Color Me Love (5 page)

I
got in my Toyota, making sure I jumped over the present one of those steers had
left for me. I looked in my rear-view mirror just in time to see a guy being
thrown from a bucking bronco.

I
laughed so hard seeing that ten-gallon hat fly high up in the air when the
horse threw him off and he landed flat on his ass.

I’d
have known that pumpkin aura and ten-gallon hat from anywhere.

I
put my car in drive, knowing exactly why I had never been to Heifer’s and Ho’s
and didn’t plan on it again.

Dust
flew from under my tires. I couldn’t drive out of there fast enough.

I
stomped on the brake pedal and the car came to a screeching halt. I tried to squint
beyond the bright blue light, but it was as though the sky opened up and was
ready to eat my little Toyota and me.

Dust
flew up around my car from the tires sliding to a halt. I closed my eyes tight
and reopened them. The blue light was blinding, I had to focus on the brown
loafers I saw, or at least that was the last thing I remember.

###

“Hi.”
The male voice came in loud and clear, but the image was fuzzy. “I think she’s
waking up.”

A
slightly rough palm felt my forehead as if checking to see if I had a fever.

I
blinked my eyes until the image came into partial focus, but I tried not to
focus too much. I could feel all the people around me and I was sure the auras
would just knock me out again.

“She’s
awake,” a lady said and rushed out of the room. “I’m getting a wet cloth.”

“That’s
a great idea.” The guy sitting next to me on the bed confirmed.

The
last thing I remember was the sky parting, but the bright blue light was still
there. I turned my head to focus on where I was.

Damn
dude ranch.
I
thought for sure I was getting the hell out of there.

“What’s
your name? Do we need to call someone?” The blue parted, and Joel was sitting
on the bed with his hand on my forehead.

I
tried to sit up, but he suggested I lay back down.

“Let’s
just wait until Jill comes back.” He turned and looked out the door. “She’ll
know what to do.”

“I.
. .” I stammered. “I do this all the time. I pass out.”

No
freakin’ wonder.
The sky wasn’t opening up. It was Joel’s blue aura and my heart colliding.

“Didn’t
you do this at Color Me Love?” His green eyes pierced me.

“Oh,
you remember?” I had hoped he didn’t recognize me. It completely put a crimp
into my plans.

“It’s
not every day that someone faints on you. Especially the same woman twice in
one week.” He smiled, melting my heart a little more. “My name is Joel.”

“Nice
to meet you, Joel.” I tried not to stare too much in fear I’d pass out again.
If I was going to try to capture his blue aura, I’d have to figure out a way to
look at him. “I’m Olivia Davis.”

“Here.
Put this on your head.” Jill shooed Joel away and made herself comfortable in
his spot. “Joel, can you please go help Davey with the cattle? I’ll take care
of her.”

Joel
shook his head. “Nice to meet you, Olivia.”

Wait!
I wanted to
call out, but he was gone.

“Do
you think you can stand?” Jill asked.

“I’m
fine, it happens all the time.” I smiled. “Job hazard.”

Little
did Jill know how true that was.

“Let’s
get you into the kitchen and get some food in your stomach.” Jill placed her
hands under my armpits to help me up.

I
stood for a moment and realized my equilibrium was good when Joel wasn’t
around. I followed her into the massive ranch kitchen where large pots hung
over a stainless steel counter.

“I’m
Jill. I own the ranch. You met Joel, my nephew. He just moved here for his new
job.” Jill said, dumping the contents of several different bowls into one large
bowl and then mixing them together. “I’m making the dessert for today’s guests.
We have over one hundred people a week that love to come and ranch.”

One
hundred people? Who in their ever-loving mind would want to vacation on a dude ranch?
The smell alone made me gag. And Joel was her nephew?

“I’m
making some banana nut bread. I love the smell.” Jill fanned the air above the
bowl and inhaled.

“I
have a secret ingredient for banana nut bread.” I boasted. Aunt Matilda was a
great baker and I’d learned a lot from her.

I
always asked her what her special ingredient was that she used. Her standard
reply was a
pinch of love
.

“Oh,
yeah?” Jill stopped mixing the batter, and put her hands on the counter. “Care
to share?”

Anything
for a blue aura.

“Just
a tad bit of nutmeg really does bring out the flavoring. And no one will ever
know.” I winked and looked through the spice rack on the counter. I handed it
to her.

“No,
you do the honors.” She took the measuring spoons out of the drawer and handed
them to me.

Quickly,
I measured out the single-tablespoon that makes the banana nut bread taste so
good and tossed it in Jill’s mixing bowl as she mixed away.

“I
guess I better get going.” I patted my pockets for my keys, but they weren’t
there.

“Are
you sure you’re okay to drive?” Jill asked.

“I’m
fine.” I nodded and lied. “Like I said, I do it all the time. Low blood
pressure.”

“At
least stay for lunch.” Jill put the banana bread in the oven and began filling
bowls with the chili she had cooking in a big pot on the stove.

“No,
I have to get back to work.” After all, it was almost Valentine’s Day and I was
running a Valentine’s massacre special with half-off dumps.

Besides,
if Joel was a rancher, I was going to need a pair of boots.

Jill
reached into a pocket on her apron and handed me my keys and thanked me for the
secret nutmeg.

“Joel
parked your car outside the front door.” Jill pointed the way.

I
found my way to the front door and bolted down the porch steps, again. But this
time, my Toyota was going to make it out of the ranch and head straight to the
boot store.

Seven

I
was exhausted by the time I had dumped five people when I got home from the boot
store. Vegging out on the couch with Herbie was going to be my perfect night
in.

“How
did the date with Buddy go?” Erin asked when she got home from work.

“Are
you honestly going to ask me that question? Let’s say that you owe me. Big
time.” I propped my new boots up on the coffee table.

Erin
laughed. “What are those?” She pointed to my three hundred dollar kickers.

“I
read that boots are the rage now. So I went and got me a pair.” I shook my
feet.

“Are
you feeling okay?” Erin picked up the empty boot box off the couch and sat down.
“Anyway, tell me about the date.”

I
got up and went into the kitchen. If I was going to tell her how disastrous the
date was, she was going to need a glass of wine.

“Are
you sure you want to know?” I asked, pouring the box wine into a Styrofoam cup.

“Yes.”
She walked into the kitchen and picked up the cup. “Really, Olivia? Styrofoam?
Box wine? This is the stuff that put me out of business before.”

So
maybe Styrofoam wasn’t the proper way to serve wine, but I hadn’t been to the
store and it was going to have to do.

I
proceeded to tell Erin about Buddy and his orange bucking bronco experience. We
laughed so hard that we’d forgotten all about the Styrofoam cup issue and
proceeded to fill our cups up several more times.

“Well,
I hope Jennifer’s date with Joel goes much better tomorrow.” Erin stood up and
yawned. “It’s been a long day. I’m going to bed”

“Wait,
what happened to your car?” I had completely forgotten to ask her.

“What?”
Erin looked a little confused.

Maybe
she was really tired and hadn’t understood what I had said, but I thought I had
said it loud enough for her to hear.

“Your
car?” I asked, hoping to jog her memory. “Obviously, you must have gotten it
fixed.”

“Wouldn’t
you know it? I was just out of gas.” She waved me off as she walked down the
hall to the bedroom. “Thank goodness for Aunt Matilda.”

Something
was off. Erin’s strange behavior made me think she was up to something. She always
forgets that when she’s lying, her crystal aura becomes muddy.

“Huh.”
I rubbed my chin.

I
shook it off. After all, we’d had a lot of wine.

Eight

I
woke up in a cold sweat. Herbie towered over me, licking my forehead. I brushed
my matted bangs out of my eyes and sat up.

I
had to shake the dream out of my head.

One
of those dreams
,
I smacked my forehead. I hadn’t had one of
those
since the death of Dabi
Stone.

I
started to reach for my journal, but pulled away. Normally, I write down all my
dreams because some part of them always comes true, but I didn’t want to think
about the dream I just had, much less write it down.

If
this dream did come true, we were all in trouble.

I
admit, I didn’t think orange Buddy was for me, but I would never wish him dead.

Pushing
the thought aside, I got out of bed and put on my jogging suit.

“Ugh!”
I’d seen the big red heart on the calendar hanging up on my wall when I bent
down to put on my tennis shoes.

I
remember putting that heart there when Bradley was still in my life. When I
stuck it there, I was sure that was going to be the best Valentine’s Day ever.

How
can someone be in your life that lived days away and you hadn’t talked to them in
over six months.

“Come
on, Herbie. Let’s go for a walk.” I said.

Herbie
bounced around my feet. There wasn’t any guy I’d rather spend Valentine ’s Day
with than my furry guy.

The
coffee pot was full of fresh coffee. Next to it was a heart-shaped foiled
chocolate and a note from Erin. She went into Color Me Love early to make sure
that our secret client Jennifer didn’t stand up Joel like she’d stood up Buddy.

Secretly,
I wished she would.

I
filled my SPCA travel mug with coffee and grabbed Herbie’s leash. I really had
to get out of the house.

I
tried to put all the thoughts of Joel, Buddy, super secret client Jennifer, and
Erin aside. There was no way any woman in her right mind wouldn’t be attracted
to Joel and his amazing blue aura. I just had to accept the fact that I was
going to lose Joel to Jennifer.

***

I
decided to cut through town using the shortcut to Pleasant Ridge Park. It was early,
but Park City was already hopping. The small cafes were packed with couples
partaking of all the Valentine’s Day specials.

I
looked down Aunt Matilda’s street as I passed by it. I slammed on the breaks
and caught Herbie flying in mid-air after I’d seen the Chief of Police Carl’s
car parked in front of her house.

He’d
been coming around a lot lately, but Aunt Matilda had yet to let me in on her
secret, even though her aura had told me that she had a new love in her life. I
had to respect her privacy, even though she had not always respected mine.

I
pulled down the street just in time to catch them walking out of her house
holding hands.

I
took the chocolate heart from Erin out of my pocket and jumped out of my car.

“Hi.
What are you two doing?” I asked, but couldn’t repress the smile on my face.

I
admit that Carl was a pain in my butt when he thought I’d killed Dabi Stone,
and I was aware of the history he had with Aunt Matilda. She had worked at the
police department as a psychic for years. What I hadn’t known was that she was
reading my dreams.

Aunt
Matilda would give me key clues in a case, and after I would fall asleep, she’d
sit next to my bed and write down what I’d say in my dreams.

My
dreams were pretty good clues to what had happened or was going to happen.
Undercover, literally, I’d solved many of Park City’s crimes.

“Umm.
. .” Aunt Matilda looked at Carl for the right words.

“Olivia,
your aunt and I have been having some social time together.” Carl nodded
towards Aunt Matilda.

“You
mean dating?” I questioned them. “Okay. Anyway, I wanted to tell you happy Valentine’s
Day and give you this heart.”

I
held the heart out. Aunt Matilda took it.

“You
lie.” She cackled. “Not only did Erin give me the same chocolate hearts, but
you forget that I can read auras too, maybe not as good as you, but you are
telling a tale.”