Our Red Hot Romance Is Leaving Me Blue by Dixie Cash Page A

been as good as it is now, Debbie Sue. You know that better than anybody. And you know what I’ve been through. Hell, if the women in my family weren’t stronger than bleach and if I hadn’t inherited their genes, I’d probably be locked up in some asylum by now.”
    “I don’t think they have asylums anymore, Ed,” Debbie Sue said.
    “Whatever. Isabella Paredes told me something before that changed everything for me. What if she does it again?”
    Debbie Sue bit back the urge to repeat what she had already said: that the money in the boot toe had been a lucky guess or maybe the Paredes woman had capitalized on something mentioned to her in an earlier session with Edwina’s mother-in-law and it most likely wouldn’t happen again. “But don’t you see, Ed? What she told you before did change your life, but it was for the better. If the woman really has psychic powers, she would’ve known that. She probably doesn’t make it a practice to just blurt out bad news unsolicited.”
    Edwina seemed to be working that idea through her head as Debbie Sue waited and watched. “I think you’re right,” she finally said. “If I don’t ask her any questions, she won’t tell me any bad news.”
    “Perfect.” Debbie Sue slapped Edwina’s shoulder. “Now, here’s the plan.”
    She spent the next hour discussing the plan for helping Justin with his problem. They would install cameras and listening equipment in strategic places. They would operate and oversee surveillance of his home and its surroundings. And since Edwina feared a ghost might be the culprit, to appease her, they would go ahead and call the psychic in El Paso to tie up any loose ends—all with Justin’s approval and agreement to pay for a psychic, of course. Debbie Sue picked up the phone again and started pressing keys.
    Edwina’s hand came out and clutched her forearm, stopping her before she finished the number. “It’s six thirty. You’re calling her now?”
    “I have to, Ed. I have to find out how much she’ll charge before I can pitch the plan to Justin, don’t I?”
    Edwina released her grip “Yeah, yeah, I guess so. But listen, don’t tell her I’m here.”
    “Hell, Ed, after twenty years, she probably won’t even remember you. But if she does and if she’s even a half-assed psychic, she’ll probably know you’re here.” Debbie Sue pushed the last digit and looked at her friend.
    “Super,” Edwina muttered. “Now all I have to worry about is what she’s not telling me.”
     
    As Sophia wrestled with the antiquated lock on the front door of the modest home she had shared with her grandmother, she heard the phone ringing inside. She had justreturned from a couple of job interviews. Maybe one of the interviewers was calling her back. Part of her hoped that was the case, but another part wished it wouldn’t be. The interviews had gone well enough. She had been confident, but soft-spoken and polite, emphasizing that she wanted employment for the summer only. The need for extra income had been an acceptable explanation for why she wanted the job.
    Only one thing was wrong. Instead of looking at her as a job applicant and a prospective employee, both interviewers had leered as if she were a dessert item on their menus. They had been so obvious she was embarrassed for them. She liked men and their company a lot, but she didn’t enjoy feeling like the flavor of the day.
    Pushing the front door open at last, she grabbed for the receiver on the fourth ring, answering breathlessly.
    A woman’s voice came across the line. “Is this the home of Isabella Paredes?”
    Sophia found going into the details of her Gran Bella’s demise with a total stranger over the phone too painful. Easier to just agree.
    “May I speak to her?”
    A tingling sensation crawled across Sophia’s scalp. A twitch in her left eye gave her a clue that this was something she needed to take care of. “Uh, she’s out right now. I can speak for her.” Sophia