She glanced between them a couple times but finally shook her head. “I don’t think so. It’s a gorgeous day. You should be outside playing.”
Tyler thought for a second and then jumped up and down, his eyes shining with excitement. “Can we go to the water park again?”
Flashbacks of the cool water lapping at her ankles sent a shiver down her spine. “I don’t…”
“I’d be happy to take him, Lena. You could sit on a chaise and soak up some sun, and Tyler and I can play in the water.”
Tyler beamed, his blue eyes, so like her own, shining like two bright little sapphires. She wanted to say yes, wanted to make him happy. But letting him get too attached to Elliot was a really bad idea. He’d already latched on too much for comfort. And in three days, they’d all go their separate ways. The last thing she wanted was for anyone to get hurt. It was too late in some ways. It would hurt her not to see Elliot again. It hurt her at that moment to see little creases of pain form near his eyes as he realized she didn’t want him hanging out with her son. It hurt her to see her son’s face fall in disappointment.
But it would pass. She and Elliot would go back to their lives and forget each other. Tyler would find something else to occupy his attention. But if she let him get attached to Elliot, that was a kind of hurt that wouldn’t go away so easily. So she said the only thing she could say.
“Not today, Tyler. We’re going to play with your cousins again.”
Tyler’s lower lip trembled, tears filling his eyes. “They are all going to the beach, but you won’t let us go there, so we can’t go play with them. We can’t do anything fun.”
He stomped away and plopped onto a bench near one of the koi ponds, his arms folded and his face turning bright red as he tried not to cry. Elliot looked down at her with a frown. He didn’t seem angry exactly. More like concerned. But the last thing she wanted was to hash all her emotions out right then.
Before either of them could say anything, Oz came up to her. “Elliot, can you watch Tyler for a few minutes? I want to talk to Lena.”
Elliot glanced at her for permission, waiting for her nod before he went to join Tyler on the bench. Lena and Oz stood in silence, watching the two of them. Within a minute or two, Elliot had Tyler giving him a grudging smile. Another minute and they were both lying on their bellies, laughing while the fish swam to the surface to nibble on their fingers.
Oz nudged Lena with his shoulder. “What’s going on with you?”
She glanced up in surprise. “Nothing. Why?”
Oz snorted. “You are wound so tight I feel like I could put you down in the middle of the room and watch you spin yourself out of control like one of those wind-up toys you get from fast food places. What’s going on? Why don’t you want Elliot playing with Tyler? He’s a good guy.”
“You sure about that? You were doing a pretty good job giving him the evil eye during the dance lesson yesterday.”
Oz shrugged. “I’m your big brother. It’s kind of a knee jerk reaction to want to beat off any guy who gets near my little sister.” He grinned at her. “But Elliot… I know he doesn’t have the greatest reputation. But deep down, he really is a decent guy. He might date a lot, but as far as I know he’s always up-front in his relationships. He hasn’t left a string of broken hearts all over New York City. I think I’d be okay if you two…you know.”
Lena gasped, horrified. It was almost as bad as having the sex talk with her parents. “Oz!”
He shrugged again. “Just thought I’d put that out there,” he said with a laugh. “Regardless of whether you two have anything going on, you don’t need to worry about him with Tyler. He’d never let anything happen to him.”
“I know that. But you know how Tyler is. He gets so attached to men. It’s like he’s a new baby duck imprinting on the first male he sees.”
Oz chuckled. “Yeah, he does get attached. But it’s only for a few days, right?”
Lena tried to keep the heat from rushing to her face but failed. Utterly. Oz raised his eyebrows.
“Something I need to know?”
“No,” she said as firmly as she could.
For once her brother paid attention and left it alone.
“Well, like I said, whatever is or isn’t going on between the two of you, I don’t see the harm in letting Tyler have a little fun. Look at them.”
Lena glanced back at her son. He and Elliot had moved to one of the larger ponds and were flicking water at each other. Every time Elliot got sprayed, he’d do a goofy little dance, acting like he was melting. Tyler doubled over in laughter. He took a step back, a little too close to the water’s edge, and Lena’s stomach bottomed out. She opened her mouth to shout a warning, but before she could, Elliot was there. He scooped Tyler up in his arms and ran away from the pond in crazy circles. Tyler shrieked with laughter.
Once they were a safe distance away, Elliot put him down and started to run from him, making Tyler chase him. Elliot’s arms and legs were pumping like he was running as fast as he could, but he was only moving barely fast enough to keep ahead of Tyler until he let himself get tagged.
“See,” Oz said. “Tyler is in good hands with Elliot. I know he’s like a big kid himself, but he’s a good guy, Lenny. What would it hurt to let him hang out with Tyler? Or at least let him take Tyler to go play in the water, since that isn’t something you can do.”
“Oz,” Cher called out.
Lena glanced over and waved at her soon-to-be sister-in-law.
“Gotta go,” Oz said, pulling her in for a quick hug. “Think about it.” He gestured at Elliot and Tyler. “They’re having fun. Let them.”
He left her to go join his fiancée, and Lena watched them with a growing ache in her heart. She was thrilled her brother had found someone he loved so much. But sometimes watching them caused twinges of jealousy. She wanted what they had. But it didn’t really matter what she wanted. She needed to do what was best for Tyler.
She turned her attention back to her son, chewing her bottom lip while she watched him play with Elliot. They both looked like they were having a great time. And Oz was right; Elliot was amazing with Tyler. He’d gotten him away from the pond without yelling or scaring him or making a scene. She probably would have gone into full-on hysterics and scared the crap out of him. And never let him near the pond again.
But Elliot had taken care of the problem without causing a new one. Pretty slick.
Hearing Tyler’s laughter ringing through the courtyard made Lena smile, but inside, the doubts and fears she tried to keep at bay started filling her again. Tyler looked so happy. He was running and playing and splashing through the water like a normal kid. Lena’s frown deepened. When was the last time she’d seen Tyler so carefree?
He was a happy kid. Always smiling, always respectful, always in a good mood. But as she watched him dart between bushes and rolling on the lawn, she realized that she didn’t often see her son full-out playing. He was always careful, playing close to her, rarely straying too far.
What kind of mother was she that she didn’t let her son just play? Or splash around in the water? Most kids liked doing that. And somehow, despite her crippling fears, Tyler still wanted to swim. She hadn’t passed that fear along to him. Yet. But how long would that last? Heck, she wouldn’t even let her son play at the beach when they were on a damn tropical island. She wanted to protect him, sure. But she didn’t want to be one of those overprotective mothers who didn’t let their kids out of their sight. And she wanted her son to have fun like all the other children were.
Well, then. Only one thing to do. She took a deep breath, ignoring the butterflies that had gone apeshit in her stomach, and went to get her son.
Chapter Eleven
Elliot had been looking for Lena for the last half hour, and the worry was beginning to get to him. When she’d come to get Tyler, all she’d said was that she had a surprise for him. But judging from the look on her face, it wasn’t a good surprise. Or at least not one she was looking forward to. He’d thought she’d decided to try and take him swimming on her own, but they hadn’t been at any of the pools that he’d seen. Cher and Oz hadn’t seen them. He didn’t bother to ask his parents.