Free The Awakening: A Sisterhood of Spirits Novel by Yvonne Heidt Page B

an interview. Could you please call Tiffany’s clients and see if you can work them in over the next couple of days?”
    Her mother nodded but narrowed her eyes.
    The gesture made Sunny smile. “Besides,” she said gently, “don’t you have that dinner cruise in Seattle planned this evening? You’ve been looking forward to it for weeks.”
    “But—”
    “No more buts today, please, Mom.”
    “Okay,” her mother said. “But be careful.”
    “I promise. Have fun.” Sunny called Agnes and let her know she could be there in a couple of hours. The woman’s gratitude was as easy to read as her fear had been. Something else tugged at her, a sense of eagerness along with an inclination that something important was waiting for her.
    Since she was going without her team, she wanted to keep the meeting informal. Just a quick look-see, she told herself. She had plans later that evening to attend an opening at a new art gallery downtown. She heard a clatter of beads, and a blur in the corner of the hall mirror caught her attention. Mazie stood to the side dressed in her flapper costume. She was one of the few souls Sunny allowed herself to actually see in a corporeal form. She decided when she was very young that having mental images and hearing them was enough for her. She got tired of the ones that would just show up unannounced and scare her silly. Over the years, she learned how to set clear boundaries.
    “Be careful,” the apparition said.
    Sunny smiled at her. “You been talking with my mother again, Mazie?”
    She received no answer, and the original owner of her house faded. If everyone was warning her today about this job, why was she so excited to get there?
     
    *
     
    She’d lost her ever-loving mind; that’s all there was to it. Jordan looked at the plant sitting on the passenger seat of her truck. She had never bought anything living and green in her life. She was sure of it.
    She was a little dazed. There she was, minding her own business in the produce aisle when the smell hit the edge of her conscious. A light summer scent teased her memory and must have caused the temporary insanity, because Jordan impulsively put the plant in her cart.
    Now her truck smelled like flowers, for Christ’s sake, like a girl’s. Jordan winced before picking the pot up and heading to her apartment. Steve opened his door when she unlocked hers, his grandmother appearing like a shadow behind him.
    Jordan peered through the leaves and stared back at them. “What?”
    Steve snickered. “Flowers?”
    His grandmother slapped his arm and shushed him. “They’re lovely, dear.” She smiled up at Jordan and they followed her into her apartment.
    “Come on in,” Jordan mumbled.
    “Oh, it’s cold in here,” Agnes said.
    Jordan set the plant on the table and turned toward her. “I told you something is wrong with the thermostat in here.”
    Agnes shivered. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I called—” She was interrupted by the sound of Steve’s door slamming across the hall. Her face went pale and she looked as if she might faint again. “I called someone to come and help us.”
    Steve led her to a chair and sat her down. “Here, Grandma, sit. Water?”
    Jordan rushed to get her some and put a glass into her trembling hand. “Help us with what, Agnes?”
    The door to her bedroom slammed shut with a bang. Agnes shot to her feet and toddled to the front door in her purple high-tops. “I have to go.” Steve followed her out, leaving Jordan standing in the kitchen with her mouth open, wondering what the hell was going on. Again.
    Old houses meant uneven floors, settling, and noisy pipes in the walls. What was the big deal? Any of those explanations would do.
    Jordan checked her watch and decided she had time to wash some clothes. She picked up the basket in her closet and headed to the basement. Each wing in the old brick apartment complex had its own laundry facility. She was pretty sure she’d have it