“Happened? Um…nothing. We went out a few times for coffee, but…I don’t think she’s interested in me.”
“Why? Did you ever ask her out on a real date? Like dinner or something?”
“No, but…I thought she was just being friendly. You know…like a friend.”
“Well, wouldn’t you like to find out if she’s interested? She’s here tonight. Maybe go and ask her to dance.”
“Oh,” Domenic said, “I don’t know. I just thought…”
“Look, I think it’s great that you want to start dating again. If you ask me, you should have done it a long time ago. But maybe your friends–you know, people your own age–can fix you up with someone.”
His father made a non-committal sound before asking, “What about one of those apps? You know, the kind where you swipe or something.”
Now he really needed someone over here to help him out because there was no way he was going to have the talk about what swiping on a dating app meant. Scanning the room again, he spotted his boss Jake talking to Pastor Steve. The only one to catch his eye, however, was the pastor.
And if that’s not an answer to a prayer, nothing is.
Waving, he was relieved when they both began walking toward them. Kyle took a long drink of his champagne and waited. They all shook hands as they said hello.
“Well, Domenic, Kyle, how are you both doing?” Steve asked with a friendly smile. “It’s been a big year for your family, hasn’t it?”
“That it has,” his father replied.
“You must be very proud. Your family is growing and everyone looks so happy.”
Nodding, Domenic said, “I am and they are. It does my heart good to see them all settling down and starting families.”
“Well,” Steve said, grinning at Kyle. “Not all of them.”
Ugh…why did I think this was a better idea?
With a bit of a forced smile, he said, “So how about you, Pastor Steve? What’s new and exciting with you?”
Luckily, he took the change of subject in style. “Well, let’s see…oh, Shelby and Sam are expecting a baby!”
Of course they are…
“That’s wonderful news!” Domenic said. “Congratulations! First grandbabies are always exciting!” Then he smiled at Jake. “And you’ve got a new baby, as well, right?”
“Yes, sir. This is mine and Mallory’s first big outing since Emma was born.”
Kyle tuned out while they talked about the wonders of children and grandchildren and he wished he was anywhere but here. Everywhere he looked, people were laughing and smiling and having a great time, and all he could think about was when he could leave. Maybe once dessert was served, he’d go out to The Sand Bar for some drinks and maybe see who was hanging out or maybe even drive down the coast a bit and see if any of the other clubs looked promising.
“So Jake and I were just talking about an upcoming project that might interest you, Kyle,” Steve was saying, interrupting his thoughts.
“Oh?”
“Do you happen to remember the Albright family?”
His heart literally stopped. He was certain of it.
“The name sounds familiar, but…” he choked out, desperately wishing he’d walked away sooner.
“Of course you remember them, Kyle,” his father said, smacking Kyle on the back of the head. “You dated their daughter Sydney for two years in high school! What’s the matter with you?”
Right now? The possibility of having a heart attack.
“Yes,” Steve said, remembering. “Their younger daughter–Sydney–was a year behind you in school and their older daughter Tracy was a year ahead,” Steve went on. “Anyway, they all lived here in Magnolia up until a few years ago. Dan and Lisa retired down in Florida, Sydney went away to school and is working up in Boston, and Tracy married Daren Trager. They had been living down in Georgia but recently moved back and bought a house here in town.”
“O-kay…”
“Last month, Tracy and Daren were killed in a car accident. You remember the one where the car went off the bridge?”
Everyone remembered it, Kyle thought. It was right here on the edge of town. He remembered seeing the news reports on TV and reading about it in the newspaper. It was incredibly sad. He’d gone to the funeral and paid his respects–from a distance. He had been a little too afraid to go and talk to Sydney because of the way things had ended between them.
“Wait…they had a kid, right? A daughter?” Kyle asked, suddenly unsure what the reports said happened to the child.
Steve nodded somberly. “Fortunately, Haley wasn’t in the car with them. They had gone out on a date night.” He shook his head. “It was a bit of a mad scramble because Daren doesn’t have any family left–only child and his parents had him later in life–and all of Tracy’s family was out of state. Haley was sleeping at a friend’s house and was able to stay with them until Dan, Lisa, and Sydney were able to get here.”
Kyle took another sip of his drink before asking, “Definitely a tragedy, but…what does this have to do with me?”
“Oh, yes, of course,” Steve said with a small laugh. “Sydney has decided to move here. She’s Haley’s guardian. She’s going to move into their home and raise her niece here in Magnolia.”
“I’m still not seeing…”
Jake was the one to respond. “Daren and Tracy had just purchased their home a few months ago. It’s located on Sound Drive, down near the end. Older home. They were very excited about renovations. Apparently, they got an excellent deal on the house because it needed so much work.”
Okay, now it was all beginning to make sense.
“So Coleman’s going to do the work?”
Jake nodded. He was the owner of the largest construction company in the region and it made sense that he’d be involved.
“I had planned on talking to you about it on Monday,” Jake said, giving Steve a quick glance. “But…maybe it’s the kind of project that you’d like to take the lead on.”
“Me?” he asked incredulously.
Steve just smiled serenely. “I just wanted you to have a little backstory so you’d take it into consideration. Right now, Sydney needs all the help she can get. Losing her sister, becoming a full-time caregiver to her niece, moving, finding a new job, and dealing with a home that needs a considerable amount of work is a lot for anyone to take on.” He smiled again. “Just…promise you’ll think about it.” Then he congratulated Domenic again and nodded to both Jake and Kyle before walking away.
“That’s the kind of story that just breaks your heart and makes you thankful for all the good we’ve got in our lives, doesn’t it?” his father asked.
Jake nodded solemnly. “We can talk about this on Monday, Kyle. I didn’t expect Steve to bring it up in the middle of the party.”
“Just…just tell me now.”
With a frown, Jake straightened. “The church is raising funds to help with the renovations Sydney is going to need to do on the house. I went over there on Thursday and checked it all out, and…it’s kind of a mess.”