Page 61 of The Bachelor's Dilemma

He paused a moment to imagine himself a home owner. It wasn’t something he’d thought about since he’d been a child and had planned to buy the biggest house he could and never leave it.

Obviously, the dream had changed as he grew up, but now he wondered if it had just lurked in the back of his mind all these years. He pictured the exact house he wanted.

“Need help?” Brad asked.

Myles looked at the gate he was holding. He struggled a bit to lift it from the hinges and Brad stepped in to help. Together they wrested it from the supports and laid the gate on the walkway. In only moments, with the help of some well-placed blows from a hammer, they had the second gate off as well.

“Not in our job descriptions, but something that needs doing,” Myles said, studying the rusted hinges. Years of experience paid off; he knew metals and how to care for them. In only a half hour, he and Brad had stripped the rust from each hinge and lightly brushed the gates with a wire brush to prepare for the first coat of paint.

“This will have to do until next workday—we didn’t buy wrought-iron paint,” Myles said.

Maybe he could get some tomorrow and come back during the week. He’d nothing else to do until his medical leave ended.

“It’s almost five. We’ll be winding up soon,” Brad said.

“Let’s put these back up. I can get them down to paint later,” Myles said.

When the gates were back in place, they opened and closed with no effort. When closed, the center latch kept them in place.

Cleaning up the area, Myles returned the tools to the staging area and went to hunt for Anna. He found her with several other mothers, cleaning paintbrushes in one of the bathrooms, the door propped open for ventilation.

He waited opposite the door, listening to the female chatter. The topic was children. He figured he could never learn too much about that, so listened as they discussed eating patterns and how to get them to eat enough vegetables.

He felt a spurt of pride in Zack. The child never argued with Anna about what to eat. Her nutritious meals were delicious and healthful.

She glanced up at one point and looked directly at him. The smile that lit her face reminded him of why he was here. She wasn’t good at hiding her emotions.

He nodded, but said nothing.

She murmured something to the woman next to her, who then looked over at him.

“We’ve been asked to join the others for dinner. Can you make it?” she called.

He nodded once, glad the day wouldn’t end soon. He enjoyed being with Anna and the other parents. His friend Samuel, back at the job site, would split a gut laughing if he could see him now.

Myles didn’t care. This was uncharted territory for him, and he was interested in exploring every facet.

“We’re going as is—no one wants to go home first and change,” she said, rinsing her hands and then drying them with a paper towel.

One of the other mothers gathered all the brushes and shook them in the deep sink, then wrapped them in plastic bags.

Anna came out to the hall, rotating her shoulders a bit.

“I won’t be able to move tomorrow,” she said.

“Turn around,” Myles said, and when she complied, he gently massaged her shoulders and neck.

“Ohhh, that feels heavenly,” she said, letting her head fall forward.

“Lucky you. Wish Jim would think of something like that for me,” the red-haired mother said in passing. “Or I could stand in line and get a turn?” she teased.

Myles grinned at her.

“You’d have to ask Anna.”

“Hmmm,” she said, not offering to share.

The redhead laughed and continued down the hall.

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