Settling in to Life
The drive to work was awkwardly silent. At least, it was for me; the walls had gone up, and I couldn't tell anymore what Aegis was thinking or feeling.
As we got closer to the auto-repair, I finally gave up trying to keep the silence.
"Thank you for driving us," I said. "I've only been here four days, and I already owe everyone more than I could possibly give back."
Aegis chuckled dryly. "You underestimate just how much your being back means to us."
"I would think you'd all be angry at me. I'd deserve it."
"You've become very self-deprecating," Aegis commented, eyes still on the road. "I seem to recall someone who was very confident in everything she did."
"That was before she was humbled by the experience of raising two newborns alone."
"What was it like?"
I looked at him askance. "You can't seriously want to know."
"Of course I do. Were the twins always so ornery?"
I snorted. "You kidding? Of course. I stupidly thought I could put them in the same crib together, even though Rudy's wife- Rosa- said not to. Sure enough, one of them accidentally grabbed the other's ear, and since they don't actually know how to control their fingers, he was wrenching on it, both of them were screaming bloody murder, and I was there in tears trying desperately to loosen the jaws of death on... I think it was Dylan's ear."
Aegis laughed. "What a sight."
"Oh, I can laugh at it now, but there's a lot I kind of blocked out from that time."
He sobered up. "You know, we don't really have a whole lot of answers about what happened to your family."
I tensed. "What do you mean?"
"Rudy was very careful back then. He cleared up the misunderstanding- we knew you were alive- but he clammed up on the details. He said it was something you should share with us."
I blanched. "I don't... I don't know if..."
"I'm not asking you to, though I want to know." Aegis drummed his fingers on the wheel, then changed the subject. "I'm really glad you told the kids to treat Annie as if she weren't Britt's daughter."
I snorted. "I'm not that cruel."
"You never were. Little moments like those, and I see you haven't changed a wink."
"I'm a lot more anxious."
"After everything you've been through, I'd be shocked if you weren't."
We pulled into the parking lot. Paul was waiting on the front porch, grinning, and waved at us as we popped out.
"We got quite a few cars in already," he announced, as we walked up to the front. His bright, eager eyes found mine. "You ready to get this show on the road, Sylvia? God knows, we need your help."
I nodded, rolling my shoulders. "Yeah. I have a game plan."
"Right." Paul led the way in through the door. "Here's the deal. I put these new files here on the front desk, because they're today's appointments."
"Good thinking," Aegis said. "If we can get those into the system first, then we can start organizing the rest."
"Got it. New jobs take priority over the filing cabinet of death."
"We'd better get started," Paul said dryly. "I have a feeling that with the turning of the weather, we're going to see an uptick in work."
----
It was pretty straightforward work. Absolutely none of it felt even remotely new from what I'd done before, but there was something incredibly satisfying about it all now. Looking out the window, I could see the leaves twirling in the crisp Oregon air, and I even moved over to open them up and let the cool air in.
I could hear the sounds of people laughing, music blaring, tools I didn't know the names of going at full blast. A few more customers came in throughout the day, some of which I knew, and exclaimed happily over seeing me.
I had the entire space to myself. No one was breathing down my back; no one was criticizing my every move. It was liberating.
Halfway through the day, Ivy made a stop with her Sheriff's car, parking haphazardly outside the front entrance.
"You cannot abuse your power like that," I scolded as she walked in.
"You sure you want to be picking fights with someone bearing gifts?" She waggled her eyebrows and set onto my desk the most beautiful things I'd ever seen on God's green earth: tacos and pumpkin spice coffee.
Yes, I was fully basic, and happy to embrace it.
"My bestest friend in the entire universe!" I squealed, leaping for both like a dying man. "You do love me!"
Ivy burst into laughter. "I knew it! Fastest way to your heart was always food and anything sweet and fun."
"You're the greatest Sheriff ever hired, anywhere."
"Doubtful, but I'll keep it in mind. How'd this morning go?"
I gave her a play-by-play as I unwrapped the most beautiful tacos I'd ever seen, sour cream oozing out the ends.
"I always knew Aegis was pretty incredible," I said, happily squirting hot sauce all over my tacos, "but to see him with the kids- he's going to make some woman insanely happy."
"Uh huh," Ivy said, bemused.
"I mean, seriously. He whipped up a French braid faster than I can. Do you know how much skill there is in making a good French braid?"
"I can only imagine."
"Exactly- because it takes a lot of skill. And he got Collin out of the bathroom." I deflated. "I used to be able to handle everything myself..."
"Things are wonky," Ivy said gently. "You just gotta let us all in. We want to help you. We want to make up for lost time."
I gave her a tight smile. "Did Jade tell you about Jackson?"
Ivy pulled an overly innocent expression "Who?"
"Don't even pretend. I figured she would."
"Yeah... a little. Some scumbag who was dating around behind your back and made you believe you were special."
"I'm not the first, and I won't be the last," I said dryly. "Everything's fine. It's all worked out the way it was supposed to."
Ivy was quiet for a minute. "You really think so?"
"I feel like I have to, or else I'll drown."
"Huh." Ivy shifted, looking thoughtful. "I guess that's true." She pushed up. "As much as I'd like to stick around and talk- and believe me, I want that so bad- I've got to go inhale my own tacos and take another pass around the town."
"You got it, Sheriff. Don't want to miss any high profile bank robberies."
"Hah! As if!"
The rest of the day went by so quickly, I almost missed the time for pickup. If it weren't for Aegis popping in through the front door and clearing his throat almost four times, I'd have worked straight through it.
"How's it going?" He asked, coming up after he'd gotten my attention.
"I think I've got the hang of it," I said. "Most of it's just... you know. Data entry. The files you have match the layout of the software you're using to store customer information and create open jobs. Transferring information should go pretty quickly."
"That's what I like to hear," Aegis said, seeming pleased. "How far'd you get?"
"Not as far as I'd have liked, but I had to keep double checking the manual just to be on the safe side. I don't want to screw up such important information- like credit cards."
"Well, you ready to grab the kids?"
I picked up my purse. "You don't have to come with me, Aegis. If you just drop me off at home-"
"Fat chance." He pulled open the door and gestured me through, all politeness. "Ladies first."
"You can't follow up a statement like 'fat chance' with 'ladies first'," I said, bursting into laughter. "That ruins the whole sentiment."
"I'm a werewolf, not a poet."
I slid into the passenger seat of his car, and once Aegis was in, we were off toward the middle school.
I felt my anxiety rising. I'd been able to push it all to the back of my mind in favor of work, but now that we were on our way to pick them up, I was terrified. What if something had happened? What if someone actually had picked on Collin? There'd be no coming back from that. How was I going to deal with it?
"Nervous?" Aegis asked lightly, and I looked up to see him watching me out of the corner of his eye.
"They're my boys," I said, anxious. "What if something's happened?"
"Well, what if?"
"What?"
"If something happened," he said, "then we face that. We'll cross that bridge when it actually exists."
I shook my head suddenly, watching as Aegis pulled up and grabbed a parking spot.
"You have no idea how good you all have it," I complained, climbing out of the car. "Do you know, in Los Angeles, you have to show up to the school an hour early to get in a long line of cars and inch forward very, very slowly so you can pick up your kids?"
Aegis shuddered. "Why did you leave Werewolf Hollow, again?"
"Good question."
We ambled toward the front of the school, across a very long, very impressive parking lot. Some parents sat and waited in their cars for their kids to spot them; some had to get out because their charges were too busy socializing. There were a lot of people trickling in from all directions, but there was also a lot more space out here than back in LA.
I spotted Dylan and Collin at the front of the school, and on one hand, I was relieved to see Annie standing with them. I wasn't so relieved when I realized there was a growing crowd gathering around the group... and Dylan was having a shouting match with a half-changed kid standing in front of him.
"Uh, oh," I said, grim.
"Saw it coming," Aegis grunted, and we both took off at a heavy job toward them.