Chapter Text
Shane enters a new phase of his life.
Shane Hollander was an anxious person. Not in a bad way. He had found that making years-long plans didn't help with his anxiety. So, he stuck to smaller goals. Look at the problem that needs to be addressed first and then take it from there.
That’s how he had landed in vet school after spending most of his childhood and teens playing hockey. Going pro didn’t work out due to a knee injury and the best he could do was pivot and look into something as fulfilling, if not more. Medicine was easy. It was simple and unpredictable, most of the time. Animals had always helped him with his stressful thoughts and whenever he could, he had volunteered at the local animal shelters during his high school days. The fact that it ended up benefiting his career change was an unexpected plus. Helping animals in need had seemed to be more rewarding and helped in soothing the sting he had associated with giving up on hockey.
But, the more time he spent in college, the more he realized that maybe he was meant for this. Was it fate? Shane didn’t believe in it. At least not then. Not until he moved to a small town near Montreal in his late 20s.
Through the network of peers and professors from his vet school in Montreal, Shane had been offered to be the replacement for a retiring vet, a friend of one of his professors. By that point, Shane had already spent a few years working with a local vet in Montreal. He had excelled in college, passing with honors. So, entering the field had not been as daunting as he had thought it would be.
While he liked living in the city, he was tired of the constant hustle bustle and since the town was only a bit more than an hour away from Montreal, it seemed like the best of both worlds. He could still meet his friends, Hayden and JJ, in Montreal every few weeks. They had their own families so meeting up was something they always needed to plan in advance anyway.
Being an introvert, Shane had always liked the peace and quiet that came with being in small towns, where he had spent some time as a kid travelling for tournaments or on vacation with his parents. His friends wished he was more social but he liked his own company. And, the company of his rescue cat named Haru. Haru was a gentle calico with a single bright green eye. She had been brought to the clinic Shane worked at by a woman who had found the seven week old kitten abandoned by the side of the road. She was on the verge of death and while the probability of kittens younger than eight weeks surviving those injuries was very low, Haru had pulled through and was back to being an active kitten within a week.
Shane had ended up falling in love with her almost instantly. Now, Haru was a very vocal two year old cat, independent but always knowing when Shane needed her close to him. She always knew when Shane was not in a good mental headspace and would help him through it with gentle purrs.
Currently, Haru was in her carrier, strapped into the backseat while Shane drove them and almost all of his belongings to the town of Baythorn. It was surprisingly easy to haul all of his stuff into his Jeep Cherokee. He had always tried to be minimalistic about his flat decor since he had no concrete plans for his career post college. Opening his own clinic was an idea he had dabbled with. The what, when and where of it, he had decided to leave for the future, until he gained more experience under other senior veterinarians. Small term plans, small levels of stress.
He had been to Baythorn once, almost a month ago, to meet the vet he’d be taking over from, and to check out the clinic he’d be renting in the contract. The property the clinic sat on was owned by the retiring vet, Dr. Williams. He had mentioned that he might be open to selling the property to Shane if he was interested in staying there long term. Shane appreciated the offer and told him that he’d consider it and get back to him after spending some time in the town. He wanted to keep his options open. Living in a town was a new experience and, while he was excited about the newness of it all, he wanted to make sure he did end up liking it before making things permanent.
He finally reached the house he’d be renting during his stay in Baythorn around late afternoon. Rent was much cheaper here so going for a house instead of a small flat in the town centre was preferable. The clinic was located in a semi-busy part of the town. Shane wanted to keep a healthy distance between his place of work, and place of rest & relaxation.
The new house was two-storeyed, with two bedrooms and two baths. It had a decently-sized front yard and a porch, which Shane was hoping could be used to set up a catio for Haru.
Moving and setting things up took a few more hours. Haru had been locked up in the smaller bedroom with her food and toys. She was a curious child and Shane didn’t want her hurt while he moved heavy boxes around.
After fixing the essentials, Shane looked at the time. His stomach grumbled loudly at the same time. He chuckled and looked around the living room once more. Everything looked fine. Everything was going to be fine. This isn’t scary. This is okay, this is right. This is-
Shane halted his inner monologue when he realized he was close to spiralling about everything- the move, the change, the new town, the new people.
What had he done?
No. He breathed in and out deeply, one of the coping mechanisms to keep his panic under control. He was just hungry and tired, he theorized internally.
Yeah, dinner seems like a good option. And some sleep.
Finally calm, he decided to drive the short distance to the local café, Rose’s, one of the suggestions from Dr. Williams. He realized that the cafe was only a five minute walk away from his clinic, which made sense as it was also located in a semi-busy area of Baythorn- not too central like the shops, salons and mart, the busiest part of the town.
Shane ended up at a table near the window, overlooking the street and the nearby parking space. While perusing the menu, a beautiful woman with a warm smile on her face approached his table. Shane was gay, but even he could accept the fact that this woman was movie star-level gorgeous.
“Hi, I’m Rose. How are we doing today?”. Her voice was warm and welcoming just like her smile.
“Hi there! It’s my first time here. Do you have any suggestions?”, he asked.
“Well, I’d recommend- Did you just move here? Wait, are you the new vet that the whole town has been abuzz about?”, she asked excitedly.
“Uh… people know about me?”. Despite Rose’s enthusiasm, Shane would feel the anxiety creeping back in. He hated attention.
“Yeah, of course. Dr. Williams is a hero in this town. And-”, she stopped mid-sentence as her eyes scrolled over Shane’s face.
“Oh, sorry! That’s awfully rude of me. I should get your order first and barrage you with the town gossip later”. She had probably seen the slight panic on Shane’s face.
“It’s alright”, he said more calmly than he actually felt. “Do you own this place?”, he asked, to divert the topic off himself.
“Yeah, yeah! I also like to work as a waitress and hostess whenever I can. I work as a film critic for indie films most of the time. Rose Landry, good to meet you…”, she put her hand forward.
“Shane Hollander, the new vet in town”, he smiled.
Rose grinned back at him as she shook his hand. “Well, it’s great to meet you Dr. Hollander. I hope you enjoy our town. Now, I’d recommend the lasagna if you are okay with lactose and meat.” Shane nodded right away.
“Great! It’s a family recipe and I think it’d be a good welcome dish for you, doctor”, she smiled widely at Shane. He couldn’t help but smile back immediately. It wasn’t usual for Shane to get comfortable with a new person so quickly.
“Just Shane, please. No Dr. Hollander outside the clinic”, he corrected her gently.
“Well then, Shane. Tonight the dinner is on me. Consider it a welcome gift from me.”
Shane opened his mouth to protest right away but Rose was quick to shut down all objections with, “I’m not taking a no for an answer, Shane. And, believe me, I’m stubborn as fuck.”
Shane laughed and added, “Well, how about you join me for dinner then, if you are free? Or for some wine after? I’d like to believe I have at least one new friend in this brand new place.”
“Oh, we're gonna get along swimmingly, Shane”, she lightly nodded her head. “How about I wrap up this shift and join you for a glass of wine in a bit?”
“That’d be amazing”, Shane replied warmly.
Rose nodded her head enthusiastically and put a hand on his shoulder. “Perfect! See you in a bit, friend.” she teased as she left to place his order.
Shane couldn’t help smiling as he looked out the window. It felt good to have someone familiar there. He had a feeling that he and Rose would end up being good friends, which he had rarely said for the people he’d met in his life. He texted his parents happily, notifying them about his quick and easy move and how both him and Haru were settling into the new place. Haru had sniffed all possible corners of the new house and had been napping on her cat tree when Shane had left the place earlier.
*************
Shane had just finished the delicious lasagna that Rose had recommended. It was truly one of the best Italian dishes Shane had ever had. Given his Japanese heritage, Shane had been exposed to a variety of cuisines as a kid, especially by his mom. He was a picky eater but had developed his palette as a young adult, always open to trying new things.
Rose had passed by and mentioned that she’d be joining him with some red wine in a bit. Shane was sipping on his lime water when he heard the loud roar of multiple bikes pulling into the parking area. He was intrigued, wondering about the various kinds of people he’d be coming across this town. Being the only vet in town would mean interacting with a lot of the residents and based on what Dr. Williams had told him, this was a town of pet lovers.
Although it wasn’t very clear from afar, Shane could see that there were three riders, all three of them pretty tall. In a minute, the door chime alerted him to the new customers. Three men sauntered in, all dressed more or less in a similar manner. Jeans with black leather jackets, the backs of which featured a bear with ‘Grimm’ written over it in white, blocked letters. All three of them gave a quick scan to all the tables as they moved towards the bar area. All three of them were handsome men. However, the tallest of them caught Shane’s eye.
The tall guy had curly light brown, almost dark blonde hair and an angular jaw. While Shane couldn’t figure out his eyes, he knew they were light-coloured.
He was possibly the hottest man Shane had ever seen.
While the other two men had turned towards the bar after scanning the floor, the hot guy had stopped and paused his eyes on Shane, and Shane had continued staring at him.
As soon as their eyes connected, Shane felt his face getting warmer. He knew he was absolutely going red. The hot guy’s lips lifted in a slight smirk. Shane knew he should look away and stop making this more awkward than it already was. Their staredown lasted only for five seconds, until one of the hot guy's friends diverted his attention to the bar, pulling him into their quiet conversation.
Shane was thankful for the distraction. Those mere seconds felt like hours. He looked away quickly and busied himself with his phone. He had a list of to dos to go through to set up the new clinic and it served as a good distraction for five minutes until the urge to look at the hot guy again took over and he had no control over it.
He looked up towards the bar and the curly-haired man was smiling, looking at his friends. Shane would see his side-profile now, which revealed a slightly crooked but beautiful nose. Everything about that man screamed hot. It was unusual for Shane to feel this affected by a stranger and their looks.
Shane continued observing him. As if he felt his eyes on him, the man moved his head slowly towards Shane and their eyes met again for a single second until Shane looked away quickly, busying himself with scanning the menu, unnecessarily.
He felt eyes on him but refused to look up. He was awkward. Always has been when it comes to meeting men he might be interested in. He concentrated on reading the whole menu and stopped feeling like he was under observation after a minute or two.
Shane was soon distracted by Rose joining him at her table with a couple glasses of red wine. He was excited about just chatting with her, learning more about her and Baythorn. Soon, he got consumed into the conversation, forgetting about the hot guy and the time. He looked at the time when a notification popped on his screen and gasped slightly.
“Shit! I didn’t realize that’s the time.”
“Oh! Yeah, almost closing time for me too.”
Shane looked up and realized that the café was almost empty and the three men with the leather jackets were nowhere to be found. He ignored the slight disappointment he felt when he realized that the curly-haired guy was gone. He wondered if he should ask Rose about him. But, that seemed too forward for his first day here. He didn’t want to come off as a weirdo to his first and only friend here.
Soon, Shane was on his way back to his new home after hugging Rose goodbye and leaving her with the promise to be a regular at her café. Given that his clinic was close to her place, he knew he’d be spending a lot of his time at the café.
Later that night, he sorted through his to-do list to feel more prepared and in control of the changes he was going through. However, his dreams were filled with a handsome face, smirking knowingly at him.