Meg laughed. “What does your momma say?”
“You know her. She gets in their faces and scares them half to death and then they go running off to Aunt Elfleda, and then there’s all sorts of hell to pay.” Sylvie sighed. “I recognize that the universe is a wild and wooly place, but damn, I’d like to win five hundred bucks and not be thrown into the middle of a family feud because of it.”
“You know I’m on your side,” Meg said. “And I’ll make Leon be on your side, too. He has to obey me or face my wifely wrath.”
Sylvie snorted. “Have him rub his rabbit’s foot for me and ask that all this craziness goes away.”
“Nah. Can’t do that. He’d take it to mean I put stock in his superstitious nonsense, then I’d never get any peace. I’d have to avoid black cats, throw salt over my shoulder if I do something or other, turn around fifty times if I open an umbrella, do a country line dance if I see a brown beetle.”
Sylvie laughed. “You’ve got some stuff in there I’ve never heard of.”
“And not a bit of it any sillier than what that man of mine believes.”
“And you love him for it.”
Meg waved a hand dismissively. “Somebody’s got to do it.”
Sylvie smiled, knowing well that her Aunt Meg was crazy about her Uncle Leon. “Tell you what. Let’s make a plan for a night next week. I’ll bring the stupid casserole.”
“Yay. That sounds wonderful. I’ll make some egg rolls to go with it.”
“They’re already in the casserole.”
Meg eyed her askance. “Seriously?”
“Yep.”
“That’s … interesting. What else is in it?”
“You’ll find out.”
Sylvie thought she heard her aunt mumble, “I’m not sure I want to.” Sylvie loved her family’s honesty.
She also appreciated how much her family supported her and made sure she got out of the house now that she had twins taking up all her spare time. She sensed, though, that part of the reason was that they felt sorry for her.
Sylvie wasn’t all that fond of people feeling sorry for her, and they were wrong to do it. She, herself, was nothing but thankful to have her children, and mostly didn’t mind that they took up all her time.
“Momma should be here any minute with the boys,” she said, perking up at the thought.
She knew her voice sounded exhausted. If she could, she would quit her job and stay at home with the boys full-time, never mind how much she loved running her business.
The twins were only three months old, and they were changing every single day. She loved to see how their little personalities were emerging, and she was afraid that she was going to miss something significant because she was at work.
Outside, they were identical, but inside, they were very different.
Quentyn was the serious one. When he had come into the world, she had almost been afraid that there was something wrong with him. He had done nothing but study the doctors and nurses and observe his new surroundings as if he needed to take it all in before he passed judgment. Sylvie called him her old soul.
Jadyn was the complete opposite of his twin brother. He came into the world with a lusty cry, and he was happy and bubbly almost all the time. He had smiles for her every time he saw her.
She couldn’t help but think how close the twins would be as they grew up together. She was intrigued with their very twin-ness, seeing them as almost mystical in their connection. To Sylvie, they were further proof that the universe was a deep and mysterious place. Her gratitude knew no bounds.
She was incredibly grateful for her family, too. So many of them stepped up to help her when she found out she was pregnant. It had been a true blessing, and she knew she wouldn’t have been able to get by without them.
Still, she heard the gossip around town. Everyone thought it was terrible that Alan, the twins’ presumed father, wasn’t involved in his children’s lives or helping Sylvie out in any way, financial or otherwise.
When Sylvie walked down the street, she knew people looked at her and gossiped behind her back. It was something she had to accept, living in a small town, but sometimes, it grated on her nerves. She tried not to let it mar an otherwise wonderful experience.
She personally didn’t want Alan involved. In fact, she didn’t want any part of him in her life, in any way whatsoever. Since she broke up with him in Chicago, her opinion of him hadn’t wavered. Alan was not a good person, and she didn’t want him near her babies.
The truth was, though, and it was the deepest secret she’d ever held in her life, she wasn’t sure that Alan was the father of her children.
The truth was, they could be Heath’s, the exquisite result of what was undoubtedly the best night of her life.
There was a beauty in that thought that appealed to Sylvie’s nature. Her twins were so beautiful and perfect; they had to come from a special moment, didn’t they?
In all ways, she hoped they were Heath’s. Every time she looked at them, when Jadyn would smile or Quentin would look at her with a faint frown as if he wasn’t sure what to think, she recognized the handsome man she met a year ago.
Oh yes, she remembered him well. It didn’t matter that it had been a one-night thing. Her memory of their hours together was still vivid, as if it happened last week and not nearly a year ago.
Sylvie understood, however, that no matter how much she wanted to believe fate brought them together, and that Heath was the father of her children, she couldn’t be positive. Wishes weren’t proof, and DNA didn’t care about fate.
As for doing a paternity test, it was out of the question since she had no access to Heath or Alan’s DNA. The only thing she actually could do was move on, let the gossips do their worst, and accept that she’d likely never know the truth.
So she focused on her new life and her little boys, and she was content. At least, that’s what she tried to be.
The bell above the front door tinkled, announcing a new arrival. Sylvie’s cousin and best friend, Neesa, bounced into the shop.
“Where are those babies?” Neesa said with an excited squeal as she clapped her hands together. “I haven’t seen them in three days! They’ve probably grown a foot by now.”
Neesa loved kids. She continually begged to babysit for Sylvie, which Sylvie would gladly have taken her up on more often if Sylvie had more of a social life. But she didn’t. She knew, though, if she wanted to run over to Rollinsburg to do some shopping or get a few extra hours of shut-eye on a Sunday morning, Neesa was always there for her.
Sylvie chuckled and repeated what she had just told Meg. “Momma should be here with them any minute. They might be growing fast, but it’s not that fast.”
“Momma Jones is hoarding them! I’m going to give her a piece of my mind.” Neesa crossed her arms over her chest in fake outrage.
Momma Jones was what all her cousins called Sylvie’s mother, Sachet, even though her mother had married Eli Ford years ago. To everyone in town, Sachet would always be a Jones. Luckily, Eli didn’t seem to mind. He was an easy-going type, a good man, unlike Sylvie’s own father.
Neesa plopped into one of the stylist chairs and spun it around in a lazy circle. “I was thinking that you might want to go out and get a drink with friends tonight. I’d be happy to watch the kids for you.”
“Go out with who? Almost all my friends are presently here in this room, except Phae,” Sylvie said as she finished cleaning up her station. “And Phae can’t go drinking, not
in her condition.”
“You need to start dating again, Sylvie,” Neesa said. “Geez, get with the internet age. I’ll help you come up with the perfect dating profile. I’ve found a few dates on that newest site, DatingBlues.com. It wouldn’t hurt you to show some interest in the opposite sex again. The boys need a male role model in their lives.”
Sylvie snorted. “Between my brother, my stepfather, and all our cousins, the boys have plenty of role models all over town. They need me at home with them. That’s where I belong. Besides, who in their right mind would name a dating website DatingBlues? Sounds like all you can hope to find there are losers and broken hearts.”
Sylvie knew she shouldn’t make fun of Neesa’s suggestion. It wasn’t easy being a single gal in Zeke’s Bend and the situation was made much harder when you were a Jones and related to half the male population. She had to grudgingly admit that at least Neesa was putting herself out there. Sylvie just couldn’t bring herself to even think about dating. There was just no time for it. And besides, what single young man would look twice at her once he found out she had twin infants?
Anyway, the only thing she wanted to do every night was crawl into bed and snuggle with her boys. She wanted to enjoy that while they were still young enough not to push her away. The thought of adding anyone else to the mix felt too hard. Besides, she didn’t need a man in her life to take care of anything.
Sylvie had it covered.
Chapter Nine
“I’M OFF TO RESTOCK,” MEG said, heading to the back room. “And quit being an ass about internet dating. Everyone does it.”
“Like she knows. She’s almost always been married for fifteen years,” Sylvie mumbled, careful to make sure Meg didn’t overhear.
“You’re lucky she didn’t hear that,” Neesa said with a grin. “She’d kick your casserole all the way down the street.”
Sylvie rolled her eyes. “Enough with the casserole. I wish to hell I’d never entered that contest.”