Page 78 of A Cowboy's Claim
“Stop,” Jake groaned.
“Daddy? Are you okay?” Jeffrey leaned forward intently.
“Just fine, bucko. Eat your supper.”
After cleanup, they broke into small groups for a while but ended up meeting again around the fire pit.
Declan pulled out the small bear figure he was whittling and began to draw small shavings from its back, creating the texture of fur. Sydney sat next to him, listening as Jeffrey told her a long story about the adventure he had taken that involved being a knight on horseback, and that Jinx and Sasha had taken him and Tyler Stone into a magical land.
The two ranch hands had called it a night, and Kevin had already gone to bed. Jake lifted Jeffrey in the air and flipped him over to suspend him by one ankle as he carried him around to give all his aunties and uncles a kiss good night on the cheek.
Tansy stretched her leg to the side and offered Jake a wicked smile. “You got him riled up. You get to put him to bed.”
“Yup.” Jake didn’t look one bit remorseful.
It was family, with a layer of sweetness made even better by the fact Sydney was there in an entirely different way than she’d been in the past.
Oh, she was still there for her friends, the three of them chatting easily about plans for the days ahead. Worries pushed aside—for now.
But Sydney was now there forhimas well, and he knew it. Right down to the tips of his toes.
“I’m glad you have her.”
Declan glanced to the side. How had Jinx moved quietly enough to sneak up on him like that? “Nothing is set in stone, so don’t go jumping the gun. Okay?”
“I won’t. But I can almost see the way you guys are connected.” Jinx made a face. “And I don’t mean that other stuff that I interrupted before.”
Declan kept his expression as blank as possible. “Of course you don’t.”
She grumbled for a minute. “You think it’s funny.”
“It’s funny,” he assured her, offering a hug before she headed to bed.
In the end, he and Sydney were the final ones by the fire. She picked up a log and added it to the coals. “Just a little longer,” she said.
He shifted so she could lean into him, the two of them watching the flames dance. “Something on your mind?”
“I messaged my brother this afternoon,” she informed him. “Michael. The one Lexie was dating.”
“Oh. What’s up?”
Sydney tightened the linking of their fingers, using her other hand to stroke the connection. “Lexie asked me to be there while she explained what Grandpa Nate did.”
“That was a quick move.” He couldn’t imagine it would’ve been easy. “How did it go?”
“Michael was appropriately shocked. But then thankfully when he got mad, it was at our grandpa, and not Lexie. Although he did give her hell for not telling him up front.”
“That sounds positive.”
“It was.” Sydney let out a deep breath. “I thought the conversation might be terrible and heartbreaking, but after the initial shock was over, Michael’s biggest demand was for her to never leave him out of the picture again.”
“That’s amazing. Is she headed back to Toronto?”
Sydney shook her head. “Not yet. And I didn’t see this one coming, but Lexie told Michael that while she wants to be with him, she made a commitment to help me. That I was also dealing with some nonsense caused by Grandpa Nate. She wants to see that everything works out well for me, so she’s staying until Christmas for sure. Michael is sworn to secrecy. He’s not allowed to tell Grandpa that he knows anything.”
Damn. This was far more complicated and tangled than Declan liked. But as long as he didn’t have to keep all the stories straight himself, he supposed it was all right. “Did Michael get offered that wonder job yet?”
“No, but he’s also been pre-warned about that because of not keeping secrets.”
