Chapter 11 #2
As she drove away from High Water, Declan firmed his resolve. He needed to adjust his approach and find a way to change her world. She deserved more.
Over the next week, it was far too easy to fall back into the old habits Sydney had learned over the years. If she ignored the frustrating moments and focused on the task at hand, the world around her would fade away and she didn’t have to think.
Didn’t have to long for what she couldn’t have.
The clinic was hopping, the house visits she made went well—if grumpily received by the usual cranky old-timers.
Lexie continued to be a gift beyond measure, although there were times Sydney caught the woman staring into space with a decidedly unhappy expression.
They all had growing pains to deal with when moving to a new situation, Sydney supposed. But nothing in Lexie’s demeanor said she wanted to talk about it.
Sydney’s phone pinged at the same moment Edison’s did.
“Woohoo, it’s party time,” her nurse announced enthusiastically. He tromped over to her and laid both hands on her shoulders. “You are in a party mood.”
Sydney laughed. “Of course I am. It’s Petra and Aiden’s official wedding celebration. There’s a lot to party about.”
“I know that. I just wanted to make sure you remembered,” Edison offered with a slight sniff before finishing cleaning the examination room.
“Sometimes you get the oddest ideas in your head. You’re not allowed to decide tonight’s the evening you absolutely have to drive out to Charlie Miller’s to make sure he’s not doing something weird with mud again. ”
“Trust me, tonight I want a dose of my friends. Not another visit with the mud-cures-everything brigade.” Sydney smiled at Edison’s snicker. “Enough work talk. I’ll see you there.”
“With bells on,” Edison offered with a grin.
His expression made Sydney wonder if he’d turn up literally decked out to jingle.
Pulling into the parking lot at High Water, Sydney couldn’t believe the rush of people wandering the yard, excitedly chattering as they milled about.
“Welcome to wedding chaos,” a bright and cheery voice called.
Tansy was seated in a spot of honour beside the house, a cascade of helium balloons arched over her head.
Sydney came forward to hug her then accepted the card Tansy held out. “What’s this?”
“Petra decided they needed something more than food and dancing. It’s a bingo-slash-scavenger hunt.”
Sydney settled in the chair beside her. “Is that why people are running around with cameras?”
“Uh-huh. You have to take a picture of whatever’s in each square. Petra has a printer set up in the artists’ studio. Fern is sticking the pictures into a grid on the wall, and in the end, we vote for who interpreted their items best.”
“A box-grid display of memories. Sounds like someone recycled your wedding-in-a-box idea.”
“Anything for my best girl,” Tansy offered with a grin. “Here—I saved my favourite card for you if you’re interested. If not, food and drink are upstairs. Petra and Aiden were by the fireplace last I saw.”
Sydney took the card, hugged her friend again, and strolled slowly around the yard, taking it in.
There were a lot of Heart Falls residents who’d come to offer their congratulations on this fine first day of August. Jinx and Sasha zipped past, Sasha’s little brother riding on her back as they spoke eagerly about something.
Probably whatever they were trying to accomplish next on their bingo card.
Edison had made it to the ranch before her, and he stood beside Kevin, eyes sparkling as they chatted quietly. Kevin had his back to the barn, arms folded over his chest as his gaze stayed fixed on Edison’s face.
She wasn’t about to interrupt that conversation, although her curiosity was at an all-time high. They were a cute couple in some ways, but Edison was so bouncy compared to the far more stoic counselor of High Water.
“Sydney. Come give us a hand.” Tamara waved her over
Sydney joined the cluster of sisters by the firepit. She knew them all, but it was interesting to consider how the connections in the community twisted together.
Tamara was Sasha’s stepmom. Julia was Petra’s sister-in-law. The oldest sister, Karen, was married to a man Sydney had treated her first year in Heart Falls. And Lisa was married to the local veterinarian, a regular visitor to High Water. “Look at you having a family reunion. What can I help with?”
Lisa grinned, somehow balancing the baby on her hip in spite of her massive baby bump. “We’re working on our bingo card. We need a photographer.”
“Sure.” Sydney held out her hand for the phone then took a few steps back, following their instructions as she snapped a picture. Three of them held shovels with small chunks of charred log while Lisa dangled little Mason to the side and pointed at his belly. “No idea what you’re up to.”
“It’s for the ‘Make a pictorial representation of your name’ box.” Karen rested her hand on a smaller belly than Lisa’s. “That make more sense?”
Sydney considered for a moment then laughed. “The baby’s belly thing threw me for a minute, but that’s not what you’re pointing at. Coal-man?”
“Yes,” Lisa shot a fist into the air. “We rock.”
“Ha. That’s great.”
“Thanks for your help.” Tamara took the phone back from Sydney. She tilted her head toward the artists’ studio. “I saw you’d arrived. Come on up and let’s grab something to eat. We haven’t had a chance to visit for a while.”
In the end, Sydney landed in a chair beside Tamara, a plate balanced on her knee as they chatted easily.
“Jinx says that you’ve had a busy summer,” Tamara said.
It was hard to fight a grin. “Is that what she says?”
“When she’s around the family,” Tamara said earnestly. “When she’s chatting with Sasha? The story gets a little juicier.”
“Really?” Sydney didn’t think that Jinx was the type to share stories. Like the fact she’d caught Sydney and Declan fooling around.
Tamara’s lips twitched. “I didn’t mean to overhear the conversation, but sometimes teenagers forget adults exist.” Her expression softened.
“I’ve been getting to know Petra, and I’ve known Tansy for what feels like forever.
I’m probably guilty of thinking you and I are better friends than we are just because of how much they talk about you and how much they clearly love you.
So, forgive me if I’m overstepping, but… What’s up between you and Declan?”
Dammit. If people in town thought they were an item, this was going to end poorly. Rumours could ruin everything.
The longer she was silent, trying to figure out what to say, the more Tamara’s expression fell.
“Sydney? Is something wrong?” The sincerity in the other woman’s voice just about broke the dam.
“It’s…complicated,” Sydney finally said, watching the ebb and flow of laughter and conversation all around them. “I think he’s a fine man.”
“But still complicated,” Tamara said thoughtfully. “Okay. I can understand that.” A small snort escaped her. “In case you never heard this particular bit of gossip, I came to Silver Stone as the nanny. Ended up marrying my boss.”
“Complications of a different sort, but yeah. I can see that would’ve taken some juggling.”
Tamara nodded. “Juggling. Mistakes. A whole lot of frustration. But I’m glad neither of us gave up.”
Sydney blinked.
“Because again—yes, I’m overstepping—but I’ve seen you two. Maybe it’s because I was a nurse, and I still have the tendency to be a little too snoopy, but there’s something between you. More than casual interest.”
Denying it seemed wrong. Admitting it, dangerous.
Sydney stayed silent.
Tamara glanced across to where her husband Caleb stood chatting with the Skye brothers.
“I’ll drop the topic now, but say this first. I’ve got your back.
You need anything, you ask. And if you don’t know what you need, we can talk about that.
But for now we should grab a drink, and I want to go and annoy my husband for a while. ”
They gathered up their plates and made their way to the side counter just as a bell rang loudly.
Petra shook a dinner bell above her head. “Everyone! The party’s not over, but we need your attention for a sec.”
Julia and Zach wove through the crowd with glasses in hand, making sure everyone had something to toast with.
Standing at the front, Aiden and Petra smiled at each other before Aiden turned to the crowd. “Our wedding was a little unorthodox. Which, if you know anything about Petra, is typical.”
A cheer went up along with a ripple of laughter.
Petra stuck out her tongue for a moment then eased in and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “So while the wedding happened back in the winter, we wanted to take this moment to celebrate with all of you. Our friends, our family, and a big important part of our future.”
Aiden took his turn again. “Coming to Heart Falls was the right thing, not only because we found all of you, but because Petra’s brother was brilliant enough to already live here, so it brought her here as well.”
“You’re welcome,” Zach called. “Invoice is in the mail.”
Laughter rippled through the yard.
Petra grinned. “Coming to High Water was scary. But I knew I was coming home. I just didn’t know I’d find the one person who would make it perfect.” She turned to Aiden. “You are my heart. I love you.”
“Love you forever. Forever and a day,” Aiden replied.
They kissed. The cheer that went up was deafening.
“If you’ll all raise a glass with us,” Aiden called, “this is our official ‘we got hitched and we want the world to know it’ party.”
“To Petra and Aiden!” Tansy shouted, leaning into Jake with Jeffrey on her hip.
“Auntie Petra and Uncle Aiden!” Jeffrey echoed, holding his glass of orange juice high.
The toast echoed through the crowd, delight ringing in every voice.
Sydney stood on the edge of the gathering, watching the joy, the love, the certainty flowing through the crowd like sunlight.
The temptation to step forward, to reach for that kind of future—God, it was strong.
But she still didn’t see a way forward. Not while she was beholden to Grandpa Nate’s money. But knowing it and accepting it were two different things, and the difference was starting to tear at her.
Maybe that was part of what Tamara had seen.
Sydney wanted more.