“Not going to lie, I’m pushing my team so we can fit you in between projects. We won’t be able to start anything on the interior until we finish a job in Frisco.”

“Perfect. You can come in and fix whatever I’ve messed up by then.”

He chuckled and slid a binder across the table. “Have you thought about colors for the exterior?”

What color would Will have wanted had this been our house? Probably the dark blue or even the gray. Classic. Stately.

“She’s here!” a high voice shouted with glee. Jackson’s door slammed shut, and I heard the fast pitter-pat of what had to be Finley’s feet coming down the steps. I looked over and waved as she raced across the small space that separated our houses.

“Hi, Miss Morgan!” Fin grinned up at me, and I couldn’t help but return it. She was like living, breathing joy—the contagious kind, and even I wasn’t immune.

“Well, hi there, Miss Finley! You got here just in time to help me look at paint colors!” I pulled Steve’s vacant stool over and gave the seat a pat.

“I can help?” Fin asked, already climbing onto the stool and setting a bright orange walkie-talkie on the table.

“Well, I get the final say, but I could definitely use your opinion, seeing as you’ll have to see it every day, too!”

“Hmm…” She touched her chin thoughtfully as she flipped through the laminated pages of colors. “I like the bright ones!”

I looked over her shoulder to see swatches of bright pastels in yellow, purple, teal, and blue. “You don’t think we should go with something like your house?”

A quick glance confirmed my memory—Jackson’s house was white with thick, gray trim, and the man himself was walking toward the back gate with a bag slung over his shoulder. My belly fluttered, and I put my hand over the waistband of my shorts.

Not for you, I reminded myself and jerked my eyes away from his retreating frame. Going to his barbecue had been good for me—even Dr. Circe said so—but I wasn’t about to let myself start needing the reprieve being around him somehow gave me.

“My bed is yellow. Like happy sunshine! Your house could be sunshine, too!” She nodded enthusiastically.

“A lot of the houses out here are bright colors you don’t find in the city,” Steve agreed.

I eyed the teal swatch. The color was gorgeous, but what would Will have—

“Calling Fin Montgomery, this is Daddy Montgomery, over,” Jackson said through Fin’s walkie-talkie. Even his voice was attractive, clear and deep. He wasn’t in the yard anymore, so where was he calling her from?

Fin grabbed the device and grinned. “Hi, Daddy!”

“You didn’t say over, over,” he teased.

She giggled, and the sound slipped inside my heart.

“Don’t forget your mission, over,” Jackson said.