise along my arms and caused my heart to race. I gazed over Vince’s shoulder and focused on Jackson, and all of a sudden my perception of him changed. He looked like he actually cared.
I grinned.
“Jackson Shephard,” the man said as he stepped onto the porch and extended his hand.
I shook his hand and smiled. “Sienna Boyco.”
As he leaned back and crossed his arms, his mouth curled into a smirk. “What can I do for you?”
He looked like a fighter. He was big, muscular, tattooed, and had a permanent smirk on his face like he knew something I didn’t. I gazed back at him knowing ninety percent of the population on earth would run from this guy, but all in all I felt extremely comfortable with him and I didn’t really know why.
“Just stand over there,” I said as I pointed to the edge of the porch. “I want a witness.”
“You’ve got it, Boyco,” he said as he stepped to the side.
I shifted my eyes from Jackson to Vince and gave him my best angry glare.
“Okay. Here’s my response. Yes, I will take you back under these conditions. One, we start up right where we left off. Two, you never, and I mean never do what you did to me again. If we ever have an issue that is worthy of creating waves in our relationship, we talk first, react later. And three, you’re going to go to your mothers and tell her you’re sorry, and I mean like now. And Sunday dinner starts again tomorrow,” I paused and crossed my arms in front of my chest in standard Vince fashion. “Take it or leave it.”
He didn’t make me wait long.
He nodded his head and smiled. “I’ll take it.”
I shifted my eyes toward Jackson. “You witnessed it.”
Still smiling his shitty little smirk, he nodded his head once and pointed at me. “Sure did.”
Vince cocked his head to the side. “Go for a ride?”
“Sure, let me get my glasses,” I said.
“Looks like we’re headed to mom’s place next, huh?” Jackson asked as he coughed out a laugh.
Vince shrugged his shoulders. “Guess so.”
“Good,” he said. “We can stop and get Em.”
“Okay, let me get my glasses,” I said as I turned toward the house.
I hurried into the kitchen and as soon as I was behind the cover of the wall I pumped my fist at my side and smiled.
Yes!
I walked out onto the porch, kissed Vince, and followed him to the bike. After I got on, they both started their bikes, and we sat for a few seconds.
I had to know.
“Excuse me, Jackson?” I asked over the sound of the exhaust.
“Yeah,” he said with a nod of his head.
“Are you the one who talked him into coming here?” I asked.
He shrugged his shoulders and looked at Vince as if seeking authorization to answer.
“Yeah, he is,” Vince said over his shoulder.
I fucking knew it.
Thanks Mom and Dad.