Still Life and Death

by Tracy Gardner

  “I know.”

  She peered past him and then over at the airport hangar. “Did you just get in? Should we go?”

  He nodded. “We’re leaving from here. Go grab your purse if you want it.”

  She frowned at him. “What do you mean? It’s in my car—”

  “We’re not taking your car.” He raised an eyebrow at her. “We’ve got other plans.”

  Sydney stared at him, startled. “Um. All right, be right back.” She retrieved her purse and jacket and walked with Finn around toward the opposite side of the blue hangar, where a helicopter sat on the tarmac.

  He kept walking, and when she didn’t follow, he came back over to her, taking her hand. “Let’s go.”

  “You’re kidding, right?”

  He shook his head. “Nope.”

  “Finn. I’ve never been in one of these. I’ve only ever been on a plane once in my life. I know you do this all the time but...could we just drive?”

  He grinned. “It’d take too long. I promise you’ll be safe.” He stood facing her, not letting go of her hand. “Trust me?”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “That’s not fair. You know I do.”

  “Okay. How about this? It’s up to you. We can take the Ultralight.” He turned and made a sweeping gesture toward the helicopter. “Or we can drive to someplace closer. I really don’t care. I’m just glad to be home with you for a minute.”

  Sydney hugged him impulsively. He’d said “glad to be home.” She took a deep breath, staring past him at the chopper. “Let’s do it. I might scream a little,” she warned him. She wasn’t afraid of heights, but sheesh, she was betting riding in one of these things would feel like being on a roller coaster.

  Finn harnessed her into the passenger seat and had climbed in behind the controls before it hit her that he was the pilot.

  She looked at him and tried to turn her body toward him in her seat, but her harness didn’t allow it. “Wait! You’re driving? Flying? I thought you said someone else flies you guys? When you’re on the medevac flights?”

  He nodded. “Right. But you know I have my pilot’s license. I got it with my FP-C. I do fly some of the Air Med flights, depending on who’s with us.”

  “Oh.”

  “Syd. I promise you’re safe. Trust me.”

  “I do. Okay. I’m ready.” She gripped the edges of her seat. It got loud, even through the headset Finn had placed over her ears. She felt the helicopter lift off the ground, and as they rose, her stomach did that weightless swooping thing that happened when she went on the swings with Nolan. “Where are we going?” she shouted.

  Finn’s voice came through her headset at a normal level, and he squeezed her knee, making her look at him as he spoke. “Push this button to talk.” He pointed on his own headset. He adjusted the small microphone in front of hers. “Go ahead and try it.”

  She pushed the button. “Where—oh, cool—where are we going?”

  “We have a stop before dinner, but the restaurant is called Northpointe.”

  “Oh! That’s the place out on the pier up near Sleeping...” Sydney smiled widely at him. “It’s near Sleeping Bear Dunes. That’s why we needed the helicopter?”

  “It’s about a forty-five-minute trip by air.”

  “Unbelievable,” she murmured, without hitting the talk button. When Finn had called her last night to say he was flying in, she’d thought they’d have a rushed few hours at Giuseppe’s and then the beach, or something similar. She hadn’t imagined he’d make good on his promise to reschedule their trip. Finn might be unpredictable, but he was never unreliable.

  After a good while running up the dunes and racing back down, taking in the elevated view of the lake, and then shaking the sand out of their clothes and hair, Finn secured them an Uber to Northpointe on the pier ten minutes farther north. Sydney ordered the walleye, and Finn got the New York strip steak. They were fortunate to be seated along the railing, facing west across Lake Michigan, far enough away from the live band to enjoy it but still easily talk.

  After their table was cleared, Finn moved over next to her, resting an arm along the back of her chair. A light breeze lifted and dropped tendrils of Sydney’s hair, and she brushed a piece off her face. The sun was on its slow descent into the lake on the horizon.

  “I took a different job,” Finn said. “Training.”

  She turned to look at him. “What does that mean?”

  “It means I’ll be working mainly for Anderson Memorial, and I’ll be gone six days a month to train new flight paramedics for Air Med.”

  Sydney’s eyes widened. “Really? You’ll be here then, most of the time?”

  He kissed her temple. “I’ll be here.”

  “Oh!” She wrapped her fingers around his forearm, smiling at him.

  Finn pushed his chair back and dropped to his knee in one smooth motion, pulling a small black box from his pocket.

  Sydney gasped, one hand resting flat on the skin near her throat. She’d stopped breathing. She could hear her own heartbeat in her ears.

  Finn gazed up at her. “I love you, Syd. I’ve never met anyone like you. And you see me in a way no one else does. If you’ll let me, I—” He broke off at her reaction. He cupped a hand around the outside of her thigh, a calming gesture.

  Her eyes burned with tears at his words. She fought against them spilling over and ducked her head down for a second, swallowing hard. When she met his gaze again, he continued, now smiling too.

  “If you let me, I’ll spend every single day trying to make you look this happy.”

  She couldn’t speak. He was completely amazing.

  He moved a little closer to her, his voice quieter. “You are happy, right? The tears shouldn’t throw me?”

  She laughed, tipping her head toward the sky and then focusing on him again and nodding.

  “Will you marry me, Sydney?” He opened the box, revealing the most unique engagement ring she’d ever seen. A large, sparkling round diamond set in white gold was flanked by two small yellow-gold daisies.

  She put a hand on his cheek, and he kissed her palm. Her voice came out in a whisper. “Yes.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Sydney said goodbye to Finn early Sunday morning. They’d gotten back to the airport late, and pulled up to her house after midnight. Now, at barely seven a.m., she stood on her porch and leaned into him one last time, hardly able to believe last night was real. It’d be a month until she saw him again. It was still dark as he climbed into his cab. The car rolled down the street and her gaze caught the beautiful ring on her left hand. She went back inside and locked the door and crawled back under her plush comforter, pulling it over her head. She closed her eyes and ran her fingertip over the unique daisy engagement ring. The fact that Finn had found one with her favorite flowers didn’t even surprise her. At this point, nothing about him would.

  Sunday dinner tonight was going to be interesting.

  She woke again with a start and sat straight up in bed. She’d heard a crash. Hadn’t she? Sydney waited, but heard nothing else. Maybe she’d dreamed the noise.

  She swung her feet out of bed and padded barefoot to the kitchen, looking around, but there was nothing amiss. She felt as if she’d slept hard for another couple of hours after Finn had left, but it had only been an hour. The sky was that pre-dawn shade of pink. She pulled a robe and slippers on, made a cup of coffee, and moved through her house, finding no sign of any disturbance. The crash she’d heard was still vivid in her head, but it must’ve been in her dream. Unless...

  Sydney unlocked the connecting door to Fancy Tails and tentatively peered into the large grooming area that spanned the back of the salon. She flipped on the lights. All seemed fine. She moved through to the front of the shop and halted in her tracks by her desk. The scene Friday morning at Libby’s was mirrored in her once-pret
ty customer waiting area. On the floor was a large red brick surrounded by a mass of shattered glass. The huge front window now had a gaping hole in the center. The brick had come through with such force it’d knocked over one of her red-and-chrome chairs.

  Sydney flew to the front door and darted outside to the sidewalk, looking up and down Main Street. But she’d spent too long ambling through her house before checking the shop. Whoever had done this was long gone. Carson’s Main Street was deserted at this hour on a Sunday. Across the street, the front of Libby’s bore a wide piece of plywood where the window should be. Now Fancy Tails would have one too. She shuddered. This was no coincidence. She darted back into the shop, locked the door, turned out the lights, and locked the salon door behind her when she made it back to her own house.

  In the time it took for her to throw clothes on and call Nick Jordan, her dad, Savanna, and Skylar, in that order, Sydney had time to come up with who could have done this. Her mind kept returning to two things. Crabby old Miss Priscilla constantly glaring across the street at her, from the day they’d seen Marcus park his car at the curb to just the other day, when she and Savanna had gone to the police station to talk with Jordan. And Anthony Kent Friday morning. It was so odd the way he’d blurted, Who threw a rock through my window? And then when Jordan had seized on that and demanded he show him where he’d seen the rock, Libby’s husband had backtracked.

  What if this was a warning?

  At Charlotte and Harlan’s house, Savanna nearly wore a path back and forth between the kitchen island and the front window, waiting for Syd. She and Skylar had seen Sydney briefly this morning, in the chaos of Detectives Jordan and Taylor taking down what she’d heard and discovered while their evidence tech looked for any trace of the culprit, and Sydney asked questions about filing a claim under her lease to get the replacement window covered. Harlan had gotten there before the glass truck did and had already begun boarding up the window once Jordan had said he could. Sydney had remained cool and collected, hands in her pockets, nodding and answering everyone’s questions calmly. Savanna had thought that either the yoga really was helping, or Sydney was in shock.

  Aidan had answered that question. He’d surprised them by showing up even though Savanna hadn’t called him. Finn had sent him. Aidan had checked Sydney’s blood pressure and pulse and made her sit down with a glass of water. It wasn’t quite good enough for Harlan, who got Detective Jordan to promise to keep a patrol car assigned to her until they had answers.

  Savanna tried to focus on the meal she was making for her family—sundried tomato wraps with turkey and avocado, cucumber slices, and her homemade dressing. A platter of fried zucchini and a vegetable medley salad was already on the table. She’d made a completely vegetarian wrap for Sydney, and her signature baked macaroni and cheese waited in the oven for Nolan and Mollie. Two weeks in a row of having Aidan and his daughter included for family dinner was becoming a nice habit.

  Sydney poked her head into the kitchen from the patio. “Psssst! Savanna!” Her voice was a hissed whisper.

  Savanna looked up. “Syd! Get in here, you weirdo.”

  “Are Mom and Dad around?”

  “Not yet. What’s wrong with you? Are you okay?” Savanna dropped the sandwich she was working on and crossed to the kitchen door. Jeez, her sister had her in a constant state of worry lately! She’d seemed so disproportionately fine this morning in the middle of her vandalized salon. Now she was trying to be sneaky about something?

  Sydney came inside carrying a chubby, fuzzy yellow puppy in her arms.

  Savanna squealed. “Oh, my goodness, what a baby! Whose is he? Are you grooming him?”

  Sydney shook her head. “She’s a girl. I don’t know what to do with her. You know the Wilsons, right? They’ve been bringing their dogs to me since I opened. They’re moving overseas and Daffodil just had puppies three months ago, and they’ve all been adopted except this one.”

  “Why?” Savanna put her face into the ultra-soft puppy fur around the sweet little dog’s neck, and the dog paddled her floppy front paws on her arm. “Nobody wanted you?” Her gaze rose to Sydney’s. “Oh, no. What did you do? Syd. What did you do? Didn’t you say you don’t have time for your own dog with the shop? Are you okay? For real, after this morning? Maybe you shouldn’t make any snap decisions for a while.”

  Sydney tipped her head back and laughed. “Dude, I’m totally okay. Really. I’m great, I promise. I’m not worried about the window. Well, I mean, I’m worried, but now I’ve got a cop following me until you and Nick get a handle on this. I’m sure it’s the same person who killed Libby. I’m betting on Miss Priscilla.” They’d both agreed this morning that the dance instructor’s behavior had gone from her usual rudeness to an uncomfortable level of animosity.

  “I wish I knew. I’m not so sure. You didn’t see the look Anthony shot at you when you jumped on him saying someone had thrown a rock through the glass. It’s all connected somehow.”

  Sydney nodded. “That’s what Nick says too.”

  “So...this little pup? Maybe now’s not the best time for major changes?”

  “I can’t give her back.”

  “You can’t? Why not?”

  “I can’t. I kind of told the Wilsons last week that I’d work on finding a home for her. I didn’t mean I’d take her! They’re moving literally tomorrow. Look at this face! How could I say no? I’m her only option.”

  Savanna scratched the puppy around her ears. “So you got a dog,” she said. Fonzie was trying to climb up their legs to see what the fuss was about. Savanna reached down and gave him lots of pats too.

  “I did not get a dog. I can’t keep her. She’s a golden retriever mixed with something else, and obviously super sweet. I thought maybe Skylar would take her? Nolan and Trav—”

  Savanna’s expression stopped Sydney’s thought mid-sentence. “No.”

  “Why not? They’ve been trying to convince her for so long.”

  “She can’t. This would put her over the edge. She’s so overwhelmed right now with the new baby and everything else. She just cut back on her work hours and oh my God, Sydney, what is this?” She’d suddenly spotted the sparkling diamond on her sister’s left hand, partially covered by the puppy in her arms. “Give me the dog.” She took the puppy, cradling her, and made Sydney hold out her hand. “Is this what it looks like?”

  Sydney met Savanna’s gaze. “Yes,” she said softly. “I think so, yes. Maybe.”

  “Oh, wow. ‘Yes, maybe?’ What does that mean?”

  “Are we talking about Finn?”

  Charlotte spoke from the doorway beyond the dining room, startling them. She must’ve come in the front door.

  The both spun around, facing her. “Mom.”

  “Girls,” Charlotte said, her focus now on the puppy who’d just come around the kitchen island behind Fonzie. “Did you adopt a puppy?”

  “Oh! Shoot,” Sydney said. “I’m sorry. This is, um. She’s...” Syd looked helplessly at Savanna.

  Savanna scooped up the animal and carried her to Charlotte. “She’s a gift from Sydney to you and Dad. We know you’ve been thinking about getting a dog. Isn’t she adorable?”

  Charlotte petted her. “Oh, my. I don’t know. We hadn’t decided anything. She is sweet.” She frowned at the dog. “Did you show your father yet? I’m leaving it up to him, and I don’t think he’s ready. Where did she come from?”

  “I wanted to surprise you guys,” Sydney said. “The Wilsons’ dog Daffodil had puppies.”

  Charlotte moved to the refrigerator and took out a pitcher of iced tea. Her beige wrap dress and the tortoiseshell clip holding up her hair were accented with small gold hoop earrings and the necklace Harlan had gotten her for Christmas. “I thought they were moving, weren’t they?”

  “They’re moving tomorrow. They couldn’t find a home for their last puppy—the rest have been a
dopted. This little girl can’t go with them.”

  “Ah. And if your dad says no?”

  Sydney glanced at Savanna. “Then maybe Fonzie needs a sister?”

  Savanna laughed. “Oh, no. I don’t think so, sweet as she is.” She bit her lip, eyes on Syd. She could hardly wait for her sister to share her big news.

  Sydney took a deep breath. “Mom?”

  Charlotte looked up from pouring three iced teas. “Hmm?”

  Sydney sat on one of the stools at the island and pushed out the one next to her. “Come sit down.”

  Charlotte did, her expression concerned now.

  Sydney opened her left hand, palm down, on the countertop between them, watching Charlotte’s face.

  Charlotte took in the ring, and then raised her eyes to Sydney. She slid her hand under Sydney’s, folding her fingers around her daughter’s, and looked again at the beautiful diamond-and-daisy ring. “My goodness. Finn certainly knows you. You said yes?”

  Sydney pursed her lips, her brow furrowed. “Sort of.”

  Charlotte pulled her into a hug, and then let go and cupped Sydney’s cheek in one hand. She shook her head. “I can’t believe you’re old enough for this. You were just a little girl not that long ago.”

  “Mom, I’m twenty-nine. I think I’m old enough,” Sydney said, smiling.

  “What does ‘sort of’ mean, honey?”

  “I said yes. He took me on this whole whirlwind helicopter adventure last night and the way he proposed...the things he said to me... I said yes and I meant it. But he’s making plans to live in Carson full-time and work through the hospital EMS. He’d only fly out a few days each month to train new flight paramedics. I don’t know what to do. If I marry him, will he regret giving up working all over the country for me? Will he resent me?” Sydney stopped and took a breath. She looked at Savanna and then back at her mom. “Do you know how scary that possibility is? Maybe I shouldn’t have said yes.”

  Charlotte was quiet, thinking. “I wish I’d had the benefit of meeting him by now.”