Earthbound: An Otherworld Novella Read Online Free PDF Page B

not wanting to scare her off.
    The next moment, Kitten was bouncing along behind the lights as the realtor drew them in along the branch. They rolled up just like a ribbon on a spool, but Delilah hadn’t figured out that we were baiting her. As Novena slowly stepped back, the lights followed her inside and she aimed them toward the floor. Delilah paused at the windowsill, glancing behind her at the branch, then with one mighty leap, she pounced on the sparkling lights. I slammed the window shut behind her.
    Realizing that she had been conned, Delilah flashed us a nasty look and raced out of the room. I charged along behind her, but only managed to trip on a fold in the runner in the hall. Once again, I landed face first. With a groan, I rolled to the side, giving Yugi room to pass.
    “Don’t let her get outside!”
    The realtor followed him, as Iris helped me to my feet. Feeling bruised and battered, I stood, shrugged my shoulders back, and straightened my hair. Menolly had given me the go-ahead to make the decision on the house for her, and since I figured Delilah had already covertly approved it with her antics and loving the ‘way up high’ rooms, I turned to Iris.
    “Well, I think we’re home.” And without further ado, we had found our house.

Chapter 4
     
    The realtor pushed and less than two weeks later, we owned the house. We were able to negotiate moving in early and since we were paying cash for the place, the owner had no objections to closing quickly, especially since she had already moved out of town.
    A week after finding the place, we were moved in, albeit with a conglomerate of thrift store furniture. Menolly had already started working at the Wayfarer, and we were in a taxi, on the way to the Indigo Crescent. I was about to see my shop for the first time.
    “I need to head over to HQ,” Delilah said. We were already referring to the FH-CSI as our headquarters. “Chase wants to discuss my new business”
    Iris frowned. “We’ll get you a ride over there when we get to the shop. But listen, girls, you have to learn how to drive this month. I know it’s a lot to take on so soon, but I’ve been running my ass off finding you rides.” Not only was the house sprite helpful, she was endearingly blunt. “I don’t mind playing secretary for a while longer, but I’ve got better things to do with my time. I’m going to set up lessons for you girls—all three of you. It will have to be at night. At least for Menolly.”
    Delilah frowned. “Driving seems fun, but I have to admit I’m a little nervous. It’s not quite the same thing is steering a horse and buggy.”
    “You certainly didn’t have any trouble learning how to use a cell phone.” Iris grinned at her.
    Delilah snorted. “That’s different. I can’t kill anybody with a cell phone.”
    In the past week, besides moving into our house, Iris had put us on a crash course in getting used to technology. She made us buy a blender, a toaster, a microwave oven, a mixer, a laptop computer, a television, a CD player, and a number of other gadgets we never would have thought of. Most of them were fairly simple, although the mixer made me nervous and I was grateful it was on a stand. The laptop was another matter, but Delilah immediately took to it. She also had fallen full-force into the joy of television and was headed toward full-scale addiction. Menolly loved the CD player, and we all thought the washer and dryer were a gift from the gods.
    “Tell me about the store. What do I need to know?”
    “It’s a bookstore. You sell books. That’s about it. I’ll show you how to use the cash register and how to make change, but most of your day will be talking to customers and helping them find what they’re looking for. Since I’m going to work with you, it shouldn’t take you too long to get the hang of things. You will have to learn how to set up and use an accounting system, and keep track of your profits and losses. But I don’t foresee