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She smiled. “I love that you always ask first. No, I’ve got this down to a science. Just sit and keep me company.”

“Sure.” I dropped onto a chair at the low breakfast bar. “Kit said you wanted to talk to me about something? You got another New Horizons project lined up?”

“Not for a couple more weeks. No, actually, I got a call from Scott Construction, the crew that worked with us on the last couple of houses, and they had an interesting proposal.”

“Oh?”

“They want to do more nonprofit outreach, and they need someone to coordinate projects for them.”

“And they asked you?” I guessed. “That’s amazing, Dakota.”

“Well, they did ask me,” she said, “but I turned them down.”

“Oh.”

“New Horizons takes all the energy I have, and it’s important to me. I already have a day job, too, so I just can’t see fitting it in.”

I nodded. “Of course.”

“So I recommended they hire you instead.”

I stared a beat, speechless.

Kit returned to the kitchen. “What did I miss?”

“I was just telling Joey that Scott Construction wants to hire someone to coordinate more nonprofit projects, and I thought he’d be perfect for the job.”

“That sounds great,” Kit said.

I swallowed hard, my eyes burning. It was too good to be true. It had to be. Things like this didn’t happen for me. I didn’t get perfect boyfriends and perfect job opportunities. My life was supposed to have ended over five years ago, when I made a terrible mistake.

I’d slid down the slide—no, I’d fallen right off—but suddenly here I was, standing at the top.

“Joey?” Kit prompted. “Are you okay?”

I nodded once, unable to speak around the lump in my throat.

“It’s a great opportunity,” Dakota said.

“But it’s your choice,” Kit said quickly. “If you’re happy where you are, if you don’t want to change things, it’s okay. We just want you to be happy. Right, Dakota?”

“Yeah, of course,” she said. “I can call them back and recommend someone else.”

“No!” I burst out. Then laughed nervously. “Sorry. I’m just surprised. I, uh, didn’t expect this.”

“Well, neither did I, but those guys are the real deal. They’ve got good hearts. I think they can do some really good work for people who need it.”

“And I could help them,” I said slowly. “I could contribute something good to the world.”

“Oh, Joey, you do that every day just by being part of it,” Dakota said softly.

Kit squeezed my shoulders. “I know you make my world better every day.”

Their love enfolded me, as comforting as the scents of savory spices wafting from the oven. Maybe I didn’t have to earn my redemption anymore. Maybe I was forgiving myself, day by day. But that didn’t mean I was ready to sit back and be that selfish kid again.

Against all the odds, I’d found love and friendship and family in the aftermath of my mistakes.

I wanted to pay that good fortune forward.