stopped. Sydney was surprised to see Mia as calm as she was amidst such chaos.
“Auntie Sydney!” Ariel shouted. “Come see the pun’kin I made!” Ariel, at three, would definitely not have been allowed to wield the knife.
“Hey Ariel,” Sydney said, letting Ariel drag her off in the direction of all of the Jack-‘o-Lanterns. Ariel’s was the first one in line and was unmistakably a dog.
“This one’s mine,” Ariel told her, pride oozing out of her mouth with each word.
“It’s great. Should we take it and go find Mom?” Sydney asked. In lieu of a response, Ariel picked it up and then shot her arms in the air for Sydney to carry her.
Sydney was always greeted with the same grin, shouts of excitement and hugs, and her heart melted every time. She was thankful she lived so close so she could enjoy the kids as often as possible, but still have her own freedom.
She’d thought she might have been heading down the family road with Aaron, but he’d surprised her with his temper. That had been the deciding factor in leaving him—she couldn’t trust him and she knew that was a deal breaker.
“Sydney, what are you doing here?” Mia asked, sliding off the back of the wagon, baby Aiden in her arms.
“Good to see you too, Mia,” Sydney said sarcastically, Ariel still in her arms, stroking her hair, thrilled with the unexpected visit from her favorite aunt.
“Sorry. What’s up?” Mia asked, friendlier. Jake had already left Sydney alone to help the other kids and mothers unload.
“I wanted to ask you about Aaron. Have you heard from him lately?”
“No, why?” she said, a look of confusion on her face. “I’ve gotta run and pick up Addison from kindergarten, do you want to come? I don’t think Ariel will let you go anyway.”
“Sure. But I have Maple and my bike.”
“We can make room,” Mia said, her initial coldness gone and a smile creeping onto her face watching her daughter so in love with Sydney.
Kids were talking Jake’s ear off about what they’d seen, so Sydney waved from afar and went inside to retrieve Maple who was itching to get outside and get in the middle of all the kids.
“Sorry, not today, Maple. We have to go. But you’ll see Addison, Ariel and Aiden. Let’s go,” Sydney coaxed, walking out the front door toward her bike.
With everything loaded and iPads hooked up for the kids, Mia was more willing to listen to what Sydney had to say.
“Detective Massey came to Sinful Sweets today and was asking me about my current relationship with Aaron.”
“Why? What’s going on?”
“He was killed in Twin Peaks. His body was found this morning.”
“Woah. That’s awful. But what put you on the radar?”
“My pumpkin pies were found in his hotel room where his body was discovered. And they were poisoned.”
“When was the last time you saw him?” Mia asked, suspicion in her voice.
“Mia. Really? You think I did this? I haven’t seen or talked to him for six years!”
“Sorry. I just know he deserved it. I know you couldn’t have killed him,” Mia said with conviction.
Sydney looked back in the car to see if Ariel was listening to their conversation. It was clear that she was lost in whatever cartoon she was watching. Maple was lying on the floor between the two car seats in the minivan, anxiously watching Ariel, hoping they’d soon get to play.
“You know Detective Massey is my neighbor?”
“Yeah. What’s your relationship with him?”
“He’s great. We have him over for dinner sometimes. I think he likes spending time with the kids. I’m always surprised he’s still single!” Mia joked, sneaking a glance at Sydney.
Sydney hadn’t even noticed how good looking he was that morning. She was too busy closing up for the day, and then was too worried about being accused of murder to take in anything else from the conversation. But
“Auntie Sydney!” Ariel shouted. “Come see the pun’kin I made!” Ariel, at three, would definitely not have been allowed to wield the knife.
“Hey Ariel,” Sydney said, letting Ariel drag her off in the direction of all of the Jack-‘o-Lanterns. Ariel’s was the first one in line and was unmistakably a dog.
“This one’s mine,” Ariel told her, pride oozing out of her mouth with each word.
“It’s great. Should we take it and go find Mom?” Sydney asked. In lieu of a response, Ariel picked it up and then shot her arms in the air for Sydney to carry her.
Sydney was always greeted with the same grin, shouts of excitement and hugs, and her heart melted every time. She was thankful she lived so close so she could enjoy the kids as often as possible, but still have her own freedom.
She’d thought she might have been heading down the family road with Aaron, but he’d surprised her with his temper. That had been the deciding factor in leaving him—she couldn’t trust him and she knew that was a deal breaker.
“Sydney, what are you doing here?” Mia asked, sliding off the back of the wagon, baby Aiden in her arms.
“Good to see you too, Mia,” Sydney said sarcastically, Ariel still in her arms, stroking her hair, thrilled with the unexpected visit from her favorite aunt.
“Sorry. What’s up?” Mia asked, friendlier. Jake had already left Sydney alone to help the other kids and mothers unload.
“I wanted to ask you about Aaron. Have you heard from him lately?”
“No, why?” she said, a look of confusion on her face. “I’ve gotta run and pick up Addison from kindergarten, do you want to come? I don’t think Ariel will let you go anyway.”
“Sure. But I have Maple and my bike.”
“We can make room,” Mia said, her initial coldness gone and a smile creeping onto her face watching her daughter so in love with Sydney.
Kids were talking Jake’s ear off about what they’d seen, so Sydney waved from afar and went inside to retrieve Maple who was itching to get outside and get in the middle of all the kids.
“Sorry, not today, Maple. We have to go. But you’ll see Addison, Ariel and Aiden. Let’s go,” Sydney coaxed, walking out the front door toward her bike.
With everything loaded and iPads hooked up for the kids, Mia was more willing to listen to what Sydney had to say.
“Detective Massey came to Sinful Sweets today and was asking me about my current relationship with Aaron.”
“Why? What’s going on?”
“He was killed in Twin Peaks. His body was found this morning.”
“Woah. That’s awful. But what put you on the radar?”
“My pumpkin pies were found in his hotel room where his body was discovered. And they were poisoned.”
“When was the last time you saw him?” Mia asked, suspicion in her voice.
“Mia. Really? You think I did this? I haven’t seen or talked to him for six years!”
“Sorry. I just know he deserved it. I know you couldn’t have killed him,” Mia said with conviction.
Sydney looked back in the car to see if Ariel was listening to their conversation. It was clear that she was lost in whatever cartoon she was watching. Maple was lying on the floor between the two car seats in the minivan, anxiously watching Ariel, hoping they’d soon get to play.
“You know Detective Massey is my neighbor?”
“Yeah. What’s your relationship with him?”
“He’s great. We have him over for dinner sometimes. I think he likes spending time with the kids. I’m always surprised he’s still single!” Mia joked, sneaking a glance at Sydney.
Sydney hadn’t even noticed how good looking he was that morning. She was too busy closing up for the day, and then was too worried about being accused of murder to take in anything else from the conversation. But
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