Page 125 of The Re-Proposal

I spot Cody across the lawn, dragging trees into place. His muscles bulge in the light and he effortlessly secures the plant into a freshly-dug hole. Sweat glistens on his forehead and his hair is disheveled. He runs his hands through it, proving exactly why it’s in that state.

He glances over at me and my breath stalls.

Quickly I look away.

From here, I see Joel and Yaya working together to set flower pots along the front porch.

Painting the exterior was one of the first things the crew did. The striking dark-grey looks amazing against the white shingles. The red door is a burst of character.

I think Maggie will love it.

The sun is just cresting the horizon when we finish with the last of the details.

Kenya checks her watch. She’s standing beside Alistair. He’s got his hand on her waist and his chin is on top of her head, putting a dent in her afro puff. His eyes are closed as if he can barely keep them open.

“It’s almost six o’clock,” Kenya croaks. “But we did it.”

“We did it,” Sunny says with a satisfied smile.

Nova nods. “It looks good.”

Yaya gestures with her hands.

Dejonae translates, “I hope Maggie likes it.”

“She’ll love it.” I turn to the women, my movements sluggish. I’m starting to feel the effects of all that yard work. I used muscles I didn’t even know I had. “Thank you so much. Your effort will make a huge difference in a young mother’s life.”

“No need to thank us,” Dawn says, squeezing her husband’s hand. “We were happy to help.”

“Anytime,” Vanya says.

“You guys are heroes,” I mutter, trying not to cry.

Island drops her arms around me. “You’re the hero here, Clarissa. You’re the one who brought us together and made this possible.”

Tears sting my eyes. “Do you guys want to be there when I show Maggie?”

“Nah.” Vanya shakes her head. “My satisfaction is knowing we got it done quickly and well.”

I clasp my hands together, forcing back my emotions. “I’ll tell you everything after I present the place to Maggie tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? I think you mean ‘in a few hours’,” Joel says, wheeling toward me.

“Right.” I place a gentle hand on his head. In a quiet voice, I say, “Thank you for all your hard work.”

He blushes.

I don’t intend to encourage his crush, but I do want to acknowledge his persistence. Tonight, I saw Joel looking a little lost. It didn’t help that one of the workmen almost tripped on his wheelchair. An explosion of Spanish erupted from the guy’s mouth. Joel probably didn’t understand a word of it, but the tone was heated enough to make the gist clear.

Stay out of the way.

His dejected expression showed that he was feeling useless. I was about to walk up to him when I saw Cody make a beeline his way.

Curious, I hid out of sight to watch.

Cody didn’t say anything, but he did hand Joel a power tool. Soon, he and the teenager were unfastening window screws—Cody dealing with the higher screws, while Joel handled the bottom.

It was a tiny moment and one I don’t think Cody sees as a big deal. But it meant a lot to Joel.

---