Page 147 of Headstrong Like Us
I grin, and he’s a second from telling me to shut up, but our fluffy brown puppy skids across wet stone, about to spring into the pool.
He slides to a halt at the edge. Scared.
“It’s just water, furball,” I say easily.
Arkham tries again, then stops himself. He scuttles backwards, then steps forward, then back.
A laugh rumbles out of me. “Looks like we have another overthinker in the family.” I glance back at Maxiomff, and he’s spaced out. About what, I’m not sure. “Case in point…” My voice fades. I just want to pick his brain.
“Huh?” He blinks and focuses more on Ripley whose smile brightens in a high-pitched laugh. “Baby’s first swim,” Maximoff says.
“And look at that, he doesn’t hate it.” I slip my legs into the cool water.
He keeps concentration, ensuring Ripley is safe, and he only glances up to ask, “Are you jealous? He might be a natural swimmer. Not a…” He makes a show of trying to think hard. “What is it that you’re good at again?”
I splash water at him. Droplets land on Ripley’s forehead. He squeals in delight. My smile is fucking killing my face. “Your papa deserves to be splashed. Doesn’t he?”
Ripley leans his head backwards, attempting to peer up at his dad. But Maximoff uses the opportunity to do a turn in the pool, letting our son get used to the whirling movement.
Our son.His first swim. Our future. Everything is weighing on me more than I prefer. More than I like. I want to broach the topic, but I’m actually fucking nervous.
My pulse accelerates, and I glance around the terrace and wrap a mic cord around the radio. “You think Sulli will use the pool more or keep climbing?” I’m hoping if she decides to ascend a rock today, it’ll at least be an hour from now.
Enough time to where I won’t need to throw a raincheck at Maximoff.
“Right now, I’d sayclimb,” he answers. “She’s still trying to beat her dad’s speed-climb times, and she’s too competitive to give up.” He walks closer and Ripley grabs hold of the pool ledge near my thigh. Maximoff supports Ripley’s entire tiny body, and I brush our son’s wet, light-brown hair off his forehead.
Maximoff looks at me. “Want to get in?”
“In a little bit,” I say. “I like watching you.” I force down the rock in my esophagus. “We need to talk.”
“About last night?”
“Yeah.” My eyes stay on him.
He swallows hard. “A minute ago, when Arkham got scared of the water, you said ‘we have another overthinker in the family’.In the family…That family is me and you, right?”
Slight hurt creases my face, just knowing he’s questioning this. “Wow, did you bump your head on the diving board?”
“I just need to hear it from you, man.”
“Yes,” I emphasize. “That brown bear is our overthinking puppy who’s afraid of the pool. And he’s a part of our family.”
He nods strongly. “Who’s in our family, Farrow?”
I see more of where he’s going. I comb a hand through my hair and set aside my radio. “Me and you, obviously. Plus, that furball.” I nod towards the Newfoundland. “And Ripley and however many more kids we have in the future. That’s our family.”
“For how long?” Maximoff questions. “Because I can’t ignore the fact that Scottie only has five years left of his sentence, and there’s a possibility he could be released earlier on parole and take Ripley. And I keep thinking that a Newfoundland has a life expectancy of around ten years, and we could lose Ripley before we lose a fucking dog.”
“Ripley isn’tdying.”
Our baby makes a fart noise with his lips, and we break into soft smiles, despite the sinking feeling in my gut.
Maximoff rubs the black tungsten band on his ring finger, and I glance at the gray titanium wedding band on mine. We’ll be taking these off soon, only to slip them on each other, and I’m making unbreakable vows to him in Capri.
I’ve already vowed to love and protect him long before we even proposed. Shit, if I could’ve, I would’ve been at his side earlier. Before I even became a bodyguard.
But that’s not where our paths slammed together and converged.
