“Seriously?”
Riley’s stomach growled, and she fell back into her body with what would have been a splat if not for Gabe’s energy steadying her.
“Damn it,” she muttered.
“I’m getting hints of sesame chicken and Miss Dior,” Wander whisper-sang next to her, her nose wrinkled as she tried to sniff out the exact scents.
“Sesame chicken?” Riley repeated.What was with the sesame everything? Did she have a nutritional deficiency, or was it an actual clue?
“Your gift is a true marvel,” Gabe told Wander.
“Thank you, Gabe.” She gave the man a genuine eyelash flutter.
“Riley, what did you see?” her mother asked, holding the amulet stock-still over Pennsylvania. Or maybe it was Maryland? It wasn’t a very good map.
“Isn’t that supposed to be moving?” Riley asked.
Her mom shrugged. “Maybe she’s not in the country. I should have brought down the old globe.”
Riley filled them in on her confusing vision, beginning with the shoes and ending with the bagels.
“Sesame-flavored food products? An interesting theme,” Gabe noted.
“Any idea what it could mean?” Riley asked.
“Are you pregnant?” Blossom asked.
“No! Jeez, Mom.”
“When I was pregnant with River, I craved cashew-butter smoothies. I had two a day for six months,” Wander reminisced.
“I remember that. But no, I’m not pregnant. Between me eating a dozen sesame bagels this week and Wander smelling sesame chicken, I think we can safely assume it’s a clue, not a pregnancy,” Riley concluded.
“It’s probably for the best,” Blossom mused. “After all, if Beth comes back and ruins everything between you and Nick—”
“Thank you, Mom,” Riley said dryly.
“Maybe the tarot reading will tell us more,” Wander offered hopefully.
“Good thinking, sweetie.”
They sat in silence even though Riley’s hip flexors were starting to complain as Blossom shuffled and dealt the chosen card.
“The Eight of Cups,” Blossom said, triumphantly holding up the tarot card.
Riley blew out a breath in relief. The Eight of Cups didn’t predict violence or death or impending doom. It was a happy card.
“I’m sensing a new adventure. Walking away from everything and starting over fresh,” Blossom continued.
Riley’s shoulders tensed. “Is it a card for Beth?”
Her mother shrugged. “That’s who I was trying to read, but it could be for anyone associated with her.”
Anyone associated with Beth. Including Nick Santiago.
Riley had an uneasy feeling…and a craving for sesame chicken.
Mrs. Penny clomped into the room, her arms full of clothes and what looked like at least one of Blossom’s good bath towels. “All set. Who’s hungry?”
