“Honey. Thanks.”
He finished making the tea for me, then grabbed a Cheerwine out of the fridge for himself. I smiled as he got it and sat down beside me. Kevin, new to the South, was obsessed with drinking Cheerwine. I wondered what would happen if he ever tried Moon Pies.
“You should start a journal,” he said, snapping the top from the bottle. “It might help if you can compare things that happen to you.”
“How long do you think it will last?” I held my tea and tried to sound as if it didn’t really matter. But it did. It was frightening, too different from my usual ability to help find things.
“It might not go away. This new ability might take the place of the old one, or it might add to it. That’s why it’s important to get on top of it.”
That idea was a slap of cold water. I put my tea on the little side table I’d acquired at an auction over the summer. I looked around my shop, all my carefully gathered treasures. I had feelings for most of them, but I never expected to know what they were feeling in return.
“I guess you haven’t tried to find anything yet,” he said. “Maybe you should. It would tell you if you’ve traded abilities or if you’ve enhanced the original.”
That sounded like a good idea. It was something positive and concrete to do. I still felt kind of shaky, but I was curious to find out what was going on. “Are you volunteering?”
“Sure. Why not?” He put his Cheerwine down and stuck his hands out toward me. “I’ve been trying to find a missing case of wine at the hotel. Maybe you can help me with it.”
To say I was nervous about touching him was like comparing a dingy to a sloop. I was terrified of what I might see or feel. I wished I’d brought the evidence gloves with me to protect me from something I couldn’t even name.
“Okay.” I had started to reach toward him when someone began pounding on the shop door.
I could see my friend Shayla Lily trying to sneak peeks inside the shop. “I know you’re in there, Dae!”
I gave Kevin an apologetic look, not sure if I should murder Shayla for wrecking the moment or be happy it hadn’t gone any further. There had been something in Kevin’s tone when he’d told me about his FBI partner, the psychic. I’d gotten the feeling that they’d had more than just a working relationship. I might have been on the verge of finding out why Kevin had resisted the advances of all of the women in Duck.
Not me, of course. I’d been careful not to put myself in that position with him. If all he wanted from me was friendship, I was happy to give it. Well, maybe not happy exactly, but I thought he might come around in time.
When I opened the shop door, Shayla burst into the room as she always did. Her black hair was drawn back from her cocoa-colored face, showing off her finely drawn brows. She always dressed in black, probably part of her mystique as a tarot card reader.
“What the hell is going on here?” she demanded.
Another reason I hadn’t pushed hard to have a romantic relationship with Kevin is that he’d dated Shayla for a short while. She has a long memory.
“Nothing.” I glanced at Kevin, hoping he would back me up.
“Thirsty!” He drained his bottle of Cheerwine.
“Dae—Oh my God! What have you done to yourself? Your aura is all over the place! Girl, you have either been cursed or you’ve had a near-death experience. I’m thinking it must be a curse because I’d know if you almost died, right? My tarot cards have been telling me something was up with you. I didn’t think it was this bad.”
Shayla sat down on the burgundy sofa, wedging herself between me and Kevin. She was probably the only person in Duck who didn’t know about the museum. She knew everything about the spirit world but hardly anything about the real world. “Okay. I’m here now. Tell me all about it.”
Shayla was also known as Mrs. Roberts, Spiritual Advisor. She’d inherited the shop next door from a previous
He finished making the tea for me, then grabbed a Cheerwine out of the fridge for himself. I smiled as he got it and sat down beside me. Kevin, new to the South, was obsessed with drinking Cheerwine. I wondered what would happen if he ever tried Moon Pies.
“You should start a journal,” he said, snapping the top from the bottle. “It might help if you can compare things that happen to you.”
“How long do you think it will last?” I held my tea and tried to sound as if it didn’t really matter. But it did. It was frightening, too different from my usual ability to help find things.
“It might not go away. This new ability might take the place of the old one, or it might add to it. That’s why it’s important to get on top of it.”
That idea was a slap of cold water. I put my tea on the little side table I’d acquired at an auction over the summer. I looked around my shop, all my carefully gathered treasures. I had feelings for most of them, but I never expected to know what they were feeling in return.
“I guess you haven’t tried to find anything yet,” he said. “Maybe you should. It would tell you if you’ve traded abilities or if you’ve enhanced the original.”
That sounded like a good idea. It was something positive and concrete to do. I still felt kind of shaky, but I was curious to find out what was going on. “Are you volunteering?”
“Sure. Why not?” He put his Cheerwine down and stuck his hands out toward me. “I’ve been trying to find a missing case of wine at the hotel. Maybe you can help me with it.”
To say I was nervous about touching him was like comparing a dingy to a sloop. I was terrified of what I might see or feel. I wished I’d brought the evidence gloves with me to protect me from something I couldn’t even name.
“Okay.” I had started to reach toward him when someone began pounding on the shop door.
I could see my friend Shayla Lily trying to sneak peeks inside the shop. “I know you’re in there, Dae!”
I gave Kevin an apologetic look, not sure if I should murder Shayla for wrecking the moment or be happy it hadn’t gone any further. There had been something in Kevin’s tone when he’d told me about his FBI partner, the psychic. I’d gotten the feeling that they’d had more than just a working relationship. I might have been on the verge of finding out why Kevin had resisted the advances of all of the women in Duck.
Not me, of course. I’d been careful not to put myself in that position with him. If all he wanted from me was friendship, I was happy to give it. Well, maybe not happy exactly, but I thought he might come around in time.
When I opened the shop door, Shayla burst into the room as she always did. Her black hair was drawn back from her cocoa-colored face, showing off her finely drawn brows. She always dressed in black, probably part of her mystique as a tarot card reader.
“What the hell is going on here?” she demanded.
Another reason I hadn’t pushed hard to have a romantic relationship with Kevin is that he’d dated Shayla for a short while. She has a long memory.
“Nothing.” I glanced at Kevin, hoping he would back me up.
“Thirsty!” He drained his bottle of Cheerwine.
“Dae—Oh my God! What have you done to yourself? Your aura is all over the place! Girl, you have either been cursed or you’ve had a near-death experience. I’m thinking it must be a curse because I’d know if you almost died, right? My tarot cards have been telling me something was up with you. I didn’t think it was this bad.”
Shayla sat down on the burgundy sofa, wedging herself between me and Kevin. She was probably the only person in Duck who didn’t know about the museum. She knew everything about the spirit world but hardly anything about the real world. “Okay. I’m here now. Tell me all about it.”
Shayla was also known as Mrs. Roberts, Spiritual Advisor. She’d inherited the shop next door from a previous
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