Lifting her eyes, Melissa took in the sight of him dusty, disheveled, but unmistakably content in his labors of love.

Caught off guard, Melissa paused before responding, “I'll just order them on Amazon. They'll turn out better than anything we could make."

Yet Marcus was nonchalant, gently pressing, “Matthew mentioned he'd like them more if you made them."

With a resigned nod, Melissa agreed.

At that moment, Minnie, full of energy, bounded into the room and leaped into Melissa's arms, sniffing curiously at the financial report she set aside. Melissa quickly put that away to save it from the puppy's playful gnaws.