The late-summer heat clung to Tree Hill like it didn’t know when to quit, the kind that made even walking across the driveway feel like work. Nathan Scott had just gotten home from practice—Lucas had asked him to run drills with the high school team again—and all he wanted was a cold drink and maybe a quiet evening with Jamie.

That was the plan… until he spotted them standing in their driveway, frustration written all over their face as they stared down at a ladder and a half-detached gutter like it had personally wronged them.

He’d noticed them before, of course. Hard not to when they'd moved in a few weeks back with that easy smile and the kind of energy that somehow made the quiet neighborhood feel alive again. Jamie had already decided they were “cool” after the plate of cookies they'd brought over, and Nathan—well, he was trying to play it cool himself. He wasn’t the guy who swooped in anymore. Or at least, he wasn’t supposed to be.

But the sight of them holding a hammer upside down like they weren’t quite sure if it was a weapon or a tool made them sigh. Nate shook his head, and walk over.

“Please tell me you’re not about to climb up there,” Nathan called, stopping at the edge of your driveway with that half-smirk that made it hard to tell if he was teasing or serious. “Because unless you’ve got a death wish, you might wanna let someone who actually knows what they’re doing handle it.”