CHAPTER EIGHT
Starlet
Soft lighting, candles,and jasmine incense create the perfect ambience in my work space. I’ve been in Shreveport for a week and welcome my last client for the day, Natalie Dresher. She’s middle-aged and obviously wealthy, her clothes and makeup perfect. She offers her hand as I stand up.
“No matter what you see in the cards, sweetheart, just tell me the truth.”
“Please, sit.” I wave at one of the plush guest chairs across from my seat at the table. “Rest assured, I always reveal whatever I see. Nothing is finite here, Natalie. That’s why you’re here, right? To see if you can change your fate?”
Natalie crosses her legs and sighs. “Perhaps to prevent the inevitable from occurring is a better way to express it.”
“You’re married?”
“Twenty years.”
“Is he… faithful?”
“Define faithful,” she chuckles. “Men are what they are. As long as he leaves his heart at home…”
Without a word, I flip the first card from my goddess tarot deck over. Strength through the goddess Oya. “You have the strength to bring peace between opposing forces,” I say, glancing up at her, waiting to see how she’ll react. “There is another woman of some sort.”
Her dark eyes narrow. “Of some sort,” she repeats. “What else do your little cards say?”
I turn over another card—power through the goddess Freyja. “You use power wisely. At least you try to.” Half of my abilities are based on intuition, not the images in front of me. The cards serve as a compass, but I have a unique ability to sense things about people, to feel their emotions. “His mother,” I say, discovering my misguided interpretation of another woman. “She’s extremely combative, jealous even.”
“Dear Lord,” Natalie comments, sinking deeper into her chair. “How did you do that?”
I shrug, never one to discuss how I do what I do. “You control the money. The property. But your husband—his family—has the old respected name. You’re not from Louisiana. I see Idaho—Montana. You grew up on a ranch.”
“I did.”
“You worked very hard as a girl…” I reveal the next card. “The five of cups. Disappointment and sadness. One of your parents died when you were a teenager. You were forced to quit school.”
“Yes… that’s how I met my husband, his father came to Montana to buy horses. You’re very perceptive, Sarah. Extremely so.” She gazes at me, shifting in her chair, maybe a bit uncomfortable with what I can see.
“His parents disapproved of your relationship. You were separated for a long time. But everything changed after your family gained wealth.” Though I can’t exactly imagine why her financial circumstances changed so drastically, I can feel the energy, the pride inside her.
“Yes, oil was discovered on our property, a lot of it.”
“Don’t let old history interfere with your future happiness,” I advise. “What is your husband’s name?”
“Dale.”
“Dale loves you, Natalie.” I flip the next card—the princess of cups. “He sees you for the girl you were.”
“But his mother…”
“She needs her own accommodations. The longer she stays in your house, the deeper the rift between you and your husband.” The next card only amplifies my warning. “The ace of swords shows victory, Natalie, in its purest form. But only if you take decisive action. Follow this path and everything else will work out.”
“My health?”
I set my deck aside and reach for Natalie’s hand. I run my fingertips over her palm, her hand is warm and smooth to the touch. “Nothing of consequence. Stress management is your biggest challenge. Take those long walks again. Together.”
Natalie tugs her hand from my grasp. “Jesus,” she whispers, examining her own palm as if she’s going to find more answers in the intricate pattern of lines. “You sure know how to make someone uncomfortable.” She looks up at me. “But you’re one hundred percent right. I’ve put my mother-in-law’s needs before my own for too long. As a result, my marriage is suffering, I’m suffering.” She opens her leather clutch and pulls out a fifty-dollar bill and places it on the table. “Anyone from Shreveport knows the Dresher name. I expect complete discretion if we’re going to see each other on a regular basis, Sarah. And if you keep my confidence, I’ll recommend you to dozens of friends who will take care of you.”
I stare at the fifty, grateful for the tip, in desperate need of the money. “Whatever we say to each other in this room stays here, Natalie. You have my word.”
“For some reason, I believe you, Sarah. There’s something about you.”
