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I jogged up the porch steps beside the ramp that had already been installed. “Hey, am I late?”
“No, you’re fine. We had to get a few things started before the volunteers could be much help.” She gestured to the handsome guy beside her. “This is Lyle Jennings. He’s in charge of the work site. Lyle, this is Joey. He’s a volunteer today.”
We shook hands.
“Good to meet you,” Lyle said. “I’ve got two guys with me who can do the heavy work. As a volunteer, you can best help by holding things, moving things, and hauling out debris. Once we get further along, we could use a hand with some painting, too.”
“Sure. I’m up for anything you want.”
“That’s what I said,” Dakota joked. “But he’s got a boyfriend.” She sighed. “Such a shame.”
“Oh, I didn’t mean—”
Lyle laughed. “Ignore her. Dakota is a menace. I discovered that within two minutes of meeting her.”
“She’s great,” I said, unsure how to respond.
“Totally great,” Lyle agreed. He narrowed his eyes at her. “And a menace.”
She snickered. “You love it.”
“I sure do.” He tapped the clipboard. “I better get those instructions to Damon before he goes rogue.”
She smiled. “Great. I’ll give Joey a tour, then hand him over to one of your crew.”
“Sounds good.”
He went back through the doorway, leaving me and Dakota on the porch. The wind was picking up, whipping Dakota’s strawberry blond hair into her face. She spit a strand out of her mouth. “Ugh, let’s go inside.”
“Okay.” I gestured toward her chair. “Should I…”
“No, I’m good.” She pointed to a sloped rubber ramp that went over the threshold. “Kinda selfish, but my first move is to always make sure I can get into the house.”
“Oh, that’s smart.”
She shrugged one shoulder. “I like to do as much by myself as possible. I’ll ask if I need help, but that’s a last resort. Hard enough to get people to treat you like a regular person without relying on them, you know?”
She wheeled through the doorway ahead of me, grunting a little with the effort.
I followed her inside. “You already seem to have gotten everyone’s respect here.”
She turned, shooting me a smile. “Yeah, well, this is my kingdom. The Scott Construction guys have been better than most, though.”
The living room was typical: sofa, large square ottoman in front of it, television, armchairs on either side.
“That ottoman is going to have to go,” Dakota said. “But that’s the easiest change we’ll make today.”
I eyed the space between the ottoman and the other furniture. It cut down on floor space by a lot. “So, you’re retrofitting the house for a wheelchair user?”
“Yep. That’s not always the case. Sometimes someone comes home with a walker or cane or a prosthesis. They still need some modifications for safety, like rails in the bathroom, a zero-entry bathtub or shower, things like that. We’re available for all levels of need.”
I nodded. “But today is a bigger job?”
“It is, yeah. Full kitchen and bathroom remodel.” She wheeled toward the kitchen, stopping short at a door. “Can you open that for me?”
“Of course.” I lurched forward to open it, too eager to help. “This door needs to go,” she called out loudly enough for the crew to hear. “Any door that’s not to a bedroom or bathroom, get rid of it.”
She followed me into the kitchen, having to exert extra effort to get over the threshold.
