Page 136 of My Five Daddies

“Don’t kill her,” Nolan says next to me, grinning huge. “That’ll be bad forus.”

I grip my shovel with both hands like a weapon. “If she says one more thing about myholes…”

“Save it for the dirt,” hesays.

I sigh and get back to work. After a few more minutes, the hole is big enough for a new tree. I walk over to the group of baby trees they have lined up near the truck, pick one up, and carry it over to the hole. I remove the packing from the root ball, drop it down, cover it with dirt, and call a supervisor over tocheck.

“Good job,” the supervisor says, flashing me a smile. “Now, just one more,yes?”

I sigh and nod. “Ofcourse.”

Nolan gives me another grin as I get to work digging another hole. “This looks great,” he says to me. “Justrelax.”

I sigh. “I know. I’m relaxed. It’s just that woman, and thecameras.”

“I get it,” he says, as another reporter wanders past and snaps a few pictures. Nolan smiles handsomely and I try my best to look happy. “It’s not easy to look like you’re having fun diggingholes.”

“At least we’re doing a good thing,” I say. “I mean, nobody can complain about us planting newtrees.”

“That’s a good point. I wonder what they think you’re spying onhere.”

“Probably think I’m going to steal the secrets of your special magical soil and bring it back to my evil country.” I sigh and roll my eyes as Nolanlaughs.

I get back to digging, trying not to feel too grumpy. I wish we were back at the cabin, but I know I shouldn’t be so lazy. I’m used to hard work and I need to bestrong.

Nolan came up with this idea. We’re volunteers with a local group that plants new trees where the Polovian wood industry clear-cut entire swaths of the pristine forest. About fifty years ago, Polovia was best known for its wood exports, boasting some of the best wood in the world. Now though, the industry is more highly regulated, because they had been destroying the natural beauty of the country. Polovia still has a strong wood industry, it’s just not stripping out every single tree in sightanymore.

There are still wide paths where the trees never grew back, and we’re trying to help that. Each tree we plant is a natural, local tree, so it’ll work in this environment. I wish Nolan had picked a little less work-intensive job, but I guess that’sokay.

At least the press is being good. The paparazzi are here, but they’re not mobbing us. We’re letting them take as many pictures as they want, and we did some interviews earlier in the day, and they’re not being a bunch of total assholes for once. In fact, they’re being downrightpolite.

“Check this out,” Nolan says, gripping a tree in both hands. “Does this lookfamiliar?”

I groan. “Are you making a penisjoke?”

“Yes, yes, I am,” he says seriously. “I’m bigger, right?” He holds the easily –three-foot-tall tree up next tohim.

“Yes, you’re much bigger,” I say, laughing. “I like when you have to unrollit.”

He makes a face. “It’s really uncomfortable keeping it caged up allday.”

“Why hide it though? You should flaunt it. Make the country reallytalk.”

He laughs and drops the tree into its hole, covers it with dirt, and comes over to help medig.

“I know this isn’t fun,” he says. We alternate digging the hole together. “But we’re getting our faces out there in a positiveway.”

“I know,” I say, sighing. “I don’t mean tocomplain.”

He grins at me. “You’re not complaining. I just don’t want you to murderanyone.”

I give him a playful push and he kisses me. Several cameras go off and I blush a littlebit.

“Whoops,” hesays.

“Kiss again!” one of the paparazzi calls out. “I missedit!”

Nolan grins and grabs me, pulling me against him. I drop my shovel and put my hands on his chest as he kisses me full and deep, a chill running down my spine. I know it’s just for the cameras, and I can hear them clicking away, but it feels sogood.

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