Page 17 of Lee

“Ooooh.” Alys grinned as she looked back at Rori. “You need to see the kittens. They might change your mind.”

As Alys talked about the kittens and her own pets, Rori continued to eat her sandwich in slow, small bites. From what Lee could see, it appeared to be peanut butter and jelly. It wasn’t his first choice of sandwich, but Layla and Amelia always asked for it when given the opportunity.

“So, Lee…” Alys began. “Does Wilder have a girlfriend?”

“Wilder?”

“Yeah. You know. Your brother?”

Lee gave a huff of laughter. “I know who he is. I’m just surprised you’re interested in him.”

“Why?” Alys asked. “He’s cute, and he’s nice.”

“And he’s gone for six months out of the year,” Lee reminded her. “That wouldn’t work so well for a relationship.”

“That’s true.” Alys narrowed her eyes for a moment. “How about Zane?”

“He has a girlfriend, so he’s definitely off the market. And Cole’s too young for you.”

Alys sighed. “Bummer.”

“You have three brothers?” Rori asked.

“Actually, I have five brothers and four sisters.”

Rori’s eyes widened. “There’s ten of you? Wow! Do you all have the same parents?”

It was a question that made Lee feel a little uneasy because it had led to the ending of at least one relationship. “Yes, we do now, but not all of us started out in the same family. We’re a mix of biological and adopted kids.”

Rori’s smile didn’t quite reach her eyes as she said, “They must have really loved and wanted each of you.”

Lee nodded. “We’ve been very blessed to have the Halversons as parents.”

And even though he absolutely loved his parents and his family, the desire to know about his birth family was growing in intensity. Janessa and Jay were fortunate to know who their birth parents were, and so far, it seemed that Zane didn’t really care about having that information.

“Hey Lee,” Cheryl said as she poked her head into the room. “Got someone coming in with an injured cat.”

“Okay. I’ll be right there.”

Lee pushed back from the table and tossed his garbage out before setting his lunch kit on the counter to take home later. He left the two women to finish eating while he went to the reception desk to get more details from Cheryl.

While they were talking, Rori appeared and slipped into the chair beside Cheryl.

“Are you going for your lunch now?” Lee asked Cheryl.

She grimaced. “To be honest, I don’t feel super hungry. Plus, my chair here is more comfortable than the ones in the staff room.”

Lee hoped it was just an off day for her. He knew it would stress her if she went into labor before she felt comfortable about Rori taking over her job.

When someone came in to buy dog food, Lee left Rori and Cheryl to deal with it and went to the back to find Alys so they could prepare for the injured cat.

“Rori seems really nice,” Alys said as they waited. “I think she’ll do well here.”

Lee nodded. “For Cheryl’s sake, I hope she does work out.”

It did seem that, personality-wise, Rori fit in well. That was important, but her ability to do the job was equally necessary.

Lee was still a bit surprised that Cheryl had hired someone that she knew so little about. And he was also surprised that someone had uprooted their whole life to move to Serenity for a job as a receptionist. Although maybe Rori’s relocation had more to do with her mom living there than the job.

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