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Eliana rushed over to greet the new customer. “Welcome to Aloha ?Ohana Hanai, where we believe everyone belongs together. May I offer you a table?” Eliana smiled warmly.
The guest returned the smile with a hint of familiarity. “That would be lovely. Thank you, dear,” the woman responded.
Eliana grabbed a menu and asked the woman to follow her through the restaurant and gestured to a chair. Once the woman had settled in, she extended her hand to Eliana. Eliana was confused but accepted the handshake.
“My name is Gerri Wilder, dear. Might I be so bold as to assume you are Eliana Hal?”
Eliana was confused, and Gerri’s lips curled into a smile.
“I was a good friend of your late uncle. He often spoke well of you.”
Eliana’s face relaxed back into a smile. “Oh, of course. Uncle Phil spoke of you as well. Most notably, you helped him meet Aunt Reta.”
“I did. I find great pleasure in helping people come together. It’s a skill of mine. I am so sorry to hear of your uncle’s passing. Please accept my humblest condolences. He was a good man with a charitable heart, and I admired that in him greatly.”
“Thank you so much, Ms. Wilder. I appreciate those kind words. My aunt is usually in the restaurant, but she is at home on her break. I am sure she would love to see you again.”
Gerri’s face lit up. While Eliana didn’t know much about Gerri Wilder, she did hear a great many stories from her uncle. Ms. Wilder had been all over the world. She knew everyone, and she had all the connections. Not to mention her tremendous fashion sense.
Eliana could not believe how fresh this woman was. Her white hair was cut into a bob, and her slim figure had been wrapped in the most expensive labels. Her bright, cheerful attitude and magnetic personality were the icing on the cake.
“I would absolutely love to see dear Reta again. I’m in no hurry, my dear. If you have a moment, I would love for you to come and sit with me. We can have a little chat.”
She ran back to the kitchen to make sure everything was calm for a while. When she was satisfied she could afford to take a short break, she grabbed a couple coffees and pastries before heading back to Gerri’s table.
She settled in across from Gerri and slid a coffee across the table to her. Gerri’s lips curled into a sly smile.
“So, darling, how are things going here?”
“Well, the restaurant seems to be running like business as usual. Not really much different than before, though it feels different without him here. We are just hoping to save a little money so we can be a little more comfortable.”
“I can see how that would be a struggle, dear. I know how difficult running a business can be, and you are still so young. You seem fairly confident, though.”
“I guess so,” Eliana said slowly.
Gerri smiled gently. “What about the other business? Who is taking charge of that? The pack needs a new alpha, I imagine.” Gerri sipped her coffee casually as if they were simply chatting about the weather and not the profound subject of Eliana’s whole future.
“Oh, well, I really don’t know,” Eliana admitted. “For now, everyone’s just been coming to me when they need something. I guess you could say we are just taking things one day at a time right now. I’m not really sure who could step up more permanently ….”
Eliana paused for a moment. “But we know if one of us doesn’t step up, an outsider will. We don’t want that vulnerability …” Her tone was hesitant.
“Well, that just depends. Sometimes an outsider can be a suitable change, especially if there is not someone within to step up. Now, if they are power-hungry and don’t care about the locals … that is a different story entirely.” Gerri gave a knowing look and patted the top of Eliana’s hand resting on the table.
Eliana couldn’t contain the worry in her eyes as she looked at this vibrant older woman. She couldn’t deny the intense fear that followed her around every time she had to act as pack leader. She dropped her head to the table and pressed her forehead against their stacked hands.
She wasn’t sure why she felt so comfortable talking to Gerri. She had just met this woman. Sure, she was her uncle’s old friend, and she had heard many stories about her, but she was still a stranger.
Suddenly embarrassed and aware of her lack of composure, she lifted her head and leveled her gaze on Gerri. The woman seemed unbothered by the little display, still smiling kindly. Gerri squeezed Eliana’s hand and withdrew her own.
“If I may, I would like to offer you a suggestion.” Gerri’s eyes had narrowed to focus on Eliana. Eliana nodded, eager to accept any assistance with this difficult situation.
The problem wasn’t necessarily just the lack of young men in the area to take over the role. It was more complicated than that. Her uncle and aunt only got pregnant once, but the child didn’t come to term. They didn’t try again because of the complications Aunt Reta had.
Even though Uncle Phil had no heir, there were others within the pack who could have been next in line. Unfortunately, they didn’t really show the qualities of an alpha. And the ones that would have made good alphas once were now gone … they had either moved away from the area, or they had settled down with their own family.
It was as if the community expected Uncle Phil to be there forever. Eliana could relate … she had kind of expected her uncle to be there forever too.
Eliana hated admitting it, but she was struggling with the leadership role despite how she attempted to keep herself together. She was just a young wolf without any major management experience, so how was she supposed to know how to approach any of this?
