A Beautiful Mess

Chapter 7

Breakfast that morning was a repeat of the day before. Cole and Sydney sat at separate tables ignoring each other as they ate their fill. However, Flora was with Cole, so he had gone back to pick her up either the night before or that morning.

Sydney kept playing with her food as she remembered Cole's kiss. She had replayed their evening over and over in her head, and she was more confused now than she had ever been. He had seemed angry, then forgiving, then angry again. How it had all ended on a kiss was beyond her. What exactly had he meant when he had said it was worth it? She was afraid to ask.

There were a few others in the room eating their breakfasts as well, but they all seemed too be to hungover to pay her and Cole any attention until Sydney stood to leave and Cole told her he would meet her out front in half an hour. Then they did take notice.

Sydney went back to her room and sat on her bed after looking over her appearance in the mirror once more. She was wearing her blue jeans and a cotton t-shirt in a sea green color. She took a few deep breaths and tried to calm herself. She had no clue where they were going or how long it would take, but that wasn't why she was nervous. She was nervous about spending another day in his company.

Half an hour passed too quickly, and as Sydney exited her room she saw Cole standing by the truck talking to Theresa. Someone must have told her about Cole's comment and she was checking up on it.

Sydney hung back because it looked as if they were having a serious conversation, well Cole was serious as he talked, but Theresa had a glazed looked and her cheeks had turned a bright red color.

Taking a deep breath, Sydney forced herself to walk toward them and stopped a few feet away, waiting for her chance to interrupt. As soon as she got close enough, Theresa turned to her with a glare and marched away without saying a word.

"I have a feeling that I'm even deeper in no man's land than I was before you two had your little talk," Sydney said as she watched Theresa walk away without looking back.

Cole opened the truck door and waited for Sydney to climb in before shutting it. Sydney, having decided to play nice, had her seatbelt already buckled when he climbed into the cab. He looked at her with his eyebrows raised mockingly.

"I see that you don't need help this morning."

"No," Sydney said after clearing her throat. She waited until they were on the highway before she asked the question, "What were you and Theresa talking about?" At his continued silence she sighed, "I think I have a right to know since it concerns me."

"How do you know that it concerns you?" Cole sounded bored.

"I'm not...thick, wasn't that the word you used? I saw the look she shot me as she was leaving. I got the impression that she is going to make sure that my life is anything but easy for the rest of this dig." Sydney forced herself to relax.

"You got all of that from a look?" He asked in an amused voice.

"Yes, just like I get anger and frustration every time you look at me." The words were out before she could stop them.

Cole looked at her questioningly out of the corner of his eye, but he still didn't answer her question.

"Will you at least tell me where we're going?"

"To get you a car." He stomped on the breaks suddenly. "You can drive?"

"Yes, I can drive," Sydney assured him.

He nodded and pressed the gas again. "We'll be there in a little over an hour."

True to his word, after a silent hour hour they were pulling up in front of a beautiful adobe house that Sydney realized looked deceptively small from the outside. They entered a courtyard that held a Moorish style fountain in the center and limited landscaping. Multiple doors were leading off of the courtyard into mysterious unknown places, but Flora charged ahead knowing exactly where she was going.