Page 152 of Falling for the Grumpiest Protector

"What?"

"Everybody matters." I look at her. She nods toward the barn. "Nobody's standing around waiting to be helped. They work. They contribute. They give something back."

"That's important."

"I can see that."

Her gaze moves around the room. Cole is hauling another box toward the tables. Nate and Luis have abandoned the argument and are fixing the chairs. Eric is holding the ladder steady for one of the volunteers. Maddy turns back to me. "I think I'm finally seeing all of it."

There's something in her expression that makes my chest tighten. Before I can decide what to say, she steps closer and wraps her arms around me. I go still for half a second. Then mine close around her. Her cheek rests against my chest. We're standing in the middle of the barn with people working around us. Nobody cares. Neither do I.

My hand moves slowly over her back. She lifts her head. "I like seeing you here."

"I'm here every day."

"You know what I mean."

I do. I kiss the top of her head. Maddy smiles against my shirt.

Then Cole walks past us carrying a box. "Some of us are working."

Maddy pulls back, laughing. I look at him. "Keep walking."

He does. Still laughing.

By six, most of the volunteers have gone home. Jack checks the weather forecast one last time before Emma gets him moving toward their truck.

"No rain," I tell him.

"Forecasts change."

"The tents are secure."

"The west gate?"

"I'll check it."

He nods, finally satisfied. Emma gives me a grateful smile and steers him toward the parking lot.

Maddy is sitting on the edge of the loading dock when I come around the barn. Two bottles of water sit beside her. She holds one out. I take it and sit beside her.

For a while, we don't talk. Late sunlight stretches across the fields. The tents shift gently in the breeze. Tomorrow there'll be music, kids running between hay bales, food everywhere, and cars filling the pasture. Tonight, the farm is quiet.

Maddy leans back on her hands. "You know what I was thinking earlier?"

"That Jack's scarecrow needs a hat?"

"It does."

"I'll let Emma know."

She smiles. Then her gaze moves toward the barn. "I was thinking about what I said before. About everybody here mattering."

I wait.

"At the restaurant, I've always loved the moment before service. Everything is ready, but nobody has arrived yet. The tables are set. The kitchen is prepped. For a few minutes, you can see the whole thing before it belongs to everyone else."

She looks across the farm. "This feels like that."