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Chapter Thirty-Four

C lover smiled at the familiar face. “I didn’t think you’d be here,” she said to Orion as she approached him.

He was rearranging a rack of T-shirts. The main room of Pets and Scritches was a small merchandise shop with two doors at the far end—one of which led to the hallway she’d just left.

Orion’s gaze warmed as he returned her smile. He shrugged. “I just happened to be scheduled tonight.”

The orientation had been short, and only herself and one other volunteer had attended. It had covered the organization, their mission, and what they needed from volunteers. They’d also taken a tour of the facility, which wasn’t very big.

There was a kitten room on the premises as well as a room for new rescues, but most of their furry charges were in foster homes.

Clover had left the orientation with decisions to make. There were many ways she could help out, but she had to decide how she wanted to give her time.

Behind her, the other new volunteer, Shona, and the presenter, Amy, exited the hall.

“Orion?” Amy said, “I thought you were too busy to help out tonight.”

Orion’s cheeks flushed, but he continued to smile. “I was just stopping by,” he replied. “I’m leaving right now.”

Amy turned to Shona and Clover. “I’ll send you a link to the schedule portal where you two can sign up for whatever you’d like.”

The women nodded and wished each other goodbye.

Clover looked down at her watch. Whit wasn’t supposed to pick her up for another half hour. She frowned.

“Are you late for something?” Orion asked.

Clover shook her head. “No, but I’m not getting picked up for a while. What are you doing? I could help you organize.”

Orion spread his palms. “I’m already done. But, hey, there’s a café the next block over. We could go there to wait, or I could drop you off somewhere.”

Being that they were on the south side, Clover knew exactly the café he was referring to. They made a great iced butterfly pea flower tea called arctic purple with mint and lemon. She felt thirsty just thinking about it.

“Sure. Let me just send a quick text, and then we can go to the café.”

Pulling out her phone, Clover sent Whit a message telling him where she would be when he was ready to pick her up.

“Ready?” Orion asked, pulling on his coat.

Clover nodded and followed him out into the cold night.

As they walked, she glanced over at him. “You weren’t really scheduled for tonight, were you?”

She stifled a laugh when he winced.

“The truth is I was worried Amy would scare you away. She’s so passionate about the mission, and it either motivates people or intimidates them. I wanted to encourage you.”

Clover quirked her mouth, shoving her hands into her coat pockets as they waited at the crosswalk. It would be cold tomorrow, and she feared it wouldn’t warm up again until spring.

“So you think I’m easily intimidated, do you?”

He analyzed her face with a furrowed brow. “You’re teasing me, aren’t you?”

Clover laughed. “You catch on quickly.”

As the light turned green, and they started across the street, Orion asked, “So what are your thoughts about volunteering? Any idea of where you want to spend your efforts?”

Clover hummed in thought. “I’m not sure. The truth is, what I really need is a new job. And anything I sign up for might have to change when I get a new schedule.”

“Are you looking for a job? I think my company is hiring. Do you want me to look into it for you?”

“What is it you do?”

Orion opened the door of the café for her. “I’m a microbiologist.”

Clover’s eyes widened. “Wow, that’s impressive. Do you work at a lab, then? I doubt I’m qualified for anything at a lab.”

Orion shook his head. “No, I work at a brewery. There are tons of different kinds of jobs though I don’t know what they’re hiring for at the moment.”

Clover smiled. Brewing beer had long been associated with Brighid. Perhaps the gods aren’t done blessing me just yet . “I might not be qualified for any of the openings. But, sure, check it out for me. Thanks.”

“No problem.”

As Orion considered what he wanted to order, Clover stepped up to the counter and asked for an arctic purple. Ten minutes later, they were sitting at a table at the back of the café where it was warmest.

“So tell me about yourself, Clover. I feel like you know more about me than I know about you.”

Clover tilted her head. “Why do you feel like that?” With ordinaries, witches always had to choose their words carefully. She couldn’t blather on about herself in the same easy way she would do with another witch or sorcerer.

“Well, you know about my job and that I like cats so much I volunteer at a rescue. You know I’m civically minded since we met at city hall. I spearheaded that whole petition.”

“Do you think you’ll have enough signatures before you need them?” Clover asked.

Orion smirked. “Are you avoiding talking about yourself?”

Clover took a deep drink of her purple tea. “Not at all.” She played with her straw, moving it in and out of the plastic lid. “I like flowers and teas. I like to grow herbs and flowers and dry them so I can make tea blends.”

“Oh, that sounds interesting. I’d like to try one sometime.”

“Sure.” Clover nodded. “What do you like? Sweet? Spicy? Earthy? Fruity?”

Orion’s blue eyes warmed as he flashed her a smile. “Surprise me. I’m sure I’ll love anything you pick for me.”

Clover’s cheeks heated as she recognized the look he gave her. She rubbed her thumb across the base of her left ring finger. She’d forgotten to put her rings back on after doing the dinner dishes—still unused to wearing them.

Clover nodded distantly. “I’ll pick something most everyone likes, then. Let’s see… What else about me… I’ve been really busy lately because I just got married—that day we met at city hall, in fact. You remember the man who called out to me, right? That’s my husband, Whit.”

Orion’s warmth mellowed, but his smile did not. “Did you? Well, congratulations. I can see why you’d be so busy after that. Will your husband be volunteering at the rescue with you?”

His nonchalant response made Clover question whether she’d read the situation right. She shrugged. Either way, it wasn’t strange for her to bring Whit up at this point. “I don’t know. I didn’t ask him.” She chuckled. “I don’t even know if he likes cats.”

Orion’s brow furrowed, but his tone was teasing. “Well, if he doesn’t, I’d say it’s time for a divorce.”