Page 37 of Steve's Barmaid
“Not on the main path,” she hissed. “Then everyone will know. Wait for later.”
Thinking about the rest of the afternoon, another worry cropped up. “What if someone asks Agnarr where I am? What will he say?”
Billie rolled her eyes. “He’d probably say, ‘eh, I dunno, maybe he went for a walk.’ Agnarr is super mellow. We should be fine unless Reykr gets it in his head that he should do some investigating.”
As much as Reykr was invested in knowing where I was, I knew he wouldn’t abandon the project to look for me.
“Meet behind the kitchen in fifteen minutes?” I asked.
“Yep.” Billie grinned.
Then, as if she was thinking about what we were actually going to do while berry picking, I was hit with her delectable scent. I was still trying to figure out why sometimes she smelled stronger than others. It felt like something I should know. I shook off the thought and quickly kissed Billie on the head before walking toward my room. At the very least, I could change before our date. I straightened up, then glanced down at myself and snorted. Sawdust and food crumbs probably wouldn’t add to the allure.
BILLIE
I didn’t have time to shower, so I hoped whatever smell the orkin had noticed wasn’t a bad one. I couldn’t smell anything, but Steve had said I smelled likeus. If I was honest, that made my heart go a little gooey inside. I watched him walk away before I realized I was supposed to be headed to the kitchens. I grabbed some baskets for berry picking and food for dinner. I was heading out when Emla called to me.
“Billie!” She waved me down. “I want to give you something to take with you on your afternoon with Joey.” In her hand, she had an earthenware jug with a cork stopper. “This is the first batch of mead I have so far. It’s the standard honeyed mead. Why don’t you and Joey try it while you pick berries? You can tell me what you think.”
I took the jug from her hand. Did I want to have a drink with Steve? Maybe.
“Thank you. We will try it and report back. And thanks for supporting the new bar.”
She patted my arm and waved me off. I exited the back of the kitchen to find Steve leaning against one of the walls, his hands in his pockets. He looked—the only world that came to mind was edible. He gave me a soft smile as I approached him.
“Hi.” I breathed, standing as close to him as possible.
“Hi back.” He smiled and tucked a curl behind my ear.
My hair was still in a bun from working all morning, but as usual, the ringlets around my face and at the nape of my neck came free.
“Want to go berry-picking?” I asked, holding up the baskets for berries and the basket of food I had packed.
I was already anticipating very little berry picking, but I wasn’t sure what we’d get up to. I wanted Steve to set the pace at something he was comfortable with.
He grabbed the heavier basket from me and looped my arm in his. “Lead the way.”
We headed down the meandering path toward the berry bushes that Emla had told me about. On the way, Steve peppered me with questions about tugboats, his latest obsession of Earth nautical inventions. Laughing, I explained them, and the conversation turned to the morning’s work.
“I hated that I couldn’t talk to you all morning,” Steve said. “I got stuck with Reykr and Joey. I don’t know what is happening with Joey, but she wasn’t her usual talkative self, so we worked silently.”
“Hmmm…” was all I responded.
“That ‘hmmm’ sounds like you know something.” Steve raised his brows at me.
“I think Joey might have a little crush on Reykr. What’s the story there? Why hasn’t he settled down? He’s at least ten years older than you.” I often wondered about the stoic, barrel-chested orc graying at the temples, but it never felt the right time to ask. Steve took a moment to answer.
“I think because he stepped in and helped raise me when my mom died, he never thought about looking for someone. My dad became a shell without her. Reykr did everything a parent should do, but he was only in his late teens. By the time I was of age, most of the orkin in our tribe that were of his age had settled down. Maybe he likes the quiet.”
While it was an unfortunate situation, it wasn’t Steve’s fault. Yet another burden that wasn’t his to carry.
“You can’t blame yourself for Reykr still being single,” I said gently, touching his arm. “He made that choice, and while it was a sacrifice, it was a sacrifice he made willingly.”
I could tell Steve was considering my words, but he said nothing.
“Hey, who knows? Maybe something is blossoming between him and Joey,” I continued. “Maybe Reykr needed to escape Snaerfírar as much as you did.”
Steve paused. “You think Joey and Reykr could work? She’s so small and loud. I mean that in a good way—I don’t know that someone like Reykr could manage that amount of energy.”
