Tiger's Eye Read Online Free PDF Page B

casting shadows across the lawn, and there were a few solar lights planted in the garden, but no illumination came from inside the old painted lady. She had been in my family for well over a hundred years. Maegan’s husband, Birdie’s father, built it with his own hands. His name escaped me now as an image of a silver-haired woman rocking on the porch infiltrated my mind.
    Was that me in sixty years?
    “Are you sure this is a good idea?” Chance asked, bursting my vision. “Don’t they have to get up early to make breakfast for the guests?”
    I nodded. There were three cars in the lot, which meant the Geraghty guesthouse was full to capacity. Although this time of year most bed-and-breakfasts throughout our small tourist town were booked on the weekends.
    “What else can I do? Something’s wrong with her, and Fiona is the only one who may be able to help at this hour. Besides”—I thumbed toward the backseat where Thor was gallantly scrunched up in a corner, flappy jowls smashed against the rear window just so his new friend could nap comfortably—“I have no idea if she is intact but I know he is. I really don’t think it’s a smart idea to let Casanova bunk with Sleeping Beauty.”
    “You’re mixing metaphors.”
    “I’m exhausted.”
    Chance ran a large hand through his sandy locks. “Okay, I’ll take Thor to the cottage and wait for you. Is that the plan?”
    “Yep.” I twined my arms around his neck and brought his head to mine for a kiss I hoped held more meaning than I was able to show at the moment. I leaned back and searched his eyes. There were no shadows there, just raw emotion.
    “You’re welcome, angel,” he said.
    “You really need to come up with a new term of endearment.”
    “I’ve been working on it.”
    Chance got out of the car and lifted the patient off the backseat, setting her on the ground gently. She yawned, stretched, and waited for Thor to jump down. When he did, she began to follow him toward the cottage at the back of the property where I lived. The Dane stopped, turned, and made some sort of half groan, half yelp kind of noise and the collie halted.
    I got out of the truck, grabbed my backpack, and approached her cautiously, both of us watching Chanceand Thor make their way to the cottage. Thor glanced back once as he crossed the threshold, then trotted inside.
    That was the first time the smaller dog made a sound. It was a quiet whimper, as if she had just watched hope walk out the door. The night was silent again except for the chirrup of crickets.
    I reached for my crystal bag and fished until I found the rose quartz wand. Rose quartz is best known for love spells, but it’s also a great stone for healing emotional turmoil and alleviating anxiety.
    Tentatively I raised my left hand to the top of the dog’s head and placed it there. She was shivering, her muscles taut. The wand loose in my right hand, I turned to face the collie and swept my left palm over her soft fur, imagining as I did all the toxic energy leaving her body. I followed the sweep with the wand pointed toward her tail and walked the length of her, finally shaking it out at the end of the pathway that led to the back door of the inn. I lifted my arm toward the moon to recharge the wand with positive, feminine vibrations and blew out all the air in my lungs.
    That would have to do for now.
    The brown-eyed girl was standing where I had left her, and this time, as I made my approach, her tail wagged just a bit. I gave her a big smile and went in search of the key to the back kitchen door of the Geraghty house.
    I bent down to pry open the mouth of the gargoyle that housed the spare key when a light flickered on. Then off. Then on again.
    The kitchen door was a horizontal number, with the bottom half made of solid wood and the top glass framed in wood. In front of that was the screen door. I peekedthrough the glass just as Fiona was reaching for the teapot. The light (which I identified as a night