Free Shelly's Second Chance (The Wish Granters, Book One) by L B Gschwandtner Page B

moment. “I mean how much are we supposed to
do for the person we’ve been assigned? She chose slots. I can’t actually make a
machine pay out.”
    “That would be nice, wouldn’t
it?” Alanna sat down on the bar stool next to him and picked up a mug Morgan
gave her. She drank it down hungrily. After that dinner where everything had
tasted like cardboard, this not-drink was a heady treat.
    “Where’s Shelly?”
    “Had her hair and nails done
and now she’s gone up to bed. Finally.”
    Morgan refilled the mug from
a pitcher and Alanna drank that one, too. Immediately she felt refreshed and
the minute she put it down, asked, “What’s in these anyway?”
    “Whatever you need,” Morgan
answered.
    “I mean, what are the
ingredients?”
    “Whatever you need them to
be.”
    “Hold it there, barkeep,” Joe
broke in. “It’s a legit question.”
    Morgan just wiped the counter
with a small towel and tilted his head to one side, a little smile on his lips.
“Ah, you wish granters. Always wanting answers. I can tell you one thing. If it
helps you at all. If you choose, you can make yourselves invisible to everyone
but Shelly. That could help you carry out your assignment.”
    Joe thought of about a dozen
more que
st
ions
and was about to start probing for answers when he felt a rush like a cold
chill and an image flashed through his mind so quickly he almost didn’t catch
it. A dark night, a man standing under a street lamp
.

R
ain
.
A
car pulls up. And then it faded but as it
did, Joe had a feeling of remorse so strong that he had to gasp for air as if
something was pushing on his chest.
    “Better take care of him,” Morgan
nodded towards Joe. “He’s looking a little shaky.”
    Alanna turned just as Joe was
getting his breath back. “What is it?”
    “I think I had a memory. But
it wasn’t clear enough to make any sense out of it. Like something bad was
about to happen. But not to me exactly. Man, I wish I could remember my life.”
He looked at Morgan. “Is that how it works? If Shelly gets to be a big winner, we
can get back to our lives? Because if that’s
the way this world works
, then I have to show
her how to play a game where the odds are a whole lot better for her.” Joe
downed his not-drink.
    “Maybe you need to tell her a little more,” Morgan
suggested.

“You certainly want your
questions answered.

Don
’t you think she feels
the same?”
    Alanna nodded, looking down
at the tankard and wondered again what was in these things. They certainly made
her feel great, and in just that moment a mist surrounded them and they felt as
if they were spinning slowly and then floating in warm air until they manifested
in the hall outside Shelly’s suite. The sun had come up and a waiter was
wheeling a breakfast cart out of the open doorway.

Chapter Seventeen
     
     
    “So you want me to believe
that you are—what did you say—not alive but not dead? What do you think I am,
an idiot?”
    Shelly was already dressed.
She’d eaten a hearty breakfast and was ready to get to the casino. “Maybe I
should try another hotel’s casino. Maybe I’d have better luck somewhere else.
Luck’s a funny thing, you know. It’s not like you can find it just anywhere.”
    “Shelly,” Joe used a stern
voice. “Sit down for a minute. What we’re telling you is important.”
    “Joe’s right. It’s absolutely
true. We don’t understand it all yet ourselves but for some reason we’ve been
partnered, and for some reason we’ve been sent to help you. If we can help you,
we help ourselves. See?” Alanna sounded just a bit desperate.
    “No. I don’t see at all. But
I don’t really care as long as you can get me out of my predicament. I don’t
care if you were sent from heaven or hell.” Shelly picked up her purse and
slung it over her shoulder, then turned to Joe with a second thought. “You’re
not the devil, are you? Because I may be a gambler and a sinner but I would not
stoop that low.”
    “I’m