She smiled down at him. “Good question. Let’s go find your dad and brother so we can cut it all together.” Joshua had slid into calling them Mama and Dad pretty quickly. It had taken Michael longer, and he still called them Dani and Coach more often than not, but that was okay. Even if he never called them Mom and Dad, he still knew they loved him.

She held out her hand for Joshua and he took it, chattering about how much the new baby liked Storm. The overgrown puppy was exactly what the little boy had needed, giving him a sense of permanence and safety. Storm never left his side, just like Hawkeye never strayed from Michael’s.

She saw Hawkeye before she found Diesel and Michael, the dog’s wagging tail visible beyond the far corner of the house. Diesel and Michael stood shoulder to shoulder, each holding one edge of a large piece of paper. Greg stood next to Michael, signing animatedly. The older man on Diesel’s left had been a surprise arrival—his old teacher, Walt Dyson, who’d been delighted to see Diesel so happy. Marcus completed the group. He was pointing to the paper with one hand and pointing up at the house with the other.

“Um, guys?” Dani said. “What’s going on?”

Diesel and Michael both spun, each trying to hide the paper behind their backs, then laughing when they both dropped it. “We wanted to show Father Dyson,” Michael signed, beaming. “It’s a surprise. For you.”

She narrowed her eyes in mock suspicion. “What kind of surprise?”

“You’ll like it,” Joshua said with a giggle.

“You knew, too?” She smiled at him. His giggles were bright spots in every day. “Am I the only one who isn’t in on it?”

Diesel picked up the paper and held it for her to see. “Take a look.”

“It’s a blueprint,” she said cautiously, stepping closer to study it. “For what?”

Diesel nervously rubbed one hand over his bald-again head. He did indeed have a gorgeous head of hair, but he’d shaved it after a few months, saying it was “too damn much trouble.” Either way, he was the sexiest man she’d ever seen, especially in the suit he was wearing, which fit him perfectly. He’d tugged the tie loose, revealing a glimpse of the ink she loved so much.

“For the house,” he said, then met her eyes. “We’re filled up now, and I know you’ve had to turn away two deaf foster kids who needed you.”

It was true, and it had broken her heart to turn them away, but Michael and Joshua were her sons now. They came first. She and Diesel were trying to figure out how to fit a small bedroom into the available space in the basement, but there wasn’t enough room.