“Holy shit! That’s amazing! Thank you! I…I really wanted to talk to you about moving up, but…I don’t know. I didn’t want to overstep or anything.”
Jake smiled. “You’re a great worker, Kyle, and I know you’ve helped out with some home renovation work with all of your siblings’ homes, so…I figured this would be a good project for you.” Then he paused.
“But…?”
“But…it’s going to be different from most of the jobs you’ve worked on.”
“In what way?”
“We need to be mindful of Sydney and Haley. They’re going to be living in the middle of a construction zone, and…well…things are already a little overwhelming for them. So there may be days when you aren’t going to get everything done that needs to be done or you’re going to have to re-think the order of what you wanted to do.”
“So…they’re seriously going to be living there while we’re working?” he asked with more than a hint of disbelief. Part of him hoped not to have to work closely with Sydney. Clearing his throat, he went on, “Are we sure that’s a good thing? Maybe you can talk her into staying somewhere else.”
Jake shook his head. “Not going to happen.”
“But…that just means the job is going to take longer. I would think she’d want us in and out as quickly as possible.”
“It’s a delicate situation and we’re going to have to just…go with the flow. Once we pass the inspections for the electrical and plumbing, you’re going to go in and start on the rest. You think you’re up for it?”
“Um…”
Chuckling softly, Jake shook his head. “I would have thought you’d be more excited about this. I know it’s not a big commercial construction job, but…”
“You heard my dad before. Sydney and I have a history, and…well…let’s just say things didn’t end great.”
“Oh.”
Kyle figured honesty was the best policy with his boss—especially on this. “It was years ago but…I guess I don’t know if I’m the guy she’s going to want working for her.”
Understanding dawned on Jake’s face. “I appreciate you sharing that with me.” He let out a long breath. “How about this? We stick to this plan and see how it all goes. If Sydney’s really uncomfortable with you, I’ll have to put someone else on the job. But if nothing goes wrong…”
“I’m willing to try.”
“Good man.”
If one more thing goes wrong…
Looking around the room, Sydney wanted to cry.
There were holes in all of the walls, there was dust everywhere, and no matter how much she tried to tell herself that it was all going to be okay, she was finding it hard to believe it.
They were down to one functioning bathroom while the plumber finished working on the pipes, and the power had been shut off all morning so the electrician could do his thing. They weren’t supposed to be here on the same day, but it just happened to work out that way. And as much as she appreciated them being there on a Saturday, she longed for a little peace and quiet so she could simply think.
“If you want us to stay…” Beside her, her mother was dusting and taking in the mess around them. “You know your father and I don’t mind helping out. Or maybe you and Haley should just come home with us until things settle down.”
Things were never going to settle down, she thought. It wasn’t possible. No matter how optimistic she usually was, even she knew when to wave the white flag.
“Your mother’s right, Syd,” her father chimed in. “Maybe you should come home with us for a month and then—hopefully—the house will be a little more…livable.”
It was a conversation they had almost daily since the accident. And as much as Sydney knew there was some real merit to their offer, her practical side reasoned that she needed to deal with the situation and not run from it. It didn’t matter if they went to Florida for a month, her sister and Daren were still going to be gone, and their daughter was still going to be without her parents. Right now, this house was the only familiar thing to her. How could she possibly take that away from her too?
That was why she packed up everything she had to move back to Magnolia Sound. It would be too much to put Haley through such a significant upheaval. The only time she seemed okay was when she was in her own room and surrounded by her own things.
At twelve, she was already a mess of pre-teen emotion and old enough to understand everything that was going on. Losing her parents was devastating, and that was after having to move away from all of her friends in Georgia only months before. So if it meant moving her life around to help her niece adjust better, that’s what Sydney would do.
It’s what she knew her sister would want her to do.
At the familiar sting of tears, Sydney turned away from her parents and pretended to busy herself with folding the afghan that lay over the sofa. “We’ve talked about this,” she said, proud of the fact that her voice was steady. “Haley and I are going to be fine. This is like a little adventure and we’re going to get through it.” She smoothed the blanket out. “Besides, your bungalow hardly has enough room for all of us.”
“At the time, we were excited to downsize,” her mother said, fluffing one of the sofa cushions. “And it really is the perfect size for just the two of us. We didn’t think about the possibility of anyone moving back in with us.”
“No one’s moving in with you,” Sydney replied wearily. Seriously, they’d had this discussion so many times, she could practically recite it. “The community has been wonderful and Haley and I are going to be just fine.” She paused. “There are going to be days when it’s harder than others, but…we’ll make it work.”
“I spoke to Pastor Steve,” her father said. “And he said that if there are times when the work here is too much, he can always make arrangements for you and Haley to stay with some people from the church.”
She smiled and tried to remember that he thought he was being helpful. “Dad, I’m hardly a stranger here. I grew up in this town and still have a lot of friends who live here. I’m telling you, it’s going to be fine.”
And maybe if she kept saying it out loud, she’d eventually believe it.
“Still, if you can’t find a place to stay with a friend in a pinch, don’t forget to call the church,” he commented.
Rather than argue how it wasn’t going to be necessary, she simply nodded. “I won’t forget. Thanks, Dad.” Reaching over, she hugged him. All around them, lights came back on and appliances began to hum. “Oh, thank God.” Pulling back, she smiled. “See that? One thing fixed!”
“Sydney, it’s not just the power…”
But she wasn’t willing to listen to another lecture. “If we don’t get moving, you’re going to miss your flight. Is everything in the car?”
Within minutes, she was standing in the driveway with her arm around her niece and waving goodbye. Haley rested her head on her shoulder and she could hear her sniffling. She cried as her grandparents got into the car and said goodbye. Sydney had been expecting it. Doing everything she could to comfort Haley, she let her cry, and it nearly killed her to see her parents crying as well. The whole damn situation wasn’t fair, and unfortunately, there wasn’t anything any of them could do to change it. Hell, most days Sydney either woke up and cried or would cry herself to sleep. It was all she could do, and she prayed that one day it would start to get better.