Page 24 of Other Side Of Never
Even now, after hours in the sun, Isaiah tackled the toboggan hill by the park with gusto, determined to make his way to the top.
Kian laughed and shook his head.
I huffed in disbelief.“How on earth do you keep up with him?”
Kian smiled as he watched him struggle up the hill.“It probably helps that I have such a physical job.”
I cocked my head to the side.“What do you do exactly?”
“I own a contracting business with my brothers.Some projects we do together, some separate.Since my wife passed, I mainly focus on flipping houses since it gives me greater flexibility with Isaiah.I rarely list a house until it’s near or at completion which takes a lot of the pressure off.”
My eyebrows flew up.“That’s so interesting!Do you have a project on the go right now?”
He wagged his head back and forth.“I’m considering a few options.”
“I’d love to see the before and after.”I laughed.“And the middle.”
He chuckled, the afternoon sun glinting off his shades.“It’s not nearly as exciting as you think.It’s a lot of hard, sometimes dirty work.”
Hard and dirty, just the way I like it.
The joke teetered on the tip of my tongue.
Kian’s mouth tipped up on one side like he knew what I was thinking.
Luckily, Isaiah’s strident voice pulled my mind out of the gutter.
“Bridge!Bridge!”Isaiah hurtled back down the hill, his little legs flying until he came to a bone-rattling stop in front of us.Tipping his chin back, he asked, “Will you come with us to the beach tomorrow, Bridge?”
I gaped, caught up in his baby blues and taken by surprise by the urgency of his question.
When I bullied Kian into meeting me today, I didn’t think ahead to what would happen next.Pushing myself on him once, that one time the result of trying to save him a potentially painful conversation, was acceptable.
Ongoing?
No.
I was no longer in the habit of hanging around where I wasn’t wanted.
I flashed a bright smile, studiously avoiding Kian’s gaze.“I can’t tomorrow, Ace.”
“Next week?”
“We’ll have to see,” I replied softly.
His little face fell.
I studiously avoided Kian’s eyes.It was only a matter of seconds, but they took aeons to pass.
When he spoke, I tipped my chin up to look at him.
“Don’t worry little man,” Kian assured him, lips curled up in a soft smile.Eyes steady on mine, he continued, “We’ll work on her this week when we see her at Susie Q’s.See if we can’t get her to change her mind.”
7
Life or Dream
Curleduponthewindow seat in my bedroom, I watched as the world passed me by in more ways than one.
