Bells On Her Toes (The Psychic Seasons Series Book 2) Read online

“Tarot always shows what is most needed, rather than what is most wished for,” Kat explained with a mixture of exasperation and humor, since Gustavia’s past three readings had centered on her love life no matter what question she had asked. “Are you sure you don’t remember meeting someone? You meet a lot of people when you do readings and other promotions, maybe he attended one of them.”

  “Wouldn’t I have seen a rainbow or shooting sparks or at least heard a bell ringing?”

  “Gustavia, you wear bells in your hair or around your neck most of the time, so I’m pretty sure you hear them ringing all day long. Besides, don’t you know, bells are for when angels get their wings?” Kat answered dryly. “And don’t roll your eyes at me again.”

  Instantly contrite, Gustavia apologized for being frustrated while she wondered how Kat knew about the eye rolling.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t know what has come over me lately. I’ve been feeling unbalanced, unsettled.” There was no sense in adding lonely to the list; she wasn’t looking for sympathy. Watching Julie and Tyler connect had been lovely. Truly happy for her friend, Gustavia was getting tired of feeling lonely. When would it be her turn?

  “Have you seen Amethyst? Maybe your aura needs to be cleared or your chakras are out of alignment.”

  Gustavia sighed. Bracing an elbow on the table, she rested her cheek in her palm and looked at the new card layout. It was eerily similar to the first even after a thorough shuffling.

  Lips quirking, Kat ran her sensitive fingers over the raised bumps, dryly pointing out that the new cards, though slightly different, spoke the same message as the first set.

  Masterfully suppressing an eye roll in favor of a curled lip and a near snarl, Gustavia searched for some nuance that neither of them had noticed. She would have liked to argue with Kat, but she could see the combination of cards on the table bore out the psychic’s interpretation, whether she liked it or not.

  It wasn't that Gustavia was rebelling against romance or the notion of already having met her soul mate; it was the five horrible dates she had been on in the past few months. The idea that one of these guys was destined to complete her was daunting, to say the least.

  “Do you think we could narrow it down a little? I think I’m a positive person, but if it’s that guy with the violent purple and orange aura, I’m not sure if spending the rest of my life wearing sunglasses is going to work for me. Or, maybe it’s the one who called me a weirdo five minutes into the date then spent an hour telling me about how he collects his own toenail clippings. He keeps them in a jar and I’m the weirdo?”

  Smothering a smile, Kat replied, “Gustavia, stop. You know your soul mate would have to be someone just as wonderful and giving as you are, or it wouldn’t be a perfect match.” Kat continued, “Remember you had a reading with almost these exact same cards about a year ago, so I’m thinking it may be someone you met then. Someone who didn’t become part of your life at the time.”

  “Phew,” Gustavia perked up considerably at the thought, her usual cheerful smile springing back to life. “I hope so, because the idea of a long term relationship with any of my most recent dates would make me seriously doubt my ability to create good Karma.”

  “Speaking of good Karma, my niece just loves your latest book and being able to give her a copy the day before it was released made me a hero.”

  “My agent wanted me to do an extended book tour; she said it would ramp up sales. Then she politely suggested that I might want to make some changes to my appearance, maybe tone down what she called the unconventional factor,” she did the air quotes gesture.

  “Are you going to do the tour? Maybe that’s where you’ll bump into your soul mate again.”

  “No. I’d have to miss out on the next phase of the treasure hunt. Sales are growing steadily anyway, so I’m planning to stick with the usual promotional venues. There’s the library reading here on Thursday, then I’ll do five or six more in the city over the next few weeks. Maybe he’ll be there. Maybe he’s only six years old and it’s our tragic destiny to be star crossed because of our age difference,” Gustavia joked resting the back of her hand on her forehead dramatically, forgetting for a moment that Kat could not see the gesture.

  Kat laughed at the thought, but her gifts went beyond reading cards or channeling spirits and she knew Gustavia was in for a bit of a ride. Soul mate or not, the man she saw portrayed in the reading was carrying heavy baggage related to a loss and there were dark clouds on the horizon. Gustavia still had Julie’s ex--the madman Logan--to deal with.

  But most importantly, before Gustavia could find love, she needed to deal with a long running family rift. That was in the cards also; but during every reading, when Kat brought up the topic, Gustavia shut it back down. Forcefully.

  Gustavia might end up alone and hurting if she didn’t learn to accept and return the love that was coming her way. All the love, from every source.

  Thankfully, there was also the potential for great happiness. Gustavia would need guidance and Kat hoped she was up to the challenge. No matter what happened, she intended to do her best to help.

  Kat knew exactly what it felt like to be lonely, it wasn’t as though men were lining up to date blind psychics. In fact, most of the men she met were coming to her seeking advice about dealing with a bad relationship or were workaholics looking for help with career advancement. On some level she felt her work made her unnaturally jaded when it came to romantic relationships.

  It was rare to see a reading that included soul mates. It was much more common when people could choose from many paths that might lead to love. Those were the clients she found easiest to help. Look at their options, find the closest path with the fewest obstacles and gently set them on their way, give them a nudge here and a subtle push there, and next thing you know--bam, true love.

  Soul mates only had one relationship, one path to true love and often it was a rocky one. Sometimes their soul mate had already passed on or they had missed their opportunity early on in life.

  In those cases she had to make a choice; find a path that would bring them as close to happiness as possible or acknowledge that she’d never be able to help them find love and hope that they wouldn’t become bitter.

  Either way, it looked like Gustavia might finally get her chance, with a little guidance. It was a lot of responsibility. Something she did not take lightly.

  Chapter Three

  “Come on, Samantha. If you don’t get moving we’re not going to make it to the library in time for the reading.”

  “Daddy, I need to find that book she signed for me last time; I want to show it to her,” his ten-year-old daughter yelled down. “Could we ask Miss Gustavia to lunch? Would that be okay?”

  “Sure,” he answered. Grabbing the book from the hall table where she had left it, Finn Kent called back up the stairs, “I have it, now get down here.”

  There was no harm in asking but he assumed the author would be too busy doing—well—whatever it was authors do.

  Father and daughter were both looking forward to this particular outing, though for different reasons.

  Samantha was excited because she felt a personal connection to this newest book. Last year during the reading she had asked Miss Gustavia a question, one she was sure had led directly to the story line of the newest Ember book.

  More than that, the short conversation had taught Samantha that life must go on, even in the face of painful loss.

  Finn just wanted the chance to thank the author for reaching out to give him some much needed support at a time when he had been floundering. He wasn’t even sure that Gustavia would remember him or his daughter, but that moment of compassion she’d shown Samantha had been a turning point. After his wife’s death, Samantha had become shy and withdrawn to the point where she barely spoke anymore, even to him.

  Taking her to a library reading by her favorite author had been his last ditch effort to try and pull her out of her shell. What he hadn’t counted on was Gustavia
’s ability to quickly grasp the situation and her generosity in taking the time to speak to Samantha one on one. Somehow, she’d known exactly the right thing to say. A miracle.

  He was hoping to get a moment alone with her to express his gratitude.

  Arriving at the library barely in time, the pair settled in the last two remaining chairs just as Gustavia began to read. During the previous reading, Finn had been too preoccupied to appreciate the expressiveness, the warmth of her voice, the way she was able to draw in both children and parents with her words. Now he was pulled in by her twinkling eyes when she looked out over her audience and her way of making each person feel as though she were talking only to them.

  What he did remember was the kindness he’d seen in her eyes, the gentle way she’d had with his daughter, and the warmth of her empathy. Samantha sat on the edge of her seat, head held high as she avidly took in every word.

  After a few moments, Gustavia glanced up and noticed father and daughter. Smiling delightedly at the change she could see in both of them, she made eye contact with the girl giving her a slight nod of recognition. Samantha beamed in response, settled back in the chair and listened to the rest of the story.

  As always, Gustavia ended the reading with a short question and answer period, and was not surprised to see Samantha’s hand waving excitedly in the air. When it was her turn, she asked, “If Ember was a big enough dragon to go on adventures alone, why did he go searching for a mommy?”

  “Because sometimes everyone needs their mommy, even big dragons,” Gustavia answered with a smile.

  She fielded two or three more questions before passing out copies of the book, saying goodbye, and watching everyone but Samantha and her father file out. Gustavia went to them and, sitting next to Samantha, said, “I was hoping you would be here today and that you would be feeling less sad.”

  “Look,” Samantha said, “I still have that book you signed for me last time.”

  “Well, here’s another one to add to your collection,” she scrawled a short message before handing the book to Samantha. “And I am glad to see you again. You’ve grown a few inches and your smile is so much brighter.”

  “Yes,” answered the girl. “When you told me that mommy would want me to be happy sometimes, I knew it was true. It made me feel better. I even think she’d be happy if I found a new mommy. It wouldn’t be the same; but I thought that if I don’t have a mommy, maybe somewhere there is a mommy who doesn’t have a little girl and maybe she could be mine. What do you think?”

  “That sounds like a very logical idea,” and one that touched Gustavia deeply. She glanced over the girl’s head to see what the father thought of this plan. Smiling, he shrugged his shoulders in resignation then held out a hand saying, “My name is Finn Kent; we didn’t have a chance to officially meet last year.”

  Gustavia put her hand in his and was surprised to feel a sizzling pulse of recognition swim through her veins at the contact.

  “My name’s Gustavia, though you probably already knew that. It’s nice to meet you.” Very nice, she thought. Then she waited for him to ask, as most people did, about the origin of her name but he didn’t take the bait.

  Instead, he suggested Samantha go pick out some books to borrow.

  Once she was out of earshot, he turned to Gustavia and said, “I don’t think you could possibly understand what you did for us last year. When we lost Lila, her mother, Samantha couldn’t cope. She was becoming more withdrawn every day. I brought her to your reading because I hoped meeting her favorite author might help her find words again.” Finn grabbed Gustavia’s hand and gave it a quick squeeze. “You said exactly the right thing to her; it was a major turning point for us.”

  There was that tingle again. It was delicious. So, his round-rimmed glasses were a tiny bit on the geeky side, his hands were warm, and the intensity in his clear, brown eyes drew her in until she couldn’t quite concentrate on what he was saying.

  He felt something, too. Nothing so tame as a tingle. He felt, instead, a punch to the gut then a click, as something he hadn’t known was off kilter fell into place. Boom, there she was, his mind insisted. The feeling scared him and his survival instincts told him to turn and run. Fast. Now.

  Instead, he stayed. He inhaled the scent of her. Floral, but also earthy, she smelled like a garden. Like home.

  Pulling her hand slowly from his, Gustavia wrenched her mind back to the conversation not realizing Finn was struggling to do the same. “I am glad I could help. Your daughter has a lovely aura. She deserves to be happy.”

  “Aura?” Finn raised an eyebrow. What was she talking about? What had he missed?

  “Yes, aura. You know, we all have them,” she beamed. “Although, not everyone can see them at first. Yours is very intense.”

  Unsure of the proper response, Finn just let the comment pass.

  He had to get his head down out of the clouds. Look at this thing logically, look at her logically. This time, survival instincts spoke louder than his heart and he pulled back, ruthlessly tamped down the euphoria rising inside him.

  Giving her the once over, he noted she was wearing a long skirt with what appeared to be large rainbow colored petals sewn on in an overlapping spiral, and a spangled tank top emblazoned with the words Fairies rule, Dragons drool across the front. Nothing wrong with that, he appreciated the whimsy.

  So what if she had a tiny string of bells braided into her hair. She was a children’s book author, for Pete’s sake. She needed to appeal to the kids, right?

  She probably didn’t go around looking like one of those edible flowers from Willy Wonka’s garden every day. And what did it mean that he was overwhelmed with the urge to take great big bite?

  It meant he was losing his mind, that’s what.

  Logic. Right. Thinking logically she seemed nice enough, but she looked like ten shades of crazy pants, totally not the right kind of person to be hanging around his daughter.

  Not dependable, not someone who would stick around.

  A flight risk. He knew it. She’d break his daughter’s heart.

  A thought whispered through him. Break your heart, you mean.

  Realizing she had been speaking during the entire time he had been appraising her outfit and declaring her unsuitable for—whatever--he pulled his attention back just in time to hear her say, “In fact, your aura just flashed a lovely shade of red. What were you thinking just now?” Finn decided that he had better decline giving her a truthful answer and changed the subject just as Samantha rejoined them.

  “Sam has requested that we offer to take you out to lunch. Are you interested?” It was the last thing he wanted to do given his strong reaction to her, the confusion caused by nothing more than her nearness, but he wouldn’t go back on a promise. She sensed his reluctance but not the cause.

  “Oh, yes, please, Miss Gustavia; it would be so much fun,” Sam chimed in. “We could go right now.” Gustavia hesitated. “Please?”

  Resisting Sam was futile. “That sounds lovely, but I have to pack up my things first. Shall I meet you in half an hour?”

  “Daddy, can we take her to Tassone’s?” It was Sam’s favorite place; the pizza cook always made her a smiley face with the pepperoni and black olives.

  Finn raised a questioning eyebrow and Gustavia nodded. “I’ll meet you there.”

  Why not?

  “Okay, let’s let Miss Gustavia get packed up.”

  Samantha followed her father out the door, looking over her shoulder the whole way. There was something hungry in her gaze, something that touched Gustavia deeply because it was a feeling she recognized.

  The girl needed a woman in her life. She’d felt the same way, essentially growing up motherless herself.

  Gustavia started life as Eloise Roman, daughter of Congressman Peter and cardiologist Dr. Janine Roman. The year she turned nine, with no warning or reason given, she’d been sent to live with her grandmother on her father’s side. Vivian Roman was a very proper and ste
rn woman. She did not understand or approve of Eloise and her increasingly stringent efforts to restrain her granddaughter’s more flamboyant nature had had just the opposite effect.

  Every day felt like a punishment. With no explanation given she was left to assume her parent’s hadn’t wanted her, an assumption Vivian did everything in her power to foster.

  So, Eloise got into trouble. A lot of trouble. The year after she went to live with her grandmother she cut her hair with a pair of kitchen shears, and using a temporary dye, turned it all the colors of the rainbow. The act cost her two months of freedom.

  When her grandmother found out that she had pierced her own ears, Vivian decreed each afternoon of the next three months would be spent polishing the same silver tea service.

  Finally free during her first year of college Eloise set the gears in motion to change her name to Gustavia, cut all ties with her grandmother, and used those childhood experiences to pen the first of a very successful series of children’s books featuring a mean old witch and her sweet and innocent granddaughter.

  When she published her second book, as a tribute to her grandmother Gustavia got a witch tattoo. On her butt.

  Whatever mysterious event caused them to give up their free-spirited daughter, both parents continued to maintain their distance as the years passed. Eventually, the only time she saw them was during awkward holiday visits, each year worse than the last.

  Now it had been two years since either Peter or Janine had seen their daughter. Her choice, not theirs. Gustavia would have been shocked to learn that they owned a copy of each of her books.

  Their strained family dynamic trickled down to impact the relationship between Gustavia and her brother Zack. Both had been sent to Vivian’s, but after a few months he returned home while Gustavia stayed on. It broke her heart, nearly broke her spirit, and damaged her once close relationship with her younger brother.

  Now, thrown together more often, Gustavia understood she couldn’t continue to blame him for the past. The siblings were finally able to be in the same room for extended periods of time without bickering. It was refreshing.