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“Hey, Dan?” She waved over a sandy-haired guy in his mid-fifties. “Can you start working on the ADA transition strips between rooms?”
“Of course, Ms. Willis.”
“Call me Dakota.”
“Okay, Dakota. I’ll get right on it.”
He hurried toward the back door.
“What are transition strips?” I asked.
“Just smoother thresholds that are sloped and easier to wheel over. Kind of like on the front entrance, but smaller.” She waved back toward the doorway. “It’ll make Ruth Mendez’s life easier when she gets home. Mine too, while we’re here.”
She led us farther into the kitchen, where workers were tearing out cabinets.
“We’re going to lower all the countertops in here. We’ll give them a cooktop and sink at waist height, as well as an oven inset into the wall with a door that opens sideways to make it easier to safely use from a wheelchair. These guys are making the magic happen.”
A construction worker half turned from his work, flashing us a quick grin. “Don’t let her fool you. Dakota is the mastermind behind this transformation.”
“I’ve got just a little experience in what a wheelchair user might need.”
Her voice was light and playful. The guy chuckled with her. I couldn’t bring myself to do the same. I was the reason she had that experience.
She caught the look on my face and winced. “Okay, no offense, Joey, but you’re depressing me. Let’s put you to work so you can appease that guilty conscience of yours.”
I wasn’t sure it was that simple, but it’d be unhelpful to point that out. Dakota was extending an opportunity for me to atone for my mistakes, and I didn’t want to ruin it.
“Tell me what to do, boss.”
She smiled. “Better. Damon, what do you think? Can you use a set of hands to help with the demo in here?”
“Sure.” He waved me over. “You got any work gloves?”
“Uh, no. Sorry. I wasn’t sure what I’d be doing today.”
“Okay, no worries. Come with me, and we’ll get you an extra pair from the truck.”
I glanced at Dakota, but she was already wheeling down the hall, probably glad to be rid of me so she could focus on the job she needed to do.
Which was what I should do too.
I followed Damon outside to the pickup labeled Scott Construction.
“So, Dakota recruited you to volunteer, huh?” he said. “She’s a force of nature.”
“Oh, well, I wanted to help.”
He nodded. “It’s a good cause. I’m glad she called us. I had no idea this organization existed.”
He opened the pickup door and leaned in to rummage through a console.
“You guys haven’t done this before?”
“Nah. She worked with a Riverton contractor.” He withdrew from the truck and handed me the gloves. “Between you and me, those guys are assholes.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yep.” He rolled his eyes. “You wouldn’t believe how often we clean up their messes. They cut too many corners.”
