Page 30 of Saved By Noel
I laugh, bending down to Addie’s eye level. “Well, hi there, you little cutie.” She rewards me with a huge grin, showing off four tiny teeth.
“I’ve got some decaf coffee brewing, but I’ve also got tea if you’d prefer,” Syd says, leading me deeper into the house. My eyes sweep the space. It’s lived in with ample evidence of young children, but also classically modern with warm, homey touches. “Wow, you really have an eye for design, Syd!”
“Hey, how do you know I’m not the decorating mastermind?” a voice booms from behind me. I twirl around to a grinningman. His appearance is similar to Clark's, with a matching beard. Although, his hair is more sandy-blond than brown. “I’m just kidding—my beautiful bride is responsible for all the beauty here. I’m Davis.” He holds out his hand to me, and I shake it firmly.
“Clara.”
“I know.” He winks, and warmth spreads through my cheeks. Syd mentioned that Davis is Clark’s best friend, so did he know about me because of Syd, or . . .
“Syd told me you were coming over. She’s been beside herself with excitement all day. A kid at Christmas,” Davis winks at Syd now, who slaps him across the arm.
“Hey! It’s not every day a woman my age moves to town!” She laughs, then turns to me. “At least, I assume you’re around my age. Despite the two kids, I’m only thirty-one, but my apologies if you’re a fresh college grad young’un.”
I laugh again. “I recently turned thirty, so you’re spot on. And seriously, I love how you’ve decorated your house.”
Davis wraps an arm around Sydney’s shoulders. “She’s a decorating genius, this one. Any house in town that’s marginally in style is due to Syd’s magic.” He beams a smile down at Syd, who grins back at him.
“He exaggerates, but I did major in interior design. There hasn’t been a ton of opportunities to use it here in Noel, but I do enjoy helping people decorate their spaces. And Becky let me design the interior of her coffee shop when she opened it. That was super fun.”
“And it turned out amazing,” Davis chimes in. He leans over to kiss Syd on the cheek, and it’s impossible not to smile at them. “I’m going to make myself scarce so you two can talk, but I’ll be back to pick you up for dinner at 6:00.”
We walk into the kitchen as Davis heads out the front door. Sydney hands me an off-white clay mug with a leaf imprintdesign in sage green. She takes one for herself that has turquoise swirls cascading from the handle diagonally down the mug. She holds up the coffee pot like a question, and I nod. Then I say, “These mugs are beautiful. Did you make them?”
“Goodness, no!” Syd laughs. “I have a good eye forotherpeople’s designs, but I don’t have a crafty bone in my body. A lady here in town, Pearl, makes hand-thrown pottery. I bought them from her. She used to travel to different craft fairs around the region, but I’m not sure if she still does that or not.”
“I need to get her info from you. These would make great birthday gifts for my parents this year,” I say, pouring some hazelnut creamer into my coffee.
“I’ll text it to you,” Syd responds, leading me over to the living room. Addie is still superglued to her, and I’m impressed by Syd’s ability to maneuver the house with a small human attached to her leg while carrying hot coffee. “We’ve got about thirty minutes of distracted conversation before Addie will go down for her catnap, and then we’ll be able to focus.”
I glance around the room. “There’s another child running around that you’re not worried about?”
Syd waves a hand. “Eh, he’ll turn up soon. It’s almost feeding time. Thank goodness he hasn’t figured out how to unlock the doors yet, so he can’t have run off.”
On cue, a voice shrieks, “Timber!” It’s followed by a loud crash from upstairs, but not a “something shattered” crash. More like a “blocks fell and scattered all over the floor” crash.
“Speak of the devil.” Sydney smiles with an eye roll. “Don’t worry; as soon as we figured out Junior’s curious nature and rough-and-tumble tendencies, we padded every hard surface in his room. And secured his dresser to the wall. And every other safety precaution we could think of. He’ll make a lot of noise and a lot of messes, but he can’t hurt himself in there.”
We settle in to easy conversation, frequently interrupted by Addie showing me treasures or giving Syd kisses. She tells me about how she and Davis grew up together but didn’t fall in love until they were away at college at the University of Arkansas. “I guess seeing each other in a different environment is what we needed to realize we were always supposed to be together,” she says.
Sydney asks about my family, and I tell her about my parents and Aunt Gloria. I fill her in on how I ended up with a cabin here in Noel, even cautiously admitting my dream of writing scripts for the Heartmark Channel.
“Oh, Ilovetheir movies!” she exclaims in response. “I watch all of them every year!”
Shock must show on my face because Sydney rolls her eyes. “What, you think the whole town hates Christmas just because Clark was grumpy about it?”
Mortification is definitely showing on my face now because Sydney gives me a wry smile. “Yes, my friend, I got the scoop on your interactions with Mayor C. J. Noel.”
I cover my face with my hands, unsure of how to react. I love that Syd has so quickly and completely adopted me as a friend, but I’m uncertain how much to share about Clark with her. She doesn’t act ruffled by my embarrassment at all, laughing as she stands up. “I think that’s my cue to get Addie down for her nap so we canreallytalk. Feel free to help yourself to more coffee.”
Pouring a second cup of coffee is exactly the task I need to calm down my spiraling thoughts.How much should I admit to her? Syd is kind and fun to be around. I want to spend time with her when I’m here! But Davis is Clark’s best friend. If she’s already heard about my interactions with Clark, will what I tell her get back to him?
I’m sitting on the couch again by the time Syd comes out, baby monitor in hand. “I’m giving Junior his iPad time, so weshouldn’t be interrupted for a while.” She sits down next to me, thanking me for her refilled coffee mug.
“All right, tell me your side of the story about your encounters with our dear mayor.” Apparently reading my thoughts, she adds, “And don’t worry, my lips are sealed. Just ’cause I’m friends with Clark doesn’t mean I’m going to breathe a word to him about anything you tell me. Even if I pried his version out of Davis.” She ends with a wink.
I blow out a long exhale. “I don’t know what to say. I’m not really sure how to summarize my interactions with Clark.”
“Then give me the long version,” Syd says simply, coffee mug cradled in her hands.
