Free Gertie's Paranormal Plantation: A Paranormal Romantic Comedy by Melanie James

out mop. My giggling left me completely useless.
    “Oh—ho no, I—I—can’t—ha, ha, ha!” I rolled around in my own rainbow cloud.
    “I don’t see why you think any of this is funny.” Randy tried to complain over my continued hysterics. Soon he was laughing along with me. “Oh, look at all the colors on you. You look like you fell out of a unicorn’s ass.” He snorted through the dust.
    After we caught our breath, Randy helped me up. “Thanks. I really don’t know what that was. My guess is that I pronounced something completely wrong. I’m not worried, though, I never finished the spell.”
    “And we broke the magic circle, too. It was pretty scary but it disappeared pretty quickly. I’m not worried about it either. So now you have to fall back on plan B. I think we have a few more bananas in the kitchen if you’d like to practice some more.” Randy gave me a playful nudge.
    “No, no, once was enough. I think I’ll wait to practice my technique with the real thing.” I winked. “Well, thanks for at least trying to help me with that disaster of a spell. I better get ready because I’m almost out of time before I have to get Brad.”
    He nodded and began to walk away. “Have fun with Brad and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
    “Jesus! That would make for a pretty short list.” I teased as he vanished around the corner.

Chapter Ten
    Brad Pays a Visit
    Randy didn’t need to remind me. By the time we had finished our conversation, Brad’s arrival had returned to top priority status. I went up to my room to make sure I had everything perfect. Although I like to refer to it as my room, it’s more like a suite of rooms. A decent sized bedroom with a full bathroom adjoining it and another room that was a sitting room. In fact, it could be considered a small apartment. Like the rest of the mansion, every square inch was covered in the brightest colors and filled with décor I created from my own imagination. Randy suggested that it looks like “Pier 1 on Acid” but I still haven’t figured out what he means by that.
    After a long hot shower and some careful grooming, I was ready for Brad. On the floor of the sitting room I had a square marked out with red paint. More than one attempt to have Brad accompany me on broom travel resulted in our arrival at random places around the plantation. To eliminate the risk of a crash landing in the alligator filled bayou or on the roof, Brad came up with a solution. We created designated targets that could never be confused with any other location.
    I made a quick phone call. “Hi Brad! Are you ready to join me?”
    “More than ready. The spot is clear on this end. Go ahead.” With clearance from Brad, I took my broom in hand and recited the spell. I was transported to the matching square on the floor in Brad’s apartment. He took my hand and we instantly were sent to the designated spot in my sitting room. Once the last of the pink colored fog cleared, I saw that Brad was dressed in a dark suit and tie. He held something behind his back.
    “God, you’re beautiful. I’m so glad we’re finally together again, Sunshine.” His free arm swept me close to him, nearly lifting me from the floor. His strength amazed me. “I’ve missed you. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately. A lot.”
    “Thank you, and I’ve been thinking a lot, too. You have no idea.” I was a little anxious. I wanted so badly to convince Brad to just move from Chicago, but I kept in mind Randy’s warning about scaring him off. “So, what ‘cha got behind your back?”
    “Oh, just a few flowers.” He smiled and handed me a dozen yellow roses that were fitted in a narrow crystal vase. “They’re the color I think of when I think of you.” He brushed my cheek with one hand and then he kissed me. Brad’s kiss. It’s the only thing on earth that has ever made me feel so completely loved.
    If I had any lingering thoughts about Vasili’s sensual manners, they were blown