“I think you might actually get me, Heath Cartwright.”
“That’s Hoss to you, little miss.”
Her laughter was the sweetest sound he’d heard in ages.
Chapter Fifteen
SYLVIE WASN’T SURPRISED THAT RITA didn’t care that they picked up their bowls and spoons and carried them outside. Heath had called to her that they’d bring them back when they were finished. Rita, who rarely cared much about anything, shrugged in unconcern.
Sylvie ignored her mother and brother on her way out, and for that matter, all the other busybodies who’d been listening in on her mother’s rude comments.
Heath draped his arm around Sylvie’s shoulders as they exited the cafe, and she found that she didn’t mind at all. She could use some comfort after that crazy display.
They strolled down the street, eating dumplings. It wasn’t too terribly cold and it was cozy watching the steam rise off their bowls. Eventually, they found a seat on a bench in the town square park.
Heath asked her questions about Zeke’s Bend. It was fun to regale him with stories that she remembered from her childhood. He seemed to be interested and never acted bored like she’d expect someone with his background to act.
In her bones, Sylvie knew she’d live in Zeke’s Bend for the rest of her life. It wasn’t that she had to do it, it was that she wanted to do it. Sure, she’d like to travel and experience other cultures, but home would always be this small town with too many relatives driving her crazy because they had their noses in her business.
Zeke’s Bend was the only place that she ever wanted to live. Zeke’s Bend was where her family was, and she was established here. Her business was here. And she couldn’t think of a better place to raise her babies. They were going to have an amazing life here, and it was going to be awesome.
She told all of this to Heath, sounding casual about it, but really, it was a warning. This was something he needed to know about her, and he needed to understand she would never change her mind about it.
This new wrinkle of Heath coming into her life had thrown her for a loop. When he said he’d come there deliberately to find her, she hadn’t known what to say.
She was relieved that Heath hadn’t asked her about the twins. She had been fully expecting him to, but then Momma had gone and basically said their father was someone else. What must Heath be thinking? Impossible to know.
When they finished the delicious lunch, they walked and chatted some more. She realized when she stopped at the front door of the daycare center, that she had mindlessly guided him there.
She was supposed to pick up the twins since she’d decided to take the rest of the afternoon off.
She studied Heath’s face as she watched him put two and two together on where they were.
“I guess this is where we say goodbye,” she said.
She knew that she still hadn’t addressed what he had told her at the cafe. But what could she say? She had responsibilities now. This wasn’t Chicago.
“Do we have to say goodbye?” Heath asked. “I meant what I said back there, Sylvie.”
Heath’s expression was intent, and she couldn’t find it in herself to turn away from him. There was a part of her that was excited and wanted to see where this was going to go and if it was real.
“This is my home,” she said. “I don’t live in a fancy house or have fancy things. My life is simple and probably pretty boring to somebody like you.”
She gestured at the daycare. “Plus, I’m a mom. I have two small babies. They put quite the crimp in a social life, but they’re my life. You won’t hurt my feelings by taking off before anything else happens. I won’t hold it against you.”
She looked away from him so he couldn’t see the lie in her eyes.
Heath’s finger dipped underneath her chin and dragged her eyes back up to look into his. “I want to get to know you better. I don’t know how many times I have to say that, but I’ll keep saying it until you’re convinced I’m telling the truth. I know you’re a mom, and I respect that. I’m not trying to take you away from time with your boys. I’m just asking for a chance to see if what happened in Chicago was a fluke, or if it might have meant something more if we hadn’t been separated.”
She was about to respond when she heard a chorus of voices call her name. She closed her eyes and said a silent curse. Then she turned as a trio of teenage boys jogged up to them. The boys were half out of breath, as usual, sweaty, as usual, and talking at the speed of light.
“Sylvie!” Tonio said. He was the ringleader of the small gang. Her other cousins, Neptune and Jackson flanked him. “Who’s this?” He eyed Heath suspiciously.
Sylvie wanted to laugh at how his chest puffed up as he tried to look imposing even though Heath had six inches and probably a hundred pounds on him.
“This is Heath,” Sylvie said. She didn’t call him her friend this time, though. Tell the universe what you want, she thought. And she definitely wanted to be more than friends with Heath.
“These hooligans are my cousins, Tonio, Neptune, and Jackson,” she told Heath.
Heath stuck out his hand. He smiled casually, even though she sensed his frustration at being interrupted yet again. Her family sure had a knack for it. The boys shook Heath’s hand in turn.
“What’s up, boys?” Sylvie asked as she looked at her watch hoping to indicate that she was in a hurry.
“We need some extra funds for a skateboarding rally in Rollinsburg next weekend. Meg said if you said it was okay, we could help clean up the shop a couple of times to earn a little green,” Tonio said.
She should have guessed. The trio only made an appearance when they wanted something, usually cash. She did appreciate that they were willing to work for it, though. The Jones work ethic was firmly implanted in them.
“Sure, that’s fine with me,” she said.
The boys whooped and hugged her. She laughed and waved them off to send them on their way. “Make sure you’re quiet when you’re around, just in case the babies are sleeping.”
They gave her a thumbs up sign and were gone. Sylvie turned to find Heath watching her with a cautious expression. The time had arrived for her to make her decision.
Sylvie understood the chaotic nature of life. She kept herself open for new experiences and dearly wanted to believe in the goodness of people’s spirits. For a year, she’d been the most guarded in her life. It was as if she’d lost her will to trust, to open herself to anything or anyone other than her children.
She’d told herself it was the way it had to be. But looking into Heath’s blazing green eyes, and swallowing hard at the passion she saw in them, she couldn’t remember now why she’d ever closed herself off.
Maybe, she’d only done it because she’d been waiting for Heath to find her.
For the first time in a long time, Sylvie decided to go with her gut. And damn, did that decision feel good.
She smiled at the handsome man waiting patiently for her answer. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you. If you want to stick around and hang out with me, that means you have to hang out with my boys, too. That includes diaper duty.”
“Bring it on,” Heath said.
Then he gave her a thumbs up sign mimicking her cousins. She snickered.
Yeah, this decision was the right one. Fear be damned.
Chapter Sixteen
A WEEK LATER, SYLVIE STILL couldn’t believe that Heath hadn’t turned around and run for the hills. She watched as he walked around her living room attempting to burp Jadyn. He had tried bouncing up and down and patting Jadyn’s back. Then he tried twisting side to side with a jerky bump at the end.
“That looks painful,” she called to him from across the room.
“For me or the baby?” he asked.
“Both,” she admitted.
“This burping thing isn’t as easy as they make it look on TV.”
She chuckled and made her way over to him. Heath handed her the baby without any argument. She st
arted to firmly pat Jadyn’s back and was rewarded with a small belch less than a minute later.
“Show-off,” Heath said as he plopped down on the couch.
“It just takes practice,” she said. She looked at Quentyn, who was in one of the two swings. He was alert, as usual, and seemed to be studying her as much as she was studying him.
She was still trying to figure out which baby was easier for Heath to try helping with. Both of them required multiple hands all the time. While Heath had seemed to take things generally in stride, she frequently saw the looks of panic on his face when he thought she wasn’t looking.
“I’m going to go put Jadyn down for a nap. Can you keep an eye on Quentyn?”
“Er … yeah,” Heath said with an exaggerated eye roll. “It’s not like he’s going to get up and walk away.”