Chapter Thirty-Three
Rin felt like a pampered princess. Was it shameful to admit that she took full advantage? Oh, at first, when Mike had insisted on carrying her to the bathroom, or from the bed to the couch, she had informed him that it was her wrist and hand, not her feet, which were injured. His response had been that he liked spoiling her. Who could argue with that? Especially since she rather liked being spoiled by him.
Granted, her injuries had been quite painful – sometimes the bruised areas seemed to hurt worse than the break she’d suffered – but shifters heal fast, so there really was no excuse to indulge… except that she was really enjoying the attention.
He prepared their meals, or at least, he fetched their meals from the diner. He helped her wash her hair, which she loved. He cuddled with her at night and watched Jackie Chan movies despite the fact that he was probably getting sick of them. And when he had to leave to go out on a wrecker call, he checked in by phone every hour.
Several of the pack had stopped by to check on her wellbeing. She’d been able to inform Tarvahl Pierce of her uncle’s involvement with the fur traders, a fact he was going to pass on to the appropriate parties. Margaret and David Tully had stopped by as well and without her having asked, brought several of her things to make her feel more comfortable. Their daughter, Constance Tully, had stopped by as well and had looked her over with a critical eye before saying, “I guess all of that training paid off.”
Rin had nodded, her lips twisting in disgust. “My own uncle.”
Connie’s eyes had met Rin’s and they shared a moment of silent communication before Connie handed over a business card with the new salon logo. “I know you’ve said before that you don’t really want to talk to a therapist, and that’s fine,” she said, taking Rin’s uninjured hand and giving it a little squeeze, “but if you ever do need to talk – about anything, day or night – give me a call.”
Rin had nodded, feeling too choked up by emotion to say anything. Being Kitsune, she’d never realized how nice it was to be part of a pack – the support, both physical and emotional, the sense of community, of being part of something bigger than one’s self – it was humbling, uplifting, and powerful.
A surprising visit had come in the form of the bear shifter, Christian Black. Mike had come up from the garage, looking both confused and a bit sheepish. “With all that’s happened, I forgot to mention that Christian stopped by to see you the day you went to lunch with your uncle.” Recalling that day had Mike growling, but he quickly brought it under control with a little cough before he continued. “I hadn’t even realized you had met the male since bears tend to give you the creeps.”
Rin cringed, remembering the night that she had pulled the male from his car. The same night that she had been intent on having it out with Mike for lying to her. Was it any wonder she’d forgotten to tell him about that bit of excitement?
She laid out the story for Mike, his eyes widening until they resembled saucers. “Holy shit, Rin. The guy’s got to outweigh you by about a hundred and fifty pounds!” He bent and pecked her on the lips. “You’re amazing. My female is fricking Wonder Woman.” Mike shook his head and let out a little chuckle. “Anyway, he’s here to see you. Are you okay if I send him up?”
Rin had to give it a moment of thought because Mike was right, bear shifters usually did creep her out and send her straight into flight mode. She hadn’t that night, but that may have been because he was injured. What would her reaction be without the stimulus of danger to motivate her?
She bit her lip, “You’ll stay with me?”
“Absolutely.”
Taking a deep breath, Rin nodded.
Surprisingly, the scent that proceeded the male didn’t evoke a reaction. Her stomach didn’t clench or twist, her nerves didn’t tingle, and she didn’t break out in a sweat. Nor did his sheer size discomfit her when he stepped into the loft. Christian Black had probably once been quite a handsome man with his thick black hair and dark eyes. But currently, those eyes looked hollow beneath the stark white of the bandage over his brow. His complexion was a bit gray, and those scars on his neck were disconcerting. He was a big male, tall, muscular, typical of the bear physique, and absolutely capable of doing a great amount of damage, yet she was unafraid – amazing. Somehow, that night she had saved him, a switch had been flipped in her brain, and Rin was grateful.
Christian, however, looked uncomfortable. He fussed with his hands, he shuffled his feet, and he cleared his throat a time or two before he finally met her eyes. “My brother tells me that if it hadn’t been for you, I probably would have frozen to death in that car before someone else had found me. Thank you.”
Rin’s first instinct was to tell him it was no big deal, no worries, no problem, but she could see it in his face. This was important. Christian Black had needed this meeting. So with a slight inclination of her head, she simply said, “You’re welcome.”
Christian stubbed the toe of his boot against the floor a couple of times and cleared his throat again. “I, ah, I’ve decided to stick around here for a while.” He stuffed his hands in his pocket and shrugged. “Seb and Bug are heading back home, but I’m thinking I’ll stay. Might do me some good, like it did for my brother, so, ah, if you ever need anything…” He let the sentence trail off, his eyes wandering around the loft instead of meeting Rin’s gaze, the color high in his cheeks marked his embarrassment but was a definite improvement over the sickly pallor.
Imagine, a bear shifter of Christian Black’s size, uncomfortable in the presence of a tiny female like Rin. Most probably, he was uncomfortable with the debt he surely felt he owed her. Again, her instinct was to assure him that he didn’t need to worry, and as before, she held her tongue sensing that he needed to do this for whatever reason. She doubted she’d ever collect on that debt, but that’s not what he needed to hear right now, so she told him simply, “I’ll call you.”
With a grateful nod, Christian took his leave, and Mike didn’t bother to follow him out. Instead, he sat down on the couch next to Rin with a confused look on his face. “Did that seem weird to you? It seemed weird to me.”
Unconcerned with the grease staining Mike’s hand, Rin picked it up and kissed his knuckles. “I think he’s just working things out and this was one of them.”
Mike let out a little ‘huh’ as he stared at the door the bear shifter had just used. “Well, as long as he doesn’t get any romantic ideas. You’re my fox.” He added with a grin before he pulled her into his lap to give her a proper kiss.
While Christian had been the most surprising, Ginny had been her most frequent visitor. Rin had apologized profusely for all the trouble her absences may have caused. Ginny had just waved a dismissive hand and snorted. “Are you kidding? Honey, I’ve been managing this by myself for years. With your help, I’m way ahead of schedule, so don’t you give it another thought.”
Rin had raised a brow and smirked. “I guess that means you should be scheduling that vacation.” Which prompted Ginny to answer with a wide grin before she had dug into her bag and pulled out a stack of cruise brochures.
“I thought you were joining some cruise that was already planned. Didn’t you mention a pack from Montana or something?” Rin asked in confusion as she glanced at the different cruise lines on display.
Ginny just shrugged and winked, “I may want bikinis and Mai Tai’s instead of boots and cocoa. Best to keep my options open.”
It was also during one of Ginny’s visits, that Rin asked the older female to be her matron of honor. Ginny had cried – big, gasping sobs that left Rin horrified that she had somehow offended her friend until Ginny had nearly pounced on her for a hug. “Yes! Absolutely!”
Pulling back, Ginny used the heels of her hand to brush away the tears and sniffled. “And,” she said, leaning over to dig into her purse, “if the two of you decide on a cruise for your honeymoon, I know just the one.” Pulling one of the brochures free of the others that Ginny had taken to carrying around with her, she held it in one hand while doing a Vanna White presentation of the thin pamphlet with the other. “This one is highly recommended for newlyweds and lovers,” she said, dragging out the word lovers with a breathy tone and an eyebrow wiggle that had Rin giggling.
Then she tucked the brochure against her chest as if she was hiding it, “We’ll coordinate our vacations, yes?”
Rin grinned. “Absolutely.”
Ginny returned the smile and handed the cruise guide over.
But today was Rin’s first day back at work. She was still a bit sore, especially her hip which had sustained the worst of the bruising, and she couldn’t type for crap because of her wrapped left hand, but it felt good to be out of the loft.
As soon as Rin walked into her office, she had laughed. Ginny, being a dutiful matron of honor, and apparently taking her job very seriously, had left several bridal magazines marked with a multitude of colorful Post-It flags on her desk.
“I’m not going to be very productive,” Rin had called out, “if I’m looking at these.”
Ginny had barked out a laugh. “That makes two of us, but I’m just way too excited.” She popped her head in the office and grinned. “But if you’re set on actually working, we can look at them at lunch.” With that, she came fully into the office, scooped up the stack and took them off to the break room.
Rin shook her head with a chuckle and set to work, suddenly eager for lunchtime.