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He looked down at the boy clinging to his leg.

“And what about you, Jay? Have you been behaving?”

The boy shook his head, and I burst out laughing. Hart stared at him.

“You’re supposed to lie to me.”

“Hart!” Ms. Taylor scolded, laughing her way to the kitchen.

“What? I’m trying to help him out.”

Jay giggled and tightened his grip on Hart’s leg.

I watched the exchange with growing affection. Hart knew their names. He knew Amelia had been studying for a spelling test, and he knew Jay was a little menace with a gapped-tooth smile. This wasn’t some charitable obligation Hart checked off a list once a year. He knew these children, and judging by the way they clung to him, they knew him just as well.

“Alright, guys,” Hart said. “Give me a second to get this stuff put away, and then we’ll hang out.”

“Can we play dinosaurs?” Jay asked.

“Again?”

The boy nodded enthusiastically.

Hart sighed.

“Fine. But I’m not being the herbivore this time. Last time, y’all ate me alive.”

I smiled and reached for the wagon’s handle. “I can take that. You go play and try not to get eaten this time.”

“You sure?”

“I got this,” I reassured him.

He dropped the handle and immediately crouched down, crossed his legs, and selected a raptor.

Jay shrieked that it wasn’t fair that Hart had taken the raptor. Hart told him he had to be quicker, and Amelia interrupted to ask when he was going to get them hockey tickets again because she wanted to see him fight.

The kitchen was small but spotless, with children’s artwork covering the refrigerator and a colorful calendar hanging beside the pantry.

I started unpacking the groceries while Ms. Taylor cleared space in the refrigerator.

“I still can’t believe he brought all this,” she said, shaking her head as she examined the contents of a box. “There’s enough food here to last us well past Thanksgiving.”

“He wanted to make sure you had leftovers.”

She smiled. “That’s Hart.”

I handed her a package of dinner rolls.

“How long have you known him?”

“Almost two years now.”

“Really?”

She nodded.

“I was in a pretty bad situation when I met him. My ex left, and I was struggling to keep up with rent and childcare. I was working part-time and trying to finish school, but every time I got a little money saved, something happened.”