Chester, my boss and owner of Thistle Do Nicely, shook his head with a wry chuckle. “You might’ve made it on time if you hadn’t stopped for coffee.”
“True, but then we wouldn’t be caffeinated.”
I put the cups on the counter, grabbed the mop to clean up the mess I’d made, and quickly washed my hands. See? Moving fast wasn’t the issue.
“Are you sure you need caffeine?” Chester raised a brow at me. “Maybe cutting back would help.”
“Nah.” I shook my head rapidly as I pulled out the massive bucket we mixed the feeding solution in. I’d noticed pretty early on that it wasn’t one of Chester’s favourite jobs, so I always tackled it first. “Caffeine is necessary. Helps me focus. Trust me, I’m far more scatty without it.”
Chester smiled kindly. “I don’t think you’re scatty, Reid. Your brain is like…a dozen train tracks operating all at once. It looks confusing to anyone on the outside, but you know where each train is going.”
I paused in what I was doing to blink at him. “That’s one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me.”
A small frown appeared between his brows. “Then perhaps you need to surround yourself with nicer people.”
I shrugged, turning my attention to filling the bucket with water. “Sometimes that’s easier said than done.”
Especially when you’d grown up with a family like mine. It was easier to expect cruelty over kindness when that was all you knew as a kid.
Ready to be done with this topic, I flipped it back onto Chester with a sunny smile. “Seems like you could be following the same advice, boss.”
He coughed, trying to hide his reddening cheeks behind his hand. “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.”
I smirked. Since working here, I’d made it my mission to try and improve Chester’s social life. The quiet man was only in his early thirties, but he lived likehe was approaching retirement. He came in, did his work, and went home. That was it. I suspected I knew why, too. From the few hints he’d dropped, I thought he’d been hurt before. Badly. Maybe similarly to how I had.
It made me burn to help him.
Chester had upped sticks recently, moving from southern England to the Scottish Highlands, and presumably leaving behind everyone he knew.
Having done something similar myself, albeit over a smaller distance, I knew how hard that was. Not only were you trying to figure out where everything was, you were sliding into a community where everyone knew each other already. I’d found it tough, and there’d been nothing I wanted more than friends.
I hadn’t let it get me down though. I’d put myself out there time and again. I’d picked up acquaintances at every workplace I trailed through. I’d scouted Facebook for local events, signing up for everything from book clubs to sip-and-paint evenings. I went to bars. Clubs. Restaurants. I’d forced myself out night after night, even when I didn’t feel much like it.
My hard work and determination had paid off. After a lifetime of being the loner, I now had a solid group of friends. People I could rely on. People who actuallywantedmy company. People who thought I was funny. Kind. Caring.
Mac didn’t sneer at me whenever I tripped, judging me for my human senses. Cole didn’t ignore me in favour of literally anyone else. Bryce didn’t look down his nose at me for not being a shifter.
It was…refreshing. Finally, I was seen as an equal. As someone people wanted around. It had given me a sense of purpose and joy unlike anything I’d known before. Being lonely fucking sucked.
Which was why I was so determined to help Chester.
Even if he hadn’t kept me on when he’d had every right to fire me, I’d still want to help the guy. It was in my nature. As a kid, I’d found Neil and my cousin, Martha, poking a tiny bird with a stick. It must’ve fallen out of his nest.
I’d waited until they got bored and wandered off before swooping in. I’d snuck the bird back into my room and set about making myself an expert in hatchling rearing. Thankfully, the library was one of the few rooms that wasn’t off-limits to me in the clan house. Probably because no one else bothered to go in there.
Made sense given all the stupid decisions the council seemed to make. History was bound to repeat itself if they didn’t know what had happened the first time.
As with that little bird, I couldn’t ignore Chester’s suffering, especially when it was something that was so easily fixed. All he needed was a little bit of confidence.
Fortunately, that was something I had in spades.
“You know exactly what I mean.” I rolled my eyes. “Why don’t you come out with us tonight? My friends are all great. They’d love to meet you.”
Chester grunted and I smiled. His grumpiness was adorable.
He wasn’t my type, but I could appreciate the aesthetic. I wouldn’t go there even if he were my type though. I had no trouble getting laid.
Keeping a job, on the other hand…that I definitely had trouble with. A quick fuck wasn’t worth risking the good thing I had going here.
