“Amazing! You’re the best. And while I’m at work, I’ll try to think of a way you can make loads of money at the Mistletoe Market.”
Hannah kissed Kate and opened the door. “Maybe the cards will show a path to securing the building!”
“See you tomorrow, Ba-Hannah!” Shoot, she’d almost called Hannah baby again.
Chapter Eighteen
It had been a week since the time had changed, and Hannah was almost used to it feeling like it was midnight by five thirty. The store had been busy all day, which was always a relief for Hannah. She knew that since Zaina had married Jasper, and his beer had been distributed across the country, the store could run at a loss. But she would feel like a total failure if New Age Stones and Witch Crafts wasn’t profitable. Someday she hoped to have her own thriving business, and while it might not be a storefront, she still wanted to know all the ins and outs of keeping a small business going.
Most Sundays, Zaina was off or only came in for a few hours. Hannah loved her boss, who was more family than her family back in Michigan, but she enjoyed having the run of the shop. The anticipation of having Kate in one of her places instead of her in Kate’s had made the day feel like it was taking a week to get to evening.
Finally, she got a text from Kate. She’d just finished closing Pupcakes and Clawssaints, and she was on her way. Hannah rose up and down on the balls of her feet with excitement. She was looking forward to sharing with Kate something she loved. Hannah was glad that Kate didn’t belittle tarot reading or New Age Stones and Witch Crafts. She’d met plenty of people who thought it was all woo-woo nonsense and felt like they had to tell her all about how they didn’t believe in any of it. Hannah went to the back of the store and got a feather duster; she might as well put her anxious energy to use. It said a lot about how important the store was to her, since she was dusting the shelves instead of checking her makeup while she waited. Strange as it sounded, she wanted Kate to be impressed with her management of the store.
The door whooshed open, and Hannah looked up from her dusting. Her heart took flight when she saw Kate’s slim form in a pair of black jeans and a leather jacket. Hannah wanted to rush up to Kate and throw her arms around her, but she held herself back. It seemed like a weird thing to do while she was at work, or maybe it was more that she was afraid Kate would think it was a weird thing to do. So, there she was, standing in front of Kate, clutching the feather duster, and her mouth felt like it was full of cotton balls.
“Hi,” she squeaked.
Kate ran a hand through her hair and said, “Hey, there.” Hannah was mesmerized by the casual grace of Kate.
“I’d kiss you, but I don’t know if that’s okay, since you work here and all.”
Hannah bit her bottom lip. She held up a finger, went over to the front door, and flipped the sign to closed. Then she turned the deadbolt. Once that was done, she returned to Kate and grabbed her hand. She led Kate to the events room, and when she got to the doorway she leaned on the inside of the doorframeand propped up her knee against the frame. Kate stood in front of her. She placed her hand above Hannah’s head. Hannah’s breathing was shallow. With her other hand, Kate tucked a finger under Hannah’s chin, tilting her head up. “I can’t, I can’t,” Hannah said.
Kate pulled back immediately, “I’m sorry! What’s wrong?”
Hannah grabbed the lapel of her leather jacket. “Nothing’s wrong!” She could feel her cheeks flushing. “I was trying to say I can’t believe we are basically enacting a scene from a romance book.”
Kate put her hand back above Hannah’s head and leaned in and brushed Hannah’s lips with hers, and then, before Hannah could beg for Kate’s lips to return, Kate said, “I know. This is really hot, right?”
“So hot.” Hannah said, and then her lips were on Kate’s and Hannah felt like her world was perfectly aligned. It was as if she were the embodiment of the Ten of Cups. They kissed as if they hadn’t given each other so many orgasms only the night before last. When Hannah felt afraid that they were going to wind up ripping each other’s clothes off and having sex on the table where she’d helped little old ladies create gratitude altars this afternoon, she asked Kate if she was ready for a reading.
“I think I have a good question to ask.”
“Let me get my cards. Do you want something to drink?”
“If you have water, that would be great.”
Hannah got the bag with her cards, and then she walked over to the water dispenser next to the tea station. When Hannah had started working at New Age Stones and Witch Crafts, Zaina had a mini fridge with bottled water. Then Hannah had suggested switching to a glass water dispenser to avoid the plastic. Hannah poured water into a glass and put it down next to Kate. The store used a local potter’s ceramic mugs for their in-store teas and sold the mugs as well, and Hannah had found a smallMidwestern glassware company for their glasses. Knock on wood, they’d had the glasses in stock all year and not one glass had been broken falling off a shelf or by someone using the glass. Hannah assumed that was due to the good energies in the shop.
Kate sat in the orange chair. Her long legs were crossed, and her head was resting against the back of the upholstered chair. Her eyes were shut, and Hannah wondered what she was thinking about. Hannah’s mind was filled with her, the soft feel of Kate’s breasts against her in contrast to her firm lips on Hannah’s soft ones. But she needed to push that aside and be a professional right now. Once they were done, she was planning to invite Kate back to her place; maybe this time she’d come over.
She sat down across from Kate and began shuffling her cards. “I’m just going to shuffle the cards for a couple of minutes to clear my mind and let the energy flow.”
“How long have you been doing tarot readings?”
“I didn’t get interested in tarot readings or anything like that before I worked here. A few years ago, I thought they were just silly. But then after I started working here and spending time with Zaina and all the clients of the shop, I saw that tarot has so much to offer.” She kept shuffling.
“What do you mean?” Kate uncrossed her legs and leaned forward, placing her elbows on the ripped knees of her black jeans.
“People come to the shop to get readings, not because they think the cards are going to answer all their questions, but because they can give clarification and help someone find the right path for them.”
“Okay, I guess that makes sense. So, people don’t really make decisions based solely on the cards.”
Hannah stopped shuffling and took a drink of her water. “I think even if they did make a decision based just on what thecards said, then they were already walking in here with a plan to follow whatever the cards told them.”
“And of course, everyone is going to interpret the cards from their own past experiences,” Kate added.
“Totally,” Hannah said. A little smile snuck out onto her face. She was so pleased that Kate had listened to her and tried to understand why she was drawn to tarot. She returned to shuffling the cards. “When I came to Marley Creek, my self-confidence was nonexistent. Thank goodness Zaina decided to hire me. Once I was here, she started telling me about the cards, and after a few weeks of working here, I asked for a reading. I just wanted to know if I would be safe in Marley Creek.”
