magical cures 06.5 - a charming christmas by tonya kappes Read Free Book Online Page B

had forgotten about my love problems, and then I looked down at my hand. “I think,” I gulped back the tears, “that Oscar is really having a hard time not working full-time as a cop. I think he’s cheating on me because he’s unhappy.” I said it so fast, I had a hard time understanding me.
    “He what?” She looked at me, but continued to rub the brush down the skunk who had sat down in front of her. I grabbed a brush and ushered in the next customer. . .Clyde, her macaw. “Oh, you go on you old bird.” Petunia flung her hand toward the bird she’d been trying to sell since I knew her.
    Only she never tried too much. Truth be told, I knew old Clyde was her favorite.
    “Clyde’s a pretty boy. Clyde’s a pretty boy.” He ruffled his feathers in the air and strutted over to her.
    “Silly old bird,” Petunia plucked a loose feather and stuck it in her hair with the rest of the mess up there. “Now what were you saying about cheating?”
    “I don’t know. It sounds so silly coming out of my mouth after all Oscar and I have been through.” Mr. Prince Charming trotted up to me. He always liked to take part in the hair brushing.
    Purr, purr . His back arched and tail fluffed as the brush glided down his white fur. He batted at my dangling charms hanging from my charm bracelet before darting off and letting the squirrel have his turn.
    “I don’t know. I thought he and Colton job sharing was going to be a plus. But now I’m thinking Oscar is down about it.” I bit my lip trying to hold back the burning tears about to trickle over my lids.  “He went into Locust Grove yesterday and he got snowed in. I had Madame Torres look in on him.”
    “No,” Petunia gasped, shooing Clyde away and motioning for the hedgehog to have his turn. “You aren’t supposed to do that. Rule Number One.”
    “I wasn’t reading him.” I corrected her. “I just wanted to see him. But he wasn’t alone.”
    “Oh June.” Petunia’s hand flew over her mouth. “And I thought I had problems.” Her hand moved down over her belly and she rubbed. She glared. “What did she look like?”
    “I don’t know,” I whispered and watched the squirrel scurry off up the tree and perch next to Mr. Prince Charming. “He was asleep on the couch. A fire in the fireplace. And there was a table set for two and candles.”
    “But you didn’t see the girl?”
    “No.” I shook my head.
    “You must go to Locust Grove and figure this out,” Petunia demanded, smacking the brush on the floor. “Just like Gerald. The economy has him so torn up, he’d do anything to help out.” She threw her hands in the air. “Like this bazaar. And now we have a bad economy and a thief.”
    “What do you mean by bad? Real bad?” I asked brushing the next animal.
    “Not like going under and shutting down the village, but down more than this time last year. But I’m not worried.” She tried to push herself up off the ground. I stood up and lent her a hand. “I think it’s just this time of the year. Everyone is with family. Don’t get me wrong.” She used both hands to rub her tummy. “I’m all about family and holidays, but I’ve seen how stress makes it no fun. I tried to tell the council that we needed to get through the holidays and maybe have a spring fling to welcome in the spring solstice, which is our time of the year. Not Christmas.”
    “I’m sure everything will be fine.” I planted a smile on my face, trying to cover up the heartache. My intuition told me the economy was going to be fine, but it said nothing to me about my love life.
    I ran my hand over my charm bracelet and found the gold circle with the dove charm Mr. Prince Charming had given me right before Oscar had proposed. Nothing but heartache ran through my body.
    “Maybe you should just reach out to Oscar instead of assuming he’s doing something he shouldn’t be.” She walked up to the puppies and picked one up. “Who wouldn’t want to wake up to one of these