Page 44 of Too Delicious

Rusty trots over.

“Stand back, pooch,” I say.

We walk up to the fountain together, and I take one last look. The cement has been finished to look like marble. Two cupids are already missing arms and heads from weathering and wear.

“Really, it’s time for it to go,” I say.

Harmony pulls the sledgehammer back, winding up, her teeth bared, and lets it fly.

A pair of tiny cement wings go flying at the first whack.

Then a head. Then another and another, until the entire thing is rubble on the ground.

Rusty is perched on the terrace, watching.

When it’s all over, my Harmony is dusty and sweaty, smiling from ear to ear.

“That felt good.”

I nod, then gesture for her to get out of the way.

The professional diggers are here.

She jumps onto the terrace with Rusty and me. “Cooper, what is going on?”

The contractor exits his truck, and I shake his hand. “Mr. MacKenzie! Are we taking out a moat today?”

“We are.”

Harmony gasps. “We are?”

“Not you. They are,” I say, gesturing to the crew, reading their diggers, excavators, and other construction vehicles I barely know the names of.

“What brought this on?” Harmony asks, leaning against my side, getting her sweet sweat all over my shirt.

“Your sister’s having Carter’s baby. Owen has Graham and Daisy. Mills and Hayden are definitely going to start a family one day. And it got me thinking about what you said. We need to get this place ready sooner rather than later. Carter and Summer’s new place isn’t going to have enough bedrooms, so this is the plan.”

A strange look comes over her face. “Oh. Okay.”

She’s disappointed but tries to hide it as I discuss the plans to renovate the bedrooms and the rec room to accommodate babies, toddlers, and beyond.

I hate it when she puts on a brave face for my sake.

Which is why I have one more prize in store.

“Would you like to see the blueprints? I just got them back from the architect,” I say.

Harmony swallows. “Sure,” she rasps.

She follows me into the backyard, with Rusty trotting along behind us.

I take her hand and guide her to the winding pathway down to the lake.

“I swear I left them in here somewhere.”

“Cooper, why would you leave blueprints in the garden? That’s crazy.”

“Oh, that’s because I have plans for the garden, and I was out here making sure everything was to scale.” I’m just spouting bullshit now.

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