Page 9 of No Turning Back
I feel bad for avoiding her. She is one of my oldest friends and has been there for me lately when other friends have left me or are too busy. I’ll just have to be firm with Tucker that nothing can happen between us. Mari is my priority.
I nod and my lips tip up slightly. “Okay. What time?”
“How about six? That way we have a couple of hours before Mari goes to bed and you’ll have time to get home from work.”
“Sounds good. So, who is this cutie?” I point down to the little girl in the wagon.
“I’m Summer.”
“She’s Killan and Jody’s little girl, my cousin and his wife.”
“Well, hello, Summer. I’m Sydney.”
“Do you pet the elepants?” she asks me with a smile.
“I do. Maybe someday Wrenn can bring you back and I’ll take you in to see them. We can’t right now.”
“Can we?” She looks up at Wrenn.
“Yeah,” Wrenn responds, then turns to me. “Not until after this baby comes, though.” She chuckles. “I feel like I’m going to blow any day with as big as I’m getting. Okay, we’ll let you get back to work.”
I wave at them until they disappear, then I look over at the teenager who has been doing his community service here. He waves at me.
“Hello, Syd.” He calls me by a nickname I didn’t give him permission to use.
I shake my head at the kid before I wave back. I know he’s attempting to flirt with me in his young mind.
“Hello, Jace.”
He walks toward me. He shakes around his head, his longer wavy hair catches the light, and something about the kid looks very familiar, but I can’t place it.
“Want to grab some burgers after you get off this evening?”
Yep, the kid thinks I’m into him.
“How old are you, Jace?”
He leans back like I offended him, then props himself against the fence and folds his arms over his still-developing chest. He’s a foot taller than me.
“Age is just a number, Syd. I like my women mature. I’d never ask your age.”
I laugh hard. At first, he pauses, then joins in with me.
“I’m not trying to hurt your feelings, kiddo. But let’s be honest. If I had kids before college, they’d be your age. Besides, I’m not into dating right now. I have my own baby to take care of.”
He’s taken aback by my confession about Mari.
“I didn’t know you had a kid. How old is it?”
“She’s five months old.” I glance over and see his supervisor walking toward us. “You better get back to work before you get into trouble.” I don’t know why he’s doing community service, but the kid seems like one of the good ones.
His head swings back as she approaches us. “Yeah, I guess I better. But I don’t care how old you are, Sydney. I like you. If you want to go as friends, we can do that too.”
“Thank you for making me feel good, but again, I’m not dating.” I pause, and an image of Tucker flashes through my mind. “Besides, I need more friends than romantic interests. How about we have lunch together the next time you work?”
“Really?” He perks up, excited, showing his age.
“Yeah.” I take pity on him.
