Chapter Two
Beyond their own families, Kitsune were solitary shifters, so Rin found pack dynamics an amazing thing to behold. A simple word to David Tully that she had decided to stay, had set things in motion almost immediately. In quick order, the pack had helped her get her things at her parents’ house in Astoria packed up and shipped, while a call to Mrs. DeMarco had ensured that the place would be looked after until Rin made up her mind whether she would sell.
They’d helped her replace some of the items that hadn’t been recovered from her kidnapping like her ID, social security card, and bank cards that had been in her purse. It was a great weight off her shoulders, and having her things around her once again, was a comfort. One thing they hadn’t been able to recover was the locket she had been wearing. A search of Brooks’ house had produced a box of assorted items: earrings, bracelets, necklaces, and rings, but not her locket. The piece hadn’t been worth much as far as market value, but it had been priceless to Rin. The locket had belonged to her grandmother. Inside, a small black and white image of Rin’s grandparents taken when they had first arrived in America; her grandfather, holding Rin’s mother, who was just a toddler, by the hand, while her grandmother held Rin’s uncle, a baby at the time, in her arms. The piece had been handed down to her mother, and then to Rin. It was irreplaceable and Rin’s heart hurt at the loss. To keep from crying, she had thrown herself into redecorating.
Her room at the bed and breakfast no longer looked generic. The bed was now covered with Rin’s dark orange comforter, and festooned with lime green throw pillows, while her collection of Beanie Babies had pride of place on the writing desk. The closet was now filled with her own clothes and shoes, and her little bathroom held all of her favorite toiletries, cosmetics, and hair accessories. She was just setting out her framed pictures of family and friends on her dresser – also now full of Rin’s clothes, when there was a knock on the door and Margaret Tully poked her head in. The older female’s eyes went wide as she took in the changes to the room.
Stepping completely inside, Margaret smiled and nodded. “I like it. I never would have thought to mix orange and green but the effect is quite striking.”
Before Rin could acknowledge the praise, Margaret went on to say, “Ginny Weller is here to see you and let me tell you, the female is over the moon excited to talk to you. She’s been the only accountant in the pack for years and someone mentioned to her that you were an accountant as well. Once she heard you were staying, she flipped on her happy switch and has yet to turn it off.” Margaret shook her head in exasperation. “She’s practically dying downstairs waiting to talk to you and convince you to come work with her.”
Rin’s breath caught and her heart gave a kick of excitement. She had been worried about the job situation. Having grown up in Astoria, depending on where she had to be, she would ride her bike, weather permitting, take a bus or the subway, or on the rare occasion, splurge and take a cab. She had never bothered to get a driver’s license, had never even sat in the driver’s seat of a car. Public transportation in Malsum Pass was non-existent, so figuring out how she was going to get to interviews, and then to work once she was hired, if she had to travel any distance, had been stressing her out.
Combing her fingers through her hair in a rush to neaten up her appearance, she looked down at what she was wearing. A sweatshirt from the university she had attended and her comfy jeans that had seen better days. With a squeak of dismay, she rushed to her closet. “I need to change. Should I change? Yes, I’ll change. Will she wait?”
Margaret Tully let out a little laugh. “She’s so excited to see you, I doubt she’ll even notice what you’re wearing, but yes, she’ll wait if you want to change.”
“Could you tell her I’m excited to meet her as well, please?” Rin said, the words muffled as she yanked the sweatshirt up over her head, “And I’ll be right down.”
Rin heard another chuckle as she practically dove into her closet and then the door click shut to mark Margaret’s exit. Rin focused her attention on the display of clothes. Dressy? No, too much. Business casual was probably the best way to go, she thought as she pulled clothes off their hangers in a rush. Dressed, and as tidy as possible considering her rush, Rin made her way down the stairs, her heart jumping with both excitement and nerves.
Ginny Weller was a wolf shifter in her middle years. Her hair a light brown, as yet untouched by gray. Her eyes sparkled with good humor, and crinkled at the corners when she offered a wide smile of greeting. By all appearances, she was a female who liked to laugh, and did so often, and Rin liked her immediately.
Once introductions had been made and they’d taken a seat in the great room of the bed and breakfast, Rin held up her laptop that she had remembered to grab before coming down. “I don’t have a printer, but I can email you a copy of my resume, and I can pull it up if you want to look at it right now.”
It only took the older female a few moments to peruse the document before her attention was once again on Rin. “When can you start?”
That was it? She was hired? Her interview with Brooks had been a long drawn out affair accompanied by sweaty palms and a choking sensation. This seemed way too easy. Rin cleared her throat and stuttered slightly, “I, ah, wh-when do you need me?”
Ginny leaned back in her chair with a grin. “I needed you years ago, Rin Hayashi, but I’ll settle for Monday, bright and early.”
Rin remained professional as she shook Ginny Weller’s hand and confirmed that she’d be at the office Monday morning. She even kept her ecstatic grin off her face until the door closed firmly behind the older female and Rin heard her receding footsteps on the porch. But as soon as she heard the engine of a car fire up, she could no longer contain her excitement and it burst out of her in a squeal of delight as she jumped up and down, hugging her laptop to her chest.
The sound drew both Margaret and David Tully out of their different rooms to investigate. Margaret smiling but shaking her head, David grinning said, “You almost sound like my Connie, Rin.” And then congratulations were issued from both of them.
Rin now had a home – or, at least a room of her own within this home – and a job. Things were definitely shaping up nicely.