He’s asked me several times to pull a few out.

He drops his airplane into the dirt and runs his finger along the smooth edge of the bit. “Can I play with dis?”

“No way, dude. Your mommy would kill me. Do you want to see her chase Uncle Reed around with one of your swords?”

He nods animatedly. “Oh yeah! She could chop yourw head off! That would be sooooo awesome!”

I shake my head through a quiet laugh. “Jeez. What TV shows are you watching where people are getting their heads chopped off? Game of Thrones?”

He looks down at the dirt. “I wasn’t watching it, Uncle Weed. Daddy was watching it.” Keeping his head down, he looks up at me from under his lashes. “Mommy got weal mad I got outta bed.”

Oh shit. That show is definitely not for five year olds. I’d ask him what all he saw, but I’m almost afraid to stay on this subject. Mia will freak the fuck out on me if she finds out I’m talking about graphic violence with Nolan, and I’d very much like to keep my balls.

“Here,” I say, holding out my tool belt to distract him. Nolan lifts his head. “Carry this for me, will ya? I’ll get the big cork screw.”

Nolan grabs the belt so fast a few of the tools fall to the dirt.

He’s always this excited with stuff, no matter what he’s doing. I think I could hand him a bucket of rocks and he’d take it with the same enthusiasm that’s lighting up his face right now. He’s such a cool kid. I never thought about having any, but I’d take Nolan. He’s pretty fucking awesome.

I wait for him to stuff the tools back into the belt and walk behind him as he leads me up the drive.

Ben walks out the front door with Chase in his arms as Nolan carries the tool belt toward the back of the house.

“What’s up, man? You getting started today?” Ben asks, looking down at the machine in my hands as I come to a stop in front of him.

I’m about to answer when Mia walks out the door, her face flushed a bright red and her hair disheveled. She takes a rag and wipes down the front of her neck as she comes up to stand beside Ben.

She smiles at me, and it’s that genuine, make-any-guy-do-just-about-anything smile I’m used to seeing from her. Mia returned to Ruxton two years ago after moving away nine years before that. I didn’t know her when she lived here before, since I didn’t attend the same Elementary or Middle School as Tessa and her. Back then, Ben and Mia wanted nothing to do with each other. He tormented the hell out of her, and she was his sister’s annoying best friend. But when she came to visit for the summer two years ago, there wasn’t anything that would’ve kept the two of them apart. Not even a bitter past. Ben staked his claim, and everyone got that message, loud and clear. Mia was his. I couldn’t blame the guy for being drawn to her. It is really fucking easy to like Mia. Everybody likes her. She’s the kindest person I know, and she’ll do anything for anybody. Plus, she took on the role of Nolan’s mom after his real one turned out to be a worthless piece of shit. You’d never know that kid wasn’t hers.

She’s always belonged in Ruxton. She doesn’t just make Ben better. She makes us all better.

“Why is your face all red?” I ask, studying the red blotches on her skin.

Mia bunches up the cloth in her hand. “Chase puked on me. Thank God I had my mouth closed.”

I look from her to Ben, who seems as casual as if this shit happens daily, then I drop my eyes back to her, my face pinched in disgust. “He threw up on your face?” I turn to Chase, who’s hiding his guilt well. “What the hell, dude?”

“He’s a baby, asshole,” Ben replies, sounding annoyed. “They throw up. It’s not like he was aiming for Mia.”

“Does he like give you a warning or something?” I ask.

A valid question on my part. I hold that kid a good bit.

Ben stares at me for long seconds of silence. “Yeah. He usually tells you what’s about to happen with his extensive vocabulary.”

Mia laughs quietly, looking at Chase and grabbing his little arm. She forces him to wave at me. “Can you say what’s up to Uncle Reed?”

Chase chews on his other fist, smiling around it at Mia while I go completely unnoticed.

Mia looks back at me and studies the machine in my hand with a curious frown. “What is that thing?”

I motion with my head for them to walk with me around the side of the house. I need to get back there before Nolan hides all my tools in places he can’t remember.

“It’s gonna help me dig the holes for your deck. I’m at least going to put the posts in today.”

Mia’s mouth drops open, and she looks up at Ben as she tucks the washcloth into her front jeans pocket. “What deck?”

Ben smiles at her as we get to the back of the house. “The deck Reed’s building for you, Angel. You keep saying you want one. It looks like he’s starting on it today.”

“But I thought we were going to wait until we saved up a little more money. I didn’t think we’d get one built this year.”

“Reed’s only charging us for materials. We have plenty of money.”

“I don’t know why you two are insisting on giving me anything. You know I don’t feel right about charging you. I can do this for free. It’s not a big deal.” I set the auger down in the grass and scan the backyard for Nolan. He’s up on the wooden landing of the swing set, sending each tool one-by-one down the sliding board and laughing hysterically when they hit the bottom. I take a mental inventory of the tools in that belt to make sure there’s nothing in there that could be dangerous to him.