Wherever She Goes (Psychic Seasons, ReGina Welling [novels to improve english TXT] 📗

the bar to draw more drinks. Her kitchen staff could handle that end of things without her for the next little while; this was too interesting to pass up.

“And just what were you expecting?”

“You don’t want to keep giving readings?” He countered.

“I can do both. Don’t get me wrong, giving readings allowed me a lot more independence than I ever thought possible but having this ability was a choice made for me. I’d like the chance to try something else that interests me. Pigeonholes are for pigeons.”

Now she turned the conversation back on him, “What about you? Did you always want to be a cop?”

By his hesitation, she could tell the question touched a nerve.

“I was supposed to follow in my father’s footsteps and failing that, in my mother’s. They found it disappointing that I had no interest in politics and even less in the medical profession.”

When the conversation turned personal, Molly decided to give Zack some privacy so she fetched a damp rag and some cleanser to begin wiping down nearby tables. All the while, keeping her ears sharp for any good gossip.

“They must be proud of you, though.”

“They’ve come to terms with it since to them it was the lesser of two evils. Dad considers it a stepping stone to greater things and Mom has been happier since I chose to take the position here in Oakville. Safer than being a cop in the city.”

“Lesser of two evils—what was the other choice?”

“A topic for another day. Can’t reveal all my secrets on the first date.”

Date? He thought this was a date? Butterflies took flight in her stomach and her mouth went dry. Objectively, this was the best first date she had been on so far. Good food, decent conversation and that delicious tingle every time his arm brushed against hers.

“…get to know my sister better.”

Uh oh, he’d been talking while she was off in her own little space reacting to his date comment.

“Gustavia is one of the best people I know. She didn’t deserve all that family drama.” He sensed her disapproval and knew he had earned it for his part in things. “Without her help, I don’t think I would have been able to live by myself. My folks have been super supportive and pushed me to be as independent as possible with everyday tasks.” Throwing her normal desire for privacy out the window, Kat continued to explain.

“Gustavia helped me refine some of the systems I relied on but mostly she dragged me out of my shell at every possible opportunity. It’s hard to explain but she found that balance between being helpful and forcing me to do more than I thought I could.” Kat blinked at the sting of tears. “And all without making me feel like a burden.”

He let her talk it out.

“Like my clothes…” she lifted the hem on her sweater to show him a small, round button sewed on the inside, “…round buttons for blue, square for red, and oblong for yellow. Add a second button for secondary colors so for purple would be a round and a square button. Gustavia took the idea and refined it even more. She added a third button to let me know that a green might have more blue than yellow in it and then instituted the bead system.”

“Glass beads for items that needed to be dry cleaned, plastic for wash and wear. And being Gustavia, she took it another step. She sorted everything by what could go together and for what purpose and used various shapes so I knew I could put on any two items with faceted beads and look fine for a dressed up occasion, round beads for white, square beads for black.”

“I missed out on a lot of years with her.” Zack spoke quietly, “every time I hear a story like this, I feel that cost even deeper. At least she had friends like you.” The hand he laid over hers for a quick squeeze might have been made from lightning for the jolt it gave her.

Best first date so far.

Chapter 10

The second bedroom nestled into the eaves of Kat’s house was full of memories. Nights she’d cuddled under the covers and listened to her grandmother talk to friends around the dining room table. It only occurred to her now that those friends might not all have been among the living.

With only a single morning appointment and the afternoon free, today was as good a time as any to look for the box Estelle had told her to find.

How much smaller the room looked since the last time she had sat on the floor to sort through old photographs stored in the bottom dresser drawer. Her favorites were the ones from the seventies when the men wore colorful polyester suits and long sideburns. There was one of her dad in a powder blue leisure suit with brown stitching that always brought a smile.

Stalling, she pulled open the drawer to leaf through the stack for it, she would carry it like a talisman when she went into the closet to find whatever was hidden there amid the old rolls of wallpaper, spare blankets, and boxes of things still unsorted after all the years since her grandmother had passed.

Maybe her mother had been unable to face the job or maybe she had been waiting for Kat to help her. After all, she had been the only one still convinced, even after the years continued to pass, that her daughter would one day regain what had been lost.

Whatever the reason, the closet remained as it had always been. Kat felt a sense of nostalgia as she pulled the string to switch on the overhead light and looked into the darkest corner where the ceiling slanted down low. She would have to duck or crawl to get back into the shadowed depths where she knew the box was hiding.

No time like the present, whatever the big secret, Kat needed to know. She had just flicked on