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And he’d bought them so much, too. Every time Sylvie turned around, it seemed as if Heath was hauling in some new gift or other.
It started with flowers for her, which she accepted readily enough. Then the purchases became slightly larger things. He brought over toys and baby clothes. She didn’t mind that so much either.
If she had all the money in the world, she would probably spoil the kids rotten, too.
It was when things moved into new electronics for her house that she had started to get a bit queasy. She was now the proud owner of a massive ultra-high-def curved-screen TV that took up most of one wall of her small home. And she still hadn’t figured out how to control the sound system and the myriad speakers tucked into every nook and cranny of the living room.
And that wasn’t the biggest thing. When her car broke down, he offered to take it to the shop and get it fixed for her. He came back driving a new Mercedes and handed her the title.
He said it was just good business. Her old car would cost more to fix than it was worth, so he just got her a new one. This car, he said, was the highest rated in its class and would be safer for her and the babies.
All the paperwork was in her name. It was hers. He said he’d handle the taxes.
She stood there in the alley behind her house, gaping at the gleaming midnight blue car. What she wanted to do was shove the papers right back at him and tell him to forget it. It was too much, and they were only dating. She couldn’t accept such a huge gift.
But before she could do just that, she looked at him. He’d been standing there watching her with the most hopeful expression. He was all up on the balls of his feet, expectantly waiting. But for what?
His questioning smile answered that question.
He was excited to find out if she liked the car.
It was ridiculous, really. Who wouldn’t like such a car? But to see him like that, to realize that he thought there was a possibility she might not like it … there was no way she could let him down.
He hadn’t bought her the car to try to buy her affections. He hadn’t bought it to make her feel bad about being poor. He hadn’t bought it because he thought she was a digger and would expect it.
No, he bought it for the purest reason of all: because he wanted to make her happy.
So now she drove a brand new Mercedes that had more than tripled her net worth overnight.
What woman wouldn’t be happy with this man, she wondered. He made her feel so good. He was funny and sexy, and he made her heart pound. He made her feel like a goddess in bed and out of it.
And she liked, too, that he wasn’t some pushover. He went toe-to-toe with her and held his own. But he wasn’t a bully, either. He was just right.
And he was still learning about his sons, but then, so was she. It wasn’t like she’d ever had kids before, either. They were doing it together.
There was still some air cleaning they had to do before she’d feel completely settled that their new relationship was real. Heath still didn’t know that she knew his true identity. She didn’t want him to think that she wanted anything from him from a financial standpoint or have him doubt the reason she would want to be with him.
She hadn’t missed the considering looks her mother threw her way as she observed all of the new toys and trinkets appearing in their lives. That brought about more questions. Momma started asking more details about what Heath did for a living that he could afford all these things, and Sylvie avoided the topic like the plague, sidestepping the questions.
Then Momma wanted to know if Heath would ever be staying in Zeke’s Bend for good, instead of just being around three or four days a week. To be honest, it wasn’t a question that Sylvie and Heath had explored yet.
Their new family unit was still too new to take the pressure of too many expectations for the future. Sylvie enjoyed having Heath around and wanted him to spend as much time as he wanted with his boys. She didn’t want to push or prod on any of the weightier topics that might impact what they had.
That wasn’t Momma’s way, though. Nothing could stop her when she had her mind set on something. So Sylvie had gone out of her way to try and keep Momma and Heath apart. But, at the end of the day, she could only do that for so long.
She looked over at Heath, a baby on one arm and a giant diaper bag slung over his opposite shoulder. It was a sight she enjoyed seeing.
Tonight, her psychic sense was tingling. She suspected the turning point had arrived. Things were either going to go really well or really badly. She crossed her fingers for the former.
Heath rang the doorbell and Eli Ford, Sylvie’s stepfather, opened the door and greeted them.
Sylvie liked Eli, even if he was a little too earnest for her and kind of boring. He was a good man and he was very good to her mother. He and Sachet had only been married for about six years, but he’d loved her far longer than that. She’d made him wait for marriage until Sylvie and Will were both grown and out of the house. Sylvie never understood why Sachet did that, but it wasn’t for Sylvie to question, she supposed.
Eli was a much-needed contrast to Sachet. Where she was flamboyant and often over-the-top, Eli’s grounded calmness balanced her out. When Momma was on the warpath, Eli always found a way to make the peace. He had amazing patience with Sachet, doting on her and appealing to her vanity.
In short, he made Sylvie’s mother happy, and that was all Sylvie could ask. Her mother had made some very poor choices about men in the past, so it was nice to see her settle down with a solid, stable man.
Eli smiled at them and automatically took Quentyn out of Sylvie’s arms. “Look at you, boy! You’re getting so big!”
They stepped inside, and Sylvie took off her jacket.
That was another thing that Sylvie liked about Eli. He was fond of the boys and treated them just like they were his own grandchildren without any question.
“Sachet is in the kitchen,” Eli said. He bounced Quentyn on his hip. “I sure hope you’re hungry. She’s been cooking for what seems like a week.”
Sylvie’s sense of dread grew. Her mother sometimes cooked like a tornado when she was upset or frustrated about something. In times like that, she made enough food to feed an army.
It likely meant that Momma was just as nervous about the evening as Sylvie was. Or she had something on her mind, and that something would surely come to a head at dinner.
Sylvie took Jadyn from Heath as he put down the diaper bag and stripped off his jacket. They went into the living room, where they sat on the couch waiting for Momma to make her appearance.
Sylvie brushed her palms across her knees. They tingled. That never was a good sign. Well, it usually wasn’t a good sign. You just never knew for sure. The second you thought you had your psychic gift figured out, something came along to shake up everything.
There was no way she was going to be able to sit still. Handing Jadyn to Heath, she excused herself, saying she wanted to go see if her mother needed any help in the kitchen.
As Sylvie made her way to the kitchen, she listened for any signs of chaos. That was when she heard pots and pans being flung about. Uh-oh, Momma was definitely in a mood.
Sylvie stopped in the doorway of the kitchen and cleared her throat. “Hi, Momma. We’re here. Do you need any help getting anything ready?”
“Oh, there you are. Here I was thinking you weren’t even going to come in and say hello to your mother. It’s not as if I’ve been calling you all week,” Momma said barely glancing in Sylvie’s direction.
Sylvie instantly felt guilty. For all of the issues there were between her and her mother, she had to admit that her mother was always helpful and willing to lend a hand when it came to the babies. She really did need to be more grateful about that.
She gave her mother a peck on the cheek and a quick hug. “It’s nice to see you, Momma. The boys and Heath are in the living room.”
“If you want to help, I could use somebody to set the table,” Momma said in a slightly
warmer tone.
They bustled about the kitchen not saying anything else. It had been almost a week since Sylvie had last seen her mother, which was an anomaly. Usually, her mother was constantly underfoot, asking to take the boys or pestering Sylvie, in general, at the shop.
It had been odd that after the last time she babysat the boys, she had only made a few phone calls to check on them. Sylvie wanted to ask her about it, but didn’t know what kind of pot of hot tar she would be opening. She decided it was best to be silent.
Perhaps, Sylvie was over-thinking the whole thing. Perhaps, there was really nothing wrong. Perhaps, Momma was finally getting used to the idea that Sylvie and Heath were together and hadn’t intruded so Sylvie would have time alone with Heath.
Nah, that wasn’t likely.
“When’s Will coming?” Sylvie decided her brother’s absence was safer territory for a conversation. Or, at least, a diversion from focusing on Sylvie’s life.
Momma shook her head. “He’s off with that girl again tonight. Something about some tournament or something she’s playing in.”
Zilla played on an intramural women’s volleyball team at her college during the winter months. Will loved to go watch and cheer her on. Sylvie also thought that he liked to watch the other women on Zilla’s team just as much. It was a team of Amazons in Sylvie’s opinion. All of them were tall, athletic and had strong hips and shapely legs. She was surprised, though. It was the first time she had ever heard her mother snark about Zilla.
“Oh, that’s too bad,” Sylvie said.
She continued to set the table, thinking that it would have been nice if Will and Zilla had been able to come to dinner. It would have provided a buffer between her and her mother.
Will always had a way with Momma that Sylvie didn’t. Being the youngest, he could smooth Momma’s ruffled feathers in a way that no one other than Eli could.
“He might be around for pie later,” Momma said.
Sylvie could see over her mother’s shoulder that there were three different pies sitting on the counter. Considering there were only going to be four people for dinner, that seemed an ill omen. Way too much pie. Not good.
