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“Why did the universe arrange all of this to protect you?” I ask. Shane’s giving me one of his classic Oh Ruthie looks, like he thinks I’m unwise to engage her.
Josie takes a swallow of sweet tea, grimaces, then pushes it away. “I’ve fallen into a little legal…misunderstanding. A small-minded man thinks it’s my fault his wife decided to leave him for his best friend. It’s not his limp dick or refusal to go down on her that’s to blame, no, of course not. It was all me. He’s saying I ‘alienated her affections.’” She makes a sound of disgust. “As if she had any affections left to alienate. He took care of that years before she started coming to me for weekly readings.”
Weekly?
“What did you say to her?” Shane asks, surprising me with his interest.
“Only the truth. That his best friend has been in love with her since before the wedding, and he has no objection to making a woman come. She made the obvious choice—a choice she would have made at some point whether or not she’d come to speak to me. I’m only a cipher. My job is to pass on what I see. To pass on the truth.”
“And what happened?” I ask, drawn in despite myself.
“My boyfriend was going to represent me in court—he still has his license—but he got into a verbal altercation with the plaintiff at the farmer’s market last week.” She sniffs. “He didn’t say anything that isn’t true—the plaintiff is an asshole. He’s a Scorpio. Very sly. And the moon was in Virgo. Never get with someone who has that combination. Anyway, my boyfriend was really upset with himself, so he said I should probably find another lawyer. I was at the courthouse this morning asking for a continuance because the trial was supposed to be this week. I was leaving when I saw you.”
Shane laughs, looking genuinely amused by this, but if he can’t see the train barreling down at him through the tunnel, then I can.
She wants Shane to represent her, which he finds funny, but the real gift the universe gave her is knowledge of our secret.
Josie hikes her glasses higher with her middle finger—a creative way of telling Shane to go fuck himself that I add to my mental list for when it’s bright enough to warrant sunglasses.
“It’s interesting to me that you just got married to your best friend’s sister after you were so adamant about never getting married,” she tells him. “Did love change your mind?”
And there it is. I guess she’d need to be a hustler to make it as a psychic, especially in this town, where you don’t need to stumble very far before falling into a storefront promising a psychic reading.
Shane’s expression hardens. “You’re threatening to tell Danny? We’re going to tell him, although we’d appreciate it if you let us do it first.”
“I can see that he’s not the only one who’d be interested. Yes, that’s very clear to me.”
The dawning horror on Shane’s face tells me he’s finally clued in, and I can’t deny I’m kind of enjoying this. Shane needs someone to challenge him, and it’s nice to sit back and watch for a change instead of having to be in the driver’s seat.
“Do you bug people’s cars?” he asks, his tone harsh. “Follow them? That’s fucked up.”
She huffs a laugh. “Says the man who used to have a private investigator on retainer.” She shakes her head. “No, the universe didn’t tell me that. Mira did. Your brother’s girlfriend.” She adds this with a glance at me, as if I might not remember the name of Danny’s future fiancée. “But no, I don’t usually follow people around. The universe led me to you. It was a favor, you could say, for being its spokesperson.”
“Not a favor to me,” he grumbles.
“You’re going to represent me,” she says confidently. “The trial is a month from now.”
“You’ll have to pay,” he says, meeting her gaze. “I’m not doing it pro bono. I wouldn’t have any way of explaining the situation to Freeman.”
“Not a problem,” she says, which surprises me. Maybe I should add ‘psychic’ to my list of possible business ideas, since I haven’t had a single bite on Vanny since the cancellation last week. It’s not surprising since the weather has been cold and cloudy and not at all inviting. I should have opened a hot chocolate truck, probably, but my imagination never stops to consider things like weather. It’s a curse, having plenty of ideas but not being any good at executing them. Admittedly, I’ve been distracted and busy, not at my best.
Shane sighs, then fishes a business card out of his pocket and hands it to her. “I start on Monday.”
“And you already have business cards?” I ask, immediately wishing I hadn’t said it. It makes me sound like a child and I know it.
He gives me a smirk. “I hired an assistant too, yesterday at the jewelry shop.”
No one could say Vain isn’t efficient.
“A couple of months ago you didn’t have business cards or a family. You work fast,” Josie adds. “That’s good. You’ll get this settled quickly for me.”
He watches her for a moment and then says, “Maybe not too quickly. Did it occur to you that this might be fantastic publicity for you if you play it right?”
I have to smile. He may not believe Josie’s psychic, but he loves solving problems. He can’t help himself.
It’s then Eden walks out with a tray and three slices of cake. Chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, my favorite.
Josie points an accusatory finger at it. “I told you chocolate messes with my chakras.”
