ChapterOne
Archer
Finding yourself when you previously thought you knew who you were isn’t uncomplicated. Or perhaps it’s an instrumental challenge. Using the phrase “finding yourself” when all you wanted to do was look towards the future and pretend you hadn’t had a breakdown of some sort didn’t make much sense to me.
So, now I stood in front of a home that wasn’t mine, that could be, and wondered exactly how I had gotten myself into this situation.
“Thank you so much for going through everything with us, I know that this isn’t your normal expertise, but we’re excited.”
I looked over at Evelyn and Robert and grinned. “No problem. I’m going to enjoy doing this. It’s not often that I get to work wood with my hands.”
Neither one of them blinked, and I hadn’t actually meant for the innuendo, but now I had to keep from snorting like a teenage boy.
Or maybe just like a Montgomery.
Marc had always hated when I made inappropriate jokes. Never at inappropriate times. I wasn’t an idiot. I knew when I could snort to make dick jokes with my friends and family. This moment wasn’t the time for it, so I didn’t.
However, Marc had hated it at all times. He had never shamed me for it per se. But he had always looked down at me slightly for it. And cringed because that wasn’t how he was.
Iwasn’t how he was.
We hadn’t fit, and I hadn’t realized it until it was too late.
And there was no going back to that time.
Marc was my ex-husband.
I didn’t get to go back to that time and try to stand up for myself more, or pretend that I hadn’t made one of the biggest mistakes of my life by not seeing each other for who we were.
“We’re glad that we’re hiring you. I know that we’re working with Montgomery Builders, and you’re coming out here as your side project, so your siblings are all welcome here as well as anyone you put on your staff. It’ll be wonderful to see what you do. Since our views align so well.”
I shook myself out of my reverie and looked back to Evelyn and Robert, who stood there, smiles on their faces and a slight sadness echoing in their eyes.
After all, they had lived in this cabin in the woods of the Rocky Mountains for years. They had raised their children here, had seen their first grandchildren here. Now, they wanted to move closer to Denver to be near those grandbabies. And with fires, weather, snow, ice, and the constant maintenance that came with a place like this, they wanted a change.
As I was living my change, I understood that all too well.
“Well, as you know, my sister is helping me with some of the designs, as she’s a brilliant architect. Us working together on this is going to be great.”
“I sure think so,” Robert put in. “We’re a good team, the three of us.”
Evelyn smiled. “And while we’re going to miss this place, we know that in the end, it’s going to look even better than when we had it and go to a wonderful family.”
My heart twinged at that because I wanted this house. It seemed kind of awkward, wanting a place that was out of my wheelhouse and not even up for sale yet. I needed to stop worrying about what I didn’t have, and focus on what I did.
A job, siblings, parents, and nieces and nephews who loved me. A beautiful place to work, and good health. I had all of that. I just needed to focus on it a bit more.
“Anyway, we’ll leave you to it. We have to head down to Denver now to go see our daughter.” She beamed. “She’ll be having our new grandson any day now, and we want to stay down there with her.”
My heart warmed at that, and I couldn’t stop grinning. “This is number four for you, then?” I asked, trying to remember.
“It is. Fourth grandson, sixth grandchild altogether. We can’t wait.” She looked up at her husband and as he smiled down at her, love shining in his eyes that I knew was just as intense if not more as it had been in the decades that they’d been together, I couldn’t help but feel just a little bit of melancholy.
I would have that again. Or I wouldn’t. I would be the best guncle there was out there.
“Are you staying with your daughter?” I asked, interested. I liked this couple and enjoyed the family stories.
They shook their heads in unison. “No, we’re staying with our son. He lives nearby. We will be moving into our home in the neighborhood, one that your cousins built,” she added with a wink.