Spiritdell Book 1 Read Online Free PDF Page B

instinctively.
    When I open my eyes, the front door is closing. Austin's gone.
    Instead of running out after her, my legs lock up and I stand, frozen, as the echoes of the clock's gong continue to reverberate through the room. My ears ringing, I sit down on Gran's floral-embroidered footstool. I'm alone. My psychic power's on the fritz. It's the first day of summer vacation. What else?
    Oh, that. Yes, in retrospect, saying I love you probably was the wrong choice.

Chapter 6
    Austin's run out the door and I'm alone.
    And yet, the cat gnawing on my big toe reminds me I'm not actually alone. Mibs is here, and he wants his breakfast. His brown tabby-striped tail wraps around my leg.
    “I love you. Do you love me?” I ask Mibs.
    He looks up from my toe, a string of saliva hanging from his mouth. “Meow.”
    “What did you think of Austin? She was nice, right? What did she say to you last night?”
    “Meow?”
    “Talking to a cat isn't like talking to yourself. It's not crazy.”
    Mibs gives me the cat equivalent of a frown and pit-pats in the direction of the kitchen. A few seconds later, I hear utensils being knocked to the floor from the counter.
    When I get in the kitchen, he feigns innocence. I get his insulin from the fridge and he waits expectantly. At first, my friends were horrified that we have to give Mibs a needle twice a day, but I assured them it's far easier than giving a cat a pill. The big guy doesn't even feel the tiny needle, and he actually looks forward to it, as he gets his treats at the same time. Treats are a great motivator for cats. Humans are more complex.
    Why did Austin run away so quickly? And what's happening with my power?
    I'm musing over the morning's mysteries while feeding Mibs his favorite canned food when the wall phone rings, and since I'm standing right next to it, I pick it up instead of letting it go to voice mail. The voice isn't one of Gran's friends, though, but James, asking if I'm ready to go to the lake. The lake. I forgot.
    “Why are you calling the land line?” I ask. I didn't even know he had the number.
    “Cause you're not picking up your cell, Sherlock. Hey, you disappeared on us last night. You left with Raye-Anne, huh?”
    “No, Austin. Actually, she just left.”
    James emits a noise like the squee sound his sister Julie makes over books.
    “I'll tell you when I see you,” I say, and then I hold the phone away from my ear because he's yelling so loud. I don't think he got this excited when he slept with a girl for the first time. He's a good friend.
    * * *
    I grab some things for the lake and throw them in one of Gran's cloth shopping bags. Mibs climbs into the bag, all fifteen pounds of take-me-with-you. He twitches his tail when I tell him to find something more constructive to do. I shake his little cat treat bag and he's out like a fat champagne cork.
    He'll need an insulin shot tonight and then again tomorrow morning. Gran and I usually trade off taking care of him, but one of our neighbors is a vet assistant and she usually steps in on short notice. I did mention something to Krystal last week, I think, but I need to make sure she's able to take care of the big guy, or else I can't leave town.
    I run across the street and ring the doorbell. I'm wondering how Mibs is going to like a long vehicle ride stuffed in my shopping bag when Krystal opens the door. The woman looks like an Indian movie star, and I find myself lost for words, caught by her green eyes.
    After I explain the situation and apologize for the intrusion, she says, “Mibs is still alive?”
    “Yeah, he's a tough little bugger.”
    “He's a sweet boy,” she says.
    “Don't worry if he dies while I'm away. Put him in a bag in the freezer, and whatever you do, don't tell Gran. She made me promise the same when she left for the cruise.” Gran and I did have that discussion, including both of us getting teary-eyed at the thought of something happening to Mibs. Since he first got sick a few years