you never had any of your own. After raising her glass, she clinked it to her sisters’, took a sip and prayed that the nerves dancing in her stomach would settle from a polka to a slow waltz.
“Dad’s letter won’t be as bad as you think it’s going to be. Isn’t that right, Rory?”
“Absolutely,” Rory mumbled around a stuffed mushroom. “I felt much better about everything after I read mine.”
Sierra thought of the men in her sisters’ lives. “Chance and Hunter must be annoyed that I stole you away tonight.”
Natalie snorted. “Fat chance. They’re having some kind of a men’s night out. I think gambling is involved.”
“And beer,” Rory said, reaching for a mozzarella stick. “They were quite happy to see the last of us.”
“You guys really hit the jackpot, didn’t you?” Sierra asked.
“Oh, yeah,” Natalie said with a smile.
“Definitely,” Rory said.
One look at the expressions on her sisters’ faces confirmed her belief that she was doing the right thing. They’d not only found men and love, but they’d also had wonderful adventures. She’d settle for the man. That much she was pretty sure she could do. And she didn’t even mind if the relationship was temporary. Whatever her father said in his message, she wasn’t going to let it dissuade her. She’d just look at her sisters.
Better still, she’d let herself remember that kiss.
She let go of the inhaler, then drew the letter out of her bag and set it on the table in front of her. There was her name, written in her father’s hand. She wasn’t aware that she’d clenched her hands into fists until Natalie covered one of them. “He loved us. We know now that he regretted the promise he made to mother to stay away.”
Rory took Sierra’s other hand. “It’s like when you get called to the principal’s office. The anticipation is always worse than the reality.”
Sierra had never been called to the principal’s office in her life. Since she’d always caused her family so much trouble with her illnesses, she’d concentrated on being perfect in everything else. It was the least she could do.
Sierra resisted the urge to use her inhaler. Her breath was short, but not nearly as much as it had been when that stranger had kissed her.
Pushing the thought away, she focused on the letter. She could do this. She really could. From the envelope, she pulled out a single folded sheet of paper and opened it up.
Dearest Sierra, my beautiful dreamer,
Even when you were little, your imagination and your curiosity amazed me. And you were so smart, that sometimes you scared your mother and me. My biggest regret is that I didn’t have more time to spend with you.
You of all my daughters have the power to make all your dreams come true. Don’t be afraid to dream big. And always remember that life is better than any dream. It’s a better adventure than anything you can find in a book or a movie. Trust in yourself and take the risk of believing that, Sierra.
Love,
Harry
When she realized that she was chewing on her bottom lip, Sierra made herself stop. Finally, she said, “I didn’t think he knew me that well.”
“Of course, he did,” Rory insisted, her characteristic impatience clear in her voice.
Sierra shook her head. “He was always going off with the two of you, and I had to stay home because I was sick.”
“What about all the time he spent with you when you were in the hospital?” Natalie asked. “Whenever he could, he’d stay the night. We were always jealous. I think Mom was too.”
For the first time since she’d taken the letter out of her purse, Sierra glanced up and met her sisters’ gazes. “I guess I don’t remember.” But she’d had dreams of someone holding her hand. Had that really been Harry?
Sierra turned to Natalie. “I mostly remember that he taught you to crack safes.” She shifted her gaze to Rory. “And he took you horseback-riding.”
“But he read books to you,” Natalie said. “Rory and I used to sit outside your bedroom door and listen. He never read books to us.”
“I do remember some of that,” Sierra said with a sudden smile. “Once he read me ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears,’ and he told me Mom would probably have a fit because Goldilocks was a housebreaker and a very bad role model.”
“That sounds like him,” Natalie said.
“Aren’t you going to look at the photos?” Rory asked.
“Oh. I forgot.” There had been pictures in her sisters’ letters, too. Sierra slipped hers from the envelope and spread them out on the table. One had been snapped when she’d given the valedictory address at her high-school graduation. Another was one of her poring over books at her college library. Both were typically Sierra, the studious bookworm, she thought.
Then the third one caught her attention. She was sitting on a park bench in Rock Creek Park watching the joggers and in-line skaters whip by. It had been one of those perfect spring days that were so plentiful in DC. She’d been a freshman in college, and she’d been so envious of the skaters.
“There you go,” Rory said, pointing to the picture. “He knew you all right. Look at the expression on your face.”
“What expression?” Sierra asked, studying the picture more closely.
“The one that you always had when Rory and I got to do something and you couldn’t.” Natalie tapped a finger on the photo. “You’re wishing you could be skating, too.”
She’d tried to satisfy her wishes by daydreaming, Sierra recalled. She still did.
“This picture is another way he’s telling you that if you believe in yourself, you can do anything you want,” Rory said.
Sierra swallowed to ease the lump that had formed in her throat. Had Harry really believed that?
“So, tell us.” Rory reached for another shrimp. “What is it that you really want?”
That man in the bar.
The thought slid so easily into her mind that, for a moment, Sierra couldn’t speak. Panic bubbled up. She couldn’t want him. He was so out of her league. Besides, she had a perfectly logical five-step plan, and she couldn’t see that man fitting into any kind of plan.
“That’s got to be a tough one for you,” Natalie commented. “Your life’s just about perfect. You’ve accomplished everything you’ve set out to do.”
Sierra glanced down at her father’s words and then back up at her sisters again. Then she took a deep breath. “I want to initiate a sexual relationship with a man.”
“Oh.” Her sisters spoke in unison, then exchanged a quick glance.
“You and Bradley Winthrop are getting serious then?” Natalie asked.
“No.” Sierra frowned. “Bradley and I are just friends.” She tilted her head in thought. “We go to dinner and the opera together, and we visit interesting exhibits at the Smithsonian. Our relationship is stimulating on an intellectual level, but it’s strictly platonic.”
“Then you’ve met someone new?” Rory asked.
Sierra thought of the man in the bar. “No. I haven’t selected the man yet. But I’m ready for a relationship that will be physically stimulating. So I’m going to find a lover.”
“What can we do to help?” Natalie said.
Sierra blinked and stared. She’d expected a negative reaction—especially from her oldest sister. “Nothing.” She took another sip of her