Page 13 of Stick Work

“Oh, the pool.” She hurries to the window and gasps. “It’s gorgeous.” Eager eyes turn back to me. “Do you think we have time before dinner?”

I shrug. “Grandma gave us an hour.”

She laughs. “Yeah, not to swim.”

I groan, and drop my head. “I can’t even.”

“You could’ve warned me about your grandma pushing for great grandkids,” she adds, going back to folding a t-shirt. “I might’ve packed armor.”

“I’m sure she’s kidding,” I mumble. The truth is, I’d like a family of my own one day. I want the kids, the house and the SUV. I just want it on my terms, with the woman of my choosing.

Taylor chuckles, a sound that’s entirely too bright for the knot in my chest. “Elias, she basically handed us a script and told us to ad-lib a rom-com novel.”

“But isn’t that what we’re doing?” Honestly, I can’t tell if I want to escape the situation… or let it unfold.

Do not let it unfold.

“I guess you’re right.” She brushes her hair back, threading her fingers through it absently. “Which means I can’t hold it against her that she’s asking about great grandbabies. But babies…” Her eyes go wide as she gives a hard shake of her head. “I’m just not going there.”

That gives me pause. I realize she’s young, but I never considered that she didn’t want a family of her own. “You don’t want kids someday?”

She purses her lips and drops a bundle of clothes into the drawer. “Maybe someday, way down the road. Even then I’m not sure.”

I’m a little surprised by that actually. I always took her as the settling down type, someday. Maybe it’s because I see that in her brother. But I know they’ve both been hurt by their father’s infidelities. After losing a mother to sickness, a father to his lover, and moving in with their grandmother, I always felt it left Kalen craving a big family. Maybe it did the opposite to Taylor. Maybe she’s simply too afraid.

The door downstairs opens and closes and I stiffen at the sound of Mom’s voice ringing out, calling for Grandma.

Taylor’s eyes snap to mine and I nod. “Game time,” I murmur quietly. I suddenly feel like we’re going swimming after all, and I’m about to get tossed into the deep end without a life jacket. She must sense my hesitation, because she loops her arm through mine, giving a playful tug.

“We’ve come this far, Elias.”

I stay rooted in place, making her stumble a bit.

She flicks her hair over her shoulder, glancing back at me. “Elias?”

Her worried expression pulls me back into the moment. Everything in me softens. Honestly, she knows my mom is going to be dismissive of her, yet came with me anyway. It fills me with gratitude. Grandma was right. This woman really is something special.

“I just... Thanks, T.”

A small smile spreads across her lips. “Of course.”

Clearing my throat, I muster up some courage. “I think I know what you want.”

Her smile falters, replaced with wide-eyed surprise. “You... do?”

I glance out the window. “When I move into my new place, you can swim in my pool anytime you want.”

That makes her laugh. “You think that’s what I want?”

“Isn’t it?” I ask, playing along, though part of me is genuinely curious.

She hesitates, biting her lip. For a second, I swear there’s a look I can’t quite read in her eyes. Then she nods, her voice light but teasing. “Yeah, that’s what I want.”

I relax, the tension leaving my shoulders. “And a pony, of course.”

That gets a real laugh out of her, bright and unguarded. “Right, a pony.”

“Have you ever even ridden one?”

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