She didn’t even bat an eye. “We burn it, then.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
“TWO NEW TOILETS ready to be installed,” her dad announced.
“I feel like we should throw the broken ones in Mitch’s living room. He breaks it, he buys it,” Bonnie said.
“I think we should get to tie him to a tree and spray paint him,” Sasha suggested. “Do you think we can fit that in the agreement?”
“I feel like that could get us arrested,” Aaron said, cocking an eyebrow.
“Fine, I’ll spray paint his car on my own,” Sasha said, shaking one of the paint cans.
Bonnie looked over the project list. There was so much to do. She needed to reschedule the open house, which was a huge bummer. Houses always sold better right before school started. If they had to push the open house until sometime in September, they were going to miss that window. The three of them could only do so much. Even if they worked around the clock, they needed at least a month.
A knock on the door got everyone’s attention.
“Are you expecting something?” Bonnie asked Aaron, who shook his head. She went to answer it, since the men were all busy.
“Please be little girls selling cookies, please be little girls selling cookies,” Sasha muttered.
Bonnie pulled the door open and was blown away. Lauren, dressed in overalls and brand-new work boots, was on the front stoop, holding a bucket full of paint brushes and rollers. She looked ready to work, but that wasn’t what took Bonnie’s breath away. Lauren wasn’t alone. Behind her were probably about thirty people. Mary, Theresa, Cheryl and Kathy were all there. A bunch of guys who used to work with her dad at Cole Industries had come with their tools and their skills. There was a plumbing van, some landscapers, dozens of able-bodied men and women.
“What did you do?”
“I put my power to influence others to good use. These guys are all here to help get things done, and it’s all free.”
There might not have been any little girls selling cookies, but the kindness of these people was priceless.
“Come on in, everybody!” Lauren marched them all inside.
When Aaron saw what Lauren had done, he had tears in his eyes. This time, Bonnie was happy about the fact that his sister had made him cry. Aaron couldn’t thank everyone enough for their willingness to help him get this place on the market.
Her dad got the overwhelming job of managing an entire crew and then some. No more wearing multiple hats. He got to be the real project manager now.
By the end of the day, they’d finished what would have taken the three of them all month. Their helpers scraped the paint off the countertops, salvaging them so they didn’t have to order new. All the drywall was repaired, the whole house was painted, the landscaping was fixed, ceiling fans were replaced, floors were stained and the toilets were installed.
“I can’t believe what happened today,” Aaron said, lying down in the middle of the living room. Most everyone had gone for the day except for the original four, Lauren and Mary. “I feel like we can start moving the staging furniture in. I mean, we went from not even close to being done to done in twelve hours.”
“That was amazing. The people of this town really stepped up,” Sasha said before he took a long swig from his water bottle.
Bonnie’s dad sat at the card table, reviewing the project list.
“How’s it looking, Dad?”
“We can definitely start filling this place up. Did you call and set up the appliance delivery?” he asked Aaron.
“I did,” Aaron replied. “They come Tuesday.”
Bonnie couldn’t care less about when the appliances were coming. They had been working all day, and she was looking forward to some alone time with her new boyfriend. Everyone needed to get out.
“My work is done here,” Lauren said, wiping her hands on her overalls. She had done more work today than she had probably ever done in her life. “I will happily come back when your stagers show up.”
Aaron wrapped his little sister in a bear hug. “Thank you so much for everything you did to make this happen.”
“You are so welcome.”
Seeing them getting along and working together warmed Bonnie’s heart. It was nice to see them not only interact as family but as friends.
Sasha open his arms to Lauren. “Good Lauren, we are so grateful for you. I am glad David was right and told us not to give up on you.”
“Big Sasha, I am grateful for you and your superlong arms, because without you, I wouldn’t have been able to get that piece of pizza.”
Bonnie chuckled. They had ordered pizzas for all the workers at lunchtime, and Sasha had come to Lauren’s rescue when she wanted the last piece of pepperoni. Lauren wasn’t the only one who was fond of Sasha—Mary had found him quite interesting. Every time Bonnie walked past her, she was next to Sasha and laughing about something.
She opted not to go with Lauren, instead asking Sasha if he wanted to grab some dinner with her. He was more than willing to oblige her. They cleaned up and headed out. The only one left was her dad.
“Can I take anything to the car for you, Dad?” she asked, hoping to help move him along.
“Nope, I’m good,” he said not picking up on the hint. He got up from the table and was inspecting the kitchen cabinets.
Bonnie lost her patience with him. “You do know that the kitchen cabinets will be here tomorrow, right?”
“Why do I feel like you’re trying to get rid of me?”
“Probably because she is,” Aaron said.
The old man nodded. “Okay, I’ll get out of your hair.” He gave Bonnie a kiss on the cheek. “I’m glad you two have worked things out. For the record, I wasn’t too keen on you being a couple when we first started this thing.”
“And now?” Bonnie couldn’t see
