Two years ago my world turned upsidedown. My father died, and after twenty years of marriage I walked out of my wedding ring and into a courtroom.
I moved back into the old stone cottage my dad had left me in a sleepy Northumberland village because the company that had employed me for the last decade cut me loose. At forty, I felt the sharp sting of having no prospects no decent job, no fresh romance.
Misfortune seemed to follow me like a cold wind. The roof, patched by the village handyman, leaked through every storm. I didnt have the strength to haul timber for a proper repair. The carpenters who came to replace the window frames left halfdone work, and drafts slipped through the gaps like whispers.
To keep warm I gathered pine cones and burned battered paperbacks, the shelves of which were soon reduced to ash. Then the electricity flickered out and I was forced to turn the heating off.
The landlord of the pub across the road started sliding me offers that felt more like a joke than a lifeline. I stood there, halflaughing, halfcrying, wondering if anything could get any worse.
Just when I thought the darkness would never lift, a bus rumbled into the tiny village stop and a man stepped off. His hair was tangled, his overalls stained with sawdust a roofer from a nearby town. He asked, Need a hand? I admitted I did, though I had no coin to offer. He smiled and said, When youve got some quid, well sort the accounts.
He fixed the roof, tightened the leaking tap, replaced the busted water meter, mended the fence, repaired the stairs and put new glass into the windows.
One bitter night, when frost had turned the garden paths to glass, I found a fire crackling in the hearth and, beside it, a steaming cup of herbal tea. It was as if a miracle had slipped into my home, thawing my frozen throat and cold feet.
I knew then who my hero was, and I wondered how to thank him. He was capable yet modest, and the village is small enough that naming him might bring a blush.
Now the cottage and garden look as if a steady, strong hand has reshaped them. With my prince by my side, the house feels warm, my heart feels light, and the only fear that lingers is the thought of ever losing him.
