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“TenTwo?” Rowan pounces on the phone. If he opens his eyes any wider, they’re going to roll right out of their sockets.
“You know him?”
“I sub his channel and I’m signed up for his Discord.”
What’s a Discord?Refusing to look un-cool, I nod like I understand everything that’s coming out of his mouth.
“So you’d be interested in going to the program?” I clarify.
“Yes!” Rowan’s face beams with so much light he could power my kinetic battery.
I stare at him, shocked by that bright smile. For a while there, I thought his face was incapable of making such happy expressions.
“I’ll sign you up tomorrow.”
Rowan grins wider. “Do you want me to draw another one?”
“Yeah, kid.” I ruffle his hair. “I’d like that.”
* * *
“When areyou going to get a new truck, Adam?” Nova asks when I pop the front door open for her at six o’clock on the dot.
The rusted door creaks as if it wants to alert everyone in a five-mile radius that it’s still alive. I’ve gotten used to it, but Nova cringes.
“This thing is falling apart at the seams.” She shakes her head.
I offer my hand to her. “Don’t talk about Lula like that. You’ll hurt her feelings.”
“I can’t believe you named this pile of junk on wheels.” Nova laughs. The sound is sweet and low and musical.
Now that I think about it, I haven’t heard Nova laugh with me recently. I wonder when she stopped?
“Lula gets me from Point A to Point B. She does her job well. Why should I trade her for something fancy when she works perfectly fine?”
“Not perfectly,” Nova corrects me. “Remember that time your precious Lula shut down in the middle of traffic?”
“She was having a bad day. That’s all.”
Nova laughs and sets her heels on the runner. She wobbles a bit as she loses her balance.
I wrap an arm around her waist to steady her. She’s soft against me and I want to keep holding her. Unfortunately, she gains her balance way too fast and swings into the passenger seat.
Disappointment is all that’s left in my arms when she’s gone.
I shouldn’t have held her this morning. If I keep the door locked with Nova, then it’s easier to ignore the pull between us. But once I crack that door open, it taunts me with the promise of everything I can’t have.
Holding her in my lap today blew up my carefully-poised restraint and now I’m struggling not to grab her hand as I get in the car.
“Hey, Rowan.” Nova waves to him.
He waves back brightly.
“You look handsome,” Nova teases.
Rowan flashes her a shy smile.
My jealousy is quick, like a cobra going in for a poisonous bite. I grab a stick and beat that jealous snake back as best as I can. How pathetic would I be if I were envious of my own maybe-son?
