He nodded, and she sipped at the fragrant tea. “I was really good at it too, and now some stupid jerk has my dream job because she sucks Leonard’s dick on the regular.”
She sighed. “Sorry, that was crude.”
“But accurate,” he said.
“Maybe it isn’t,” she said. “Maybe I just want that to be true because I refuse to believe Lori got the job on her own merit.”
“It’s true,” he said. “I could smell your boss’s scent all over her when she walked past me in the hallway.”
“Gross,” Cece said before staring into the fire.
“What will you do now?”
“Starve, lose my home, and die in a snowbank?” Cece said before grimacing. “Pity party, table of one, please.”
“You’re allowed to feel sorry for yourself,” Briggs said.
“It won’t solve any of my problems,” Cece said.
“Still allowed.”
She smiled at him. “Thanks for not judging my pathetic life. I swear I’m not bad with money, it’s just this house sucks up a lot of my extra cash, and as much as I love it, I also feel… trapped. And now with both my mom and my aunt gone, it almost feels like it holds more bad memories than good. I don’t want it to be like that, but I can’t help how I feel, right? Being in this house without them feels…wrong.”
“Have you considered selling the house?” Briggs asked.
“Honestly, that’s what I’m trying to do, but I need to do so many repairs first,” she said. “And I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m not exactly great at home repairs.”
“I can help,” Briggs said. “I’ve worked construction, and I’m handy with that type of shit.”
She smiled wearily at him. “I appreciate it, but without a job, I don’t have the money for any supplies or tools needed to make the repairs.”
She stared moodily into the fire. “At least now your job of protecting me will be easier, right?”
“You’ll find another job,” he said.
“Let’s talk about something else, can we?” she asked.
“Sure,” he said. “What do you want to talk about?”
“You,” she said. “Do you have any siblings?”
“A sister,” he said. “She lives in Wellington, near my parents’ place.”
“Younger or older?”
“Younger by a couple of years,” Briggs said.
“Are you close with her and your parents?” Cece asked.
“I am,” he said. “Polar bear shifters tend to have tight-knit families and communities.”
“That’s really interesting,” she said. “The polar bear animal leads a solitary life.”
He nodded. “It’s about the only way polar bear shifters differ. Otherwise, we’re pretty similar.”
“What is Wellington like?”
“Beautiful.” She liked the way Briggs’s face softened in the firelight. “The town is built close to a major river, and it’s about a two-hour drive from Fairbanks. It’s small and isolated, but we have a medical facility, two grocery stores, a library, and a pretty big community hall. Everyone knows everyone.”
