Grant shot Julia a distressed glance, upset etched into every line of his face. “I…can’t.”
Julia’s heart broke as his voice wavered. She squeezed his arm, offering him a reassuring smile. “It’s going to be okay,” she whispered.
He sucked in a shaky breath. “Can you start? I’m not sure…”
She offered him a tight-lipped smile as she caressed his cheek and nodded.
“What is going on?” Sierra demanded. “Oh, wait, I know. Mom didn’t have me in her will? I couldn’t care less.”
“No, but it does have to do with your mother, Sierra,” Julia said as she twisted to face her.
Grant slid an arm around her, seeking support.
Sierra clicked her tongue as she slid her gaze to the window. “Well, then I probably don’t care what it is.”
“It’s important,” Julia said. “Are you sure you don’t want to sit down?”
“I don’t. I just want to hear this,” Sierra reassured her.
Julia sucked in a breath, searching for the strength to say the words. “Before the fire, I…had a conversation with your mother. She revealed something to me. Something about you.”
“More pictures of me? At least she can’t use them now.”
Julia shook her head. “No. And before I said anything about this, I checked on it. And it pans out as true.”
“What? Oh, okay, once I kind of cheated on my taxes,” Sierra said.
“You did what?” Grant asked. “Sierra!”
“What? I…only sort of cheated. And I learned from the best.” She lifted her chin as she stared at him triumphantly.
“That’s not what it was,” Julia said with a wince. “I’m sorry, Sierra.”
“Okay, so lay it on me. What is it that the old bag wanted to share about me?”
“Sierra…you…” Grant swallowed hard, his grip on Julia’s shoulder tightening. “You’re not…”
“Not what?” Her forehead creased.
“Mine,” he choked out.
The color drained from her face at the single word. Her eyes went wide. The blank expression on her face conveyed the competing emotions fighting for her attention. Her eyes turned glassy as she stared at them before she began to sway on her feet. Her lips opened, but no words emerged.
Her knees started to buckle, and both Grant and Julia rushed to her side, supporting her as they walked her to the chair.
Her breathing turned ragged as she collapsed into the seat. Julia pulled a chair closer, wrapping her arm tightly around her stepdaughter. “It’s okay, Sierra.”
“How is it okay?” she shouted, a tear falling to her cheek as a sob escaped her. She pressed a shaking hand over her lips.
Grant squatted in front of her, taking her hand in his. “Baby, this doesn’t change anything.”
She yanked her hand away. “It changes everything…I’m…I’m not a Harrington. I’m not…I’m nothing. I have nothing.”
“No,” Grant said, his voice firmer than it had been as his fatherly instincts kicked in. “It changes nothing. You are my daughter. My baby. The girl I raised. Nothing is ever going to change that. Nothing.”
Sierra’s features pinched as she continued to suck in shaky breaths.
“Your father is–”
