“Can you bring her inside? I finished my touch-ups for tonight’s reading. My hands are so important to the presentation, I’m always refreshing my mani.”
Then she disappeared into the hallway, clearly expecting me to follow. Hesitantly, I stepped into the cool, dark house. I’d never been inside the house before. The smell of lavender and jasmine filled my senses, taking me back to days when I visited my grandmother in South Dakota. Her bedroom had held the scent of fresh sheets that she dried outside on the line, making them crinkle and feel hard.
“Do you want me to sit her down?” I called to the empty hallway.
Her voice echoed from another room. “Close the door and bring her into the reading room. She has a bed in here so she can learn to draw in the spirits. I’m teaching her to be a familiar.”
I shut the door and looked down at Maggie. “So you’re going to have a career in the fortune-telling business,” I whispered to the now purring cat. I swear she smiled in response to my words. I walked through the hallway, with the large pictures of people who were obviously long gone based on the frames and the photo quality. I felt their eyes on us as we walked through the hall to the first door on the right that was open. I stepped into the room and knew I was in the right place. The walls were covered with velvet fabric, and a single table sat in the middle of the room, a real, swear to heaven, crystal ball placed in the middle of the table.
Esmeralda was moving a blanket over a small couch on the side of the room. “Put her down here. I can’t believe she got out again. I think I should have named her Houdini, not Maggie.”
The kitten gave a tiny meow in protest as I set her on the couch. “Emma must like her. I thought she would keep her out of the yard. Instead, I woke up to her sleeping beside me out on the porch.”
Esmeralda studied my face. “She’s drawn to you. I should have seen it before.”
I held up my hands, blocking the idea. “I do not need another pet. Emma and I do quite well together.”
“No, I don’t mean that.” She gestured to the table. “Why don’t we sit for a few minutes? I believe we need to talk.”
Inside my head, I groaned. I didn’t need a trip to crazyland today. Esmeralda was always bringing me messages from beyond, like she was my personal answering machine. I couldn’t believe I’d let myself be sucked into her reality again. “I really need to get back.” I grasped for a good excuse. “Laundry. You know how it stacks up.”
Her gaze drilled into me and I knew I’d chosen the wrong excuse. “Surely you can spare a few moments to talk to your closest neighbor.”
Crap. Instead of running out the door, which is what every cell of my body was screaming for me to do, I settled into a chair. Glancing around the room, I asked the only question I could think of, “So, you have a reading tonight? I thought you only did the fortune-teller thing on weekends?”
She chuckled. “Normally, I only have appointments on the weekend, but a good client asked for a favor. She’s out of town with her family this weekend and needed some guidance before she left.” Esmeralda’s face contorted in a look that appeared to be worry. “I feel like she’s gotten herself into a mess. One I warned her against.”
“Sometimes people don’t listen.”
She focused back on me. “Out of the mouths of babes.”
Okay, this was getting creepy. I tried to change the subject. “You busy at the office these days?”
“The current case is very interesting.” Esmeralda tapped her apparently now dry fingertips on the table. “I believe your Greg is going to have some hard choices to make in the near future. Are you willing to support him?”
“Look, I really don’t like to talk about my relationship with Greg. Some things are private, you know?”
She nodded. “I understand your reluctance. Let me do a quick reading with you. I’ve never looked at your future
Then she disappeared into the hallway, clearly expecting me to follow. Hesitantly, I stepped into the cool, dark house. I’d never been inside the house before. The smell of lavender and jasmine filled my senses, taking me back to days when I visited my grandmother in South Dakota. Her bedroom had held the scent of fresh sheets that she dried outside on the line, making them crinkle and feel hard.
“Do you want me to sit her down?” I called to the empty hallway.
Her voice echoed from another room. “Close the door and bring her into the reading room. She has a bed in here so she can learn to draw in the spirits. I’m teaching her to be a familiar.”
I shut the door and looked down at Maggie. “So you’re going to have a career in the fortune-telling business,” I whispered to the now purring cat. I swear she smiled in response to my words. I walked through the hallway, with the large pictures of people who were obviously long gone based on the frames and the photo quality. I felt their eyes on us as we walked through the hall to the first door on the right that was open. I stepped into the room and knew I was in the right place. The walls were covered with velvet fabric, and a single table sat in the middle of the room, a real, swear to heaven, crystal ball placed in the middle of the table.
Esmeralda was moving a blanket over a small couch on the side of the room. “Put her down here. I can’t believe she got out again. I think I should have named her Houdini, not Maggie.”
The kitten gave a tiny meow in protest as I set her on the couch. “Emma must like her. I thought she would keep her out of the yard. Instead, I woke up to her sleeping beside me out on the porch.”
Esmeralda studied my face. “She’s drawn to you. I should have seen it before.”
I held up my hands, blocking the idea. “I do not need another pet. Emma and I do quite well together.”
“No, I don’t mean that.” She gestured to the table. “Why don’t we sit for a few minutes? I believe we need to talk.”
Inside my head, I groaned. I didn’t need a trip to crazyland today. Esmeralda was always bringing me messages from beyond, like she was my personal answering machine. I couldn’t believe I’d let myself be sucked into her reality again. “I really need to get back.” I grasped for a good excuse. “Laundry. You know how it stacks up.”
Her gaze drilled into me and I knew I’d chosen the wrong excuse. “Surely you can spare a few moments to talk to your closest neighbor.”
Crap. Instead of running out the door, which is what every cell of my body was screaming for me to do, I settled into a chair. Glancing around the room, I asked the only question I could think of, “So, you have a reading tonight? I thought you only did the fortune-teller thing on weekends?”
She chuckled. “Normally, I only have appointments on the weekend, but a good client asked for a favor. She’s out of town with her family this weekend and needed some guidance before she left.” Esmeralda’s face contorted in a look that appeared to be worry. “I feel like she’s gotten herself into a mess. One I warned her against.”
“Sometimes people don’t listen.”
She focused back on me. “Out of the mouths of babes.”
Okay, this was getting creepy. I tried to change the subject. “You busy at the office these days?”
“The current case is very interesting.” Esmeralda tapped her apparently now dry fingertips on the table. “I believe your Greg is going to have some hard choices to make in the near future. Are you willing to support him?”
“Look, I really don’t like to talk about my relationship with Greg. Some things are private, you know?”
She nodded. “I understand your reluctance. Let me do a quick reading with you. I’ve never looked at your future
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