Page 15 of Crazy for You (Loco, Texas 1)

Deana came through the gate, and as she followed the older woman up the steps, she noticed a slight hunch of her shoulders and a hitch in her step that hadn’t been there before. She’d seen Miz Velma around town since the “incident” but hadn’t really taken note of the changes before. When Miz Velma reached the bottom of her steps, Deana stuck her hand out to help her.

“Thank you, dear.” Miz Velma slipped her hand through Deana’s arm, leaning on her as they hobbled up the porch steps. The extra weight didn’t feel great on her sore ankle and feet, but Deana didn’t complain. Miz Velma reached out to open the door, and as soon as they stepped inside, Deana started rubbing her arms to get some feeling back. She hadn’t realized how cold she was until the blast of heat from Miz Velma’s furnace hit her exposed skin.

“Land sakes, you must have completely lost your noodle running around here like that,” Miz Velma ranted.

“Miz Velma—”

“I mean, honestly, Deana, you look like a common hussy—”

“Miz Velma—”

“And good Lord, child, what in the blazes did you do to your hair?”

“Miz Velma!” Deana shouted, interrupting her tirade.

Miz Velma blinked her wide, rheumy eyes at her. “Why are you yelling at me? You’re behaving rather oddly, Deana.”

“Miz Velma, I need to apologize about the pumpkin,” Deana said quickly.

“Pumpkin? What pumpkin?” Miz Velma cocked her head in confusion.

“The one I busted on Halloween when I was eleven. I’m really sorry, and I am begging you to forgive me and take back the curse, because honestly, I just can’t—”

“Curse? What in the world are you babbling about, Deana Sawyer?” Miz Velma faced her with an outraged hands-on-her-hips stance.

Deana took a deep breath and nervously ran her hands over her hair. “When I was eleven, I smashed one of your jack-o-lanterns, and you said I’d always be a clumsy girl and never fit in. And you were right. I’ve had nothing but bad luck for years, but you see, I don’t want to keep paying for one bad choice. So can you just un-mojo me or something?”

Miz Velma shook her head sympathetically. “Oh, sweetheart. I’m afraid I was transferring my own frustrations onto you.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that I have been the odd woman in this town all my life, and I just happened to be having a worse day than usual. I used the pumpkin smashing to vent my own insecurities and rained them down all over your head.” Miz Velma reached out to take her hand and confirmed, “You were never cursed, Deana, especially not by me.”

“But…then why don’t you decorate anymore? Or hand out candy?”

Miz Sawyer went over to her chair by the window and slowly sat down

. Once she was settled, she held up her gnarled and spotted hands. “Because my arthritis got so bad, I can hardly hold a book, let alone carve a pumpkin. Plus, I won’t say that I haven’t enjoyed the quiet the last several years.” The smile she gave Deana was kind as she said, “I know that the good people of Loco think I’m a witch, have since I was nineteen and stopped going to church and following my father’s rules. All I wanted was the freedom to decide what to believe or whether I wanted to believe anything. It wasn’t long, though, before the whispers started.”

Deana remembered the whispers, the strange books Miz Velma would read sometimes. Swallowing hard, she asked, “But…are you? A witch, I mean?”

Miz Velma’s smile grew in her weathered face, making her eyes almost disappear in a sea of wrinkles. “No, not in the strictest sense. I’m Wiccan. I just have a different set of beliefs than you, but I don’t cast spells or anything. That can bring you bad luck.”

“But…if it wasn’t…” Deana stuttered in frustration before exploding with, “You don’t understand. It’s awful. Broken noses, tripping and falling all the time. I’m a walking accident! I must be cursed. There’s no other explanation, because I cannot be this…this broken, crazy disaster.”

Miz Velma waved her hand sadly, inviting Deana to sit down. “Maybe on some level, your guilt cursed you. You seem to be holding on to this one event for so long. I think it might be about time to let it go and just be happy. Believe me, darlin’, if I was going to curse someone, there are a number of people in this town more deserving than you.”

Deana was tempted to break into hysterical laughter and shook her head. “I knew it wasn’t you. It wasn’t a curse. I wanted it to be so that I wouldn’t have to be this big, klutzy mess.”

Miz Velma patted her hand. “Sometimes it’s just about accepting ourselves, honey. It took me a long time to stop worrying what other people thought about me and start living my life for me.”

* * *

He should have snatched her when he had the chance.

He had followed behind her after the haunted house as she moved along the sidewalk, that short fluffy skirt twitching back and forth.

She was better than the others. She was exactly what he wanted. She was perfect.

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