Kristy and Grant
“I thought you could tell me the future.” The young woman frowned at the cards on the table as she picked up her beer glass and took another swig. The amber liquid inside was dangerously close to sloshing over the edge when she set it back down again.
Kristy Wright forced her best smile. “Like I said before, tarot isn’t really about predicting the future as much as understanding the past and present. Knowing what influences you and what other forces are happening around you can help you make the right decisions for your own future.”
The woman scrunched her face and squinted at Kristy.
She’d obviously had too many beers, but that was the point of the whole night, anyway.
The Cobblestone Brewery had decided that a Pints and Predictions event would bring in more customers by giving them a reason to come in beyond a good beer.
They could also sit with local psychics, mediums, and tarot readers.
It was no secret that people were more willing to spend money when they had a bit of alcohol in them, which theoretically should mean that Kristy and the others like her should make a good amount of cash.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t working out that way. Kristy had done a few readings, but the establishment had made the mistake of scheduling the event at the same time as a big boxing match. The patrons were more interested in watching the big-screen TV than in chatting with her.
This woman was one of the few who’d actually come to sit across the table. “But I just want to know if I should marry Roberto or not. Can’t you just tell me that?”
“I can’t make any decisions for you,” Kristy said gently.
She tried to explain the cards to her one more time, hoping something would register.
She tapped on the center card, the Nine of Swords.
“This one is pretty straightforward. You’re having a hard time making any decisions, and it’s keeping you up at night. ”
“Right.”
Okay, that’s a start. She tapped on the very first card, which represented the woman’s past and showed the Page of Cups, dressed in dandy clothes.
“You’re used to being the life of the party and having your choice of men.
That’s how things have always been in the past, which is part of what is making this hard for you. ”
“Uh huh.”
“Now, this one is The Hermit.” The old man on the card was turned to the left, shining his lantern on the card before it, highlighting its importance.
“This card is about turning inward and letting go of outer influences. It means that you have to do some very deep thinking before you can rest again. You can’t rely on anyone else’s opinions, because only you can make this decision. ”
Kristy watched, waiting for it all to click into place.
The woman blinked. “So, do I marry Roberto or not?”
“Maya! Come back over here!” One of her girlfriends called to her from their table. “We’re getting another round.”
“Okay!” Maya raised her glass, let out an obnoxious whoop, and got up. She nearly spilled her beer again, saving it at the last moment.
It was a good thing she always made them pay beforehand.
“Oh, just forget it.” Penny Taggert, a medium who had done a few other events with Kristy before, sighed and began packing up her booth. “This whole thing was a flop. You and I have been holding onto hope, but the other girls were smarter than us.”
Kristy sighed, too, as she looked at the other tables that’d already been abandoned well before the event was scheduled to end. “Well, that was a waste of time.”
Penny flipped a bit of her copper red hair out of her face and grinned. “You’d think people like us would’ve seen it coming.” She winked and folded her tablecloth.
Kristy picked up the cards she’d laid out and shuffled them back into the deck as she considered doing the same, but something held her back.
She’d made an agreement to be there, for one thing, but clearly, the brewery manager wasn’t upset about anyone else leaving.
In fact, the aura reader had been bellying up to the bar for the past hour.
“Fuck it.” Why should she stick around and look like an idiot, just waiting for someone to come to her table? She could go home—with the seat heaters on high in this cold weather—and enjoy a nice glass of wine and a book. Kristy gave the cards one final shuffle.
“Do you have time for one more?” a deep voice rumbled as someone stepped up to the table.
She slowly looked up, following the firm abs encased in a black t-shirt up toward a wide chest. There was a hint of stubble on the man’s strong chin, surrounding full lips.
The long line of his nose accented his high cheekbones.
With a few streaks of gray in his dark hair and a leather jacket thrown over his shoulder, he could be the ultimate bad boy.
The outer edges of his eyes and brows turned down slightly, hinting at the possibility of a heart of gold underneath.
“Um, sure. Have a seat.” Her inner panther stirred, instantly intrigued. She realized within a few moments that it wasn’t just his good looks, either. There was an animal inside him, as well, and it was making her panther sit up and take notice.
“Is there anything specific you’d like to ask about, or do you want a general reading?” She tapped the deck to clear out the energy from the previous client. Energetic pulses moved through her palms as she continued shuffling, a sure sign that this was going to be a special reading.
He scratched his jaw. “Well, it’s a strange ask.”
She smiled. “I don’t mind. I hear all sorts of things in my line of work.”
“All right.” He leaned forward, dark eyes burning intently into hers. “My sister has gone missing.”
Her lips moved as she tried to find the right words. “I—I want you to know that I can’t guarantee anything.” Kristy was blatantly honest with her clients. That’d probably lost her money at times, but it was worth it as long as she knew she wasn’t leading anyone on.
“I understand,” he said reasonably, sitting back a little. “I’m at the point where I’ll take whatever advice I can get.”
“Okay, then.” Kristy pulled in a deep breath, riffled the cards, and squared the deck.
There were numerous spreads she could do, and she relied on her instincts and the situation to determine which one.
The few readings she’d done so far had been simple ones that gave ideas of a person’s past, present, and future.
She embellished on this, drawing two for each of them.
“The Emperor and The Tower,” she said as she turned over the first two. “There has been a lot of change at home, some upheaval. This might have something to do with whoever is in charge.”
The mysterious man was perfectly still, only his eyes moving as he watched her hands.
“The Eight of Cups and The Fool. She left home, but she did it voluntarily.”
The pulsing energy was throbbing through her fingers now as she turned over the Ten of Swords.
It depicted a man on the ground with swords stabbing into his back.
Sometimes the meaning was symbolic, but the heaviness she felt inside her told her that everything she was reading was quite literal.
“Watch your back. You might have noble intentions, but someone else doesn’t. ”
The final card was the Eight of Swords. A woman stood bound and blindfolded. “There’s something about this situation that you don’t know. It could end up holding you back, and you won’t even know it.”
He finally let out a long breath, and his jaw worked back and forth as he ground his teeth. “That’s a little too accurate for comfort. Do your cards have any advice about what I should do?”
Kristy pulled a clarifying card and laid it under the others in the spread. It was the Knight of Swords, riding swiftly forward. “Act quickly.”
“And if I don’t?” he challenged.
The cards had been on her side for this session, giving her easy readings that she didn’t need to waste any time interpreting. But the next card was The Devil. She placed it down carefully. Two people were bound by chains, and a fat devil with yellow eyes and gnashing teeth held the other end.
“It’s all right,” he said as she started to explain. “I think I’ve got it.”
“I’m sorry,” Kristy said quietly. “As I said, I can’t guarantee anything, but there’s a good chance that she’s safe.”
He nodded as he put a bill in her jar.
Only then did she realize that she hadn’t even bothered to ask him for payment up front. The reading had shaken her from the very start. Actually, he had. “I don’t know anything about your situation, but I do hope that you find her.”
He studied her for a moment. “You’re right. You don’t know anything about my situation, but I could tell you over a beer. My treat.”
Yes! her panther screamed. Those few minutes with him had gone by far too fast. He could walk out of there, and she’d never see him again.
She hesitated only for a moment. He was a stranger, but she was in a public place and her curiosity was getting the better of her. “Could I at least know your name first?”
“Grant. Grant Harlan.” He extended his hand.
She took it, and that electrical feeling the cards had been giving her intensified a hundred-fold. It shot up her arm and danced on the back of her tongue. “It’s nice to meet you.”