Kiss And Dwell Read Online Free PDF

further. Luckily, the sitting room was only a few more steps.
    “ You okay? ” Jenee asked, as they crossed the threshold to the lovely rose-tinted room where Grandma Adeline had spent thousands of hours fine-tuning her knitting skills. It was the only room in the house that maintained the same lush appearance that the entire home had had prior to the hurricane. While the remainder of the house had suffered the full brunt of the storm, this room had remained unscathed, evidently protected by Adeline Vicknair , or some other powerful spirits.
    Seeing the familiar lavender envelope, Monique entered the room, stumbled onto the red velvet settee and lifted her grandmother ’ s summons from the shiny silver tray. Immediately, an icy waterfall of coolness quenched her sweltering flesh, washing over her like a blanket of comfort. The fiery burn was over—this time .
    Monique licked her lips, closed her eyes and smiled. “ I ’ m okay now. ”
    “ I ’ ll get you something to drink, ” Jenee said, turning to go, then stopping abruptly at the door. “ Or is your ghost here already? ”
    Monique squinted one eye open and peered around the room. She hadn ’ t even thought to look for her assigned specter when she entered, hadn ’ t thought of anything beyond touching the letter and feeling at ease again. But now she did, and she saw no one. “ No ghosts yet. ”
    “ Okay. I ’ ll be right back with some lemonade. ” As Jenee quickly retreated, Dax and Nanette stuck their heads around the door.
    “ You made it in okay? ”
    “ Feel better now? ”
    “ You can come in. My ghost hasn ’ t arrived yet, ” Monique said, chilled from the damp dress clinging against her skin. To think, she ’ d been feverish only seconds ago, but now that she held the letter, her flesh bristled with coolness.
    She lifted the envelope marked with her name, then held it to her nose and inhaled her grandmother ’ s favorite scent, magnolias. Monique wished this part of the whole spirit-helping business didn ’ t excite her, but it did. Not that she ’ d ever admit that to
Nan
. She ’ d told Nanette the truth; she didn ’ t like the way her medium status controlled her life. It was a pain—literally—when she had to stop what she was doing and heed the summons. Still, she ’ d be lying if she said this part of her family duty didn ’ t excite her, wondering whose information was on the pages within and how she would influence their passage to the other side .
    However, Monique also knew that she was better off not caring too much about the individual. She ’ d complete her task then she ’ d move on. Getting attached to spirits wasn ’ t part of her plan. Too much opportunity to get hurt, and Monique didn ’ t plan on getting burned by a spirit. Burned by a spirit—a funny way of looking at it, given she burned every time one called.
    “ Here you go. ” Jenee wedged past Dax and Nanette to hand Monique a big glass of lemonade filled with ice and a round slice of lemon nestled in the middle.
    “ That looks wonderful, ” Monique said, accepting the glass, while the wind beat in a maddening rush against the side of the house and the walls creaked in immediate response to the onslaught.
    “ You sure that tarp will hold? ” Nan
asked Dax .
    “ Man, I hope so, ” he answered. “ But it probably wouldn ’ t hurt for us to keep an eye on it. ”
    “ I agree, ” she said. “ If we see it start to give, maybe we can climb up there and keep it tethered long enough for the storm to pass. ”
    Jenee ’ s nose wrinkled as she shook her head. “ No way can I climb a ladder in the middle of a storm. I do good enough to stay on one that ’ s stable, and in broad daylight. ” She grinned, then added, “ But I ’ ll hold it while you do. ”
    Nan
laughed. “ Gee, thanks. ”
    Dax turned toward Monique before the three of them left to witness how his tarp was weathering the storm. “ You all set? ”
    “ I ’ m fine, ” she