Page 3 of Wood You Knot

“It’s the family rate,” Auntie Em insisted. “You’re helping us out. Saving us from having to try and find a suitable tenant.”

“You’ve already given me a job. I can’t accept this as well,” I tried to insist, my cheeks heating with embarrassment. It was hard not to feel like a charity case.

“You’ll work for the job.” Uncle Ed smiled. “We own the building, and it has long since paid itself off. We can afford to be generous with the rent.”

“We want to help you get on your feet again,” Auntie Em added kindly. She knew the gist of what had happened with Warren—and the motherly advice I’d received from her younger sister. She’d been disappointed but unsurprised by my mother’s stance. She just so happened to side with me on the matter.

If a man wasn’t loyal, there was no sense in loving him. It’d only lead to a lifetime of heartache.

My eyes began to itch with the urge to cry at their kindness and generosity, but before I could succumb to tears, my daughter pulled me back.

“Mommy! Look at my room.” Daphne’s little voice came from down the hallway, where she stood peering into one of the bedrooms. I cast a suspicious look at my aunt and uncle, who were both looking everywhere but directly at me, and went to join my daughter.

The bedroom that was to be Daphne’s had furniture in it already—a white captain’s bed and a matching dresser and desk. I recognized the bedroom set from my aunt and uncle’s house; it’d been in their middle daughter Livia’s bedroom. The entire room smelt like fresh paint, and the walls were a soft purple colour.

“I love it,” Daphne declared, unable to mask her excitement over her new bedroom.

When I peered into the other bedroom—my bedroom—I found it was also freshly painted and furnished with a white queen-size sleigh bed, a dresser, and a matching night table. It was the bedroom set that had been in their oldest daughter Madeline’s bedroom.

“It’s just some extra pieces of furniture we had kicking around from the girls,” Auntie Em explained from the living room. “You mentioned you’d left everything behind.”

I nodded. Aside from our clothes and worldly possessions, all the furniture had belonged to Warren. He’d insisted I didn’t need to bring anything of ours when we moved in, so I had sold everything or donated it. It made sense at the time. Warren’s things were newer and nicer, and so was his place.

Now we were starting over, once again. I had a small amount of money saved up, enough to get a few pieces of secondhand furniture and the necessities, but it wouldn’t stretch very far. Luckily, I would start at the hardware store Monday after dropping Daphne off at school, so I wouldn’t be going too long in between paycheques.

I was just thankful I never listened to Warren about quitting my job at the café.

Warren hadn’t seen the point in me keeping my job as a barista. Not when his job covered all the expenses and more. But I hadn’t wanted to part with the job. The hours were great, and I worked alongside some awesome people—one of them being my only close friend, Nellie. I knew I’d go stir-crazy without the distraction.

Plus, I hadn’t been complacent with the idea of having him pay for everything. I wanted to contribute, and I certainly didn’t expect him to cover all my daughter’s expenses. She was my responsibility, after all.

Warren had praised me for my independent nature, but over time that appreciation must have turned to resentment. My mother certainly thought it was a contributing factor.

“Men like to provide, and you’ve robbed him of doing that by not quitting your silly little job,” she’d said with authority, as if she truly had a great grasp on the opposite sex and how they thought. Funny, considering she was on husband number four.

Leaving my job and life in Guelph was harder than leaving Warren. Something had shifted in me when I watched my fiancé’s hands explore his secretary’s body. The chains tethering me to Warren snapped as though they’d been cut. But leaving my job, my friend, and the life I’d had before him? That was hard.

Oh well, no time to dwell on the past, I reminded myself, glancing around our new apartment. I really was lucky—lucky to have family like Auntie Em and Uncle Ed. Lucky to have this place to live in. Lucky we could have this fresh start. I wouldn’t squander it.

“Thank you, seriously. You have no idea how grateful I am to you both,” I said, hugging my aunt and uncle each in turn. I tried not to let the tears fall, but the relief I felt was immense. My plan for the night was to see if the hardware store sold air mattresses, but now we’d have real beds to sleep in.It was one less thing to worry about.

The weight my aunt and uncle had taken off my shoulders was notable, and I was so thankful for them both.

“It’s no problem at all. We have way too much furniture. We can stand to part with a few pieces,” Auntie Em said with a laugh.

“You’ve got a couch and a coffee table coming too,” Uncle Ed added. “The Hutchinson brothers said they’d swing by tomorrow morning with it.”

I froze, recognizing the last name from my many visits to Hartwood Creek as a little girl and young teen.

Keith and Laurel Hutchinson were family friends of my aunt and uncle. They owned and operated the lumberyard near the marsh. They had four sons, all of them tall, dark, and handsome. I would find myself utterly tongue-tied around each of them, especially one in particular.

I wondered which of the four Hutchinson brothers would show up but quickly pushed the thought from my mind.

“Thank you, truly. I don’t know what I’d do without you two.”

“We’re happy to help. Now let’s get that car of yours unloaded,” Auntie Em said, her eyes sparkling.

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