Page 23 of Charming the Cowboy
“Come on, Cooper. You’re bringing negative energy into the space. And it’s going to cloud your reading.”
“I’m good. My energy is positive.”
“Is it?”
“I’m energetically clear,” he said.
“Come here,” she said, gesturing to the back room. She took a seat at the small table that had the crystal ball and shuffled the deck. He was standing there, in the doorway, arms crossed, looking at her skeptically.
“I’m not going to bite you. Or curse you.”
He rolled his eyes. Then he sat down across from her. “Okay. How does this work?”
“Well, let’s see. I think we should do a little bit of an energetic read.”
“You just said my energy was rancid.”
“I didnotsay it wasrancid. And anyway, that isn’t what I meant. Like, let’s get a reading around your life right now.”
“What’s that supposed to tell me?”
“Like I told you, I don’t think anything is as straightforward as fortune-telling. Life has infinite possibilities. And a lot of Tarot is tapping into your intuition, how it makes you think about your own life when you look at a certain card and the symbolism on it. I think that can lead to clarity.”
“Okay.”
“So, this is about you, Cooper. What energy surrounds you.” She spread the deck out in front of them. “Choose a card.”
He took one and placed it face down in front of her. She flipped it over. And she laughed. “The Emperor. The Emperor is…” She didn’t want to tell him it was the card she associated with him. “It’s masculine energy. Discipline. Rules and foundations. That’s you. That’s the energy you bring to the world around you. You are structure. Dependability.”
“Okay,” he said. “And that’s good. That’s who you are. So what energy is coming your way soon?” She flipped the card over and just about screeched. The Lovers. And on this particular deck, that card wassexy. Two people locked in an embrace, naked. She looked up at him, and their eyes met. “I… Well. It’s not a reading for me, that’s for sure.”
“I… Is that…”
“We can take that one at face value. Congrats on your sex life.”
He didn’t say anything else. She blew out a harsh breath and then tried to think of another question. “What should you be looking to right now?” She drew the card and flipped it over. The Three of Pentacles. “Oh,” she said. She felt relieved by that. “That’s about teamwork. Working together. So, the community. You working with the community, doing this hayride.”
“Well, there you go. You got all that from this. But I don’t know what to tell you. The lovers card doesn’t resonate.”
“Well. Great. But then, you’re not the one who’s cursed.”
“No.”
They looked at each other, and her stomach went tight.
“Anyway. Let’s go get the decorations going. I want to get the wagon done before it gets dark.”
“Yeah. Good thinking.” They walked out of the back room, and she decided to just leave the cards. She felt scalded by the reading. Jealous and out of sorts.
She didn’t want him to know that.
“The decorations are in your car?” he asked when they got out to the main part of the room.
“Yeah. In the car.”
He nodded. “All right.”
She was suddenly unbearably conscious of the fact that they were in the shop alone. Standing there.
