Page 39 of Mountain Man’s Mystic Touch

That is a real question. Not a request for prediction, but permission to examine what success may cost. I place the deck between us.

“Shuffle until you feel finished.”

Chloe takes the cards. “What if I never feel finished?”

“Then Delaney and I will stop you before my next appointment.”

“I’m comfortable with that responsibility,” Delaney says.

Chloe shuffles three times, cuts the deck, and returns it to me. I draw the first card.

The Four of Wands.

Celebration. Home. Community. A foundation strong enough to hold joy.

The second is the Eight of Pentacles. Skill, steady effort, and work performed with care.

The third card is the Queen of Pentacles.

I study the spread.

“Well?” Chloe asks.

“The property is not separate from the life you’re building. That may be why it frightens you.”

Her gaze drops to the cards.

“The Four of Wands represents celebration, but also a stable home and the people gathered within it. The Eight of Pentacles is purposeful work. Not endless labor for its own sake, but devotion to something created well.”

“And the queen?” Delaney asks.

I touch the edge of the final card. “She creates abundance, comfort, and security. She nurtures a home without disappearing inside its needs.”

Chloe becomes very still. I understand what the question beneath her question has been.

“You’re afraid the venue will require everything from you,” I say. “That loving the work means you won’t recognize when it begins consuming the rest of your life.”

Her eyes lift to mine.

“Jack says we can stop taking bookings whenever we want.”

“Do you believe him?”

“Yes.” She pauses. “I’m less certain I’ll believe myself when the time comes.”

I look at the three cards again. The spread answers the question Chloe asked, but another remains beneath it.

“Draw one more,” I tell her.

“Why?”

“The first cards describe what you’re building. I want to know what will protect it.”

Chloe draws from the center of the deck and turns the card over.

Temperance.

Two vessels. Water passing between them. Neither emptied.