Page 65 of Hot Zone

“So what’s your end goal with her? What are you hoping to achieve?”

“I want her to reach a point where she realizes that she doesn’t need me to give her the answers, that she already has them.”

“And do you think that’s what you’re doing to further that goal?”

Damn him for being all logical and shit because, no, this wasn’t helping her grow in her own power. She had to learn to trust her intuition for that to happen.

I sighed. “No, it isn’t. You’re right. I do need to put my foot down with her.”

“And not just her. You care about all your customers, I understand that, but they need to respect your time. You can’t be there for them if you don’t take time to fill your own well.”

“I know you’re right. I’ll talk to her.”

“Good boy. Now eat your breakfast before it gets cold.”

I gave myself a pep talk all the way up to the shop. Samuel was right. I couldn’t keep doing this, so I needed to have a talk with Holly.

Even though I got there a good half hour before I told Holly I would meet her, she was sitting out front of the shop in her car waiting for me when I arrived.

When she saw me, she flung her door open and hopped out. “Mars, thank you so much. I wasn’t sure what to do last night, but I knew you could help me.”

“Let’s go inside, and you can tell me what’s wrong.”

She didn’t wait until we were in the shop. She launched right into all her business out here where anyone could hear.

“It’s Calvin. He wants to get back together, and I don’t know if I should say yes or no. He swears he’s learned his lesson and that this time will be different.”

I got the key in the lock and pushed open the door. “Go ahead and have a seat at the table, and I’ll get the water on so we can have a nice cup of tea and talk.”

I’d planned to have everything ready for her, but since she was early, she’d have to sit there and wait until I was ready. This was not going to go well.

As soon as I had the thought, I could hear my aunt in my head. “Marsi-parsi”—she always called me that—“you have to remember you get what you expect. The universe simply returns the energy you send out, so watch your words. Even the ones in your head.”

I took a deep breath. “You know what, Holly? Before we do a reading, let’s take a few minutes and meditate.”

“Oh, umm, okay, I’m not really very good at meditation.”

“That’s fine. You can just sit quietly while I do it then. I just need to get centered first.”

“I guess I could try.”

“That’s the spirit. Now, let’s go into the healing room. I have a couple of meditation pillows in there.”

I put on the flute music that I liked to use when I meditated indoors. Once we were in position, I looked right at Holly. “You have to sit quietly, not talking. Just focus on your breathing and try to be open to any messages Spirit might send your way.”

I took a few deep breaths myself and mentally began reciting my mantra.I am healthy, I am happy, all things work in my favor.Once I could tell I’d reached the place where I was relaxed, I opened myself up to what I needed to know today, and a peace and feeling of rightness spread over me. I might not want to tell Holly she had to stop calling me, but it was the right thing to do.

When I felt grounded and ready to proceed, I opened my eyes to find her watching me.

She smiled and shook her head. “I don’t know how you do it. I tried, but my thoughts were just all over the place. But I could tell by looking at you that you were completely relaxed, almost like you were somewhere else.”

“I’ve been meditating since I was a child, and at least once a quarter, my mom comes and teaches a class on meditation. She’s the one who taught me. Maybe that would help.”

“Maybe. Anyway, are you ready to do my reading? Calvin’s waiting for an answer, but I don’t know what to tell him.”

I pushed myself to my feet and motioned for her to go ahead of me out of the healing room.

“We can do a reading. But, Holly, you already know what you should do.”

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