“Whoa. Okay. Uh. I’ll just go then?” Cody averted his eyes from them both.

“No, it’s not like that,” Maggie insisted. “Stay.”

“Well, it was like that, and it’s going to be like that again, and you’re just gonna have to be okay with that, kid,” Silas corrected.

Cody chanced a glance at him. His eyes narrowed. “Are you crying, man?”

Silas rubbed his red eyes. “I’m not crying. I am sneezing heroically.”

Maggie started to laugh and then couldn’t quite stop.

“Here’s what we’re gonna do,” Silas decided, putting a hand on her shoulder. “You’re gonna call Dean and Wallace. Cody and I are gonna run into town to pick up stuff for dinner. Is that cool with you?” he asked Cody.

The boy nodded, still looking uncomfortable as hell.

“Meet me in the truck,” Silas told him before leaning down and kissing Maggie on the forehead.

Michelle: Hey, Hot Landscaper Guy.

Silas: How did you get a preview of my new business cards?

Michelle: Ha! You look like you’re enjoying yourself on-screen. The whole project looks amazing!

Silas: Thanks. It’s been a hell of a good time. How’s Denver treating you? How’s your new job?

Michelle: All good here. I’m happy and also happy you’re happy if that makes sense.

Silas: Speaking of happy, your mom told Mama B about a certain architectural engineer you met.

Michelle: It’s very new and my mom has a big, fat mouth. But yeah. He’s pretty great!

Silas: Please accept this “I’m happy for you” GIF as a token of my happiness for you.

Michelle: A GIF from Hot Landscaper Guy??? That Maggie Nichols has changed your life!

32

32

“A few more steps,” Maggie said encouragingly as Wallace huffed and puffed his way up the grand staircase.

“I don’t see why we had to do this before pizza,” he complained. The three pies that Silas and Cody had picked up were in the dining room waiting for after the big reveal.

“This better be good. Like stolen-Rembrandt-in-an-attic good,” Dean groused from behind Wallace. “I rescheduled a call with a hardware chain for this. Also, one of those pizzas better have a cauliflower crust.”

Kevin, unable to contain himself, dashed past them on the stairs and raced into the second bedroom.

“Did you find a dead body?” Cody asked from his position on Wallace’s flank, ready to catch the old man if he fell backward. Silas had refused to tell him what they’d found until they all could see it for themselves.

“All these damn stairs,” Wallace wheezed.

“This is why the nurses want you to show up to fitness time instead of hiding in the library,” she reminded him.