Page 54 of Of Poison & Pumpkins
“Elias! Get under her!”
Rynn’s command snaps me out of my trance. I jerk into action, jumping under Maya’s precarious position while Rynn scales the side of the cat castle faster than an auctioneer can speak.
“Don’t move, Maya!” Rynn calls as she cautiously steps one foot at a time on the thin bar.
Flamin’ tamale! I’ll have to catch them both. Palms sweaty, heart racing, I don’t dare blink. Rynn’s foot slips and she slams down onto a bar, thighs straight to metal.
“Fuuuuu-luhluh! Ouch!” She winces, eyes not leaving Maya. “Sit down, honey. Nice and slow.”
“But, Auntie, the pumpkin is so close!” She hops, and in slow motion, her foot veers to the side. Maya’s entire body plummets. A knot of limbs zoom straight towards my head. Stretching, I catch her the second before she collides with the earth.
Never have I been so grateful for my long arms. A relieved sigh comes from above as Rynn rolls off the bar to hang like a gymnast, then drops the rest of the way, landing with a thud. At the sight of her shaking hands, I lay mine on hers and squeeze once. Not taking her eyes off Maya, Rynn kisses the girl’s forehead.
“Maya, I will play Vine Slayer with you on the ground while Mister Tiger gets the pumpkin, okay?”
“Okay, Wynn!” She springs out of my hold and races to the swings.
I blow out a deep breath as Rynn’s head leans against my chest. Neither of us dare look away from Maya. She’s not even a relative, yet that little girl has stolen my heart. I’d ambush an entire spaceship for her, not half, the whole darn thing.
“Thank you.” Her voice shakes a little.
“How do you survive with such cuteness in your life? If she were my niece, I’d be spoiling her with fudge brownies every day. Not to mention, your store would be out of stock because I’d fill her room with purple-everything.”
Rynn half-laughs. “Well, you’d be her new bestie because purple is her favorite color this week.” She studies my face, a question in her gaze.
Rynn attempts to stand, but I pull her back onto my lap, completed with her “umph” as I hold her tight.
I slowly brush my lips under her ear, where I’ve discovered one of her sweet spots. “Ask me what you’re wondering. I can see a question in your eyes.”
As my tongue sweeps her neck, her body’s tense posture finally eases into a pile of soft Play-Doh. “Have you ever wanted kids? Or maybe you already have one? I haven’t asked, I should’ve.”
“I don’t have any yet,” I say without skipping a beat. “No one should allow me to take care of something so fragile. But sometimes I have dreams about a daughter. She’d be creative with a wildly ferocious love of animals. I’d braid her hair before school every morning and let her sleep in my bed when it storms. We’d have a secret handshake that her mom would never see.”
She goes so still I’m worried that I was too honest, too quickly. It’s obvious she’s attracted to me. If only I could peel back the armor she uses as a shield, then I’d know her true feelings.
“I’d make sure they know they’re loved,” Rynn says. She’s focused on Maya, not meeting my gaze. Her cheeks flush an adorable shade of pink. “I want to be the best version of myself before I raise a kid. Do you have anything you’d change about yourself?”
And then, she’s looking straight into my soul. This is it. Right now is the make or break moment. The next sentence out of my mouth could determine our future.
“Of course. I wish I could accept myself fully, just the way I am. But if given the chance, I’d change my need for approval. It’s exhausting lugging around the fear of disappointing everyone, not meeting expectations, not living up to who they need me to be.” I inhale a deep breath and try to keep my voice steady and low. “Back when we were in high school, I was so afraid of being ridiculed and gossiped about that I became fake. I could fit in with the band members, and the rugby team, and the scholastic honors kids because I wasn’t real with any of them. It was like walking around wearing a mask. Sure, everyone liked me, but no one knew me. My dad definitely never knew me, that’s for sure.”
Her face shifts through a dozen emotions, from pity to frustration, settling on understanding.
“I want to know the real you,” she whispers and leans forward.
Her lips meet mine, tender and soft and slow. This kiss is different than before. A quiet promise. A priceless commitment. We pull away a knowing moment elongated between our shared breath.
Rynn leans her back against my chest, and I support her. She can rely on me, no matter what we face when we return home.
Both of us face Maya again and watch her do cartwheels in the grass.
“If I could change something about myself, it would be the inability to let go of pain,” Rynn says. “Now that I saw Brooke, I can’t help but hope to forgive her for how she treated me before.”
“You’re a better person than me, Rynnlee. I simultaneously want to hug and murder my father right now.”
“Murder? Then we’d both be inmates,” she jokes, but her voice is strained.
My fingertips trail up and down her forearms. “I won’t let them arrest you. If it comes to that, I’ll confess to the Dazed curse.”
