Chapter 32 Elena #2
“I don’t want you to give up your dreams. Or miss out on opportunities in your career because we’re going to be parents. That’s the beauty of it being the two of us. And this place”—he gestures to the house behind us, the river beyond the railing—“makes a damn good home base.”
A lump rises in my throat.
“Home base,” I repeat. “Are you saying I should move here?”
“I’m not asking for a ring,” he adds with a wink.
“You’ll propose when you’re ready. I know you’re not.
Not right now. I’m not asking for anything except honesty.
And a chance. I know this isn’t what either of us probably pictured, but I can’t say I’m upset about knowing you’ll still be in my life after filming ends. ”
I meet his eyes. He’s playful, like always. But the emotion in his stare is serious. Real.
“That’s something you wanted? Me in your life?”
He nods. “Yeah. It is. Long before I knew we were pregnant.”
Maybe it’s my hormones, but I love that he says we. Like I’m not alone. Like he plans to go through this with me. As much as he can at least.
It makes me want to both run away and crawl into his lap at the same time.
“I don’t know what you want me to say,” I confess. “I don’t know if living here, or near here, is something I could manage long term.”
He nods. “Maybe we just plan in the short term then. Baby steps.”
I smile. “That sounds nice. Any ideas? Other than me moving to Montana?”
“Between the secret hookup, the surprise baby, and both of us pretending we hadn’t met during training camp, it might be time to get real about what we want.” He shrugs. “I say we just lay it out there. Tell me what you want.”
My voice cracks. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea. If what we want is messy.”
“Life is messy, baby.” He keeps rubbing my foot, doesn’t rush me at all.
“I grew up needing everything,” I admit quietly.
“We didn’t have money. Or time. Or space.
We lived crammed into a tiny apartment over my aunt’s garage.
My parents worked non-stop. I rarely saw them.
Unless I was working alongside them before and after school.
My dad’s health was always an issue. I didn’t dream about a white picket fence, Isaac. I dreamed about surviving.”
He nods, slow and patient.
“And now, I finally have something that’s mine.
A career I love, that I’m proud of. I get to act out beautiful stories for a living.
I have a voice. That’s my dream. And I don’t want to lose that.
And I don’t want my child to grow up wondering if the power will be on or if there will be food to eat. ”
“You won’t. He or she won’t. I would never let that happen.”
“It’s not that simple,” I tell him. “Being a single mom is like—”
“A full-time job that never ends, but without the pay,” he finishes for me. “I know. I’ve known some single moms. Brooklyn Harris raises her two younger siblings alone. I get that it will be a lot on you, Elena. I just want you to know it’s not all on you.”
He leans forward slightly, both hands on my legs now.
“In a perfect world,” he says, voice low and steady, “if you could have whatever you wanted for your future, for our child’s future, what would you want?”
My lips part. Nothing comes out.
Because the truth is…it’s this.
A home base. A safe place to always come back to.
A man who rubs my feet and doesn’t expect me to shrink to fit beside him. Or behind him.
A life that lets me be both—an actress and a mom. A chaser of dreams and of children.
“I always wanted a family,” I finally whisper. “One like yours. Full of support and warmth and…boundaries. One where my culture is honored but not used against me. Where I can keep acting, and still be enough. For everyone.”
Isaac exhales like I just handed him the world.
“My family might need to work on the boundaries part. But you’re enough,” he says. “You always have been.”
I look away so I don’t cry.
“I need to go home. Talk to my parents. Tell them about the baby.”
He nods. “Okay. Now?”
“Not right this second.” I smile at his genuine acceptance. “I thought I’d maybe talk to Ivy first. Figure out how this will affect the production schedule. Then ask for a few days off to go home.”
“You want me to come with you? To talk to Ivy and to tell your family?”
Yes.
No.
Maybe.
I inhale as much mountain air as my lungs will hold. “I think it’s something I need to do on my own. But I really appreciate that you’re willing to be there. In both cases.”
He nods but his brow is furrowed. “I don’t love the idea of you facing the firing squad alone, Elena.”
“That’s because you’re sweet, Isaac Logan. And I love—that about you.”
My roller coaster hormones are about to have me professing my love to this man like I’ve lost my mind.
“I love a lot of things about you,” he blurts out. “And I mean it about being there. I have a plane, you know. Just say the word at any time and I can be anywhere you need me to be.”
My chest fills with warmth. Who knew this wild reckless cowboy was going to turn out to be such an amazing man?
“Thank you. That means a lot.”
“No need to thank me, baby. This is your show. If you don’t see me as the male lead in the love story of your life, I’ll understand. I just want to play a supporting role is all. If you’ll let me.”
His fingers knead the arch of my foot again and I let my eyes close.
Just for a second.
Just to rest.
At some point, I must’ve fallen asleep. Because when I wake up, it’s dark outside and I’m still on the porch.
But there’s a blanket over me.
And in the chair beside me, like he fell asleep watching me sleep, is the sexiest, sweetest baby daddy I’ve ever seen.
If you don’t see me as the male lead in the love story of your life, I’ll understand.
He doesn’t see himself as worthy of that. I saw it in his eyes when the words left his mouth.
The problem is, even though I probably shouldn’t, I absolutely do.