“Right, so, I’ve made an appointment to see that house Joe told us about, Thursday afternoon. Do you want to come along?”
“I’d love to!” she enthused. “This is so exciting. And I’ve never seen a carriage house before. I googled it, though, after our dinner with Joe and Jake, and I think a carriage house would be perfect for a clinic. Well,” she allowed, laughing, “after maybe a lot of work by the construction guys.”
“Right,” Liam laughed. “I’m working Thursday at the clinic, but I’ve arranged for a long lunch. How about you come meet me there after you get off from the library? We can go meet the realtor and see the property, then go out for lunch.”
“It’s a plan,” Naomi assured him. “I can’t wait!”
“By the way.” His voice held more than a hint of amusement. “Look on your balcony.”
Curious, she slid off the mattress, still feeling more than a little boneless, and went to the balcony door, pulling it open and peeking outside, feeling the chill of the evening air on her nose. It made her want to laugh in pure delight. They hadn’t had weather like this in Florida, and she was loving it. She wasn’t so sure she was going to love snow, but that was yet to come.
“Naomi? Are you there?”
Oh, right, she was supposed to be looking for something. Her gaze fell on the small table beside the glider on her balcony, where a medium size box sat with Amazon tape all over it. She lifted it, and something clunked, not in a delicate, now-I’m-broken way, though. She carried the box inside and placed it on her desk, slicing through the tape with a pair of scissors. She opened the box, peering in. After pulling out some solid styrofoam packing material, she squeaked in delight.
“An electric kettle!”
She pulled it out, along with the instructions, admiring it.
Liam’s deep chuckle came over the phone. “It’s a congratulations for your first day on the job gift. It was delivered today while we were at work, I asked Angus to put it on your balcony when it arrived.”
“I love it! I can get some teas, some instant cocoa and instant cider to have up here in my room.”
“You can,” he agreed, clearly laughing at her excitement. “That’s the point.”
“Now I have to go to the supermarket and do some shopping,” she said, pretending to be complaining, but inside she was glowing with happiness, not just at having the kettle, but because Liam had gone out of the way to get her a thoughtful gift. He was so amazing! She knew she was falling for him a little bit more every day, and not all her warnings to herself seemed to make any difference. She’d get a handle on her feelings, and then he’d do something like this, and she’d fall for him all over again.
“I think you can handle it,” he said, still laughing. “Aw, hell, I have to run. Patient coming in.”
“All right. Thank you, Liam. I love it.”
“Good night, and I’ll see you at breakfast tomorrow.”
“I’ll be there! Nite, Liam.”
Chapter22
Just before noon on Thursday,following Liam’s directions, Naomi turned onto the long, curving driveway to the veterinary clinic. Almost everyone she’d met was in some way connected with the clinic; besides Liam interning there, Douglas and Troy were partners in owning it. Douglas was married to Jacinth, and Troy was engaged to Katerina. Kester was Katerina’s older brother. Jacinth had been mentor to the mage, Julian, who was married to Alessandra, while Maroulla Kazakis, the Warden for the Northeastern Shifter Council, was Katerina’s and Kester’s grandmother. It was like an intricate spider web, with every strand leading back to the veterinary clinic.
So, she stared curiously as the clinic came into view. It was set back from the road, with wooded hills and a red hip-roofed barn with white trim looming as a backdrop. At least, she didn’t know about barns or their roofs, but “hip-roofed” was what swam into her thoughts when she looked at it. The clinic itself was of a pretty red brick, long and low, with attractive green shutters. There was nothing special about it, nothing to indicate that it was somehow central to the Other community in the Hudson Valley.
The driveway split left and right as it wound around to the clinic, with a signpost announcing “Dogs” to the left and “Cats” to the right. Okay, that was kind of cute. Hmm, which way, which way? She was feline, but she was here to see Liam, definitely a dog. Snickering a little to herself, she turned to the left and parked. The door into the clinic from the parking lot was, unsurprisingly, marked “Dogs,” and she snickered again as she went inside.
The first thing she saw as the door closed behind her, however, was a large, long-haired calico cat, sitting regally on the counter of the reception desk, her long, full tail curled neatly about her front paws. Tufted ears pricked forward, and gold eyes stared at her unblinkingly.
Wait! She knew those eyes. She narrowed her own eyes.
“Cat?” She mouthed silently.
A slow blink answered her, and Naomi bit back a smile. She could swear Cat was smirking at her. An older woman seated behind the counter looked up, smiling in a friendly fashion.
“Yes, may I help you?”
Color rose in Naomi’s cheeks. “Oh! Yes, hello. I’m meeting Liam… er, Dr. McConnell… here.”
The woman smiled even wider. “You must be Naomi. Welcome, I’m Barbara. It’s nice to meet you.”
Feeling a little relieved, Naomi smiled back at her. “Hi. It’s nice to meet you, too.”
