Page 12 of The Knotty Clause

“I’m not bothering you.” The boy’s voice carried the lilt of someone repeating words they’d been told repeatedly. “But I brought you something.”

The corner of his mouth twitched upwards as he set down his tools and beckoned to the boy. “Come in then.”

Liam bounded through the doorway, clutching a stack of papers to his chest. His feet tangled beneath him and he pitched forward with a yelp. Yede lunged, catching the boy against his chest before he hit the ground. The papers scattered across the floor like autumn leaves.

“Whoops!” Liam giggled, completely at ease in his grip. “Good catch!”

The sound pierced straight through his carefully constructed walls. His brother Davi used to laugh just like that—bright and fearless. The memory rose up sharp and jagged in his throat.

His first instinct was to send Liam away. To try and rebuild the distance he’d maintained for so long. But as the boy wiggled freeand dropped to his knees to gather his drawings, the words of dismissal died on his tongue.

“Look what I drew!” Liam thrust a paper toward him, beaming. “It’s your tools!”

He settled back into his chair, forcing his expression into its usual stern lines as Liam scrambled onto the workbench beside him. The boy’s knees knocked against tools and parts, but Yede found himself steadying items rather than scolding.

“See, this is your computer thing with all the lights.” Liam pointed to a surprisingly accurate rendition of the proximity monitor, complete with blinking sensors drawn as star-shaped bursts. “And that’s the funny box that makes food hot.”

“Thermal regenerator,” he corrected automatically, then caught himself. He shouldn’t encourage this.

“That’s what I said!” Liam grinned, undaunted. He shuffled through more papers, each one depicting various pieces of equipment from the workshop. The details were remarkable for such young hands—the boy had clearly paid attention during his previous visit.

But it was the final drawing that made his chest ache. Three figures stood in a swirling white cloud—one towering over the others, arms spread wide against the storm and sheltering the two smaller figures. All three figures smiled, safe in each other’s presence.

He swallowed hard and quickly shuffled the papers, trying to bury that last image beneath the others.

“These are quite…adequate,” he managed gruffly.

“Can I put them up? Mama says artwork needs to be displayed.”

“I suppose.”

The words slipped out before he could stop them. He watched helplessly as Liam began decorating his pristine workspace with childish drawings, unable to summon the will to object. And when the boy had everything arranged to his satisfaction, he found himself demonstrating the calibration sequence on his diagnostic scanner, carefully guiding Liam’s small fingers over the controls. The boy’s intense focus reminded him of himself at that age, always taking things apart to understand how they worked.

“Press here, then slide to activate the?—”

Footsteps sounded behind them.

“Liam! You shouldn’t be bothering?—”

“He’s not bothering me.” The words came out before he could think better of them. He turned to face Gemma, standing frozen in the doorway. “As long as the door is open the boy can visit. If he wants.”

Her eyebrows lifted. “Are you sure? He can be…enthusiastic.”

He looked over at Liam, clutching the scanner like it was made of precious gems. “I’m sure.”

The smile that spread across her face hit him like a solar flare – bright, warm, and dangerous.

“That’s very kind of you. But Liam, you’ll need to finish your lessons first.”

“Lessons?” he asked.

“Reading, writing, basic math.” She gave him a rueful smile. “I’m doing what I can with what we have. Thank you for letting us have the paper and pens.”

“You may take anything you need,” he said automatically. “There are more materials in my office. If you wish to use them.”

Her smile widened. “Thank you. I’ll check it out. Come along, Liam.”

Liam hopped down reluctantly but obediently, and he found himself fighting back the urge to insist he stay. The pair of them walked away and he tried not to notice the enticing swing of her hips as they left him alone once more.

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