Read Online Phoenix in My Fortune (A Monster Haven Story Book 6) by R.L. Naquin - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: R.L. Naquin
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it irritate her, it would drive Maurice crazy, too.
“Next time we come,” I said, taking a souvenir picture of Sara and me at the aquarium and flipping it sideways, “let’s rearrange the furniture.”
Riley didn’t look enthused. “Oh, that sounds like loads of fun. Why don’t we paint the place orange and green while we’re at it?”
I gave him a hard look. “Sarcasm before three? Shame on you.”
He shrugged. “I like to get an early start.”
From Sara’s, we drove across town to the office. Riley waited in the car while I collected the junk mail and flyers that had piled up through the mail slot. Before I flipped off the light and shut the door, I took a good look at the little room where Sara and I had spent so many hours interviewing clients, calming brides, shouting at vendors.
I still had to figure out what to do with all the furniture, office supplies and the craft stuff in the back room. We didn’t want to keep paying rent on a space we no longer used. Something had to be done. I wasn’t ready to give it up quite yet, and I didn’t want to believe that Sara was, either.
I sighed and locked the door.
Once that was done, we found a spot to park around the corner for one last errand.
The bell jingled as we stepped inside the herbal shop, and a blur of fuzz and fur catapulted from across the room into my arms. I was ready for him. Milo, the utterly dashing fennec fox, was my biggest fan—and I was his. He covered my face in foxy kisses, and I laughed while I let him smother me.
I gave him a gentle hug and kissed the soft fur behind his one good ear. “I missed you, too, sweet boy. How about you let me come in the rest of the way?”
Riley scratched Milo’s head and got a foxy kiss of his own on the back of his hand.
Andrew appeared from the back, drying his hands on a dishcloth. “Well, look who you found, Milo. Tell them to come in and sit down.” He grinned and waved us through to the comfy old sofa at the back of the store. “Let me make some tea and I’ll be right over.”
Riley and I snuggled into the couch with Milo, who trampled back and forth between us, whapping us each in the face with his bottlebrush tail and making excited yips. At my feet, a nose pushed at my ankles, and Milo’s brother Howard, the enormous, grumpy-looking gray bunny, shoved himself behind my legs. Once he was settled in his Zoey-fort, Howard refused to budge while he shredded a piece of newspaper he found under the sofa.
Andrew crossed the room carrying three mugs of steeping tea. “Ah, the boys love their Aunt Zoey.” He grinned and set the mugs on the table in front of us. “You look a little down, Zo. I made you my Sunshine tea. It chases away the clouds.”
I blew on the hot liquid and took a tentative sip. “Tastes like raspberries.”
“Among other things.” He tipped his head toward Riley’s cup. “I made you green tea with mint. That’s your favorite, right?”
Riley’s eyes twinkled. “Thanks for remembering.”
We sat in comfortable silence while we blew on our tea. Andrew was his typical cheery self, all freckles and motion in a compact, muscular frame that always seemed ready to spring into action any second.
But something was off. I couldn’t quite place it, since I tried to keep my filters shut tight around my friends for fear of eavesdropping on their emotions. When I’d first found out I was an empath and learned to block out other people’s feelings, I’d learned quickly that I had no ability to read other people by body language alone. I’d always relied on my empath skills, though I hadn’t known I was doing it.
Since then, I’d learned a little about how to read people—plus I had some sleuthing skills I hadn’t exercised in the past. Andrew’s shoulders weren’t held as straight as usual. A tiny, nearly imperceptible line had formed between his eyes since the last time I’d seen him.
And if my nose was reading things right, he was drinking the raspberry
“Next time we come,” I said, taking a souvenir picture of Sara and me at the aquarium and flipping it sideways, “let’s rearrange the furniture.”
Riley didn’t look enthused. “Oh, that sounds like loads of fun. Why don’t we paint the place orange and green while we’re at it?”
I gave him a hard look. “Sarcasm before three? Shame on you.”
He shrugged. “I like to get an early start.”
From Sara’s, we drove across town to the office. Riley waited in the car while I collected the junk mail and flyers that had piled up through the mail slot. Before I flipped off the light and shut the door, I took a good look at the little room where Sara and I had spent so many hours interviewing clients, calming brides, shouting at vendors.
I still had to figure out what to do with all the furniture, office supplies and the craft stuff in the back room. We didn’t want to keep paying rent on a space we no longer used. Something had to be done. I wasn’t ready to give it up quite yet, and I didn’t want to believe that Sara was, either.
I sighed and locked the door.
Once that was done, we found a spot to park around the corner for one last errand.
The bell jingled as we stepped inside the herbal shop, and a blur of fuzz and fur catapulted from across the room into my arms. I was ready for him. Milo, the utterly dashing fennec fox, was my biggest fan—and I was his. He covered my face in foxy kisses, and I laughed while I let him smother me.
I gave him a gentle hug and kissed the soft fur behind his one good ear. “I missed you, too, sweet boy. How about you let me come in the rest of the way?”
Riley scratched Milo’s head and got a foxy kiss of his own on the back of his hand.
Andrew appeared from the back, drying his hands on a dishcloth. “Well, look who you found, Milo. Tell them to come in and sit down.” He grinned and waved us through to the comfy old sofa at the back of the store. “Let me make some tea and I’ll be right over.”
Riley and I snuggled into the couch with Milo, who trampled back and forth between us, whapping us each in the face with his bottlebrush tail and making excited yips. At my feet, a nose pushed at my ankles, and Milo’s brother Howard, the enormous, grumpy-looking gray bunny, shoved himself behind my legs. Once he was settled in his Zoey-fort, Howard refused to budge while he shredded a piece of newspaper he found under the sofa.
Andrew crossed the room carrying three mugs of steeping tea. “Ah, the boys love their Aunt Zoey.” He grinned and set the mugs on the table in front of us. “You look a little down, Zo. I made you my Sunshine tea. It chases away the clouds.”
I blew on the hot liquid and took a tentative sip. “Tastes like raspberries.”
“Among other things.” He tipped his head toward Riley’s cup. “I made you green tea with mint. That’s your favorite, right?”
Riley’s eyes twinkled. “Thanks for remembering.”
We sat in comfortable silence while we blew on our tea. Andrew was his typical cheery self, all freckles and motion in a compact, muscular frame that always seemed ready to spring into action any second.
But something was off. I couldn’t quite place it, since I tried to keep my filters shut tight around my friends for fear of eavesdropping on their emotions. When I’d first found out I was an empath and learned to block out other people’s feelings, I’d learned quickly that I had no ability to read other people by body language alone. I’d always relied on my empath skills, though I hadn’t known I was doing it.
Since then, I’d learned a little about how to read people—plus I had some sleuthing skills I hadn’t exercised in the past. Andrew’s shoulders weren’t held as straight as usual. A tiny, nearly imperceptible line had formed between his eyes since the last time I’d seen him.
And if my nose was reading things right, he was drinking the raspberry
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