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.
Chapter Thirty-Four
An attorney contacted Rin much sooner than expected. By express courier, she now had a copy of her uncle’s will, naming her as sole heir and primary beneficiary to the Nakamura estate, with only minor monetary allotments bequeathed to a few key players – one of which was her uncle’s assistant, who, thankfully, had not bothered Rin further. She had read about her uncle’s death on-line. They were calling it an accidental shooting while the man had been hunting at a mountain retreat in Vermont. The article had listed the date and time for the funeral as well as visiting hours, but Rin had not gone.
Now, as she scanned the will and its multitude of attached pages, Rin’s mind boggled. In addition to being the majority shareholder in her uncle’s multi-billion dollar company, she also now owned properties worldwide, a page or more for each was attached, and included a laundry list of inventoried contents and their values, including priceless works of art, antiquities, vehicles… the list went on.
Surprisingly, her uncle had not made the will provisional, forcing her to step into a leadership role within the company or forfeit the wealth. An oversight on his part? Or was he so arrogant, so confident in his own power that the thought of her disobeying him had never crossed his mind? After spending time in his company, Rin would put money on the latter. She was female after all, and to his thinking, should have been raised to obey her elders. Of course, having met her, he may have seen the error of such thinking, and had he been given the opportunity, would have changed the will to include the caveat – of that she had no doubt. It was a moot point however, Rin was the beneficiary of everything that had belonged to Makoto Nakamura. And she didn’t want any of it.
The male was a traitor to his family and his kind. She wanted nothing from him. In fact, it would give her great pleasure to know he was looking down from the afterlife and seeing her thumb her nose at him. She’d ranted to Mike, pacing the loft, cursing her uncle, and generally venting her spleen, but prepared to hear him tell her that she was crazy not to accept what her uncle’s will had handed her. Instead, he’d surprised her. Once she’d worn herself out from her little tirade, Mike had merely pulled her close, kissed her sweetly, and said, “Whatever you decide, Rin, I’ve got your back.”
It was Sherry Pierce that had been the voice of logic. Needing a lawyer’s help to weed through all that legalese, Rin had gone straight to Sherry. The she-wolf may not be fond of a Kitsune living in her town, but she was very good at her job, and Rin was now her client.
The female had pinned Rin with those icy blue eyes of hers and stated quite plainly. “Clearly you’re angry, and rightly so, but you’re also being stupid.”
Rin had just sat there and blinked, not sure how to respond to that bald statement.
Sherry sighed, rolled her eyes, and launched into an explanation simple enough for a child to grasp. “Your uncle built an empire to make himself feel like a
king. Everything he did was for his benefit, his greed. Wouldn’t it hurt him more if you turned things around to benefit others? Think of what you could do with all of that wealth. How many lives you could change for the better.”
Rin’s head slowly nodded as each word penetrated her brain to clear the haze of anger she’d been operating under. Her greatest desire may be a normal life, but she could still do great things as well – the two weren’t mutually exclusive.
“I have no desire to have anything to do with his company.” Rin stated clearly.
Sherry made a dismissive gesture. “Not a problem. You can sell off your shares.” Those icy eyes went sly as the lawyer’s smile turned evil. “Didn’t you say your uncle was quite adamant that your bloodline be the primary shareholder? Well, there’s your first F you, right there.”
Sherry Pierce continued making suggestions of what she would do if she were in this situation and Rin paid attention. Unlike Rin, Sherry was looking at the big picture rather than through a little peephole of anger and bruised emotion.
It took quite a bit of time, but when all was said and done, the shares had been sold off for a tidy profit that would be funneled into an account for Alek Stepanov and his team. Like Rin, those males had also been captives of the fur traders, but once freed, they had chosen to devote their lives to bringing the organization down. That money would go a long way to achieving that goal. And wasn’t it poetic that money earned from dealings with the fur traders would now be used to destroy them.
The properties and their contents had been auctioned off, much of the proceeds to be donated to worthy causes that her uncle would have disdained. Things like homeless shelters, battered women’s shelter, and soup kitchens, children’s hospitals, and educational programs for the underprivileged and minorities. Rin gleefully signed the checks.
The collection of vehicles her uncle had owned were auctioned off as well, all save one. Knowing her mate’s love of muscle cars, Rin had scoured the list and looked up the details on each vehicle. One vehicle on the list had particularly caught Rin’s eye and she decided to keep it in order to gift it to Mike on their wedding day. A 1970 Dodge Coronet. There had only been two of that model made that year, and through her uncle, Rin now owned one of them.
While she took a particular vindictive pleasure in giving her uncle’s wealth away, the pleasure Rin found in planning her wedding to Mike stemmed from pure love. With Ginny’s assistance she had scoured through bridal magazines and on-line sites, but the more she looked, the more she realized that she just didn’t want a big fancy wedding. The elaborate dress, the expensive floral arrangements, the fancy cake… they just weren’t what she and Mike were about. Small, beautiful in its simplicity, that’s who they were and that’s exactly what she wanted: A small wedding, surrounded by the pack that had adopted her.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Rin was freaking out. She was about to meet Mike’s parents, finally home from Florida. This was a huge moment! What if they hated her? What if she said something awkward and embarrassing? What if she accidentally offended them? Then she’d fixate on it for the rest of her life and never be able to face them. It was all well and good for Mike to say that they’d love her, but would they? Would they really? Or would they just say they loved her because Mike loved her? Plus, she couldn’t find a single thing to wear. Nothing looked right, or felt right. Tops that used to be soft and comfortable now scratched at her skin. And pants that had once fit her well, now she questioned if they fit her too well… should she even wear pants? Would they be more approving if she wore a skirt? Maybe a dress? Argh!
Not to mention, she hadn’t thought about what they might bring. Wasn’t it customary to bring a bottle of wine, or flowers, or a pie, or – well, something? Did they have time to stop at the store?
Suddenly Mike was there and he was pulling her into his arms and kissing the top of her head. “Baby, you’re going to be fine. Whatever you wear, whatever you say, whatever you do, it’s going to be fine.” He murmured, proving just how well he knew her and the way her mind worked.
“You’re amazing. They’ll know it the moment they see you, because that’s exactly when I knew it.” He said, tilting her head up with a finger under her chin. He kissed her softly, “From the moment I saw you, I knew you were special. I fell in love with you on sight.”
Rin took a shuddery breath, her lips finally curving up into a warm smile as she cupped Mike’s face. “I love you too, but please don’t make me cry. I’m already worried without adding puffy eyes to the list.”
Mike kissed her cheek. Moving to her ear, he whispered, “I know a great way to distract you…”
His words had Rin chuckling, “We have to leave in fifteen minutes and I still need to get dressed.”
“I can be quick.” He growled, latching onto her neck with a playful bite.
“You’re never quick, and what would your parents think if we show up late all flushed and obvious?” Rin finished on a gasp as Mike’s hands slipped between the folds of her robe to caress an already pebbled nipple.
“I don’t know, but I’d love to find out.” With that, Mike sealed his lips to Rin and any thought of protest, or what she should wear, or even that she was meeting his parents, flew right out of her head.
They were half an hour late and color was riding high on Rin’s face, but if Mike’s parents were offended, or even noticed, they certainly didn’t show it. In fact, on closer inspection, the older couple looked almost as nervous as Rin had been.
Mike’s father stood as if at attention, his back straight, his feet together, and his head up like he was waiting for Rin to inspect him and find him lacking. She didn’t, at all. He was exactly what Rin had come to expect from an older wolf. Tall, around the six foot mark, his dark hair had started to gray at the temples, his body just starting to show signs of a bit of overindulgence in food. He had the same heavy brow as his son, though his eyes were brown rather than hazel, deeply grooved with laugh lines, and his skin was brown from the Florida son.
Mike’s mother, on the other hand, had blonde hair, blue eyes, and was closer to Rin’s height, barely reaching her mate’s shoulder as she stood at his side with a wide smile – Mike’s wide smile – and fidgeted. Her hands clasped and unclasped. Her feet shuffling from side to side before she finally couldn’t contain her excitement any longer, and ran at Rin with arms wide open for a hug.
Rin had to admit it felt nice when those arms closed around her. The female smelled like cinnamon and cloves, with a hint of mint. And her voice when she spoke, was sweet and welcoming. When she released Rin and stepped back, there were tears in her eyes as she looked between Rin and Mike with a warm smile and said, “Thank you for loving our son.”
Mike let out a snort, “Like I’m so unlovable they thought it would never happen.” He gave Rin a playful nudge.
His mother swatted him. “You know I didn’t mean it like that.” Then she turned wide eyes to Rin as if she’d made an egregious error. “You know I didn’t meant it like that, right?”
Rin couldn’t help but chuckle, every bit of her nervousness draining away. “I do.”
Mike lifted his nose and sniffed. “Do I smell goulash?”
And just like that, introductions were over, and they were being ushered into the dining room to eat. The meal was delicious, and conversation flowed easily as Mike’s parents spoke about their travels, and assorted friends they had left behind in Florida. Rin told stories about her parents and her childhood, and Mike filled his family in on all the latest gossip around Malsum Pass. Before Rin knew it, the night was over, future dinner plans were being made, and they were saying their goodbyes.
“You survived.” Mike said once they were back in the car with Rin steady behind the wheel.
Rin smiled. “I like your parents.”
“And they love you. I knew they would.”
“You were right, I had nothing to worry about.” Rin chuckled.
&nb
sp; Mike sighed and laid his head back against the headrest with a pleased smile on his face. “I’m just glad Mom didn’t decide to whip out the old photo albums. There’s some pretty embarrassing stuff in there.”
“Is there?” Rin asked slyly.
“Yup. I apparently had a stage when I thought my peter was going to fall off so I had to keep hold of it.”
Rin burst out in a round of merry laughter. When it finally wound down, she gasped out, “I’m half tempted to turn the car around and ask to see those.”
Mike let out a chuckle, “Oh, I’m sure you’ll see them eventually. We’re going to spend a lifetime together, so I have no doubt Mom will get around to it.”
A lifetime together. That sounded unbelievably nice. Images of her future stretched out before her… their wedding, children, anniversaries, birthdays, and school pageants, dance recitals, sporting events, graduations, all of those wonderful moments, both small and large. And some day, their children finding their own place in life, building careers, getting married, maybe giving Rin and Mike grandchildren and seeing their entire lives as an open road of opportunity before them.
Rin startled as she felt Mike’s finger wipe away a tear she hadn’t realized she had shed. “Rin, what is it? What’s the matter?”
She sniffed and let out a little laugh, “I’m just happy. So happy with you,” she breathed. “I love you, Mike. We have so many moments to look forward to.”
Epilogue
Mid-June, near the picturesque stream where Mike had taken her for their first picnic, with the sun smiling down upon them, the wild flowers in bloom, and a light breeze keeping any bugs away, Rin Hayashi joined her life with Michael Myers as his mate, partner, and wife. They had dressed casually, Mike in khaki trousers and a polo, Rin in a simple white sundress, her only adornment, her beloved locket around her neck, and upon her wrist, a delicate charm bracelet with a tiny wolf and fox that Mike had given her as a gift. She didn’t need a fancy gown, and she certainly had no desire to torture Mike with a tuxedo. Because this day wasn’t about what they wore, but rather who they were with, and what they felt for each other.
Small Moments: A Malsum Pass Novel Page 15
