After the walkthrough was complete, and the others started making their way back to the SUV, Xander stood outside the firehouse for a bit, lingering, eyes scanning the area.
Jamal was inside, using the bathroom before they all hit the road and headed back to Brooklyn. Xander decided to wait out front.
He watched a couple of kids ride past the construction site on their bikes, already making memories in their first Greene Gardens summer. Their parents weren’t far behind, stepping out of a café, paper cups of coffee in hand, waving back to them from down the block.
There was a row of finished brownstones and houses further down.
Xander lifted a hand to shield his eyes from the summer sun, catching sight of ivy already climbing some of the sides of those brownstones.
And in that moment, he couldn’t help imagining Nova and LJ running down that same block.
Rylee with a stroller.
She was five months pregnant now, showing in the most beautiful way, and Xander loved every moment of it.
Loved how his mind—even when he wasn’t trying—often had him thinking about their baby’s future.
One of those future thoughts centered on housing. The brownstone in Brooklyn had only three bedrooms, and lately, Xander had been seriously thinking about what that would mean once the baby arrived.
Would he move into the brownstone?
Because there was no way Rylee and the kids would leave the brownstone to live in his one-bedroom apartment.
“Beautiful, ain’t it?” he heard to his right.
Xander looked that way to see Levi smiling, eyes fixed out in front of him, and Xander smiled too while nodding.
“Y’all did y’all thing out here.” Xander folded his arms over his broad chest. “I swear, when my chief told us we’d be coming out here to help with your firehouse, I thought I was coming to deserted land.”
Levi laughed.
“I got the brochures and everything, but I thought that was just the finished part of the village. I can’tbelievehow much ground y’all covered so fast.” Xander blew air out of his mouth. “I feel like I just heard about y’all building only a couple years ago.”
“We have a great principal architect.” Levi nodded. “Hassani Franklin’s efficient. Stern as hell about this project.”
Xander laughed.
“He set project deadlines and has met each one.”
“Dope.”
They stood quiet for only a beat, a thought returning in that instant.
“So housing around here is open now?”
“Not all,” Levi replied. “But quite a bit. As you can see, we’ve already got families moved in for the summer, already making a home.”
“I see that,” Xander replied low.
“But yeah,” Levi continued. “A few units just listed last month.”
“Uh-oh, now he’s asking about properties,” Xander heard Jamal comment on his approach from behind them.
Xander chuckled. “Here he go.”
“You trying to move out here, Cox?” Jamal asked, stopping beside the two men.
Xander shrugged, his attention returning to the few people enjoying their day in the village. “Just asking questions.”
