“I appreciate everything you’ve done,” Lynn said.

The wrinkled face watching her didn’t react. “Done nothing at all. Just didn’t quite know all the work the place needed. Mighta reconsidered if I’d a known.”

“We’re glad you didn’t.”

“I can give you until the first of the year, but then I need to get paid.”

Lynn nodded. “I understand.”

“Always wanted to do something about that trailer but never got around to it. Wasn’t worth the money to fix it up. But not sure it’s worth the rent.”

“Your money will be coming,” Lynn said.

She hadn’t told Mr. Sinclair everything. In fact, all she had told him was that the rent was going to be later than usual, that she would probably not be able to pay until the end of the month. Lynn had neglected to tell him about losing her job.

Because hopefully I’ll find something new by then.

“I know that your boy asked about some work. I’ll let ’im know as soon as I have anything.”

She couldn’t believe it. Not that Thomas had asked Mr. Sinclair for more work, but that he had done it so quickly.

“Thank you,” she said.

“It’s tough supporting a family, ain’t it?”

She nodded. He had never once asked her what her story was. He had never asked her if she had family around or where her husband was or anything. He had simply understood that she needed help.

Before Lynn left, Mr. Sinclair called out her name.

“Hold on a sec,” he said.

He disappeared and then came back with a wrapped box.

“It’s a Christmas present.”

“No—please—we should be the ones giving you guys something.”

“Oh, it’s nothing. Liz wanted y’all to have some jelly. Hope you like jelly, ’cause there’s a lot of it in there. She makes it from scratch. Think it’s twelve jars or somethin’ like that.”

“Thank you. Yes, we love jelly.”

“Well, yeah, me too, but doesn’t make the fanciest Christmas present.”

“Your patience has been enough of a present,” Lynn said. “Thank you.”

There was a reason Lynn had not brought the kids to see her family in Greer. Both of her parents were deceased, and her younger sister had moved to New York. Jesse, her older brother, was the only person left. And that was the primary problem.

“Why do you never want to go see them?” Thomas had asked.

The question had been honest, but it had brought up a lot of bad memories. She had always said that she’d lost touch with her brother but Thomas wasn’t buying this.

“What if something happens?” he had asked her.

“If what happens?”

“Like you don’t find a job—like we can’t live here anymore? What if we have to go live with them?”

“No.”

She would rather go back home to Georgia than to suddenly show up at her brother’s front door. After trying to explain the reasons why to Thomas, she figured that she would simply show him. A part of her wanted him to understand this part of her life, this part of their family.