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“… JOY COMETH IN THE MORNING.” —PSALMS 30:5

S ydney hadn’t planned on dating Kendall. It just sort of happened. Kind of like the time she and Ginger went shopping. Ginger saw a brown sweater hanging on the rack.

“Try it on Syd.”

Sydney wrinkled her nose. “That? You want me to try on that?” She walked away from the sweater to look at something else. “I don’t think so.”

Ginger wasn’t going to give up so easily. “It’s perfect for you.”

“Brown’s not one of my better colors.”

Ginger groaned. “Just try it on.”

“Okay!”

Sydney tried on the sweater. To her amazement and Ginger’s delight, it looked great.

“It just goes to prove that you can’t always tell how something’s gonna look unless you try it on.”

Trying it on. That’s what Sydney was doing with Kendall. And so far, he seemed to fit.

She’d been surprised and a little disappointed that he hadn’t called her after their first date. The weekend was approaching and no call from Kendall. She’d slept in on Saturday and was sitting at the kitchen table eating a bowl of fruity pebbles, still wearing the shorts and long T-shirt she’d slept in the night before, when she heard the roar of an engine outside.

If rednecks are going to race up and down the street, the least they could do is buy a muffler, she thought . S he waited for the sound to pass, but it only got louder. Annoyed, she put her empty bowl in the sink and went into the living room to look out her front window. By the time she reached the window, the noise had stopped. She opened the blinds and frowned. Why was there a motorcycle in her driveway?

The knock at the door caused her to jump. She looked down at her clothes. She went to the door and looked out the peep hole, raking her fingers through her disheveled hair.

“Kendall, this is a surprise. I wasn’t expecting … um … you.” Her face warmed when she watched his gaze go from her face to her clothes.

He smiled boyishly. “I just thought you might wanna go for a ride.”

Her eyes widened and she pointed to the bike. “On that?”

“Uh huh.”

“But I’m not dressed.”

He stepped inside the living room. “It’s okay. We’re in no hurry. I’ll wait.”

There were probably at least half a dozen reasons why she shouldn’t go. She’d planned on spending her Saturday recouping and reading the journal. “Make yourself at home,” she heard herself say. “I’ll only be a minute.”

“Make sure you wear jeans. I’d hate for those nice legs of yours to get scratched up on my bike.”She smiled at the compliment.

“How in the world did I let you talk me into this?” Sydney yelled, tightening her grip around Kendall’s waist.

In response, Kendall’s laughter floated through the air. She looked at the brilliant blue sky, feeling the wind whip through her hair. The sun had finally broken through the clouds, dispelling the rain. She could feel the warmth of Kendall’s body against hers. They raced against the wind, down the secluded country road. Her heart was pounding in her ears. She felt more alive at that moment than she’d felt in a very long time.

The picturesque landscape, with the gentle sloping mountain covered with green trees, whizzed by them like a movie reel. She didn’t know where Kendall was taking her and really didn’t care. It was nice to let someone else be in control for a while.

Kendall slowed down the bike and maneuvered it to the side of the road where it came to a stop. Sydney loosened her grip on his waist.

“How ya doin’?”

“Great.”

“I wanna show you something.” He pointed to the mountain. “See that old steel cable?”

Sydney nodded. A rusty cable extended from the top of the mountain to the bottom and across the road to the other side. The thick foliage made it impossible to see where the cable ended. “Where does it go?”

“To an abandoned factory.” He pointed. “The river is over there. The factory was directly on the river. Coal was mined on top of the mountain and then put in a cable box and taken to the river where it was loaded onto barges.”

Sydney wasn’t sure where this was going. “That’s interesting.”

“Just a little Stoney Creek trivia for ya.” He smiled. “And a good excuse to get off of this bike and stretch my legs.”

Sydney laughed. “Ah, now the truth comes out,” she said, taking off her helmet and running her fingers through her hair. “Kendall, what is that over there in that field? It looks like hundreds of tiny a-frame tin huts.”

Kendall gave her a quizzical look.

“Well?

“You’re serious? You really don’t know what those are?”

The condescension in Kendall’s tone irked her. “If I knew I wouldn’t have asked you.”

“I’m sorry. I forgot that you’re not a country girl. I guess they don’t raise fighting roosters in Dallas-Ft. Worth, do they?” He laughed.

“They raise roosters to fight?”

“Sure, not only do they raise them to fight, they also raise them to sell. Each one of those birds could bring anywhere from $1,200 to $2,500.”

Sydney wrinkled her nose. “Why would anyone do such a thing?”

“For money, of course. People bet on which one will kill the other first.”

She cringed. “How barbaric.”

Kendall eyed her with amusement. “Cock fighting has been around for thousands of years. Alexander the Great staged cock fights for his men the night before they went to battle.”

“Why?”

“To pump up his troops. Make them more courageous.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“It’s true.” He paused. “Do you eat chicken?”

She sensed a trap. “Well, yes. Of course.”

“Do you think those chickens just lay down and die so you can have chicken McNuggets anytime you want to?”

“That’s different.”

He shook his head. “Some people think that game chickens have it much better than their counterparts.”

She frowned. “How so?”

“Well, for one thing they’re housed in separate pens. Chickens raised for human consumption live in cramped quarters and are debeaked and pumped full of growth hormones. Then comes the slaughter house.”

She shuddered.

Kendall pointed to the huts. “These chickens each have their own patch of grass and are usually very well taken care of because of their high value.”

“Until they’re killed.”

His expression suggested that he would have liked to say more, but he didn’t want their date to end in an argument. “Haven’t you ever heard the guys at the sawmill talking about it? A lot of them go to cockfights.”

The men at the sawmill never told her anything. As a matter of fact, most of them stayed as far away from her as they could get, but she’d never admit that to Kendall. “Maybe I should go check it out sometime.”

“You’ve got to be kidding. You at a cockfight? I don’t think so.”

“Have you ever taken a girl with you?”

Kendall kicked at the dirt on the ground. “Yeah.” He avoided her eyes. “But she didn’t come from Dallas-Ft. Worth.”

The remark stung, and she clamped her jaw shut.

He got back on his bike. “Let’s ride some more.” Maybe he was wondering where their conversation had taken a wrong turn.

Sydney sat down behind him and reached for her helmet. Kendall placed his hand over hers. “Not yet.”She looked questioningly at him for a split second before his lips met hers. His kiss was deliberately tender, and she felt her anger melt away. He pulled away and searched her expression for a reaction.

“I’d like to see you again.”

She nodded.

“Tomorrow? Mama’s makin’ a big Sunday dinner. You’ll get to meet her and Emma.”

She would like to tell Kendall Fletcher that she and Emma had already met and had in fact been the best of friends. Furthermore, he would have been shocked to know how well acquainted she was with him. She thought back to her first official day in Stoney Creek when he’d replaced her flat tire. It was ironic that of all people, he’d been the one to stop. It was like fate was throwing them together. Even though she looked completely different, she’d halfway expected him to recognize her. It was a strange feeling to stand so close to someone she knew and have him think she was a complete stranger. Her face was this invisible cloak and no one could see the real her.

She shook her head and willed her mind to come back to the present. “I would love to, but I already have plans for tomorrow,” Sydney said. She’d promised to have lunch with Stella.

He frowned. Kendall was obviously used to getting his way.

She arched her eyebrow.

“Come Monday then.”

“Monday sounds good.”

“Good, it’s all settled.” He studied her face. “Would you like to get a closer look at the old coal mine building?”

“Sure.” She was having too much fun and didn’t want the date to end anytime soon.

“Well, what do you think?”

The building, constructed of wood and cinderblock, was nothing special in and of itself. It was the way it sat directly on the sparkling river—the faded roof—the aged wood—everything combined to give it an element of mystery, like she was peeking into a patch of the past that the present forgot to sweep away. “It’s hard to believe a place like this still exists.”

“I used to play here.” He pointed. “I’d climb on the roof and then dive into the river.”

She frowned. “Isn’t it too shallow?”

They were leaning against his bike, and he put his arm around her. “No, it’s great. Hey, too bad we didn’t bring our swimsuits. It’s a perfect day to go for a swim.”

A tight smile formed on her lips and she thought about her scar. She fought the urge to touch it. She’d lost count of the times she’d turned down invitations to swim parties. The vague explanations, last minute excuses. It all ran together. “Yeah, too bad.”

He traced his finger along the curve of her chin before bringing his lips to hers. A moment later, he pulled away from her. “I sure am glad you decided to come to Stoney Creek.”

She looked into his warm eyes. “Yeah, me too.”

He smiled and moved to get back on his bike. “Now you’d better hold on tight ’cause I’m fixin’ to take you on the ride of your life.”