Chapter 7
Sascha watched Gregory and Rose leave, wishing she had seen something more in Rose’s future. Something more positive, since both of them were injured in the car wreck and had to go to the hospital. But she had no plan to tell her all about that.
While Kat was doing readings, Prescott asked if they wanted anything to eat or drink.
“Cheese tacos.” Sascha loved Prescott like he was her brother. He was always as thoughtful with her and Lucy as he was with Kat.
“Cheese enchiladas for me,” Kat said.
Prescott went to Lucy’s booth, waiting for her to finish her ghostly reading. Before the next person in line paid her, he said, “I’m off to the food court. What would you like?”
“Meat enchiladas will be great. And iced tea. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome,” Prescott said.
“Your old girlfriend, Stephanie, was grouching as usual. I was surprised she was with Gregory now,” Lucy said.
“When Gregory doesn’t want to be a third wheel, he goes with her. But I heard Gregory had asked several other women to accompany him first, but none of them wanted to go to the fair,” Prescott said.
Lucy laughed.
“I’ll let you get on with your business. I’ll be back in a little while.”
“You really lucked out with Kat.”
Prescott glanced at her and smiled. “I sure did.”
Kat and Sascha were listening in on the conversation as they waited for a woman to pull her coupons out of her purse.
Sascha wasn’t surprised Gregory had brought Stephanie to the fair. As confident as he seemed, he appeared to need someone to be with him on excursions.
“You heard what Prescott said. Gregory asked several other women to go with him before he gave in and asked Steph,” Kat said telepathically to Sascha. “But you noticed Stephanie went home with Marvin.”
“That’s because Marvin has cheated on his girlfriends before he met Rose,” Lucy said. Lucy was trying to conjure up a ghost for a customer, but she could multitask just as much as all the family members with abilities could.
“I can’t believe you told Rose she would have a car crash and that’s how she meets her new boyfriend.” Kat took coupons from a little boy, maybe about nine years old.
“It’s true,” Sascha said.
“Sure, but you should have told her something more positive and upbeat.”
“I couldn’t think of anything else in her future, and I wasn’t going to make anything up,” Sascha said.
“So, Matthew,” Kat said to the boy. “You’re nine years old and going to the fourth grade in the fall.”
His eyes widened, and he glanced at his mom and dad.
“You have had straight A’s in school for two years, and your mom and dad have agreed to give you a very special gift you’ve wanted forever.”
His parents’ mouths gaped.
“A puppy?” He turned to his mom and dad. “A puppy?”
“You ruined the surprise,” Sascha told Kat, amused that she had just scolded her for reading Rose’s future that involved the car accident. At least Kat knew Sascha was telling the truth.
“I couldn’t help it. The whole family was thinking about it. I couldn’t come up with anything else.”
“See? The same thing happened to me.”
The boy hugged his parents, and they left, promising to pick up the puppy that afternoon. Luckily, they weren’t upset that Kat had spoiled the surprise.
Then Prescott arrived with their food. He and Kat ate behind Sascha’s tent. When they were done, Kat took over for Sascha so she could eat.
And then Kat took Lucy’s place so she could eat since Sascha was expected to be at her own booth unless Kat relieved her.
As it got close to closing time, people started leaving, and the cousins had fewer customers.
“Do you ever wish you worked at something else?” Lucy asked.
“Not me,” Sascha said. “I love having fun with people, telling them what they want to hear, sometimes maybe what they don’t want to hear. And you?”
Then another customer walked up to Lucy’s booth. She smiled at her and took the coupons from her outstretched hand. “Not me, either,” Lucy said to Sascha and Kat privately. She and Sascha looked at Kat.
Kat sighed and shrugged. “I have to admit, after substituting for Sascha that one time when she was sick, it was the best thing I ever did.” She squeezed Prescott’s hand.
That’s how Kat had first met Prescott.
Sascha was glad that Kat had continued to help her at shows on weekends.
Then Lucy was helping her customer speak to a loved one while Sascha read a fortune for yet another skeptical couple.
When the fairgrounds closed for the night, they picked up corn dogs and hugged Lucy before she left in her 1956 raven black Thunderbird.
Prescott and Kat insisted that Sascha stay another night with them, and they would all go over to the fairgrounds tomorrow.
“You know I’m all right,” Sascha said, though she was happy to stay with them in their rambling house.
“Right. After your blood-curdling scream in the middle of the night after waking the dead, we want you to stay with us,” Kat said.
“I’m sorry I woke you both. At least we were all able to get back to sleep after that.”
“I agree. Did you see Damon at the fair?” Prescott asked.
“Yeah, I did,” Kat said. “I was waiting for Lucy to give him hell if he talked to Sascha.”
“He was there?” Sascha shook her head. “He never approached me.”
“Nope.” Prescott turned onto another road. “As soon as he saw Lucy was set up next to your booth, he turned tail and left. I didn’t blame him at all.”
“Well, I’m glad. Did you catch Stephanie glowering at you, Kat?”
“I did. It didn’t take a mind reader to know what she was thinking. So what do you think of Gregory’s home?”
“It’s as beautiful as your home and just as well furnished.”
“You can pick out whatever you want at any of our furniture stores to furnish your new house,” Prescott said.
“Wow. I appreciate that.” Though her tastes tended to be eclectic, much of that was because she couldn’t afford anything really nice that matched anything else. But a soft sofa set and a flat-screen TV would be just perfect.
“Renovations will be completed on the carriage house, and you can move into your home on Friday,” Prescott said. “You can go shopping for your furniture and have it delivered the same day.”
“That will be great.” She hadn’t asked how much it would cost her for the furniture.
They had already said the carriage house and utilities were free.
She hoped for half off the sofa and TV. Anything else she could get when she had saved up some more money.
At least she wouldn’t have to pay rent for her apartment or utility bills anymore.
She would really be able to save money then.
When they got home, she took a shower and went to bed so Kat and Prescott could have their alone time together. She hoped she wouldn’t have another nightmare and wake them up tonight.
The next day at the fairgrounds, Sascha was surprised to see Gregory intercept her as she, Kat, and Prescott entered the fairgrounds before she even reached her booth.
This seemed like déjà vu since the same thing had happened with Prescott returning to see Kat the next day at the fair, as if he couldn’t stay away from her.
“How are you at being a private investigator—with your, uhm, special skills?” Gregory asked Sascha.
She laughed and continued on her way to her booth. Prescott and Kat hurried to catch up to her as the fairgrounds began to fill up with fairgoers. Because of Kat’s pregnancy, she had been feeling a little under the weather this morning, so they were running late, but she was fine now.
“I’m serious,” Gregory said.
“Oh, I know you are. But you don’t believe in my abilities.”
“I’m willing to do whatever it takes to learn who is out to kill me. I had the idea that maybe if you looked at my emails and such, you might, well, envision something. The police are finding nothing out, and I have two private investigators, but neither of them has learned anything either.”
“For how much?”
He raised his brows.
“To hire me to try and figure this out. You hired the PIs, right?”
He sighed. “Of course. Whatever it takes.”
“All right.” She figured she wouldn’t charge him anything because it was the right thing to do.
Besides, whoever ran the limo off the bridge could have killed her and Raymond, so it was damn personal.
And maybe she would get lucky and learn something no one else could.
Yeah, so she had changed her mind about helping him out.
The nightmares she was having about the limo accident were what helped her decide that.
He walked her all the way to her booth as if he were a gentleman, wanting to get her safely “home.”
“What? Do you want another reading?”
“Sure.”
Kat and Prescott went behind the curtain to the booth while Sascha and Gregory tied back the curtains in front. Lucy soon joined them and opened her own booth, winking at Gregory.
“I see he’s back,” Lucy said telepathically to Sascha.
“Yeah, he wants me to learn who tried to kill him and who could have killed Raymond and me.”
“Well, you know you have my help if you need it.”
“Thanks, Lucy.” Sascha moved around the back of her booth so she could sit and give readings. She held her hand out to Gregory for the tickets.
He handed her some. “Tell me anything you can see in my future.”
“I’m coming home with you after the fair so that I can help find your attempted murderer.”
He gave her a small smile. “Something I don’t know.”
“Stephanie will be at your house to hassle me.”
“No way.”
“Yep. Just you watch.” Sascha envisioned Stephanie stomping through his house on her six-inch heels, looking like she was going to break her neck if she fell off them.
“Don’t you dare call her and invite her to the house.”
Sascha laughed. “Like I would. She’s definitely not on my friends list. You know, she’s planning on marrying you now that Prescott is unavailable. For whatever reason, she’s not interested in Damon.”
Lucy was talking to a customer who wanted to hear from a friend who died in a car accident, but as soon as Sascha mentioned Damon’s name, Lucy glanced at her.