-
North of Happenstance: Chapter Twenty-Six
“He said what?” Penny asked incredulously. “And he didn’t know you were there?” M.T. countered, over her mouthful of cheeseburger. Kate shrugged, but her nonchalant guise didn’t fool the other women. They knew better by now. Exchanging surreptitious glances with one another, they waited patiently for Kate to break. She was hurt, but her pride wouldn’t admit to it. Not just yet. The three of them were huddled over the kitchen table at Kate’s house, having yet another of their dinner parties. This time, however, it was Kate who’d brought the heavy conversation; in fact, she was so upset she hardly noted just how well the sisters were getting along,…
-
North of Happenstance: Chapter Twenty-Seven
“Kate, I’m so glad you could stop by,” Penny announced immediately after that woman had pulled aside the curtain marking the entrance to the psychic’s House of Intuition. A droll smile on her face, Kate gestured toward her phone. “I got your text message. It sounded urgent,” she admitted. Penny’s missive had been short but implicit: they needed to talk. Clearly, whatever it was hadn’t been something which could be shared over the phone. “So, what’s up?” Kate asked, moving inside the room to grab up an empty chair around Penny’s table. At the same moment, Penny sprang to her feet, her movements feverish suddenly. Pacing the length of her shop…
-
North of Happenstance: Chapter Forty-One
Penny tried to keep her facial expression neutral, but it wasn’t easy. Jake was sitting inside her too-cramped office, his body effectively cutting off whatever walkway she maintained—knees brushing up against the edge of the table, back chair legs pressed up tight to the wall. The picture of a somber, nervous man sat opposite her—and he’d come to talk about Kate. Penny just managed not to frown. Kate. The thing was, she and Penny weren’t exactly on speaking terms. Hadn’t spoken, in face since Penny had more-or-less come unglued on the woman, telling her she was no longer interested in…well, in this. So imagine Penny’s feelings on the subject. Conflicted…
-
North of Happenstance: Chapter Forty-Two
M.T. felt sick to her stomach as she exited the church. Pocketing the building’s keys, she walked briskly to her small car. Swallowing hard, she just managed to keep the tears threatening to spill down her cheeks, at bay. Her shaking fingers gripped the steering wheel hard as she pulled out of the parking lot…only at the last second, instead of turning left which would take her back home, M.T. flicked her right blinker on, turning into the mid-afternoon traffic. It wasn’t quite two-thirty in the afternoon, which meant that Penny was probably still at her shop. And suddenly, M.T. needed to talk to her sister. Squinting hard, she tried…
-
North of Happenstance: Chapter Forty-Five
Kate looked at herself carefully in the mirror. Her blonde hair was brushed carefully off her face, the meticulously curled tendrils falling softly down her shoulders. Her lips were painted a becoming pink to match the dusting of blush covering her high cheekbones. Other than her eye-shadow—a golden hue smudged at the edges with the lighted dabs of grey—which she was seriously starting to doubt, she looked fine. Good. Maybe she should leave off the smokey accents? With a resigned sigh, Kate wiped off the offending make-up. Her hands shook. Jackson was picking her up in less than half an hour. For their first date. Jackson. Kate smiled tremendously. At…
-
North of Happenstance: Chapter Forty-Six
The July heat was oppressive. Kate’s bangs, cemented in sweat, lay heavy on her forehead. Her legs, pumping against the hard ground, were tired, weighted down. And, according to her calculations, she still had another mile to go…! It had been a long time since she’d run any distance; she was definitely feeling it now. And that damn sun! God, she could almost feel jealous of Penny—her legs propped up on the chair beside her, a cool iced-tea in hand, with only a measly stop-watch to impede her relaxing afternoon sit-down. She’d no sooner thought this then Kate cringed, silently berating herself. Get a grip, girl! It was a petty,…
-
North of Happenstance: Chapter Fifty-Six
Breathing heavily, the collar of her coat pulled up high, half obscuring her face, Penny rushed through the throng of people milling around the copious displays of books scattered around the entrance to the LitLiber. Her eyes twitched uneasily from left to right and back again. But she didn’t see anyone. And, by anyone she meant Calida McDonald, of course. When her fingers closed around the doorknob to Jake’s office, Penny felt her stomach pinch tightly, ears pressed momentarily against the wood gain of his door, waiting for any noise. What if they’d found her already, what if they were in their now, cornering Kate… But silence met her probing…
