“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.”
“Damn.”
“Yeah. I know.” He paused. “It’s not just cosmetic, it’s everything. Whatever it was that Tracy and Daren paid for that house, I think it was too much because it’s a lot of work. I know Daren was kind of handy and he started a few things, but we’re looking at plumbing, electrical…hell, I wish we could just gut the place, but that’s not going to happen.”
“Is it even safe for her to be living there? And with a kid?”
“It’s not ideal, but now that we know exactly what the issues are, we’re going to do what we can to get things fixed as soon as possible. The plumbing and electric had to come first.”
He nodded. “Right.”
“Luckily, both those guys were willing to donate their time and only charged for materials. The church already had enough money in their fund to cover that.”
“Okay. Great.”
Jake took a moment and looked around the room, waving to someone and smiling, and Kyle felt like he was more confused than he was a few minutes ago.
“Um…Jake?”
Facing him, his boss gave a grim smile. “Do you remember Ezekiel Coleman?”
“You mean the guy who started Coleman Construction? Founding member of Magnolia Sound? Um…yeah.”
“He was also my mentor. He spent his life working to make this town everything it is today and always strived to help the people in the community. I want to follow that example.”
He nodded again and figured there was a point to this story.
“The thing is, I don’t have the funding behind me that Zeke did. If it were up to me, I’d cover the cost of all the work Sydney needs. I’m going to do what I can, but…I need someone I can trust to be there every day to make sure the work is getting done and getting done right.” He paused. “I’d like you to take on that position, Kyle.”
“Seriously? Me? Why?”
“You’ve been with me for a while now and I can see you’re ready to take on more responsibility. I haven’t had any jobs come in that I felt were a good fit for you to start training as a foreman on, but I think this could be it.”
“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 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 incredulously. Part of him had been hoping to not 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 one that 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.”
And he 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 with 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 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 we should come home with us for a month and then–hopefully–the house will be a little more…livable.”
It was a conversation they’d had almost daily since the accident. And as much as Sydney knew there was some real merit to their offer, the practical side of her reasoned how 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 thing that was familiar 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 his own room and surrounded by her own things.
At twelve, she was already a mass 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 that meant moving her life around to help her niece adjust better, that’s what she was going to 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
where it’s going to be 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 had cried as her parents had gotten into the car and said goodbye. She had been expecting it. Doing everything she could to comfort her, she had let her cry, and it had 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.
But clearly today wasn’t that day.
“Hey,” she said softly. “How about we go inside and have some lunch?”
“I’m not hungry,” Haley murmured before turning and running back inside, slamming the door behind her.
Turning toward the house, Sydney looked up at it and sighed. This was her life now. This was her home. It wasn’t a place she would have chosen, but…she would stay here for at least a couple of years and make it the kind of place Tracy wanted for her daughter. It was the least she could do.
She made it all of two steps before the electrician came out and told her he was done for the day and all the work was completed. Thanking him, she walked up the front steps and paused.
One down, one to go…
Walking inside, she found Haley sitting on the couch, staring at her phone. Pasting a smile on her face, she said, “How about some mac and cheese?”
Haley shook her head.
O-kay…
“How about some chicken salad? Grandma made a batch this morning.”
Another small head shake.
Walking over to the couch, she sat down on the coffee table in front of her niece. “How about you tell me what you want to eat?”
“I already said I wasn’t hungry.”
“Yeah, I know, but you also didn’t eat breakfast and you really need to have some lunch. So…come on. How about I make us my super-thin-crust pepperoni pizzas? I know you like them.”
“Aunt Syd…”
“Please? Just…do this for me. You know I hate eating alone.” Eventually, Sydney knew she was going to have to stop letting Haley call the shots, but for right now, it seemed like the best way to handle things.
“Fine,” her niece said with a loud huff.
“You got it,” she said softly, thankful the power was restored. Standing, she kissed the top of Haley’s blond head before heading to the kitchen.
The freezer was stocked with casseroles and all kinds of food that friends and neighbors had been bringing over, but she was dying for something that wasn’t microwaved. Honestly, she would have preferred calling and having a pizza delivered, but she was learning to be a bit more frugal with her money.
The move back to Magnolia and leaving her job meant her income had severely dwindled. She’d sold off most of her furniture and managed to maintain half of her savings. Then she had gotten the life insurance money from Tracy and Daren. The money meant she could raise Haley, but she knew it was going to take a lot more than that to do it. She had to work–had to find a job. And on top of that, she put a large portion of that money into a college fund for her niece–something her sister and brother-in-law had never done.
“I should probably focus more on how we’re going to survive right now,” she murmured as she pulled out the ingredients to make their lunch. Once everything was in the oven, she looked into the living room and saw Haley was exactly where she left her.
With her laptop sitting on the kitchen counter, she opened it and decided to job hunt while she waited for their pizza to bake. Her eyes widened when she saw an email from her friend Mia with the subject “Job for you!”
Quickly opening it, she felt the first wave of excitement.
The job was actually…working for Mia. Her friend had recently published her fourth book–she was a phenomenal mystery writer–and was currently in need of an assistant.
A virtual assistant.
“Oh, Mia,” she whispered. “Please don’t be messing with me.”
The job description pretty much fit Sydney to a tee: handle all correspondence, schedule and coordinate signings and events, social media marketing, graphic design for promos…
Back in Boston, she had been a digital executive producer of a local news station. It had taken her years to work her way up to the position. Before that, she had been an administrative assistant to an anchorwoman of the local news. She had worked at the television station and had done everything from fetching coffee to being on-site at events to assist the “talent.” But she had worked hard and did everything she could to gain experience and had finally gotten the promotion six months ago.
Before the accident.
Behind her, she turned and checked on the pizzas to make sure they were cooking properly. Then, unable to help herself, she quickly pulled out her phone and called Mia.
“I take it you got my email?” Mia asked when she answered.
“I did! Are you serious? I mean, is this job for real or are you just throwing me a bone?”
Laughing, Mia said, “Girl, don’t even. Both my agent and editor have been telling me how I need an assistant, but I thought they were crazy. Now that the new book is out and my schedule is starting to get crazy, I realized I really needed help. And you are the queen of keeping things organized.”
It was true. Sydney did have a knack for keeping things neat and orderly, and it was just one of the reasons this whole house project was killing her.
“I don’t even know what to say! I’m not even sure I’d know where to begin!”
“Well, do you have space to set up a home office?”
“Space isn’t an issue. The house has four bedrooms. But right now it’s all sort of…chaotic.” She sighed. “I told you about that, right?”
“You did and I’m sorry.”
She shook her head and forced herself to think positively. “It’s okay. Hopefully in a month, things will be done. So…you said a home office?”
“Yeah. I’ll be sending you an inventory of each of my books and you’ll be responsible for sending them out to readers–you know for giveaways and things like that. Eventually I’m going to set up an online store, but that’s a couple of months down the line. And hopefully something you’ll be able to help get up and running.”
“That sounds amazing!”
“Basically, you’ll do everything you would do if you were right here with me, except you’re doing it from your place.”
“This almost sounds too good to be true! Are you sure about this?”
“You are my first and only choice. You know the way I work and the way I like things to be done. Hell, you’ve lived with me so you probably know me better than I know myself!”
They had been roommates in college, and yeah, Sydney knew everything about her.
Including how disorganized Mia was.
“I’m going to need a little time to get set up, but if you start by sending me a list of where we need to get started, I’ll look it over and give you a timeframe for when I can get it done. And…”
“Syd,” Mia interrupted. “Aren’t you forgetting one crucial thing?”
Frowning, she thought about it for a moment. “Um…I don’t think so.”
“Salary? Aren’t you the least bit interested in what I’ll be paying you? And what kind of hours are involved?”
“Oh, right!” She laughed. “Yeah, that would be important information to have. So, um…”
Mia laughed too before saying the hourly wage. “And we’re looking at around thirty hours a week.”
“Are you serious?” she cried. “How is that even possible?”
“Well, with everything going on with you, we haven’t had a chance to talk,” Mia said, “but…I just signed for another six books…”
“Oh, my God! That’s amazing! Congratulations!”
“And…my first book was just optioned–well, we’re already under contract–to be made into a movie! A real full-length motion picture! Can you believe it?”
She let out a happy little scream and even danced in place. “Mia, this is…oh my goodness…I can’t even believe it! This is everything you ever dreamed of!”
“It’s more than I ever could have imagined. So…yeah, I definitely need an assistant to help me keep my shit in order.”
“And I am the girl to make that happen!” And there she was, starting to cry again. “I don’t even know how to thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me.”
Mia was quiet for a long moment. “You have no idea how much I hate what you’re going through, and if I can do this and help you, then I am more than happy to do it. Hell, I wish I could do more.”
“You’re doing more than you even realize and I am so excited to get started.” The oven beeped and she let out a long breath. “I need to go. Lunch is ready. Email me what we need to get started and I promise to call you later after I’ve looked it all over.”
The Way the Story Goes Page 24