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CHAPTER FOUR: HARVEST MOON - PART ONE
Dawn closed her menu and handed it to the waiter who’d just taken her order, thanking him. She watched Russ do the same before the server hurried off. She watched Russ try to settle in the cramped diner patio seating, his broad frame too large for the decorative wrought iron chair. She stood across the table from him, her hooves fidgeting a bit.
Maybe she ought to have chosen one of the cozy booths inside but, with her body, there weren’t many seats inside that she could comfortably sit in. Besides, it was a beautiful evening and, personally, she wanted to enjoy the fresh air and gorgeous sunset, and had a feeling Russ would do the same. She smiled at him. “Thank you again for talking to my class. I think it really helped.”
Russ’s cheeks flushed as he smiled back. “It was fun. The kids are great.” She liked his smile. It was shy and a little unsure, like he was out of practice, and made his amber eyes shine. It made her want to make him do it again and again until the gesture became effortless. He shrugged. “I had such a good time, I feel bad taking a free dinner for it.”
Dawn shook her head. “You deserve it. I honestly believe it really helped the kids to interact with you, to see that you’re a normal person, just like them.” Remembering him with the kids, she didn’t think anyone could miss how much of an impact he’d made, even in such a short amount of time. She shrugged. “I think it helped some of the parents to see that too.”
He tilted his head, his cheeks flushing a bit. “So I know why you became a teacher,” he said, obviously uncomfortable being the center of attention, “but how did you become one? How do you go from the farm to the classroom?”
Dawn nodded, allowing him to change the subject. After all, this dinner was for him; it only seemed fair. “Like I said before, plants and farming aren’t my strong suit. Neither is tourism or marketing. My parents and siblings are way better at those things than I am. But I’m good with kids and our farm attracts a lot of families so, when it came time to figure out my major, I thought childcare and teaching would be a good way to go.” She shrugged. “It was that or culinary school, but I kinda hated the idea of turning my hobby into a full-time job.”
He nodded. “I get that. And I don’t think anyone can question your choices.” He shrugged and looked down at the tablecloth, his large, well-worked hands fiddling with his utensils. Again, her overactive mind wondered what those strong, capable hands would feel like. “Watching you with those kids, it’s easy to see you were meant to be a teacher.”
Dawn felt herself blush. “Thank you.” It shouldn’t have felt so good, shouldn’t have meant so much, hearing that. But, when she’d left, her family had been skeptical. After weeks of students fighting, so had many in the administration, not to mention her colleagues and the parents. She hated to admit it, but she’d been starting to doubt herself as well. So hearing someone praise her — hearing them say that this was her purpose or destiny — was precisely what she needed to hear, precisely when she needed to hear it.
Feeling silly, like she was overreacting — as usual — she shook her head and smiled at him. “What about you?” She laughed. “I know we prepared a whole speech about your life as a werewolf, but I feel like I don’t know very much about you.”
Russ shifted in his seat again as he grimaced, making her want to laugh at the way his nose wrinkled. “Not much to know.” He huffed wryly. “You probably know more about me than anyone else.”
Dawn didn’t believe that; that made his life sound so… lonely. “Well, I know that you garden and are extremely handy.” She leaned back and studied him, smiling as he squirmed. “I know you don’t talk much, unless asked to — and even then, generally say as little as possible — and you hate talking about yourself.”
He shrugged stiffly. “Me in a nutshell.”
She knew there had to be more to him than that. “I know you’re an excellent caretaker now, but what did you do before that?”
He grimaced. “Nothing special. I worked an office job.”
She leaned in, curious. “You didn’t enjoy it?”
He frowned. “It was fine.” He rolled his shoulders uncomfortably. He really didn’t like talking about himself, did he? “But, after I turned, it just didn’t seem like a good idea.”
“Why not?”
He looked down at the table again, his brow furrowing. “Most companies aren’t exactly eager to hire werewolves.”
Dawn frowned. “Really? There’s still hiring discrimination.” She shook her head. “I thought that was illegal.”
Russ shrugged. “It is, if they say that’s why they won’t hire you. But there are plenty of perfectly legal ways around that.”
“Like what?”
Russ sighed. “Well, I had a two-year gap in my employment, after having been let go when I turned.” He shook his head. “Even without the reason behind my leave of absence, that kind of lapse looks bad.” He frowned. “And, with the reason…”
Dawn shook her head. “That’s awful.”
Russ shrugged. “Having a predator around makes people — human and magical — uncomfortable and I don’t like doing that so, honestly, I’d rather not work somewhere where my presence wouldn’t be welcome.”
Dawn understood that. “But still…” She shook her head. “I know it sounds terribly naive, but the world shouldn’t be like that. People shouldn’t be like that. You’re a wonderful person and are exceptional at your job; any employer would be lucky to have you.” She pouted, furious on his behalf. “You should be welcome wherever you go.”
His lips thinned in the slightest of smiles, a blush creeping across his cheeks. “Well, thanks for that.” He sighed. “But, like you said, adults get stuck on how the world works, how it has in the past, thinking that’s how it should always be.” He nodded to her. “That’s why we need more people like you, to help teach kids how the world could be, so they can imagine building a better one.”
She smiled wide enough for the both of them. He made her sound so noble and important, when most people just assumed she essentially babysat children all day. “Thank you.”
His gaze narrowed and a slight frown touched his lips. “By the way, I wanted to ask you something.”
She tilted her head questioningly.
His nose wrinkled. “A couple of your kids mentioned something strange. About a man showing up at the school to give you a scarf.”
She sat up straight, feeling her face pale.
“It was Tucker, wasn’t it?”
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