Bells On Her Toes (Psychic Seasons Read online

  “I believe this moment needs immortalizing.” Julie levered out of her chair and sauntered back toward the house returning minutes later with her camera. She fitted it with a nice long lens and sat back, aiming and snapping away.

  Kat seriously considered calling on Estelle to provide her with a set of eyes.

  Resigned to a life of darkness until she channeled Julie’s grandmother, it had come as a great shock when her sight returned while Estelle had come through. Not a fluke, it had happened every time. And it was tempting to overuse the privilege; but, while ogling hot construction workers would be nice, she didn’t feel it was important enough a reason to ask for that kind of help. Still, she knew she was missing out.

  Up on the roof, Finn’s eyes behind a pair of tinted safety glasses kept straying to the group of girls lounging in the gazebo. They made a sight, the four of them stretched out on lawn chairs, chatting and drinking lemonade; but, every time he glanced over, it was Gustavia who pulled his focus. Whatever she’d braided into her hair today glittered in the sun like the halo of an angel. Come to think of it, considering what she’d done for his daughter, she probably deserved the description.

  Still, looking at the long, lightly tanned legs she was showing off today, his thoughts were leaning toward more devilish pursuits. He wanted her. Plain and simple. And that wanting scared him to death so he was determined to get over it. Avoiding her would be the best way to handle his attraction. In time, he would forget her. That was the plan. Best to stick to the plan.

  Yet, not even half an hour later, he strolled toward the gazebo and invited her to come up and take a look at his crew’s progress.

  “Funny, that,” Amethyst commented to Julie as the pair of them walked away. “It’s your house but she’s the one checking over the work.” She sat up, watching, trying to judge by their body language whether things were heating up or cooling down. Julie grinned.

  Kat said soberly, “I think he might be the one from her reading, the one with all the baggage. Her soul mate. Did she tell you she has one?”

  Amethyst mused, “Her aura is off color. His, too. I’m thinking they might be in for a bit of a rough start to their relationship.”

  “Her cards show a rocky path leading to a crossroads; one path leads to true love, the other to a lifetime alone. It’s major.”

  “Can we do anything? Without making it worse?” Julie asked.

  “Not sure yet. For now, we wait and watch. That goes for you too, Estelle.” Kat sensed the spirit’s presence just before she became visible.

  “I wasn’t planning to meddle, young lady.” Estelle said with a smile in her voice. “I’ll leave that up to the living.” She mused, “They remind me of magnets turned pole to pole. What should attract just repels, but flip one of them and it’s hard to pull them apart.” Then she glanced at Ammie and asked, “Got any bets running on which one will flip?” All she got for an answer was a faked expression of innocence, one that raised a smile before she faded softly away again.

  “I’d think about getting in on that action but it’s too close to call.” Julie raised her camera, focused in on Gustavia and Finn’s heads bent toward each other as they earnestly discussed some aspect of roofing and snapped several shots.

  Chapter 10

  When Gustavia’s phone rang later that evening, she was shocked to see Finn’s name on the screen. After a moment’s hesitation, she decided to see what he wanted.

  “It’s Finn,” he said when she’d answered. Then silence stretched out for a moment.

  “Is everything okay?” What did he want? “Is it Sam?”

  “No, she’s fine. I just wanted to talk to you and, now that I’ve called, I don’t know what to say. Can we just chat for a few minutes?”

  Over the phone, his softly pitched voice sounded comforting, like home. The gentle hint of a drawl soothed and excited at the same time.

  “Okay, sure. Tell me how you got into restoration work.” It seemed like a safe enough subject.

  “It was my mother, believe it or not. When I was a kid, we went to Newport, Rhode Island, on vacation and she dragged us through the mansion tours. She was so excited. The architecture, the bones of the structures--amazing, then they gilded the lily with the most intricate trim work. The moldings were like a giant puzzle and I could see how it all fit together, one piece stacked on another. Something just clicked and that was it for me.”

  “Sounds nice.”

  “What about you? Why children’s books?”

  She thought for a minute and, instead of the pat answer she normally gave to interviewers, she told him the naked truth.

  “Escape. It was something I needed when I was a child and I found it in books. Edward Eager, E. Nesbitt, Madeleine L’Engle, Oz, Alice in Wonderland, Narnia. Those authors, worlds and characters were my refuge, my family. Eventually, I progressed to creating my own worlds, ones where I had all the power. Writing those books set me free.”

  It was more honesty than she normally offered. “Your mother sounds like a gem.” There was the merest whisper of envy in her voice.

  “She is.”

  Another silence, and this time, Gustavia let it spin out. He was the one who called her; let him come up with something to talk about.

  “Tell me something true, something about you.”

  She thought for a moment. “I’m addicted to Pixie Stix.”

  He laughed. “That candy stuff in a straw? That’s pretty much pure sugar.”

  “I know. It’s like crack. I crave them. Your turn.”

  “I still like to stomp mud puddles. I pretend I’m doing it with Sam, but I’d still do it if she wasn’t around and I knew no one was looking.”

  “I have a huge Lego collection.”

  “Me, too. They’re in Sam’s room, but I play with them whenever I can.”

  “Couple of true grown-ups.”

  “My mother always said that childish and childlike were two entirely different concepts.”

  “Words to live by.”

  Silence, this time comfortable, peaceful.

  “Goodnight Gustavia.”

  “Hmm. ‘Night Finn.”

  Shaking her head, she clicked to end the call. Well, that was interesting, she thought, and totally unexpected. The superman reference might not have been so far off; by night he was mild mannered Finn Kent who occasionally, by day, turned into Loserman.

  With a smile on her face and that thought in her head, Gustavia got ready for bed.

  _,.-'~'-.,_

  Kat felt a bit out of place at a photo shoot, even when it was being held at a friend’s house. She couldn’t see the models, couldn’t help with the setups like Amethyst and Gustavia, but she appreciated being included. Today’s designer was an up and comer whose clothes were exquisitely eclectic, so she was told.

  Amethyst lived in a charming underground home behind a spectacularly carved doorway set into a hill above the lake. It was the perfect setting for the shoot and Julie had practically begged to have it there, sweetening the deal by inviting her friends to watch and help with the process.

  Of course, the location fee that more than covered a regular day’s worth of clients hadn’t hurt either.

  At the outset, Kat tried to decline since it was a visual experience and she didn’t want to be in the way. Or to inspire pity. Her friends were having none of it.

  Though they didn’t share it with her, the other three had a theory that exposing her to these types of outings might provide some added incentive to either lose or let go of the fear causing her blindness. Plus, everything was more fun when they were all together.

  It was an early shoot, really early. Since Amethyst’s front door faced east and was near enough the lake for frequent morning mists, Julie had dragged them all there at what Gustavia called “the plumber’s crack of dawn”.

  Now, five hours later, the models and stylists were just leaving.

  “That went really well, I think. And I loved the clothes.” Gustavia helped
Julie pack up her equipment. She was an old hand at the process, having assisted Julie on plenty of shoots. Now, with Julie branching out from art photography to fashion, she enjoyed seeing the difference in the two processes.

  Once everything was packed and stowed in Julie’s car, the four friends sat around the table sipping cups of tea.

  After they had exhausted all fashion related topics, and with a wicked twinkle in her eye, Amethyst skewered Gustavia with a question. “So, what’s the deal with you and the mighty Finn?”

  Gustavia only snorted. “No clue. Too bad, though. He’d probably be tasty if he wasn’t so testy.”

  “Har har. That’s funny.”

  Shrugging her shoulders, Gustavia smirked. “One minute he’s charming, the next he’s snarky, then he acts like nothing happened. Next thing I know, he calls me and we talk for half an hour exchanging true stories. I’m not exactly sure what to expect next, but since he sometimes gives off an unstable vibe, I’ll pass.”

  “Maybe the snark wasn’t personal, maybe he was just having an off day that first time,” was Kat’s opinion. “You can be intimidating at times.”

  “So how am I supposed to know? It sure felt personal to me.”

  “Just ask him.” It was a chorus of all three voices.

  “Just ask him? That’s all you’ve got? A psychic, an aura reader, and a newly engaged woman and this is the best advice you have for me? Just ask him. Truly impressive.”

  “No one said you had to listen, but you did ask.” Julie had only ever seen Gustavia flash into this contrary a mood when dealing with her family or with Logan.

  “You’re usually more open than this, what’s different with Finn? That’s the big question, here.” Kat mused. “Why does his opinion matter so much?”

  “It doesn’t matter. I just hate it when people jump to conclusions about me like that. Plus, he used the word flounce—incorrectly, I might add, since it means to basically storm off in a huff. I think he meant to say prance. Not that prancing is any better.”

  Amethyst raised an eyebrow at that. “You’ve had a little exercise in the jumping to conclusions area lately. Hence the advice to ask him point blank what he thinks. Get it out in the open.”

  “Yeah, hence.”

  Gustavia wrinkled her nose. “So I ask him and he says he thinks I am a new age-wing nut with bad dress sense. Then what? I buy new clothes? Or worse, I don’t buy anything new—ever—just to make a point. See my dilemma?”

  “It’s a question. There’s give and take in every relationship, but I’m not so sure that’s what this is all about. I’ve known you a long time, longer than anyone else in the room, and I’ve seen you use your clothes as a sort of armor against your family’s rejection.”

  Gustavia opened her mouth to protest but Amethyst held up a hand, shaking her head, “No, let me finish, this is important. You needed a visual reminder to show them you’re not like them and never will be, but sometimes you use it as an excuse not to get close to people. If they don’t accept you based on a first impression, you decide they aren’t worth the time. I’m not sure that’s entirely fair.”

  “Ammie, have you looked in a mirror recently? Coming from you, that statement seems just ludicrous.”

  Kat and Julie stayed silent. Neutral. Safer that way.

  “Well, I’m not the one getting all kerfluffled about some guy, and I’ll be the first to admit that I can recognize it in you because I see that same tendency in myself. But I know we aren’t coming from the same pain. I can’t pretend to understand what being rejected by family might feel like—mine loves me no matter what—and it hurts me to know that yours doesn’t.”

  She felt such a welling of sympathy for Gustavia who had been carrying this pain with her for so long.

  Kat broke her silence to say, “Frankly, I don’t much care whether he has an opinion on your personal style and I don’t think you do either. I do think you care very much what he thinks of you, the person under the clothes. If he is the catalyst that helps you deal with your past, your family, it’s another factor.”

  She continued thoughtfully, “I’d even be willing to bet he is using the idea of protecting Sam as his own brand of armor.”

  For once, Amethyst declined to put her money on the line.

  “How much does Samantha figure into this?” Julie knew there’d been an instant connection with the girl; it had been easy for Gustavia to relate to someone who had lost a parent when she felt she’d lost both of her own.

  “I fell in love with her from day one. She’s such a bright spirit; but, underneath, there’s this immense loss she’s struggled so hard to handle. Courage. She has it in spades. But if it’s going to keep throwing me off balance, I’m thinking that it would be better to just stay away from both of them.”

  That pronouncement was met with three identical looks of skepticism that Gustavia then returned with narrowed eyes.

  “Romance is supposed to throw you off balance,” Amethyst pronounced.

  In theory Gustavia agreed, but she thought romance was supposed to feel good, not dredge up every bit of pain from the past.

  Trying to lighten the mood, Julie changed the subject.

  “It’s still early. Are your schedules free for the rest of the day? What do you say we all go back to my place and ogle the construction guys some more? Well, maybe not you, Gustavia, since you want to stay away from Finn.” It was a challenge, plain and simple.

  “Oh, I’m in. There will be no ogling without me.”

  Chapter 11

  Living in a smaller town had its advantages. Logan Ellis, with his arrogant manner, hadn’t made any friends in Oakville. So when word got around that he was on the wanted list, people paid attention even when they went into the nearby city. Pete, the owner of the grocery store, was in the warehouse district for an appointment with one of his suppliers when he saw Logan walking into a public storage facility. He did the right thing.

  He called Zack who did some digging and found that a unit had been rented under the name Kyle Logan. Bingo. He sent the updated information through channels and requested increased police presence near the storage unit. With every cop in the city keeping an eye out, the chances of catching this scumbag increased dramatically.

  Once things were set in motion, he dialed in Tyler’s number.

  “Ty, it’s Zack Roman. I wanted to give you a head’s up; Ellis was spotted in the city this morning.”

  “Too much to hope that he’d left for good, I suppose. We’ll keep an eye out on our end and we’ve all got you on speed dial. You going to tell your sister or do you want us to handle it?” He was aware of the tension between the siblings.

  “I’ll talk to her. It’s been easier to do that lately.”

  “Good. She’s quite something, our Gustavia. What’s your gut telling you? Which one is he going to target, Julie or Gustavia?”

  “It’s fifty-fifty in my opinion. Maybe both if he can manage it. Way I see it, he won’t go after Julie at the house. Not with Lola in residence and after his last experience. He’ll think Gustavia’s the more vulnerable of the two. Probably doesn’t know she’s got a state-of-the-art alarm system,” he speculated.

  Tyler murmured his agreement.

  “My biggest concern is that he might try to grab her, use her as leverage against Julie, then he’d have them both.”

  “Depends on his end game, I guess.”

  Tyler pointed out, “That bit with Lola did the job when he tried to get in here before. Stroke of genius.”

  When Julie had refused to install an alarm system, Gustavia had rigged up a booby trap for Logan, one that had netted him a nasty bite from the normally friendly Lola. “The woman has a devious mind. Gotta admire her for it. We’ve got a line on a way to balance the scales. I’ll let you know if it works out. Friend of a friend has a dog that needs a home.“

  “And Julie thought of Gustavia. Bit of female retaliation?”

  Tyler chuckled. “Maybe a little. But it seems
like a good idea to me, too. He’s a smaller dog, a Jack Russell Terrier, but the owner says he is mighty despite his size and good company on top of it.”

  “I’ll call her about Ellis and keep mum about the dog. No sense in spoiling the surprise.”

  “Or getting moved back to the top of her list,” Tyler teased, before they ended the call.

  Still, despite the attempt to lighten the conversation, he dreaded telling Julie that Logan was in the area again. They’d all hoped the trouble with him was over, but clearly that wasn’t the case. The man was determined to get revenge.

  _,.-'~'-.,_

  Julie and Amethyst pulled out behind Gustavia and Kat in her Maverick and they began to drive down the hill. As they rounded the first curve, the Maverick seemed to pick up speed, pulling away. That’s odd, Julie thought. Maybe Gustavia really was angry with us for offering advice.

  That was not the problem. Something was wrong. Terribly wrong. When Gustavia punched the brakes going into the curve, they went to the floor with no resistance at all. She tried pumping them and still nothing.

  The Maverick sped into the next curve as Gustavia fought the wheel. “Kat, we’re in trouble!” she yelled. “The brakes are gone.”

  It was a good thing she had taken a defensive driving course so she had at least a rudimentary idea of what to do. Dropping the shifter into low helped reduce the momentum slightly but, given the steepness of the hill, she was still fighting to keep the car in the road. It took most of her concentration and the quick work of both hands on the wheel to maintain enough control to stop the car from pitching down over one of the steep drop offs.

  A quick test of the parking brake told her it, too, was disabled.

  The road curved along the side of the hill above the lake for a half mile or so before sloping more sharply downward into a series of shorter, sharper, s-shaped curves. The car was still picking up speed as the road steepened for the last two curves.