Page 66 of Hot Zone

“But I don’t. When he left this last time, I told him he couldn’t come back, but he swears things will be different this time. I want to believe him, but I don’t. So I need to know if he’s telling me the truth or playing me for a fool.”

“Okay, let me grab my deck.” I ran my hands lightly over the rack of cards and settled on the same deck I’d read for her from on Samhain.

“Before we get started, there’s something I need to talk to you about, Holly. My shop is open Monday to Saturday, and I’m here Monday through Friday. You’re welcome to come in anytime for a reading or a cup of tea, or just to chat, but the calls to my cell when the shop is closed have to stop.”

“But—”

“No, no buts. I’ve told you before, Holly, you’re a powerful woman, and you have all the tools you need to find the answers. I want to see you grow in that power, which means you have to stand on your own. Now, don’t get me wrong, if you’re working on your spiritual practice daily and you get stuck, I’m always here to help. And I’m always happy to do a reading for you for confirmation of what I know you already know, but only during work hours.”

“I just don’t trust myself to know what to do.”

“I know, and that’s what we’re going to work on. You learning to trust yourself. Okay?”

She huffed out a breath. “Okay.”

“So let’s test it. What does your gut tell you about Calvin?” I asked as I shuffled the cards.

“That the man I want back doesn’t exist. That he never did anywhere except in my mind. I’m just hoping I’m wrong.”

“Girlfriend, I hear that. I’ve walked that road, and it’s a hard one. So let’s see what the cards say. I’m going to do something called a reconciliation spread. It’ll tell you what you need to know about a possible reconciliation with Calvin.”

I laid out the four-card spread. “This first one tells you what you need to know about the past. In this case, meaning why you broke up.”

I flipped over the Three of Swords card. “This card indicates that there were deep emotional wounds, maybe from infidelity.”

She nodded, and I continued. “This second card tells me where you are now.” I flipped over the card to find the Five of Cups. “That makes sense. The Five of Cups tells me you’re on the fence and maybe not really excited or at least hesitant about the idea of reuniting with Calvin, but you already told me that.”

Again, she nodded.

“Now, this card tells us where he is emotionally at this time.” I flipped over the Knight of Wands and cringed. “So the Knight of Wands indicates a person who’s immature and not ready for a relationship.”

She sighed and shook her head.

“Okay, now the last card. This one will tell us the most likely outcome of a reconciliation at this time.” I flipped over the card to find the Hanged Man. “This says that neither of you haschanged or are ready to let go of past hurts. But you already knew that, didn’t you?”

Her eyes were brimming with unshed tears, and she nodded.

“Okay, let’s pull one more card. This one is an advice card that will tell you what you need to know.” I turned over one more card to find the Hermit card. “This is a good card for you, Holly. It’s telling you that you should be focusing on personal growth rather than seeking external validation. For real, Holly, this is what I was telling you, and the cards support it. You’re a powerful spirit, and you need to work on developing your faith in yourself before you consider a relationship with Calvin or with anyone else.”

“Well, it wasn’t what I wanted to hear, but it was what I knew. He always does this. We break up, and he stays gone for a while, then decides he wants me back. But you’re right. I’m a strong, creative soul, and I deserve to be with someone who wants to be with me.”

“Damn right, you do. And, Holly, I hope I didn’t hurt your feelings by saying not to text me, but I just want to see you grow and flourish the way I know you can if you learn to trust yourself.”

“I know you’re right. It’s just so hard to trust yourself when what you know isn’t what you want to hear.”

“Boy, isn’t that the truth. But, Holly, I meant what I said. You’re welcome at the shop anytime, and I’m happy to do readings for you then.”

I stood up, and she gave me a hug. “Thank you, Mars. I knew I could count on you to tell me the truth, even if I didn’t want to hear it.”

Samuel

After Mars left to go meet with his client, I got to work on the bathroom. I made quite a bit of progress before I received a phone call from Hawk asking me if I wanted to grab lunch. I was ready for a break, so we agreed to meet at Winchester’s.

I had to shower before I could go, but I still managed to beat him there. I went on in and got us a table. About ten minutes later, he came in.

“Sorry about that. I had to take a call from Crowe. He’s out of town on a job and ran into some trouble.”

“Oh no. I hope he’s okay.”

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