Page 21 of Wood You Knot

Turns out, smoking wasn’t for me. I hacked up a lung and threw up. Haven’t touched a cigarette since. Parker, however, picked up the habit and only recently quit after Bella and Brielle started calling him out for it.

I went into the main office to let them know I was there. The receptionist paged the shop teacher, Donavon Ashe, who helped me unload the scrap materials into the woodshop around back. The high school students would be making booths for the fall fundraiser at the public school as part of woodshop class.

“Thanks again, Nix,” Donavon said after we’d finished loading the scrap lumber into the woodshop. He ran a hand through his short red hair, shaking his head a little. “I was getting really low on materials.”

“No problem,” I replied. “You know that we’re happy to make the donation to the school.” And we were. Not only did it feel good to give back to the community, but it kept our lumberyard looking tidy and organized.

“Will we be seeing you tonight at The Quarter Lounge?” Donavon asked, looking at me expectantly. Donavon was a part of my long-standing friend group. We’d known each other since our days at this very high school. Those of us who hadn’t left Hartwood Creek gathered every Friday night for a brew at The Quarter Lounge.

Donavon had also worked at the lumberyard throughout our last two years of high school before he went off to college. He took on summer positions at the lumberyard until he graduated from college, then he worked part time for my old man while he continued to look for a teaching job.

When a position at the local high school came up a few years back, Donavon took it. He taught history and woodshop now, though he still frequently stopped in at the lumberyard to visit my old man and pick up supplies for his various projects.

Donavon had bought his own place on Hartley Way a few years back, and like most of the older houses in this historic town, it needed a lot of work to update it.

“Probably,” I shrugged. It was how I typically spent my Friday night unless I had a date, and that hadn’t happened in some time. Not since Lori, and that was a thought I didn’t want to entertain.

“Awesome, see you then,” Donavon said, waving as he headed back into the school through the woodshop door that he’d left propped open so we could bring in the lumber.

I opened the door to my truck and climbed in, making it home just as Tabitha was leaving to go and get the kids. While she was gone, I grabbed a quick shower and got dressed in a white T-shirt and a pair of cargo shorts.

Grabbing my keys and wallet, I shoved them into my pockets before leaving my apartment. Tabitha pulled up and parked in the driveway as I descended the stairs. A moment later, the minivan door slid open, and three little girls tumbled out, carrying their backpacks.

They headed down the pathway between the house and the garage. “Hey, Uncle Nix,” Bella said when she spotted me.

“Hey, girls, how was school?” I asked. Sage’s little girl, Daphne, shrugged.

“It was great! It was art day,” Brielle informed me. “I painted a picture of the Hartwood Creek lighthouse. Mr. Robertson said my waves looked real.”

“Wicked. I can’t wait to see it,” I told her, ruffling her hair. Brielle was a little artist and always had been. Tabitha and Parker had to hide all the markers and pens when she was a toddler because if she found one, she’d instantly start creating art on whatever surface was closest. Usually a wall or an appliance, herself, or her sister.

When Brielle got a little older, Tabitha enrolled her in art classes once a week at The Art Cave. It was enough to satisfy her artistic cravings and provided her with a great outlet, and something that was just for her.

“You’ll see it at the fundraiser, along with everyone else,” Brielle informed me.

I chuckled. “What about you, Bella, what did you make?”

“A lighthouse, too, but mine looks like it’s melting.” Bella sighed. She preferred books to art. Where Brielle was always creating art, Bella was always reading.

“Did you make a lighthouse?” I asked Daphne, and she nodded.

“Everyone did,” Daphne replied with a shrug of her shoulder. “We have to showcase them during the fundraiser.”

“That’s exciting. I’m looking forward to seeing them all.” I smiled, and Daphne sent me an inquisitive look.

“You’ll be there?”

“Oh yeah, Uncle Nix comes every year,” Bella said proudly. “Uncle Preston and Uncle Paxton will be there too.”

“You have more uncles?” Daphne gasped, like she couldn’t believe it.

“Oh yes—and that’s just on Daddy’s side. We have a very big family,” Bella explained with a toothy smile.

“Let’s go to the playhouse,” Brielle suggested, and all three little girls ran around the house to the backyard.

“Hey, Nix,” Tabitha said as she walked around to get Bryson out of his car seat. Bryson was putting up a fuss at having been left by the girls. He stopped complaining the moment Tabitha picked him up and he spotted me.

“Hey, Tabs.”

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