Page 116 of His Greatest Treasure

Avery hasn’t been to the shop in days, and I had Mom promise me that she’d try to keep her busy enough to avoid it for another three. By the time I’m off next shift, this place will be ready for her.

My squad didn’t hesitate to offer me their help, and they’ll never know how much that means to me.

“I’d take a swing at you, not Cap,” I answer Adams.

He laughs brashly. “Yeah, yeah. Just tell us what you need.”

“I ordered new countertops for the front desk and break room that should be arriving in a few minutes if one of you can help with the install. The flower cooler needs to be scrubbed clean before the new shelves go up, and there’s some furniture in the back of my uncle’s truck parked out front that’s got to be brought inside, along with a new vanity for the bathroom.”

“I’ve got the countertop. Do you want to wait to bring the stuff from the truck inside until after that’s installed?” Patel asks, leaning back against the wall.

“If we bring it all in and set it along the one wall, it should beout of the way for the countertops. They’re marble, so they weigh a shit ton. If you need an extra set of hands, just let me know,” I answer.

Three more members of my squad volunteer to scrub up the cooler and bathroom and, without hesitation, head for the sink to fill the buckets I brought with soap and water.

Adams looks past me and stares questioningly at the guy that pulls the shop door open and steps inside. I extend my hand toward him once I read the business name on his shirt.

“Countertop guy?” Adams asks.

With a shake of my hand, the guy says, “Travis, but yes. You got an extra set of hands for me?”

“It’s ready to go?” Patel asks before striding toward Travis and walking with him outside.

“It’s you and me on lifting duty, then?” Adams knocks his shoulder against mine.

Hart steps up in front of us. “What do you want me on?”

“Avery likes you the most out of everyone. Are you up for a more personal job?”

“She doesn’t like her most,” Adams grunts.

Hart rolls her eyes at him. “Yes, she does. But your opinion doesn’t matter, anyway. What do you need from me, Lieutenant?”

“Have you ever designed a kids’ corner before?”

“No, but I’m up for the challenge. What do I need to know?”

I aim to dump the info on her quickly but wind up spending twenty minutes telling her about all things Nova. From her obsession with frogs, sprinkles on her pancakes, and ballet to her fear of the dark and courage to be the one to take care of the spiders that appear in the house. Some of the information isn’t useful for the task I’ve given, but that isn’t enough to stop me.

Even after Hart’s started to grin at me, her head shaking slightly, I don’t end my ramble. Only once I’ve momentarily run out of things to say do I finally trail off.

She dips out of the shop before Ican dig back into my head and find something else to say, but that doesn’t mean I let it go. The opposite, actually.

I ignore the people moving around me and come up with another part of my plan, this one meant just for Nova.

“I’ll be suingyou for the injuries to my back after today, Bateman,” Adams groans after we move the second pink armchair into position.

“If you think this is too much strain for your back, maybe it’s time to consider retirement.”

“I’ll retire when I’m dead.”

I make a deep, humoured noise in the back of my throat. “No point in retiring if you’re already dead.”

“I’m only a few years older than you, jackass.”

“In mind or body?”

“Both.”

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