As the sky filled with color and sound, she allowed herself a minute to bask. Her hard work was starting to pay off. And for once in her life, she couldn’t wait to see what tomorrow held.

The finale drew the expected oohs and ahs from the crowd as every firework known to man lit the dark canvas of sky.

Aldo leaned in. “You did good,” he told her as the boys screeched their delight.

Gloria gave his hand a squeeze. “Thanks. You were pretty impressive today, too.”

The fireworks looked even better reflected in Aldo’s brown eyes. She felt a delicious shiver travel up her spine.

* * *

“I’ll walk you home,” Aldo said quietly as Harper and her crew herded the kids toward the car.

“You don’t have to do that,” Gloria said automatically.

“I want to kiss you goodnight.”

That thrill that had been buzzing up and down her spine turned into a full-on electric current.

“I just need to check on a few things first.” Before the kissing.

The way his lips quirked, Gloria thought there was a good possibility he was thinking about that part of the evening, too. “I’ll help you check on a few things.”

Together they tracked down Mack, factory maintenance worker by day and head of the Fourth of July clean-up crew by night. “You sure you don’t need an extra hand?” Gloria asked. He’d told her he was in it for the fleet of golf carts made available to the clean-up crew.

“Tents are already down, food stands are packing it in, and we’re halfway through the garbage pickup. We’ve got it,” he promised.

“You’re a dream, Mack,” Gloria yawned. She hadn’t realized how utterly exhausted she was until this minute.

“You did one helluva job, Gloria.” With a little salute and a peek in Aldo’s direction, he was peeling away in his electric golf cart into the night.

Aldo waited patiently at her side. They were giving Benevolence quite a bit to talk about tonight.

“I guess that’s it,” she said lightly.

He linked his fingers with hers. “I guess so.”

In mere minutes, Aldo was going to kiss her goodnight. The perfect end to the perfect day. A new start.

She turned to lead them in the direction of her apartment and stopped in her tracks. Adrenaline dumped into her system, jacking her senses into DEFCON 1.

Linda Diller, Glenn’s mother, stood in her path. Frail as ever, her shoulders rounded under a dingy white blouse. Her hair, mousy brown streaked with gray, hung limply around her face. She looked older than her fifty-five years. But years of abuse and poverty did that to a woman. Years of the belief that she deserved it.

“You!” She rasped, pointing at Gloria.