Page 42

Sydney slept in, no surprise after her late night. What did surprise her was her mood. She was a strange mix of happy and sad.

Happy that things between her and Adam were good again. Sad that she only had him for five more months. But then again, happy that he’d have a chance to pursue his dream of cooking. While also sad that the man who might be the answer to her dreams would be leaving.

She sighed as she sat up in bed and looked at Mackie, lounging beside her. “Life is hard, Mackie. Life is hard.”

He yawned.

“You’re right. Coffee would make it easier. By the way, did you know I went flying last night? Because I did. I went flying .”

She smiled as she got up and went into the kitchen. Her time in the air was a memory that would last forever. She hoped they could do it again before he left. Adam seemed willing. She certainly was.

And not just for the thrill of it. She had to think that the more time she and Adam spent together, the more he’d see they were meant to be.

She truly believed that, now that she knew she was more than human. He had to be wondering, too. Wasn’t he?

Or was she reading all the signals wrong?

He could have kissed her last night. She would have been all for it. But maybe he hadn’t thought she was ready? Or that there was no point, since he didn’t plan on staying?

She sighed. She really wanted him to stay. More than she’d wanted anything in a long time.

But how? He wasn’t going to be happy with just any job. Not when the chance to cook awaited him in Chicago. And he deserved that chance. He was good at it, and he had the desire. How else was he going to get his food truck if he didn’t learn how to run things and prepare food on a commercial scale?

She had to let this go. Problem was, she didn’t like quitting. And this felt like quitting.

She could at least take a break from thinking about it, though. Best way to do that was to let the other thing weighing on her mind take center stage.

Did her parents know they had supernatural bloodlines? Was this a family secret? Or something that had been lost through time? Or maybe only one of them had the supernatural genes?

And how did she ask without opening up a giant can of crazy?

As though sensing a disturbance in the family force, Sydney’s phone rang, and the screen showed it was her sister calling.

Sydney answered. “Hi, Dakota.”

“Hi, Syd. How are you? How’s the new house? Are you all moved in?”

“I’m good, the house is great, and almost.”

“Moving is a process.” In the background, shrieks of laughter could be heard.

Sydney smiled. “How are the twins?”

“Plotting against me, but that’s nothing new. You know they say the terrible twos are the age you need to be worried about. That’s a lie. Three is much, much worse. Hey, you want to babysit?” Dakota laughed.

Sydney laughed right along with her. “You’re a very bad salesperson.”

“I love them, obviously, but they are a lot of work. Yesterday they attempted to bathe the dog with that shampoo you sent me.”

Sydney sucked in a breath. “Are you serious? Yoda must have the nicest fur on the block now. That stuff is a hundred and sixty dollars a bottle. I mean, I didn’t pay for it. I got it as a perk, but still.”

Dakota groaned. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I’ll put it in the safe.”

Sydney snorted. “No worries.”

“Yoda does smell nice.” Dakota sighed. “I know they’re my flesh and blood, but sometimes I could wring their little necks. Lovingly.”

“Speaking of flesh and blood…” Sydney bit her thumbnail. “Do you have a minute?”

“That’s why I called. To catch up. What’s going on?”

“You’re going to think I’m nuts but?—”

“Wouldn’t be the first time.”

“Thanks.” Sydney rolled her eyes. “In all seriousness, have you ever felt like there was something different about you? Like you had a connection with … a tree?”

After a moment of silence, Dakota said, “What?”

Sydney sighed. “Never mind. I told you it was?—”

“Okay, this is crazy, but right before the twins were born, Janie— You know, my friend?”

“From the Pilates class, yes. The woman who threw your baby shower.”

“Right. Well, she convinced me to go see this old woman she knows who’s kind of like a fortune teller, but Janie said she was ninety-five percent accurate in predicting the sex of babies.”

“I thought you didn’t want to know.”

“I didn’t. And then I did, but I didn’t want to make a big thing about it.

Roger didn’t care either way, just said he’d be happy so long as they were healthy.

Anyway, I went to her. Srylana or something like that.

And she did her thing, which just involved putting her hands on my belly, and she said that the twins were special and I was special because of our… ”

“What?” Sydney asked, her breath catching at her sister’s hesitation. “Your what?”

“ Connection to nature . That I was a daughter of the earth, and my children would have that blessing, too. I asked her what she meant, and she gave me this strange look, like she thought I was testing her. And she said I had the blood of nymphs in my veins. Nymphs , Syd. I thought they had something to do with mosquitoes. I looked them up. They’re like these?—”

“Nature goddesses.” Sydney exhaled. “Oh, boy, do I have a story to share with you.”

For the next twenty minutes, Sydney filled Dakota in on everything that had happened. Everything. From first meeting Adam to Veronika’s arrival to Birdie being a werewolf and Pandora figuring out Sydney’s bloodlines and finishing with the flight Adam had taken her on last night.

“So,” Sydney said. “What do you think?”

Silence filled the air. Then Dakota cleared her throat softly. “I know you’re serious, but I need to hear you say it.”

“I’m serious. All of that happened.”

“We’re descended from nymphs and dryads for real. According to the Realtor who sold you your house.”

“Who is also a witch, yes.”

“This is a lot to take in, Syd.”

“I know. Trust me. Do you think Mom and Dad know?”

“Not a chance.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought, too.”

“You going to tell them?”

“You think I should?”

“At least Mom. I mean, if you’re going to marry Adam, it’s probably a conversation you should?—”

“Whoa. Who said anything about marrying Adam?”

Dakota laughed. “Well, the way you’ve been talking about him, you’re obviously in love with him. And I know how much you want a husband and kids.”

“I am not…” Was she in love with him? “I can’t be in love with him. He’s leaving in five months. He’s got a job offer in Chicago, where he’s from. The work he’s doing here is only temporary. He’s filling in for someone.”

“And you can’t get him to stay? Or he doesn’t feel the same way about you?”

“I don’t want to make him stay. The job is a chance to pursue his dream. And I don’t know how he feels.”

“Then you really need to find out. And if it’s mutual, you need to do figure out how to keep him there. You have the money, Syd. You’re a smart woman. Come up with a plan.”

“Easier said than done.”

“All good things take effort.” More shrieks, this time less than happy ones, erupted in the background. “Crap, Syd, I gotta go. Figure it out. If you love him, don’t let him leave. Talk to you soon.”

“Bye.” But Dakota had already hung up, off to put out whatever fire the twins had started this time.

Sydney sighed, thoughts whirling through her head. She liked Adam a lot. And she thought he liked her. But love?

He’d be easy to love. At least, that was how it felt to her.

Giving him a reason to stay, that was harder. She supposed it might get easier if things went really well with them the next couple of months, but the more time that went by, the more he was going to feel obliged to keep his word and take the job in Chicago.

She’d have to come up with something at least that good—or better—to keep him here. He wanted to cook. She knew no one in town, except for Birdie. And Birdie knew everyone.

Except Birdie had introduced Sydney to a lot of people, including her niece, who just happened to own the bar and grill in town.

Sydney narrowed her eyes. It was a long shot, but it was a shot worth taking.

She picked up her phone.