He dumped the wheelbarrow's contents, a load of broken brick and twisted metal, near the industrial dumpster they'd rented for the day, then rolled his shoulders and turned toward her.
"You holding up?"he asked.
"I'm considering lying down right here in the dirt and letting the field claim me as one of its own," she said."What about you?"
He snorted."I've done worse.This is practically a vacation."
Hank grabbed a crowbar from the bed of his truck, the metal glinting in the afternoon light."I brought extra tools," he said."And if we need more hands, we can bribe Brian with food.That man will move mountains for a decent sandwich and the promise of cold beer afterward."
Sabrina shook her head, a familiar lump forming in her throat."You really don't have to do this.Any of this.You have your own work, your own life."
Hank looked at her like she'd said something in a language he didn't recognize."You helped Bree at the Community Center.You fed us when we were running on fumes during race season.You let me stand in your kitchen while I tried to remember how to breathe after a wreck that should've ended worse than it did."His voice was steady, matter-of-fact, like he was reciting a list of simple truths."This isn't me 'doing you a favor,' Sabrina.This is us balancing the scales."
Her throat closed up entirely."I don’t keep score."
"Well, I do," he said."So let me have this."
Colby stepped closer, his hand brushing the small of her back.Just a touch.Brief.Enough to say I'm here without saying anything at all.
"Also," Hank added, the corner of his mouth twitching, "I genuinely enjoy breaking things in a sanctioned way.It's therapeutic.Bree says I should take up meditation, but this is better."
"Now that I believe," Sabrina said.
They worked in a loose, comfortable rhythm as the afternoon wore on.Hank pried up the last of the warped boards from where the front porch had been, each one coming free with a groan of nails releasing their grip.Colby hauled them to the pile, stacking them neatly for later disposal.Sabrina sorted through smaller debris, separating anything that looked hazardous from the general trash so the next professional crew wouldn't have to guess.
Every so often, Hank tossed out a comment that made her snort despite herself.Jokes about Colby's borderline obsessive need for straight lines.Stories about Brian and a very unfortunate incident involving spray foam insulation.Fond complaints about Bree's tendency to reorganize his garage when she got bored.
Nothing forced.Just easy, steady noise that kept them all from sinking too deep into their own heads.
At one point, Hank hefted a particularly stubborn beam, muscles straining, and let out a low whistle."This thing does not want to move.I think it's actively fighting me."
Colby set down his armload and stepped in, adding his weight to the effort."You sure you're not just getting old?"
"Careful, kid," Hank grunted, the beam finally giving way with a screech of twisted metal."I can still take you."
"In your dreams, old man."
Their banter bounced back and forth, familiar and warm, the kind of ribbing that only happened between people who genuinely cared about each other.Sabrina watched them work together, their movements synchronized without needing to be coordinated, and felt something settle in her chest that had been off-balance for a very long time.
"These guys are absolute idiots," she said under her breath, but there was affection threaded through every syllable.
"You love us," Hank called without turning around, somehow hearing her anyway.
She rolled her eyes even though he couldn't see it."Don't get carried away."
His chuckle carried across the clearing as he kept working.
They took a break in the late afternoon, sinking onto overturned five-gallon buckets near the edge of the cleared space.The field stretched out around them, open and waiting, the afternoon light casting long shadows across the ground.In the distance, Sabrina could see where the old garden had been, now overgrown but still holding the shape her grandmother had given it decades ago.
Lila's car pulled up the drive as if she'd been monitoring their stomachs remotely.She hopped out with another box in her hands, her apron traded for a clean T-shirt, her ponytail slightly askew.
"I heard there was manual labor happening out here," she announced."I brought reinforcements."
"You're officially our favorite person," Colby said.
"Bree already claimed that title earlier today," Sabrina pointed out.
"I'm willing to fight her for it," Lila said, setting the box down on the cleanest available surface."There's sandwiches, cookies, and enough iced tea to hydrate a small army.Consider yourselves provided for."
