“Leave it, Noah. I know you have good intentions, but it’s not gonna happen.”
I raised my hands in defeat. “Come on, help me with the mattresses.”
I’d never noticed how big the hospital building was until now. The new hospital had more floors, new equipment, and a bigger parking lot, but the old one wasn’t exactly small.
After talking to my brothers about supporting the foundation, they created and launched a social media campaign to recruit people to help clear the old stuff from the building.
Much of it couldn’t stay, but the sheer number of chairs and bedframes would be handy for Star Finders’ future plans.
“Hey, Lex, how’s going on the western front?” I shouted to my brother, who was coordinating the deep clean of the cafeteria.
“Going great. Mom and Dad should be here in a couple of hours with supplies.
“Oh, man. I hope they bring pastéis de nata. I need a sugar boost.”
“Stop. I skipped lunch.”
My belly rumbled. “Dammit.”
I went back inside to focus on my job. The building had been inspected to make sure it was fit for West and Drew’s plans. It needed some work and a paint job but the cafeteria was by far the area that needed the least amount of work because it didn’t need to be repurposed.
A deep clean and stock up, and we’d be able to offer simple refreshments to the troops.
“Sorry I’m late. Lex sent me over here.”
I raised my head over the mattress I was trying to lift to see Adam standing there in an old pair of jeans and a college T-shirt.
“Help me here.”
He came from the other side, and together, we got it out to the trash.
“This place is huge. I don’t remember it being so big when we came with Mom to the doctor when we were kids,” he said, looking around.
“Right? This is going to be a perfect space. Imagine the community the guys can build here. All the kids from the neighborhood, those in foster care or from low-income families can hang out here. It’s going to be great.”
“You’re really passionate about this.”
I smiled. “Yeah, I am.”
“I owe you an apology.”
I paused on my way down to grab another mattress.
“What for?”
“For using your behavior as a marker to judge you against. Actually, not really your behavior but your mouth. You talk some talk, bro. But I should have been paying attention to the way you walk.”
I went around the bed and pulled him in for a hug.
“Now, if you put that kind of poetry into your wedding vows, you’ll definitely get lucky on your wedding night. Victoria’s pants will fly off faster than a can of Red Bull.”
“You had to ruin the moment.” He playfully punched my gut.
“What can I say, most of the trouble I get in is because of my mouth. You’re not special.”
He laughed.
“Where’s Victoria? She come too?”
