Page 636 of Cold Case, Warm Hearts

“Well, how do you like Stoney Creek?” Chuck drawled.

“I like it,” Sydney heard herself say. How else was she supposed to answer that question?

Emma forked a chunk of chicken into her mouth. “That was a pat answer. Now tell us how you really feel.”

Sydney’s cheeks grew warm. “I do like it here. Really.”

Kendall came to her rescue. “Now Sis, you leave Sydney alone. She’s gettin’ along just fine. I’m seeing to that.”

“That’s mighty kind of ya,” Chuck said, and everyone laughed.

“You’ll have to excuse my little sis,” Kendall said to Sydney. “She never takes anything at face value—always has to get to the bottom of everything.”

Emma frowned. “That’s not true.”

Kendall ignored her. “Only problem with that is that if you go sifting through a can of worms, all you find at the bottom is more worms.”

This brought on an explosion of laughter from Chuck. Emma delivered a swift elbow jab to his ribs. She then looked across the table and stuck out her tongue at Kendall.

A moment of silence passed and everyone focused their attention on their plates. Jessica was the first to speak. “Sydney, Kendall said you work at the sawmill. Do you know Sean O’Conner?”

“Yes, Sean’s office is next to mine.” Sydney left it at that. She wasn’t about to ask Jessica if she knew Sean, even though she did want to know. No, she didn’t want to know, she told herself. Why did she care if Jessica knew Sean?

“Sean and I are dating,” Jessica said.

“Oh really?” Sydney looked Jessica square in the eyes. “That’s interesting. I don’t think he’s ever mentioned you.”

Jessica’s face grew red. But Sydney wasn’t finished yet. “And since you mentioned being a heartbreaker, I figured it would be too hard to limit yourself to just one man.”

Jessica gasped, and Kendall almost choked on his food. Oops. She’d done it again. When would she learn to keep that snake-fanged tongue of hers in its cage? In Judith’s glitzy magazine cover world, cattiness was an accepted—even admired—trait. How she’d watched Judith and mimicked her. She’d reveled in the flash of approval she saw in Judith’s eyes when she was brave enough to level her own witty remark. But once Sydney opened that part of herself, it became harder and harder to control it. It was a way to expel some of the poison that had seeped into her since the accident. Over the years her claws had grown a little too sharp, even for Judith.

The shocked faces, staring at her around the table, brought home the fact that she wasn’t in Judith’s world any longer butin a more polite society where she would do well to choose her words with care. She caught a glimpse of her parents mirrored in those faces. Would they be shocked to see how coarse she’d become?

She smiled through the chill and hoped her words would sound sincere. Maybe she could repair some of the damage. “Jessica, I would love to get this recipe. You really are a wonderful cook.”

Jessica was too busy stewing from her earlier comment to answer, but at least Kendall seemed to relax.

“How’s the team lookin’?” Chuck asked.

Thank goodness for trusty ol’ Chuck. If Emma hadn’t slung her arm around him to give him a big hug, Sydney would have.

Kendall helped himself to another piece of bread. “Pretty good so far. I’ve got ten returning seniors, including Reggie.”

Sydney’s ears perked up. “Reginald Kelly?”

Kendall cocked his head. “Yeah, he’s our starting quarterback. Do you know him?”

“I met him and his mother at practice this afternoon.”

Kendall and Chuck became immersed in football while Sydney made polite conversation with Emma. Sydney looked across the table with an arched brow and met Jessica’s glare.

“You just remind me of somebody I used to know.” Jessica tucked a wisp of curly hair behind her ear.

Sydney chuckled. “Yeah, I seem to have that face—you know, the one that everyone thinks looks like so and so.” Before Jessica could respond, Sydney turned her attention to Kendall and Chuck.

Chuck rubbed his hands together and shook his head. “I can just taste that state championship.”

Kendall leaned back in his chair and held up his hand. “Whoa now. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We haven’t even played our first game yet.”

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