Karma's A Bitch (A Pet Psychic Mystery) (24 page)
Read Karma's A Bitch (A Pet Psychic Mystery) Online
Authors: Shannon Esposito
Tags: #(A Pet Psychic Mystery)
I noticed her shoulders fall. Then a mixture of laughter and tears burst through; all the emotions from the past few days pouring out into the universe. “What do you feed a giant, toothless dog?”
I laughed then, too. “Anything from the blender.” Then I went and kneeled down in front of the little girl. Mad Dog’s little girl. I studied her for a moment in the fading light. She had his eyes and hands. More than that, though, she had his soft spirit. He wasn’t gone. He was right here, in front of me, holding onto Karma with different arms, same heart.
“Mariah?”
She looked up at me, eyes rimmed red. “Yes, ma’am?”
“If Karma went home with you, would you promise to take very good care of him?”
Mariah’s eyes widened and she glanced at her mother.
“Your mom said it’s okay.”
A grin slowly lit up her face. “Yes, ma’am!” Then she flung her arms back around Karma, giggling and wiping at her nose.
A wave of joy washed over me, making my scalp tingle. Karma looked up at me, tongue hanging, eyes squinting. Yeah, he was definitely smiling.
I bent down and pressed my cheek against his forehead one last time. “You take good care of Mariah, boy. I’ll miss you.” One last kiss and one last smile through the tears.
It was tricky getting Karma up into the jeep with his cast, but the three of us managed and they were finally all packed in, ready to go home. I slipped my hands under Karma’s ears. “Thanks for everything, boy. You take good care of your new family now.”
His eyes sparkled happily as his tongue licked the tears from the unbandaged side of my face.
I kissed his nose then reached over and slipped a check into Nina’s bag. “That’s for the vet bills. You come by anytime for a visit and to stock up on more treats, promise?”
“Promise,” Nina said. “Thank you, Darwin…for everything.”
Sylvia slipped her arm around my shoulder as we watched them pull out onto Beach Drive, their headlights disappearing around the corner. I wiped at my eyes and cheek. I think I slobbered more that day than Karma ever had.
“Come on, we get some chocolate scones,” Sylvia said, dabbing a finger under her eye.
I glanced at her. “Sylvia, are you crying?”
“Ack,” she waved, “something in my eye.”
I slipped my arm through hers. “Yeah, I’ll miss the big guy, too.”
She sniffed and I heard her say a little prayer as we made our way down the sidewalk, under the streetlights to Cassis.
“Well, I’d say our first few months open have been a success. What do you think?” I asked.
“I think I hope we have continued success with snowbird season but not quite so much adventure.”
I threw my head back and laughed at the sky. When I did, I swear a star winked at me.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shannon Esposito is a Florida author who believes in the power of an open mind. Exploring the unknown through writing fiction is her idea of magic. Her novels are sometimes steeped in science and sometimes wrapped in the paranormal but, as in real life, the heart of all stories is the mystery.
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Author's note: If you enjoyed this story, please leave a quick review on Amazon. It truly will make my day!
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