Witchy Woman by Karen Leabo Read Free Book Online Page A

Judy’s sake as well as her own.
    Nate spent what seemed like a long time in Judy’s room, but when Tess checked her watch for the tenth time, only twenty minutes had passed.
    “Did everything go okay?” she asked anxiously the moment he emerged into the corridor.
    He nodded as he tucked his reporter’s notebook into the inside pocket of his tweed jacket. “She gave mesome great material and some good leads too. But I could tell she was getting tired. She wants to talk to you before she falls asleep.”
    “Okay. Nate, I can’t thank you enough. You were great. Everyone else tiptoes and whispers around her, but you knew just what to say.”
    He shrugged. “My younger sister died of bone cancer a few years ago. She taught me how important humor is to someone who’s sick.”
    “I’ll try to remember that. Thanks again.” She sensed that he wanted to give her a reassuring touch. Part of her longed for it. To feel his strong arms around her was something she’d dreamed of in unguarded moments. But her habitual caution held her back. She honestly didn’t know what would happen if she let down her guard, and she wasn’t prepared to deal with any surprises just now. She wanted to hang on to her fantasies about Nate a little longer, just a little.
    She knew that eventually she’d have to let them go, but not now. She clutched her milkshake with both hands and stayed a safe distance from him. “Would you … would you wait here for a few minutes?” she asked, feeling shy. But she didn’t want him to leave.
    “I was planning to.” He flashed a devilish smile, causing her heart to flutter at an alarming rate.
    Before she could say or do anything silly, she nodded and ducked into Judy’s room.
    Judy was still smiling, though weakly. “Hey, that Nate is priceless. You better grab onto him fast.”
    “I’ll do what I can,” Tess said demurely, pushingaside the disturbing imagery produced by the thought of grabbing on. “But I doubt he’s interested.”
    “Oh, he’s interested, all right.”
    “Why? What did he say? What did you say?”
    Judy’s expression became enigmatic. “Nothing important. Listen, I really did want to ask you a favor before I conk out again. Can you look in on Whiskers?”
    Tess tried not to let her distaste show on her face. Cats, whether live or carved from marble, weren’t her favorite animals, especially not Judy’s cat. The overfed Whiskers wrapped his fat, furry, black body around Tess’s ankles at every opportunity. Her mother used to tell her that witches inhabited the bodies of black cats. Tess suppressed a shiver.
    “Sure, I can stop by your place and check on him,” she forced herself to say, smiling all the while. “But I thought your neighbor Mrs. Glick was taking care of him.”
    “She is, but she called earlier and said Whiskers isn’t eating. I want you to make sure he’s okay. And, Tess, if anything happens to me—”
    “Don’t say that!” Tess cut in fiercely. “You’re going to be fine.”
    “If anything happens to me,” Judy persisted, “will you find a good home for Whiskers?”
    “But nothing’s going to—”
    “Promise.”
    “Okay, I promise. But only if you stop talking nonsense.”
    “It’s not nonsense. I might be dying, Tess, and youbetter get used to the idea. Now go away. I want to sleep for a while.” With that, she closed her eyes, indicating the subject wasn’t open for discussion.
    Rather than have Judy hear her snuffling, Tess left the room. She swiped at her tears with the back of her hand, embarrassed to have Nate see her crying. But as fast as she could wipe them away, new ones formed. Wonderful. Why did she have to pick now to cry?
    “Judy asked me to go with you to feed the cat,” he announced matter-of-factly. “She doesn’t like to think of you riding the subway alone in the evening.”
    “I was planning to … go get … my car.” Shaky sobs punctuated the sentence.
    “I’ll take you to Judy’s,” he