Tea might be their specialty, but she carried flavored coffees, as well, and Mason had brewed a pot just the way she needed it: strong.
She sipped it as she watched him unwrap a lifelike skeleton wearing a pirate hat and carrying a realistic, albeit plastic, sword. “By the door,” she told him.
“Absolutely,” he agreed.
She finished her coffee and, with the renewed energy it brought, her desire to go through the boxes of decorations awoke. She sat on the floor and dove in, and between them they soon had the place looking ready for Halloween, boxing a few of the more ordinary items that had been on the shelves to make room for the holiday pieces.
In an hour, Vinnie made an appearance. He had a grin on his face as he looked at Kendall, as if he had arranged for her to win the lottery.
“Well?” he demanded.
“Well, you took me by surprise, all right,” she told him.
“Kendall, you were fabulous. Everyone was clamoring to hear you up there again.”
“Vinnie, I could kill you. We wrote that a decade ago, at least. And don’t you think you might have asked me if I wanted to join you?”
“If I’d asked, you’d have said no. You’ve got to start working with the band. And what about that dream you had in college of founding a community theater?” he demanded.
“I opened a shop, and I love my shop,” she said.
“So keep the shop. It’s a good backup plan. Come on, you have to start working with me again. You used to have dreams, remember?”
“And now I have bills. Vinnie, help Mason get that pumpkin hung up, huh?”
“You look beat,” Mason commented, when Vinnie went over to help him.
Vinnie flushed. Kendall found herself studying her friend. He was still as slim now as he’d been in college, but the darkness of his hair and eyes gave him a compelling appeal; he would fit right into any vampire movie. He did look tired, though.
But he smiled. “I had a hot date.”
“Oh?” Mason asked.
Vinnie grinned again. “A cute little coed out of Boston. Hot, hot, hot.”
“You seeing her again?” Mason asked.
Vinnie laughed. “No, she’s heading home today. But I didn’t mind being her New Orleans adventure. I mean she could—”
“Vinnie, we do not want details,” Kendall protested.
“I do,” Mason said.
Kendall groaned.
“Maybe you need the details,” Mason teased her. “I’m worried you’ve forgotten how it’s done.”
Before Vinnie could answer, the little bell above the door jingled and Jeremy Flynn entered. “Hey,” Kendall said, surprised to see him. She hadn’t thought of him as a tea drinker.
“Place looks great,” he said. “All ready for Halloween.”
“We’re getting there,” she told him.
“You want to play with us again tonight?” Vinnie asked him.
“Probably not tonight,” Jeremy said. “I’ve got some work to take care of.”
“Are you interested in a tarot reading?” Mason asked.
“Not today,” Jeremy said. “I just came by to tell Kendall that Aidan is going to pick her up at her apartment tonight at seven-thirty.”
Kendall felt her face redden deeply. Both Vinnie and Mason stared at her.
“Oh,” Mason said.
“Oh, indeed,” Vinnie echoed.
“Thanks, Jeremy,” she said. She was tempted to ask him to tell his brother that she couldn’t go. After all, she had agreed merely to get him to go away. “He wants to talk about the house,” she said, looking at Mason and Vinnie, then realized she had snapped out the words.
The bell rang again, and a pair of pretty young women entered. One was wearing a Saints T-shirt; the other was in a halter top. “Oh, my God, this is the neatest place!” exclaimed the girl in the halter top.
“Thanks, may I help you?” Kendall asked, glad of the interruption.
The two girls started to giggle. “Sorry,” said the shorter girl, “we’re just a little nervous. We came for readings. Is it possible?”
Kendall didn’t know why she hesitated before answering. Yes, she did. Jeremy Flynn was there. She was afraid he would tell his brother and Aidan Flynn would think she was even more of a nutcase.
“Absolutely.” Mason stepped forward and said, “Vinnie, you gonna hang around a bit?”
“Sure,” Vinnie said, “I can watch the place. Hey, Jeremy, you want some coffee? I see it’s already made.”
“I’d love some,” Jeremy said.
“Perfect,” Mason said, then turned to the girls. “Kendall and I will be glad to read for you.”
Before Kendall had a chance to object, he had everything arranged.
Kendall told herself to calm down. So what if Jeremy Flynn went back and told Aidan what she’d been doing? This was her business. It was how she lived. She entered the little room where she did her readings, introduced herself and discovered that the girl she was reading for was named Ann, asked her if she was enjoying New Orleans, then handed her the tarot deck, instructing her to cut it.
Kendall turned over the first card. Death, personified by a skeleton, appeared, and suddenly the room seemed to fill with fog.
And the skeleton on the card seemed to come to life.
8