Page 29 of Just A Little Magic

We sat in companionable silence for the remainder of the trip. The only break in the quiet was the radio and the soft sounds of Lucifer’s snorts and purrs. I didn’t know what the cat chased in his dreams, but I hoped the purrs meant he’d caught it.

Every once in a while, I’d reach over to scratch Lucifer behind the ears and brush my fingers across Owen’s hand. Each brush sent a wave of want through my body, but Owen’s expression remained frustratingly unreadable in his now-real slumber. If nothing else, it gave me a chance to just be in his company again without all the angst we’d created for each other.

When the start-and-stop traffic began as I approached the city, Owen roused himself from his nap. He seemed a little confused, like he always did when he napped during the day. However, he wasn’t too confused that he forgot about his new baby. He immediately brought him up for a cuddle. I was jealous.

“Bear! Why did you let me sleep the whole way?”

“What did you want me to do? If I wake you up, then you yawn the whole way. Are you trying to make me crash? I’m too young to die.”

“Well, that escalated quickly.”

“It would, and that’s why I left you alone, babe.”

Owen rolled his eyes at me, but that silly, cheeky version ofhim was my favorite. I cleared my throat and continued, “Did you want to call Levi or wait until after the vet?”

“I hate what I’m about to say, but I’ll wait. If there’s something wrong, then I don’t want to ask for no reason.”

“Yeah, I can understand that, but I’ve got a good feeling on both counts. I think Lucifer will get a perfect bill of health and Levi will say yes.”

“But what if he doesn’t?” Owen asked in a hesitant voice.

“He will, but if he doesn’t, I’ll love having a new roommate.”

“You’ve never once mentioned wanting to get a cat.”

“You’ve never once found a cat in the woods in the middle of a bear attack.”

“Oh, well, hold on. It wasn’t an attack. It was an…encounter.”

I internally rolled my eyes. Leave it to Owen to make sure the bear didn’t get unfairly blamed for something he wasn’t willing to label an attack.

“All right. I stand corrected. He and you are the heroes of a bearencounter.”

Owen had always been a sucker for the underdog.

“Hero,” Owen scoffed. “I didn’t do anything but scream.”

“It must’ve worked because he didn’t hurt you.”

“He didn’t run off until you came.”

“Nah, he was already set to run.”

“We all three can be heroes, and two of us can celebrate that with some beer at Stone and Vine tomorrow.”

“Why tomorrow?”

“Because today I need to ditch work, hide from my boss, and buy all the kitty essentials I can. That’s going to take some time. Plus, I want to bring my files with me to do a site check. That beer garden you’re adding in the alley will be fantasticnext summer, but we need to get the drainage issues resolved for it to work.”

Owen launched into a discussion about water mitigation and his intended design for the secret garden feel behind the little bistro. The design he’d created in the café was one of his best. The mural that dominated the main dining room was perfect, with its vignettes of mythical woodland creatures. The enormous stone fireplace was perfect for our dreary winters, and the food was second to none.

We’d get more of a summer crowd with a new outdoor seating area. The space was in an alley surrounded by brick walls, so Owen had been working hard on a design with enough green to provide the feel that you’d stepped into a real garden. It would be spectacular if we could get the hardscaping sorted out. By the time he wound down, we were pulling into the vet’s parking lot.

Once inside the office, we went directly to the receptionist and waited until she was off the phone.

“Name?” she asked.

“Hi, we talked to Ryan about coming in with a cat. He said he’d let you know to expect us,” I answered.

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