Piecing Together Sydney (A Sydney West Novel Book 3) (22 page)

*Ten years later*

“We made some progress today, Terry. I’ll see you next Tuesday. Okay?” I smiled at the older gentleman sitting on my red couch.

“Okay, Dr. King. Thanks.” Terry got up and waved as he left.

I looked over at the blue clock above the window of my office. In two minutes, it would be five o’clock.

Tonight is Taco Tuesday. One of the best days ever.

My daughter kicked me from within. She agreed.

I ran a hand over my swollen stomach. “You hungry, baby? We’ll be home soon.” I turned my computer off and made last minute notes for the night.

During my lunch break, I picked up a t-shirt for Andrew. It read, “I’m going to be a big brother.” I thought it would be cute for him to wear for the baby shower.

If you get to keep him, that is.

I laughed to myself as I gathered my purse and briefcase. My mom was all over my son. Since the moment he was born, she spoiled him and showered him in love. She always stepped in to watch him so Jason and I could go out on date night. Now, with a baby girl on the way, she was over the moon.

I left my office and closed the door. “Good-night, Julie. I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said to my assistant who took care of all the paperwork and phones.

“Night, Sydney. When are you going to take a break?” She laughed, shaking her head.

“Not sure, a couple weeks.” I fixed the strap of my purse to keep it from falling off my shoulder. “Why? You sick of me already?”

Her green eyes widened in horror. “Oh, no! Just thought you should rest before the baby.”

I chuckled. She was cute. Julie was eighteen and came to work for me straight out of high school. She was a hard worker and loved her boyfriend to the ends of the earth. She was a lot like my best friend, Amelia. They both were suckers for love. I was more standoffish for a while, but being like that helped me relate to my patients. I could sympathize with them and know what it was like to be afraid of something. To fear something as beautiful as love could turn toxic and ruin you. Luckily, Jason shattered all the glass that locked me inside a box.

“No worries. See you later.” I went out to my Toyota Corolla and turned up the radio. They were playing “Opheliac” by Emilie Autumn, and I had to jam.

***

“Mommmyyyy!” Andrew screamed, running from his pile of colorful blocks to me.

I put my stuff down on the table where the mail belonged. “Hey, my big boy. How was your day with Daddy?”

He took my hand, pulling me toward the kitchen. “I made somethin’ for you!”

“You did?” I said in a voice higher than normal.

“Yes!” He led me into the kitchen. Jason stood by the sink washing vegetables.

“Hey, lover,” I whispered to him, kissing his cheek.

“Hey, sexy doctor.” He turned and kissed my lips.

Andrew tugged on my pants. “Mommyyy, look!”

“Hold that thought,” I said to Jason. My attention went to our son. “What is this?” I took the picture he handed me. It was of two stick people and a littler one. One of the bigger stick people had a circle over their body.

“That’s us!” He pointed to each one, naming them. Of course I was the one with the big circle over her body. “That’s my sister,” he said proudly, pointing to said circle.

“This is amazing, Andrew. It needs to be on the fridge so everyone can see it and know what an artist you are.” I kissed the top of his head and walked over to the fridge, putting it on the door with a kitten magnet.

He stood in front of it and beamed. Damn, that kid was so cute, it hurt my heart.

Took a little over two decades, but good to know you have a heart and it’s not black as the night.

I used to think I was winter-hearted. That my heart was a black thing that lived in my chest. Thankfully, I was terribly wrong. It was just sick, and Jason was the cure.

“Amelia and Hunter are coming for dinner,” Jason said, ruining my train of thought.

“Okay, awesome.” I looked over at where Andrew was. He took off because the song to his favorite show was starting. “Your son is hilarious, Jason.”

He stopped cutting the carrots and took me in his arms, getting the back of my shirt wet, but he always had some kind of effect on me like that. “He has your laugh, Syd. And your eyes. They are so blue, it’s crazy. He’s a lady killer for sure.”

I bit my bottom lip. “Especially if he picks up surfing.” I took a step back, rubbing my round stomach. “I’ll have to teach him next summer.”

Jason’s thumb tugged my lip free from my teeth. “No, I will. I’m a pro.”

I laughed, pushing him away. “Please. I have a trophy.”

He rolled his eyes. “Always throwing that in my face.” He smiled. That wicked smile that captured me so long ago still made my knees weak.

Life with Jason was damn happily ever after. Sure, we had some fights, but that made the sex epic. Our biggest disagreement was about upgrading to the next year Charger or getting a more “family” car, like the Corolla, when we found out about my second pregnancy. I was worried about having another baby but then thought Andrew needed someone to play with. Being an only child wasn’t the worst thing, but I did wish for a friend now and then that never would leave me. Now my child never had to worry about that. He’d have a sister to care for and drive him insane.

“Whatever.” The baby did a flip ending with a karate kick. I held my belly. “Wow. She’s a gymnast in there.”

Jason put his hands on my stomach as well. “She’s going to be a handful like her mom. I know it.” His silver eyes sparked with love.

My lips curled into a smile. “I hope she has your eyes. I’d love to see them in a little chubby face.”

He wound his fingers into my long, dirty blonde hair. “Only if she has your hair.” He lightly pulled, making my head go to the side so he could kiss the column of my neck. I turned toward him. My belly made things a bit awkward, but we learned how to work around it.

That was until the doorbell rang.

“That would be our best friends,” Jason murmured into my ear.

“Ugh, they have the worst timing.” I broke away from my husband. “I’ll get them.”

He slapped my ass as I turned to leave. I made a I’m-watching-you motion with my hand as I moved toward the living room. He simply winked and went back to making dinner.

Andrew was blissfully watching TV. He played with a metal truck on the floor, putting blocks into it. He quietly said the color of each one as he did. Damn, that boy was smart, and he was only four-years-old.

I opened the door, and a little girl ran past me into the living room. Amelia laughed, pushing her oldest daughter into the house. She only wanted to text and didn’t like being taken away from her computer friends. Hunter was holding their little boy. “She has a crush on Andrew, you know.” Amelia laughed, watching her daughter join my son on the floor.

Samantha was the prettiest little girl. She had Amelia’s hazel eyes and Hunter’s smile. She loved playing with Andrew. They were best friends. Thomas, her twin brother, rubbed his eye. Hunter put him down and pointed to the TV. “Go play with your sister and friend.”

Amelia touched Scarlet’s hair. “Be nice to the little kids,” she said. She then grabbed me and pulled me to the corner of the room. “Ugh, she’s not even a teen yet, and she’s a handful.”

“You’re a good mom though. She won’t be too wild.” I rubbed my belly, praying my daughter wouldn’t be as intense as I was as a teenager, especially in Malibu.

She was born to be a mom. I knew it all along. When she was pregnant with Scarlet, she practically mothered me while planning my wedding. I can’t believe that was ten years ago already.

“So…how is Mama doing?” She smiled at my bump.

Automatically, my hands went to my stomach. “I’m good. She’s much easier than Andrew was. I was always sick with him.” Not to mention freaked out of my mind that I was actually pregnant, and trying not to have a panic attack almost made me have one.

She laughed. “That’s good. I knew you’d be an amazing mom too. Look at us with families.” She bumped my shoulder with hers.

“I know.” I looked over at the bookcase next to the TV stand. It was filled with summer albums we brought home from Malibu. The pictures were of Jason, our best friends, our little family, and having “normal” fun. We went to the beach, theme parks, and sometimes to a bar. We didn’t do much drinking after Andrew was born. Jason was in full dad mode and stayed home with him so I could continue my practice. His computer repair shop could come home with him, so it all worked out.

Amelia followed my gaze and touched a loose curl hanging over my shoulder, brushing it behind me. “I love how you still live by summers, Syd.”

I wrapped my arms around myself, though it looked more like I was cradling my breasts. “That’s who I am. Though the albums of the wild me are in the basement so the kids don’t get the wrong idea of their mother. They’ll learn about that…never.”

She laughed so hard she snorted. “My God, Sydney! I’m going to drag them out when your kids are teens and embarrass you so much.”

I put my hands on my hips. “You do that, and I’ll tell your kids what a lightweight you are. Don’t forget about that guy in that band…”

My best friend hit my arm playfully. “Yeah, the one I talked to
and
only talked to.”

I shrugged. “I have a very colorful way to drag things out.”

“Oh, before I forget, I have a new painting for your office. I’m tired of that sunflower in your waiting room.”

I liked the sunflower, it was inviting, but again, I was never one who understood art. “Yeah? What is it of?”

“A beach at sunset.” She smiled and looked toward the kitchen where our husbands were. “It has two surfboards that lean into each other, it so fits you and Jason.”

My baby kicked me hard in the side. I placed my hand there, trying to keep my ribs inside me. Even my child wanted to crush my ribs. Some things never changed. “I think we need to eat before she gets even more energetic.”

We gathered around the dining room table with the kids as Hunter and Jason brought out the chicken, vegetables, rolls, and mashed potatoes.

Jason and Hunter talked about work. Jason went on about something with an upgrade for Hunter’s laptop so he’d be faster at downloading blueprints. He was the head man of Lion, Inc. and helped design their buildings all over the world. Amelia sold her artwork and ran a little boutique. Kylie provided photos for the boutique as well. She made a great living taking pictures at people’s weddings and did side jobs for extra money and for pleasure.

I couldn’t wait until my daughter was born. My mom and Ellie were going to swoon over her so much she’d never know what hit her. I was always worried about not feeling enough love in my life, and that was one of the many reasons I didn’t want kids. Why bring a child into a world without a family? But God blessed me with a wonderful group of people I called family. They were my home, my light when things were bleak.

Even bad girls deserve a second chance.

Yes, I was once bad. I loved one-night stands and partying until the crack of dawn. It was how I dealt with life. Now I helped teens and people in their twenties who battled depression and wanted to get involved in the wrong things with the wrong people. I could relate and told them how the drugs were never going to fill that void. It would only gnaw at them until it was too late. My father fell into drugs, and I lost him. I didn’t want a child to lose a father like that.

Every year, on my father’s birthday, we’d visit his grave. I’d give him some flowers and talk to him for a little while. It was peaceful and a way to get things off my chest. Jason still talked to his father, but only a few times a year. Kylie was focused on her photography, and she didn’t speak to her father that much either.

A long time ago, I wanted to leave something behind after I died. I didn’t want it to be kids, because they really weren’t who I was. They were their own beings. Instead, I wrote a book. It took me about two years to finish. I wanted it to be honest and raw. The book was about my life and what I learned by not believing in love until I fell head over heels in love. My favorite part about the book was each chapter started with one of my favorite quotes. It became a bestseller after a few weeks, and my publisher begged for another book. My current work-in-progress was about relationships and time. My patients were the inspiration for that book, though I changed their info for their privacy. Sometimes I wrote articles for psych magazines too. So in a way, I finally reached that goal in my life: becoming immortal.

For the first couple years of marriage, I feared something terrible would happen, only the shoe never dropped. We were able to work through anything life threw at us. I graduated grad school in southern California, and we settled ourselves in Gilbert, Arizona. The beach house was our vacation destination. Andrew loved going to the beach, and soon our daughter would too.

Amelia and Hunter were deeply in love, like it still made me a little ill at times. They called each other the strangest names. After having Scarlet, they married a few months later. She was an only child for about six years, and then Amelia got pregnant with twins around the same time I got pregnant with Andrew.