Page 31 of Hearts at War

“Hey, good morning,” I replied. Crap. A double greeting? Tone it down. Letting her think I was hanging around for her call wouldn’t be an attractive trait for employment.

“Morning. It’s finally a good one.” She coughed a little. “I’m so sorry for the delay, Heather. I haven’t been in the office all week.”

Oh, thank goodness.

I closed my eyes and exhaled a silent long breath of relief. She hadn’t been in the office. She wasn’t indecisive about potentially hiring me or not. She hadn’t been in.

“I had it on my schedule to call you early last week and offer you the position, but this cold sure worsened quickly. I ended up taking off all of last week.”

“Gosh, I hope you’re feeling better.”

“Well, I’ll wear a mask and all just to be safe. But yes, I feel less like yesterday’s rotting garbage now.”

We shared a laugh, and I wished her a speedier recovery yet.

“So, would you like to accept the position?” she asked again. “It’s not much. I still worry that it’s far below your qualifications and expertise, but if you’re interested...”

“Oh, definitely. I’m very interested.” I cringed. Tone it down! “I would love to accept your job offer, Janelle.”

“Wonderful!” She cut away for another slight coughing spell. “Ugh. Sorry about that. Anyway, would you be available to come in tomorrow and fill out some more forms and start your first day of training on the clock?”

I’d be available today. “Absolutely.”

With this to look forward to, time didn’t seem to move as slowly and stagnantly as it had been.

The next day, I arrived at the bank and dove right into the process of being a new hire. Only three people worked there, two others besides Janelle, and to my good luck, neither of the others were people who knew me from before. One young man, Fergus, the main teller, was someone who’d moved here for the “great views of the Midwest,” whatever the hell that meant, and the other employee was an older woman, Nancy, who’d moved here because her husband had wanted to work at the Grand River instead of a ranch a couple of hours north.

All in all, they were a courteous trio to get used to. No sort of drama popped up on my orientation on the first day, and as the week went by, I headed into work excited for what might happen. Fergus was simply easy to get along with, a kindred spirit to share jokes about The Office—both the American and UK versions. And Nancy, who preferred the briefer moniker of Nance, was both determined to teach me how to crochet at lunch breaks as well as indoctrinate me with knowledge about the Star Wars series. I made the “error” of admitting that I’d never actually sat down to watch one of those movies from start to finish, and she’d taken that as a crime to rectify.

I wouldn’t get a paycheck for another week, paid twice a month, but I basked in the confidence that I wouldn’t have to worry about finances as much as I had been without a job.

I had a savings. I’d learned from my parents that it would be far safer to always have something to fall back on when the economy was tough for me personally.

But then David happened...

I sighed as I grabbed some groceries from the food mart. Now that I’d figured out when Ashley was most likely to be there working, I could reliably avoid seeing her. The two bags of basic groceries were almost too heavy to carry, but I toughed it out, refusing to get a third bag and throw off my stride.

David had decimated me, not only with my self-worth, but financially. Letting him have access to my bank accounts was my first stupid move, done because I thought we loved each other and I could trust that he was taking care of what we needed and what we wanted. Then ignoring the warning signs that he was helping himself to my savings and lying about spending my money led to the beginnings of the abuse and mental warfare.

He hadn’t cleared my accounts. I’d moved some to a secret account. I wasn’t entirely penniless, but with a frugal lifestyle, I knew I could be smart and save up again.

And I was smart. I would always kick myself for staying as long as I had, but I was smart enough to get out when I did. David would never have any control or power over me again. I wouldn’t rely on him for a single thing ever again.

He was a thing of the past, but the aftertaste of putting up with his narcissistic ass was enough to prompt me to swear off men forever. My future would belong to me. Maybe a cat or dog. But that was it. No one else.

Especially not you.

Right then, as I toted my groceries to my car that I’d left parked closer to the bank, I spotted Roarke striding down the sidewalk. He wasn’t on my side of the street. Main stood between us, and there would be zero chance of another accidental collision.

Under the law of some funky cosmic force, I happened to look up right when he turned my face.

Glaring. Scowling. He didn’t bother to mask how he loathed me.

Maintaining a stern expression that fell between a resting bitch face and a don’t mess with me warning, I made sure I gave as good as I got.

We hadn’t spoken since he “caught” me at his cabin. Even though many questions remained on my mind, I didn’t go out of my way to approach him and ask.

Did he know that teen?