Some sort of invasive shrubbery had made a home at the back of Griffin’s property, in between the garden and the pond. And our Saturday project was to get as much of it as we could out of there. A dumpster had been delivered and sat beside the workshop, ready to be filled.

This morning before most of us had woken up, Griffin had gone to the hardware store and picked up gloves for me, Ava, and Mia. Mine had daisies, Ava’s were green, and much to Mia’s delight, hers were pink. It was just the thing we all needed. A sense of purpose, some good, old-fashioned hard work, and being together.

“The slowpokes are finally here,” Will called as we approached.

“We were soaking up the happies,” Mia defended.

Griffin’s lips quirked. “And how do you do that?”

Mia flung her arms wide, tipping her face up to the sun. “Like this.”

He chuckled. “Looks good to me. You got enough happies to help me clear some brush?”

Mia nodded seriously and held up her gloved hands. “I’m ready.”

“Okay. You and Ava are going to be picking up all the sticks and things that have fallen to the ground. You’ll put them in the bins over there, and when they fill up, we’ll empty them into the dumpster. Think you can handle it?”

“Easy-peasy,” she answered.

Griffin turned to Ava. “What about you?”

She smiled. “I’ll make sure Mia doesn’t try to run away and go swimming.”

I groaned. Mia had been begging us to go swimming in the pond now that the days were warmer, and I was constantly terrified she was going to take off on her own.

“I wasn’t gonna,” Mia said indignantly. “You’re such a tattletale.”

“I’m not tattling, I’m just promising to keep you out of trouble,” Ava argued.

I groaned. It was going to be a long day if we were at this point already at nine o’clock in the morning. “Girls… How about this? If we get all of the brush cleaned out and you two don’t bicker, we’ll go to the pond this afternoon.”

Mia’s face lit up, and she began dancing around in circles. “We’re going swimming!”

“Only if it’s a good day,” I warned.

Her dancing slowed, and she got very serious. “Best behavior. I’ll pick up every single stick.”

Will snorted. “Who knew all it took was the promise of a pond to reel her in?”

The girls ran off to begin their tasks, and I turned to Griffin and Will, holding up my daisy-gloved hands. “Reporting for duty.”

“It was either daisies or boring tan-colored ones. The daisies seemed more fitting. They’re sunny,” Griffin said, his gaze locking with mine.

Something about his expression had my belly warming, and everything inside me going just a little bit squishy. “I like the daisies.”