Page 20 of Lee

Alys laughed, and even Lee chuckled. With humor lighting his face, Lee was even more attractive, making Rori’s cheeks heat and her heartbeat surge.

When the phone rang a moment later, Rori was grateful for the distraction. Grabbing the receiver, she scooted back, drawing her keyboard out from its place under the lip of the desk.

And with that, their day began.

Lee and Alys walked together to the hallway that led to the back of the clinic. The only person who didn’t move was Cheryl. She stayed leaning back in her chair with her fingers laced over her stomach.

Most of what needed to be done each day, Rori was now doing. Cheryl was there only for support and to answer any questions that might pop up that she hadn’t covered yet. Her plan was to gradually cut down on the hours she was there each day, though she promised to always be available by phone if questions popped up.

If the office had been busier, Rori might have been uncertain about being able to handle things on her own so soon. However, the clinic had a nice slow pace, and everyone she’d dealt with had been patient and understanding.

Each day at the clinic got a little better, and so far, she hadn’t regretted making the decision to uproot her life and move to Serenity.

As it turned out, a conversation with her mom was what ended up making Rori regret her decision.

“What do you mean you’ve moved to Serenity?” she demanded when Rori finally worked up the nerve to tell her about her news.

It had taken her far too long to get to that point. Three weeks had passed since she’d driven into town with all her belongings, and now that she was in the middle of the conversation with her mom, Rori wished she’d waited even longer.

“When I was cat-sitting Queen Charlotte, I found I really liked the Serenity area, so I decided to move here.”

“What about your job?”

Her mom hadn’t been too worried about Rori’s job when she’d essentially demanded she come help with the cat. “The dental office closed down a couple of months ago when the owners retired, so I didn’t have a job to go back to.”

“What are you doing for money, then?” her mom asked. “I hope you’re not calling to ask me for some.”

“I’m not. I have savings from when I was working, plus they gave me a termination bonus. I also have a job here.”

“Where?”

Rori hesitated, not wanting her mom to know where she worked, but it would be worse if she came into the clinic and saw her there. “I’m working as a receptionist at the vet clinic.”

“How did you get a job there?”

“I took Queen Charlotte in to make sure she was okay, and I asked if they were hiring.”

“You took my sweetie to the vet?” her mom demanded.

“Yes. She wasn’t purring as much as I thought she should have been, so I just wanted to make sure she was okay. They said she was fine, and she probably wasn’t purring as much because she missed you,” Rori told her. “And it seemed that was true because she purred like crazy when you got back.”

“Well,” her mom huffed. “As long as you don’t bother me, I suppose it should be okay for you to live here.”

A sarcastic response flitted through Rori’s mind, but she bit it back. “I won’t bother you. I just wanted you to be aware, so you weren’t caught off guard if our paths crossed.”

“That’s fine then.”

Rori knew better than to expect her mom to prolong their conversation by asking how Rori was doing, so she said goodbye and ended the call. This would probably be the last time they spoke for an extended length of time, unless her mom needed her for something.

Though that wasn’t out of the norm for their relationship, Rori still felt a pang of longing for a mom who truly cared. It was a wasted emotion, however, so Rori worked hard to let it go.

Just like she’d done throughout her entire life.

She was sitting on her bed later, working on some photo editing on her laptop, when her phone rang. Smiling when she saw Essie’s name on the screen, she tapped to accept the call.

“How was your week, darling?” Essie asked.

“It was good. I’m really getting the hang of everything. Cheryl is going to cut her hours down next week. She’ll only be in from nine until one.”

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