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Jodie had only spent one night in the manse, but already she hated it. Brenda’s old room was comfortable enough and the women were welcoming. The problem was that Jodie was used to having her own space and now she was sharing with several other people. It didn’t help that she’d spent most of the night tossing and turning, thinking about what could have happened if she’d been home when the intruders had broken into her house. Even that thought wasn’t as bad as the nightmares she had when she did sleep. Dreams where Brenda was battered and bleeding and Jodie was rendered helpless, only able to watch in silence. Yeah, her first night wasn’t fantastic.
But it was already looking better than her second night.
“You’re here to do what?” Jodie said to the four women who were standing on the doorstep of the manse.
“We’re moving in,” Margaret Campbell repeated before she elbowed her way inside the building.
Each of the women from Knit or Die pulled a large wheeled suitcase behind them as they entered the house.
“Don’t worry,” Shona said. “We brought blow-up mattresses. Just point us to a spot on the floor somewhere where we can set them up.”
For a minute, Jodie stood open-mouthed with shock as they strode into the common living area and made themselves at home. It was just past dinnertime in the house, and everyone was relaxing after the great meal Carly, the pastry chef, had made them. Patricia, the spa’s skin expert, was putting her two little kids to bed, and Robin and Carly were watching TV in the living room.
Jodie shut the front door, rearmed the alarm and followed the surprise guests into the living area.
“Okay,” Jodie said. “Why are you moving in? Won’t your husbands miss you?”
“My husband is glad for the break,” Shona said. “The rest of them are single.” She sounded wistful at the thought of being single.
“We’re here because women need to stick together,” Jean said.
“And because you lot belong to Invertary now and no one messes with the women of Invertary,” Shona said.
“And because you need bodyguards and from what we hear, the women in this house wouldn’t take too kindly to a bunch of men hanging around, so we’ve decided to do our part,” Heather said.
“Safety in numbers,” Margaret said.
Jodie’s heart sank as Robin and Carly’s eyes grew wider with each successive reason that came out of the women.
“Brenda,” Jodie said. “I’m going to kill her.”
“Don’t blame the wee lassie,” Jean said. “We made her tell us.”
Heather gave Robin and Carly a pointed look. “There’s nothing to be ashamed of. Some men are just born arseholes.”
“Heather!” Margaret said.
“What?” Heather shrugged as she headed to the kitchen. “It’s true. I’m making tea.”
“This is supposed to be a secret refuge,” Jodie said. “Brenda can’t go around telling people what’s going on here. There’s too much at stake.”
“We know that.” Margaret plonked into an armchair. “That’s why we’re here. Don’t worry. We didn’t tell anybody else.”
“We’ll be discreet,” Jean said. “No one in town will even know we’re here.”
“How long do you plan to stay here?” Carly asked.
“Until this crap is done,” Shona said. She sat in the other armchair and produced some half-finished knitting from a bag at her side. “We’re here for the duration.”
“Aye,” Margaret said. “We’re staying until this current threat is eliminated. We have experience with this sort of thing. We defended the castle against armed idiots not that long ago. We’re old hands.”
“Speak for yourself,” Jean said. “I like to think of myself as a middle-aged hand.”
Robin started to chuckle and Jodie cast her a quelling look. “You can’t stay here,” Jodie told the knitting women.
“Of course we can,” Margaret said. “We women need to stick together and everybody knows there’s safety in numbers. Plus, we’ve all done Lake’s self-defence classes, so we can pass on some skills while we’re here.”
Jodie stared at Margaret for a minute before looking at Robin and Carly. Most of their shock had worn off and they seemed to be more amused than anything else. Amused and touched by the show of support.
“I don’t know what to do here,” Jodie confessed.
Robin grinned, but her eyes were glassy with unshed tears. “Let them stay.”
Carly seemed to have problems speaking, but she nodded. Jean noticed the emotion coming from both women and leaned over to pat their hands. “Welcome to Invertary, ladies.”
At that, Robin announced she had something in her eye and made a hasty exit. Carly wasn’t so restrained: she burst into tears. Jean sat beside her and hugged her, telling her that everything would be fine now the women of Knit or Die were there.
At that point, Heather bustled into the room with a tray laden with teacups, teapot and a plate of biscuits. “Everything’s all settled, then?”
“Aye,” Shona said. “I’ll just go find Patricia and tell her she’s got company in the house. We wouldn’t want to freak out the wee ones.”
As Jodie watched Shona leave the room, she felt her heart swell. When they’d been searching for a place to call home for the women, she never really believed they’d find somewhere that would completely accept them. Not because they were unacceptable, but because of all the secrets and how people always reacted when they found out about the women and their pasts. But she had found a home. A home that welcomed the women, and all of their problems with open arms.
And for that, she was very grateful.