Chapter 2
Brandon
Rebecca has been through hell and she’s come out scarred, but strong as hell. I’ve never met a woman quite like her before. I’ve never met a woman who could hold her own like she can.
I see the excitement flash in her eyes before she convinces herself to behave. She pulls her hand back and grips her coffee. Then she sips it slowly: much too slowly. She sips her coffee so slowly that she’s obviously not sipping it at all. She’s just buying time because she doesn’t want to talk.
I don’t blame her.
I know she’s nervous.
The realization that you’re falling in love with someone new is never easy. Sometimes love takes you by surprise. Sometimes it catches you and grips you and you’re caught up in its whirlwind. Sometimes you find your mate and you just know instantly. Sometimes you find someone and immediately, you know you have to be with them or you’re just going to die.
But sometimes love comes slowly.
I know Rebecca lost her first husband. I know he died shortly after they were mated. She still has his scar on her wrist. Although it’s faded, it’s still evident to anyone who cares to peek. She doesn’t bother to hide it, doesn’t bother to tell people she’s single now. She uses that scar as a barrier so no one will bother her or try to push past the walls she’s put up.
But I’m not an ordinary guy.
And I’m not going to let her skate by on practicalities.
“So tell me what ideas you’ve come up with,” I say casually, setting my coffee down. I take in her appearance. She’s wearing just the smallest hint of makeup, but she looks lovely. Although she has dark circles under her eyes – probably from not sleeping very well – Rebecca’s skin has a soft glow about it.
Happy.
She’s happy.
And she’s excited.
Whatever her ideas are, I know they’re going to be incredible. Hiring Rebecca as my new manager for The Dusty Shelf was the best business decision I could have possibly made. After my previous manager found her mate and left Wolfe City, I struggled to find someone new. My regular employees are fantastic, but there’s a difference between being a good employee and being a good leader.
Rebecca is a great leader.
And she’s a great businesswoman.
“Well, you know, I’m not the expert,” she says with a shrug. “But I did come up with a couple of things.”
“Before you tell me, I need to say something.” I can’t let that comment go. I let a lot go when it comes to Rebecca, but I’m not going to let her doubt herself. I’m not going to let her question her worth. I realized something when I first met her. I realized that very first day that Rebecca was my mate. She doesn’t realize this, doesn’t know it, or maybe she just won’t accept that she can have a second chance at love.
“What is it?” She looks confused.
“You’re good at this, Rebecca. You’re a strong, capable woman. You’re smart and you’re honest and you’re really, really good at your job.”
“Wow, Brandon. I wasn’t expecting that. Thanks, I guess, but I mean, I’m still so new at this.”
“Rebecca, look at me.”
She lifts her eyes to mine and I smile at the gentle glow of her beautiful orange-black eyes. I still haven’t seen her in tigress form. I still haven’t seen her shift and run and play in her true body. I haven’t seen it, but I desperately want to.
“You are incredible. Please don’t doubt yourself. You’re an amazing, fantastic person. You’re smart. You’re great. Okay? So tell me your ideas, but when you do, stand behind them. Be firm in them. Believe in them.”
She takes a deep breath and for a second, I think she might tell me off. It wouldn’t be unheard of. Maybe she thinks I’m going too far or perhaps she thinks it’s not my place to ask her to be brave, but she doesn’t.
“You know what, Brandon? You’re right. I do doubt myself a lot and I apologize a lot. I’m often weak in how I present things. It’s a bad habit, but I’m an adult. It’s time that I stopped. Can I try again?”
Now I smile. “Of course,” I lean back in the chair and watch as she mentally prepares herself. Then she starts talking.
“I think we should expand on what we’re selling. Our current customer base is fantastic, but we can grow. Carrying new and different types of books will not only give our current customers more to read, but will also draw in new clients. I think we should offer more non-fiction used books, but we should also consider carrying some new releases. I know this is a used bookstore, but perhaps we could start with a small shelf up front that has the month’s top reads, or whatever, and that would bring in more profit for the shop.”
She pauses, and for a second I think she’s done, but Rebecca is on a roll. She takes a deep breath and keeps going.
“I have more ideas, too, that I think might be too much for right now, but I’ll tell you, anyway.”
“Please do.”
“I think we should offer more than just books here. You have a great location. The bookstore is right on Main Street and it’s close to the diner and near the motel. I’m not suggesting we open a full-scale coffee shop, but we could consider carrying a few hot beverages and snacks, perhaps some baked goods.”
Rebecca stands up and starts pacing in front of me as she talks. Now that she’s getting really excited, she’s getting animated, and I love it. I love how she’s expressing herself. I love how she’s finally telling me exactly what she thinks.
“I know Wolfe City isn’t exactly a tourist destination. I get that, but sometimes we do get visitors and maybe they don’t want to just sit around the motel or at their parents’ house the whole time they’re in town. We could make this a comfortable, cozy hangout. People could buy drinks and snacks and read.”
She stops and looks at me anxiously, and I realize she’s finished pitching me her ideas, and to be quite frank, I’m blown away.
“These ideas are all fantastic, Rebecca.”
“Really?”
“You sound shocked I would think so. Believe in yourself, sweetie. Like I said, you’re smart. I love all of the ideas you’ve come up with.”
“I guess I didn’t think they were bad ideas, but I thought you would need more convincing than this,” she chuckles and sits down. She looks really, really relieved.
“You’re my manager,” I remind her. “And I think you’re incredible. These ideas are really modern and trendy, but not faddish. You’re absolutely right. Wolfe City gets a lot of people from different cities and we’re behind the times. We don’t need to remake the town into a hotspot. We’re not Honeypot, for dragon’s sake, but there’s no reason we shouldn’t offer more to the people who do come to town.”
“Thank you,” she says. “I haven’t talked to any of the employees about my ideas. I know some of them are set in their ways about this being firmly a used bookstore focusing on fiction novels. I wanted to talk with you first.”
“And I appreciate that,” I say. “We should talk about this more and come up with some ideas for how we’re going to acquire new inventory, how much it’ll cost to set up a food and beverage area, and what sorts of new releases we want to offer.”
“Dinner?” She says, and I think her question surprises her just as much as it does me because Rebecca’s eyes get wide and a bright red blush covers her cheeks.
Oh, I can’t pass this offer up.
“Absolutely. Shall we say, 7 o’clock?”
“Okay,” she squeaks out. “Sounds good.”