Page 23 of Connected By Love
“Can we keep it?” His eyes shine with excitement at catching something.
“No, this one is too little. He needs to grow and get bigger.” I carefully remove the hook and hold out the fish to him. “Want to throw him back?”
He nods his head excitedly. I show him how to hold the fish and watch as he bends down and lowers it into the water. The fish swims happily away. “He’s fast, just like Nemo!”
“He is,” I laugh. “So you like Nemo too? That’s my favorite movie.”
“Really! It’s me and Daddy’s favorite movie, too.” I smile at the thought of a big-tatted guy watching Finding Nemo.
“You know how to fish?” I look over my shoulder and see Travis standing there watching us. I was so involved with whatMax was doing that I didn’t hear him come up behind us on the dock.
“Daddy! Did you see the fish I caught? He was too little, so we had to put him back, and he swims just as fast as Nemo does!” I grin at his excitement as he floods Travis with everything at once.
“I did see. Great job, buddy. I didn’t know Miss Lane knew how to fish.” He looks back at me, and for the life of me, I can’t tell what’s going on in those greys as they burn into me.
“I’ve been fishing since I was little. Noah’s dad and my dad have been taking us kids out since we were old enough to hold a pole.”
“You’re just full of surprise,” he murmurs.
“I could say the same about you. I didn’t know your favorite movie was Finding Nemo.” I suppress my smile as laughter threatens to come out.
“It’s Miss Lane’s favorite movie too!”
“Oh, really.” Travis grins at me, and my heart does that damn flip again.
“Who can resist a cute little fish who just wants to go on a grand adventure.” I shrug my shoulders and grin back at him.
“You should watch it with us next time. We watch it a lot, and I can share my popcorn with you. Daddy makes the best popcorn and even lets me put M&Ms in it.”
I smile at the memory of doing just that with our popcorn when Bella and I were little. There’s just something about the sweet and salty that tastes so good. I glance at Travis to see his reaction, but his eyes are unreadable as they stare at me. “Thanks for the invite, Max,” I say, breaking away from Travis’s intense gaze. “We’ll see, okay?” The last thing I want to do is get his hopes up about something I’m not even sure will happen.
“Okay.” He seems happy with that answer as he runs toplay in his sand area. Noah thought I was crazy when I suggested he bring sand in, but I knew this backyard was meant for kids, with a dock for fishing and a yard big enough for a swing set. If you don’t live on the beach, you bring the beach to you. Something just told me that this place needed sand for kids. It even has a palm tree to provide a little shade, so we just had someone come in and put some good-sized rocks around it, making a barrier for the sand. I picked out a couple of Adirondack chairs and a fire pit to go with it.
“He loves that sand beach,” Travis looks at Max pushing his dump truck around.
“I’m glad he loves it. It took a lot of convincing to have Noah spend the extra money to put it in,” I laugh.
“It was your idea?” He asks softly. “That doesn’t surprise me. You seem to know exactly what Max and I would love to have in a home. Why is the backyard any different,” he chuckles softly, shaking his head. “Everywhere I turn, you’re right there surrounding me even when I’m trying so damn hard to stay away.”
I meet his gaze and see the fear and pain in them. “Where’s Max’s mom?” I ask quietly. I’ve been wondering why she isn’t around since the first day I met Max. I see the pain flash across his eyes before he shoves his hands in his pockets and looks away.
“She’s not in the picture.” I wait for him to say more, but he remains silent. His jaw is clenched tight, and I can tell he doesn’t want to talk about it. I have to know one thing, and I’m afraid of the answer.
“Were you married? Are you still married to her?” I whisper.
He whips his head to look at me. “What? No, we were never married. God, you thought I was married and that I would still sleep with you?”
I let out the breath that I’m holding. “I didn’t know. When I found out you were Max’s dad, I got worried that I may have slept with a married man.”
“I’m not a cheater. I wouldn’t have put you in that position either.” He rubs his hands over his face in frustration. I can see the tension in his body and want more than anything to take it away. He has stubble on his face today, like he hasn’t taken the time to shave in a couple of days, and I yearn to feel it against my skin. The tired look in his eyes tells me he’s not sleeping much at night and I have a feeling he puts a lot of pressure on himself where Max is concerned.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pried. I can tell you don’t want to talk about it, and it’s really none of my business. I should get going. I’ve got some work from school that I need to take care of tonight.” I walk past him on the dock and head for the house.
“Wait.” I hear him say from behind.
I stop and turn, meeting his eyes. I can see the turmoil of emotions, and it hurts me to know that he’s hurting.
“Maybe one day, we can talk about it. I just…I need some time.” His eyes search mine, and I can tell this is a big step for him to trust me and let me in.
