Page 34 of Worth the Fall

Clara groaned and made an annoyed sound, but still went to work on picking up all her things without verbal complaint.

I fired off a text back to Patrick.

Be there shortly. Want me to bring the casserole Mrs. Green made?

If she made it, I want it. Matthew is coming over too.

See you two knuckleheads soon.

“Put your boots on just in case Patrick’s place is still nothing but dirt.”

The last time I’d been over to his house to see the progress, the landscaping seemed to be the last thing on Patrick’s mind. It was nothing but loose dirt and rocks and uneven ground all over the place even though I was sure he had some sort of plan for it all.

“Okay, Daddy.”

I sprinted up the stairs and into my bedroom, where I quickly changed out of my work attire and into a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. I grabbed a pair of dirty work boots and laced those up as well before stopping in Clara’s room to see if she was ready.

“Got your boots?” I asked, and she looked up at me from her position on the floor.

“Yep,” she groaned as she tugged the last one on. “You got your boots?”

I stuck my foot out so she could see that I was wearing mine too. “Yep.”

She reached her tiny hand up in the air, signaling that she’d like me to help her up. I did as she silently asked before placing a kiss on the top of her head. “Love you, sweet girl.”

“Love you too, Daddy.”

“We need to get the casserole out of the fridge and bring it over,” I said as we walked down the stairs, her little hand in mine.

“I’ll go get it.”

She dropped my hand and raced toward the kitchen before I could stop her. I watched as she tried to tug the glass dish out. I saw it balancing precariously between the shelf and her tiny arms, and I hustled over to grab it before it dropped and shattered all over the floor.

“I got it, baby. You can let go.”

Her little eyes were wide with fear and already glassy. “Sorry, Daddy. That was too heavy for me.”

“I know. It’s okay. I got it.”

She sniffed and wiped at her nose. “Are you mad at me?”

“No, honey. I’m not mad. But Uncle Matthew might have cried if we dropped his dinner on the floor.”

“Uncle Matthew is coming too?” Her face beamed with joy.

“He is. Let’s go.”

We headed down the set of stairs that led to the garage, and I placed the casserole on the passenger floor of the car before getting Clara all buckled in in the back seat.

When I pulled into Patrick’s property, my jaw dropped at the sight. Not only had the landscaping been finished, but concrete had also been poured and set. A three-logged fence lined the length of the land, creating not only a boundary, but a calming aesthetic too. It flowed with the land.

There were solar lights that lined the driveway on each side, and I followed it forever until his house came into view.

“Damn,” I mumbled under my breath.

“Bad word, Daddy,” Clara said from the back seat.

“You’re right, but look at what Uncle Patrick built,” I said, pointing as I pulled my car around the circular drive and put it in park.