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With his brother’s help, Paxton had the two Fringe flowers anchoring the edges of the front porch planted, and now he was ready for the Dwarf Nandinas to line the front.
“Well, isn’t this a sight to see.” Ryan stood in the front walkway with his hands on his hips, his gaze darting from the newly planted shrub to Quinn. “How much did Pax have to pay you to pick up the shovel?”
Not easily goaded, Quinn merely rolled his eyes at their brother. “Quit yakking and grab the wheel barrow. There’s more to plant here and I bet Sandra would be really happy to see the front of her house done when she pops by later today.”
“Oh.” All teasing expressions washed away, and without another question, Ryan turned on his heel and searched for the wheel barrow. “Give me two minutes to let the guys inside know I’m shifting gears. Be right back.”
And just like that, Ryan was now doing exactly as Quinn had said. Because Sandra mattered to him, she mattered to them. No questions asked, if this was for Sandra, to make her happy, then his carpenter brother would roll up his sleeves and play with the dirt.
By the end of the morning, they had all the shrubs planted and Paxton was pouring mulch when he heard a small gasp. Straightening to his full height, he turned to see Sandra standing on the sidewalk, her eyes circled round and her hand on her mouth.
“It’s beautiful,” she muttered through spread fingers still covering her mouth. “I knew we were getting close, but didn’t realize it was this close.”
Shrugging one shoulder, he took a step closer to her. “I would still be digging holes if my brothers had not pitched in to help.”
“Doesn’t matter who did it. It all looks so lovely.” She swallowed hard. “And homey. Reminds me of the house I grew up in.”
He hadn’t given it any thought, but she was right. The traditional craftsman-like front of the small house was indeed very similar to the larger home she’d grown up in. Though he didn’t really remember the landscaping much.
Slowly moving forward, she looked at the angle and spacing of the Nandinas. More depth closer to the walkway and narrowing to a single shrub in the far corner before what would someday be a lovely burst of color from the full-grown Fringe flowers. “I can’t find the words.”
“No words needed. Your face says it all.”
She whipped around to face him and threw her arms around him for too-brief a moment before stepping away. “This is so much more than I ever imagined.”
“Glad you like it.”
“I love it.” She slapped her hands together excitedly. “Wait till David sees this.”
Not wanting to burst the joy of the moment, Paxton debated if he should ask if she’d heard from Ed. Looking at how her eyes sparkled and lips tipped up in a sweet smile, he opted to let it slide. If the jerk ever reached out to her again, she’d tell Paxton. At least he sure hoped so.
With every passing week, the house was looking more and more like a home. Inside, the raw cabinets in the kitchen had been installed. The next day the bathroom vanities had gone in. When the cabinets got painted and the countertops installed a few days ago, she couldn’t believe her eyes. But even the tiniest of apartments, when updated to television renovations show standards, was still an apartment. This, the plants and shrubs, the dirt and mulch, all surrounding a front porch, this screamed happy home. “I just can’t believe it.”
“Pretty soon you’ll get a key and it will be all yours.” Paxton stood grinning at her.
“Like I said, it’s almost too good to believe.”
“Then maybe I shouldn’t show you what we did in the back.”
Her jaw dropped and her eyes opened wide and her voice simply wouldn’t come. Instead, she merely nodded.
Paxton extended his hand to her and she happily threaded her fingers in his. Life simply couldn’t get any better than this. Well, she felt her cheeks heat, maybe life could get just a little better.
The screen door to the back porch slammed shut behind them and Paxton waved to the right. Hanging from the rafters, a solid wood swing hung.
“Ryan made it. He said every porch needs a swing.”
“I love it! How perfect. Ryan is a sweetheart.” Still holding onto his hand, she walked over and sat in the swing, tugging him to sit beside her.
With a shove of his foot, Paxton set them to rocking.
“This is amazing. From here I can watch David play on the porch or in the yard.”
“That’s the idea.” Paxton nodded. “We considered hanging it against the wall, but then you’d only see the yard. By putting it here at the end, you have a fuller view.”
“A perfect view.” Heaving out a contented sigh, she pushed to her feet. “I could sit all day, but tonight is Girls’ Night and I’m invited.”
“Oh.” Paxton’s smile slipped. “Where?”
