Chapter 17
It was nearly as shocking as if he’d right out announced that he loved her in front of his brothers and her friends.
But what hit first wasn’t anger or frustration—it was relief. Pure and overwhelming. He was sticking to his guns, serious about being there for her, about wanting to be with her.
The family murmured around them—questions, half-formed objections—but Sydney only saw Declan. The only thing she heard was the pounding of blood in her ears.
She cupped her hand to his cheek. “It’s not quite dancing around a maypole, but damn—that was close.”
Declan’s lips twitched. “You going to squirm if I say it again right here, right now?”
“You go ahead and say it as much as you want,” Sydney offered slowly. “Maybe there’s something to that training effect after all. I’m feeling only about a sixty percent rise in panic.”
He pressed their foreheads together, staring into her eyes. “No matter what happens, I’ll be there for you.”
“I believe you.”
They sat like that for a minute before Aiden cleared his throat. “Not that this isn’t delightful, like watching the mating habits of some rare Canadian wildlife, but do we have a timeline? Or any other ideas to throw on the table?”
For all their ribbing, the eyes of every family member were kind. Every one of them leaned forward, focused intently. Not one person was ready to let her face this alone.
“I can’t promise anything, but maybe…” Petra spoke quietly, lost in thought.
Sydney turned to face her. Declan’s arm had snuck around Sydney’s back, and the two of them sat together, a united force.
Petra wrinkled her nose. “I need to talk to my brother. And if you’re okay with it, I’d like to give my mom and dad a shout. Like I said, I can’t promise anything, but I might know of some financial possibilities.”
“I’m fine with that,” Sydney said. She fought to keep from smiling too hard. “I’d better confess my first instinct when you spoke was to assume you were about to offer to hack into some program to find me funding.”
“She can always see if there’s any dirt she can dig up on your grandpa,” Aiden offered quietly before coughing into his hand. “Never mind me. I didn’t suggest a thing.”
“No, no digging into my grandpa.” Tempting as it was, the last thing Sydney wanted was to stoop to his level—interfering where she had no right.
“It doesn’t seem proper for me to turn around and be rotten back to him.
That’s not how I want to run my life, and there are enough other things I need to pull in the right direction, so don’t tempt me. ”
Petra raised her hands in the air. “I’ll keep you on the straight and narrow. Somehow.”
“Good luck with that one,” Tansy muttered, whistling innocently when Petra stuck out her tongue.
“I love you guys,” Sydney offered impulsively. “And the fact that I can tell you that means more than you’ll ever know.”
Declan’s grip on her hand squeezed briefly. “If we’re good for now, I need to grab a shower.”
“And I need to stop by the clinic,” Sydney said.
“I can drive you home to get your truck,” Petra offered.
They went through a round of hugs before Sydney found herself alone in the living room with Declan.
He stood there silently, hands tucked into his back pockets. “I want to be with you tonight,” he told her. “Your house, or my place. Either one. I don’t care.”
She considered. “I’d like that too. I have things I need to get caught up on, and I want to check into some other funding ideas that might be possible.”
He nodded. “Let’s have supper here with the family. I think Jinx and Jeffrey will want to see both of us.”
“And we both made a promise to set up appointments with Kevin.” Sydney hated and loved the idea. “There’s a lot going on right now, but it might still be a good idea to check his schedule.”
The face Declan offered was damn near hysterical. “I kind of hoped you’d forgotten about that part.”
“Hey, if I’m going to suffer through it, you’re going to suffer through it too. That’s what couples do,” she teased.
“Sounds about right.” Declan closed the distance between them, pulling her into his arms and hugging her tight.
“I’m glad we’re safe, and I’m glad were home.
I know you’re worried about your job, but I still think it’ll be okay.
I still think there’s a way for you to have everything you’ve worked for and a chance at happiness. On your own terms.”
Sydney squeezed as hard as she could. “I’m here, and I’m trying,” she repeated.
When Declan let go of her and pranced in a circle around her for a second, she worried that their recent eating habits had caused low blood pressure that had affected his—
“My God, stop it,” she laughed as realization dawned on what he was doing—turning her into a maypole.
Declan shrugged. “Damn. I forgot that if I’m a Disney princess, I need to put on a crown or whatever those shiny things are. Next time.” He leaned down and kissed her, the gentle touch growing more heated but only for a brief second before he let her go. “Not to freak you out, but I love you.”
She let his words flow over her and carry her out the door and into Petra’s vehicle.
At home, she had a long, hot shower. Then, freshly dressed in clean clothes, Sydney slipped into the doors of the clinic.
Jenny rose to her feet and rushed forward excitedly to offer a hug. “Thank goodness. That was quite the adventure.”
“All’s well that ends well,” Sydney quipped, taking a quick glance around the waiting room. She dipped her head at the two patients waiting, then headed into the staff room.
She caught up on the record logs from the past two days when Edison whirled into the room and threw himself at her. “Oh my God. That is the scariest thing I’ve ever heard of.”
“Getting trapped in the mountains?”
“With no power,” Edison returned. “I don’t do primitive. Camping is out, and I need my creature comforts.”
“It wasn’t that bad,” Sydney assured him. “Declan and I found it relaxing.”
“Really?” Edison blinked. His eyes widened and a grin flashed out. “Tell me more.”
“Save it. Only for a while,” she assured him. “Is Lexie nearly done for the day?”
“Last patient is in right now. Let me go finish cleaning up the exam room and then we’re all yours. You can tell us all about your adventures with your mountain man.”
Only when she had them all gathered—Lexie, Edison, and Jenny—it wasn’t her time in the mountains that she talked about.
Lexie’s part in the story wasn’t Sydney’s to share, so she went straight to the punchline.
“My grandfather is partially funding the clinic, and I’m not supposed to get involved with anyone.
But Declan and I have grown very close, so I’m thinking about telling my grandfather that he needs to change his requirements because I refuse to follow them any longer. ”
Jenny looked confused. “That sounds very possibly illegal.”
“Not illegal, just ignorant,” Edison offered indignantly. “Seriously? That doesn’t sound very grandfatherly.”
Lexie met Sydney’s gaze straight on. “It sounds very Grandpa Nate.” She swallowed hard. “If the funding does get cut, how long can you continue to run the clinic?”
“We can finish out the year,” Sydney told them truthfully. “I’m looking into other options, and it might be that we’re fine.”
“But it might mean being out of a job at the end of the year.” Jenny nodded slowly.
Then she shrugged. “I’m low-tech and easily replaceable.
I’ll stick around, and if I have to find a new job come January, I will.
But I hope you figure things out.” Jenny reached across and gave Sydney’s hand a firm squeeze.
“The clinic is important to Heart Falls, and you’re doing good things in the community. ”
“I’ll do everything I can to make sure the clinic keeps running,” Sydney assured them. “I just don’t want to keep anything from you because I’m not the one controlling your destiny. I think that’s not something to keep quiet about.”
Edison offered her a hug and went to clean the final exam room. Jenny also smiled sweetly and went back to the desk to tidy.
Lexie remained, a haunted expression in her eyes. “You’re going to stand up to him.”
“I don’t know if it’s standing up to him if he pulls the carpet out from under me,” Sydney said.
The other woman shook her head firmly. “That wasn’t a question.
I’m telling you that I’ll support you however I can because you need to stand up to him.
” Lexie swallowed hard. “I should’ve, and I’ve been trying to gather up the courage to do it ever since.
Because you were right. I should’ve talked to Michael, and we could have decided together instead of me simply doing what I was told was in Michael’s best interest.”
Sydney caught Lexie’s fingers. “It’s not too late. I bet if you told Michael you wanted to talk he’d be all over that.”
“I know. And I want to, but I’m nervous. I wanted to ask if you’d help.” Lexie waved a hand. “Not this minute. Right now you’re caught up in something else big that you need to deal with.”
“Oh, honey. There’s always a million enormous things to deal with,” Sydney reminded her. “Doctors invented multitasking. If you want me as backup when you talk to my brother, you’ve got it. Let’s send him a message now and set up a time.”
A hesitant smile crossed Lexie’s face, and her shoulders relaxed the faintest bit. As if having something tangible to do had released some of her pain. “Let’s do that.”
Declan was out in the barn when Jinx came barreling in. “Declan?”
“In the stall with Cobalt,” he called. An instant later, she was there at the gate, standing perfectly still—following the rule to stay calm around horses—but he could see her bouncing on the inside. “We’re fine.”
Still, he stepped outside of the pen and let her snatch him up into a hug.
“You’re not supposed to get in trouble like that,” she said, face still buried against his chest.
“Sometimes things happen for a good reason.” He patted her shoulders and waited for her to let go. “Sydney and I are dating.”