Wild Men of Alaska Collection - By Helmer, Tiffinie Page 0,77

a dozen small white pills and handed it to Gemma. “Don’t panic. They’re just sleep aids. But they will put you in a sleep so deep your unconscious mind will also rest. He will not be able to reach you.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

“Wow, that’s some heavy shit,” Hansen said, relaxing on his favorite rock.

“Freaky, if you ask me,” Lucky answered, worrying the back of his neck. He’d just returned and reported everything he’d heard about “his” Tarot reading to Hansen, hoping the man could help him figure out his next step.

“She pulled all those cards on you. There wasn’t anything that you did to help the situation?”

“That damn storm left me with only enough strength to eavesdrop. Besides, I know nothing about the Tarot. Chakras are more my speed.”

“How does Gemma’s mother know all this? Know so much about you?”

“I think the woman’s been ‘touched’.”

Hansen got a calculating look in his eye. “Maybe I ought to dream weave a little myself and find out.”

“Dude, she’s like over fifty.”

“Yeah, so? Age is just a number. Besides, from how you’ve described her, she sounds kinda hot.”

“I think she’s in a relationship.”

“What’s a little dream loving? Doesn’t hurt nobody.”

“Speak for yourself,” Lucky muttered, dropping to sit on the grass that never seemed to need watering. He lay on his back and gazed up at the puffy clouds. It never rained. He missed a good hard rain. Damn, but he itched to get out of here. Turns out there was something to the saying, “Too much of a good thing.”

“That’s okay,” Hansen said. “I wasn’t really serious about dreamweaving anyway. I’m happy here. What’s not to love about Paradise?”

Lucky raised his head to debate the reasons but stopped. He had a feeling Hansen hadn’t moved on because of him. Hansen had always been a supportive sonofabitch. Lucky was going to miss him. That is if he wasn’t stuck with him for all eternity.

“So what’s your next move?” Hansen asked.

Hell, if he knew.

So help her God, if another person asked for a book, and they didn’t know the title or author, she was going to scream. The earlier Tarot reading twisted around in her head, so Gemma had dived into work, hoping that would help her to compartmentalize.

It wasn’t working.

Gemma gritted her teeth and plastered on a fake smile as she turned to greet another customer. “Oh hi, Cub.” Gemma’s fake smile flirted with the real thing at seeing him.

Cub stopped cold. His eyes widened, and he looked like he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t be. “Hey, Gemma. I thought today was your day off?” He stuffed his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. She couldn’t help but notice how the fabric fit across his hips.

“Normally it is, but I couldn’t stay away. You know how it is when you own your own business.” So, he wasn’t in here to see her. Her fake smile returned at full-wattage. “Is there something I can help you find?”

“Uh...no.” Cub clearly looked uncomfortable as his gaze flitted around the store landing everywhere but on her. “I’ll just look around.”

“Okay.” Awkward. “Let me know if you need anything.” She made a beeline for the café and left the book floor for Callista to manage. The young English major seemed better at it lately anyway.

The store had been hopping all day. Bad weather always brought in the customers. A lot of them were hanging out in the café with their laptops, drinking their daily water consumption in coffee. Lately, she’d been no different.

“Large coffee with a double shot of espresso, Amie,” Gemma ordered.

“Are you sure?” Amie asked, sending a worried look her way. “You’ve been downing the coffee at a terrible rate. You’re going to eat through your stomach lining if you keep this up. Maybe some tea would be better?”

“Not strong enough,” she mumbled.

“Hey, can I talk to you about your mom?” Amie asked as she went about making Gemma’s drink.

One of the very reasons she needed copious amounts of caffeine. She was lucky she didn’t drown her life in a bottle. “What about her?”

“Remember when she said I was pregnant?”

Oh, no. Gemma braced herself for the news.

“Well, she was half right.”

“Come again?”

“Siri’s words had hinted that a new baby would be in my future. Well, I’m not pregnant. Seriously, not pregnant. I took six pregnancy tests in the last week and then you-know-what decided to put in an appearance and relieve my fears for good. But Drew came home with a new puppy. So your mom was