"Are you okay, sweetheart?" I asked gently. He blinked up at me, eyes brimming with tears. I doubted he understood English, so I smiled and mimed dusting off my knees. "Up, see? You're fine."
The boy sniffled, hesitated, then copied me, brushing at the dirt on his pants. His tears eased into a watery smile just as Kael's shadow stretched over us.
"You're good with kids," he said, voice quiet but certain.
I glanced up at him, caught in the depth of his gaze while the boy resumed running about. "I think that's the second time you've said that."
"It's because it's true."
Something in me twisted hard, guilt clawing up my throat as the reminder of what I'd lost slammed back into me. The ache, the empty space that had been carved out of me. My smile faltered, my chest hollowing.
And the question rolled out my tongue before I could stop it. "Do you want to have kids?"
