Olivia excused herself and Tasha to go meet more people, and Cindy asked Janet about her career.
She managed to keep one eye on Jonas, and was pleased that he seemed to be relaxed and genial as he talked to Brenda. It was also great to see the pack doing exactly as they’d been asked, flowing around the room, taking time to meet with each visitor. Adam came to meet Janet, and Cindy moved along to meet Becky and Soo Park.
“I hear you ladies were just mated recently as well. Did you meet my Jonas?” She pointed him out, getting a small wave from him and Tasha, who had joined him.
“We did, and not yet,” Soo said, her excitement shining in her eyes. “Isn’t being mated the most amazing thing?”
“It’s awesome,” Cindy agreed. “You know it will be—your whole life, you know—but then it happens, and you realize you had absolutely no idea.”
Becky laughed. “That is a perfect description. What is it that you do, Cindy?”
She told them about her blog, and Becky was excited to check it out. “Now that we’re mated, we feel like we should probably get around to figuring out that whole adulting thing. I still have some student-loan debt I should have buckled down on, and Soo is driving a car that’s about to fall apart, and we have no savings.”
“Hey, I love my car!”
“Yeah, but it doesn’t love you back, and it’s going to kick the bucket within a year, I guarantee it.”
“Hmph.”
“Well, take a look at the articles, and feel free to ask me if you have any questions, whether you guys end up moving to New Mexico or not.”
“So, tell us all about the new pack,” Soo demanded.
She did, enjoying the conversation and proud of herself for keeping her focus on the ladies, not anything else that was happening in the living room. When she noticed Jonas heading in another direction, and Brenda moving to talk to Joe, she figured it was time. She worked her way over to them and met Brenda’s smile with one of her own.
“Brenda, it’s been so long. How was your trip out here?”
“Cindy, it’s so good to see you. I met your charming and gorgeous Jonas. You’re a lucky girl.”
“No question,” Cindy agreed. “So, you’re considering small-town living?”
Brenda shrugged. “I like to be open to new opportunities. I’ve been living in the same place for a long time, and this seemed like a good time to explore. Although, I have to admit, it’s smaller than I’d realized. And I’m not used to a pack only having one house and a tiny bit of land to its name.”
She gestured vaguely at the room, and Cindy took it as Brenda being as unimpressed with the house as she was with the town. But maybe she was projecting.
“Actually, this is a rental. The pack doesn’t own anything.” Yet, she didn’t add.
“Tell me about your work, Brenda,” Joe said. “Is it something that can be transferred to a new location?”
Brenda nodded. “I’m in insurance, so I should be fine. But that’s going to be one of the tougher aspects of getting this pack going, isn’t it? It’s a lot to ask a small town like this to support as many new people as you need.” She looked at Cindy sympathetically. “Jonas mentioned he hadn’t found new work yet.”
Joe’s eyebrows winged up, and Cindy was speechless. She wondered if Jonas had misled Brenda, or if Brenda had misinterpreted something he’d said. It didn’t appear to matter, as Brenda continued on.
“But I was so happy to meet Olivia, and learn that the truck stop job seems to be perfect for her.”
“Yes, being a manager of a large staff seems to fit perfectly in her wheelhouse,” Joe agreed. “Cindy, Bill is over at the food table, and he’s trying to catch your attention.”
She glanced over and found that Bill was holding up an empty platter. Laughing, she motioned for a minute and turned back to Brenda. “I’m sure we’ll have more time to catch up later.”
Walking off before the other woman had a chance to respond, she headed to Bill. “Jonas swears there was a backup platter of the spinach dip bites.”
“There was. Did you look in the kitchen?” she asked.
“Without your help?” He gave her blank face for a solid five seconds before cracking into a smile.
“Is this because I was talking to Brenda?” she asked.
“Hmm?” He managed to look innocent and intrigued at the same time. He was full of baloney.
