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“True.” I’d gone over the contracts and paperwork setting up the corporation. Honestly, I’m shocked Ice was so generous. Is he using club funds or personal for this business?
Doesn’t matter. Not your business.
“Maybe counseling or something,” she says. “Ice made me finish my associates in psychology.”
I guess that’s something.Chapter Forty-SixShelby
Dawson has been true to his word. Bane’s like superglue. Can’t pry him off my ass. I swore up and down I wouldn’t leave my room but I bet if I opened that door, I’d find him sittin’ out in the hallway.
The hum of the hotel’s air conditioner blunts the city noises drifting into my room.
I center myself in the middle of the bed and clutch the crystal around my neck. The nominations for the Country Music Awards are coming soon. Afraid to let anyone know how much I secretly long for at least a nomination, I haven’t breathed a word.
I don’t need to win. But just a nod would be nice. So maybe people would stop writing headlines like the one posted on Sippin’ on Secrets this afternoon.
Buxom blonde songbird parts ways with biker
I mean, what the heck? Now I don’t even get a name? Deeper down, in a place I don’t feel like acknowledging, it prickles at my insecurity about being so far away from Rooster.
You’re going to see him in a couple days. You’ve talked to him every day. Quit being a baby.
The corners of my mouth tug up. At least that article will keep my mother off my back about Rooster. Maybe I should send Sippin’ on Secrets a thank you note.
Ha! Talk about puttin’ a positive spin on something negative.
Feeling a bit better, I shuffle my tarot cards through my hands and close my eyes.
What do I need to do right now to be taken seriously in this business?
The cards flow through my hands, one after the other. I open my eyes and stare down at them as I shuffle.
One card pops out, landing facedown in front of me.
Huh. I’m not the best shuffler in the world, but even so, I don’t usually have jumper cards.
Card on the floor means check your door. Momma says that all the time. Jumper cards are serious business—something happening soon the universe really wants you to know about. She usually says to treat it as a special card outside of the message of the spread and sets it aside.
Resisting the urge to turn it over, I pick it up and set it next to my knee.
A chill runs down my spine.
I flick my gaze to the air conditioner.
The negative energy surrounding me from missing Rooster is gonna throw off my reading. And if that doesn’t do it, the stress of receiving another creepy letter last night sure will. Same black paper. Same silver ink. It was shorter than the last one but creepier than midnight at summer camp in October.Dearest Shelby,
It pleases me when you’re a good girl and behave yourself.
Soon.
All my love.
MClearly M is a few bricks short of a load.
Focus.
Forget the stupid letters and concentrate.
What do I need to do right now to be taken seriously in this business? I repeat the question softly to myself while I continue shuffling the deck.
When I’m satisfied, I lay out my three cards and turn them over one by one.
Three of Swords.
Ten of Swords.
Justice.
I stare at the cards.
Breathe. Don’t freak out.
There are no “good” or “bad” cards. They represent a spectrum of meaning. At least, that’s what some people say. It’s trendy to try and put a positive spin on the cards that lean negative. But my momma always insists I read the hand I’m dealt the way it’s dealt.
I pick up the booklet that came with the deck and flip through the pages. These all seem related to interpersonal relationships or…I don’t know what.
I was asking a career question.
Maybe the universe doesn’t give a crap about your questions.
Three of Swords—the card depicts three swords piercing a full heart. Representative of unexpected painful events. Heartache, separation, sadness.
Well, I miss Rooster. That’s not a surprise.
I set aside other interpretations that say the card can indicate infidelity and breakups.
Ten of Swords—a man facedown with ten swords in his back.
A sign of an unwelcome surprise in the future. So, I won’t get nominated for a CMA? That’s not exactly a surprise either.
Again, I ignore that it can also indicate a breakup.
Or the obvious interpretation that someone’s going to stab you in the back.
Justice. Okay, this isn’t a bad card. Unless you’re a serial killer or something. Justice can also restore balance and order in some way if you’ve been wronged.
I sweep my gaze over the cards again. Maybe whoever’s going to stab me in the back will get what they deserve? And the painful events can be a learning opportunity?
Dammit, why can’t the universe be a little more direct?
