Page 55 of Any Luck at All

River was about to ask about Jezebel’s whereabouts, but he caught sight of her on the food table, eating a dish of something brown. The people who’d been standing around the table had backed up in a protective circle, and it was obvious no one intended to stop her.

Neither did he. He had too much to live for.

Aunt Dottie picked up a bell she’d set beside the computer and rang it, and all conversation in the room trickled to a stop.

“It’s time for us to begin. I know you’re all as excited as I am to reach across the curtain and commune with our dear Beau. Please help yourself to the refreshments, if you haven’t done so already,” she said, gesturing to the table. The people closest to it flinched, as if worried her gesture might startle Jezebel, who’d moved on to what looked like a black dip.

“To start, we’ll each choose a crystal to put us in tune with Beau’s psychic energy.”

Aunt Dottie left her spot at the front of the room and walked up to the statue. Georgie let out a gasp as she reached for the crystal shaped like Beau’s dick. At that exact moment, River heard a chime, indicating someone else had joined the video conference. Lee stared in openmouthed disbelief as Aunt Dottie removed the crystal from the statue. “We’ll use Beau’s crystal as a tuning rod to lead us to the crystals that will best allow us to communicate with him.”

Oh shit. He’d volunteered Georgie to go first.

“Georgie,” Aunt Dottie said with an expectant grin as she turned and held the crystal out to her. “Would you do the honors?”

Chapter Twenty-One

“Uh…” Georgie stared at the phallic crystal Dottie was offering, then took an involuntary step back. Could this night get any worse?

A third box had popped up on the screen and Jack stared out into the room with a look of horror, obviously regretting his decision to call in.

“What are you waiting for?” Adalia’s voice crackled from the computer speakers. “Go get yourself a crystal.”

“Is that what I think it is?” Lee asked with a shocked look on his face.

“If you’re thinking it’s a pink crystal replica of our grandfather’s penis, then yes,” Jack said in a dry tone, “I believe it is.”

Georgie Buchanan was a put-together woman who had handled herself with integrity and professionalism in a wide variety of situations, but this…she had the urge to run home and hide under the covers, onlythiswas her house now and she was stuck.

Oh, mercy. Dottie might be hosting this séance, but Georgie was the location host, which meant she was stuck here with Dottie and Lurch and Josie and all the craziness that seemed to accompany her grandfather and his business and the people associated with him.

Well, everything but River.Heseemed relatively normal. She took it as a good sign that he hadn’t treated her any differently tonight than he had in their previous encounters. The kiss—kisses, she mentally corrected—hadn’t made things awkward or rendered him standoffish. As long as he was here, she wouldn’t be alone. She could handle anything.

Well, anything besides touching her grandfather’s crystal penis.Thatwas a step too far.

She gave Dottie a forced smile as she moved toward the box containing multiple small crystals. “You know, I can already feel Beau’s energy with us.” She held her hands up and waggled her fingers, then lowered them as though mimicking rain. “And it’s telling me to choosethisone.”

She hastily picked another pink crystal and held it up in triumph.

The frown on Dottie’s face suggested she wasn’t particularly happy with the way Georgie had chosen, but she didn’t put up a fight. “Now the other Buchanan grandchildren need to pick a proxy to select their crystals. Children, who do you choose as your proxy?”

“Oh! Oh!” Adalia shouted, raising her hand in the air and bouncing around like she was a kid in class desperately trying to gain the attention of their teacher. “Let me go first! I choose Georgie!”

Georgie shot her sister a glare, but it was obvious Adalia was having too much fun with this to back down. She looked to be losing a fight to keep a straight face. “And I’m going to need you to use Grandpa Beau’s tuning rod to pick mine.”

Lee’s face turned beet red, and Jack stared at them with wide eyes from the screen, looking like he was having major misgivings about not only attending the séance but having anything to do with the Buchanans period.

Which was fair, considering Georgie was having major misgivings herself.

“I really don’t think that’s necessary,Adalia,” Georgie said through gritted teeth. “I assureyou that I’m already in tune with Beau’s energy.”

Adalia tilted her head, still trying to look serious, but the evil glint in her eyes gave her away. “See…you’rein tune with Grandpa Beau’s energy, butme? Not so much. I’m worried your connection will cross over to my rock choosing.”

“She has a point,” Dottie said earnestly.

“See?” Adalia gave Georgie puppy dog eyes. “I’m going to need you to use thetuning rodto make sure you pick the right one.”

“Really, Adalia?” Lee protested in disgust. “Is this séance not bad enough? You have to stoop to juvenile games?”

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