Fortune Croakies by Sam Cheever

Author:Sam Cheever [Cheever, Sam]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: cThriller, humorous, amazon, onka
ISBN: 9781950331130
Google: F46sDwAAQBAJ
Amazon: B07TRMD562
Publisher: Electric Prose Publications
Published: 2019-09-02T14:55:01.065000+00:00

13

Enchanted Deux

The ground flew up as I clutched my cat. To my shock, Wicked was purring loudly, his tail beating a happy staccato on the air behind him. I was glad at least that my cat would die with a happy thought on his mind.

We were headed for an unhappy landing on the sidewalk in front of Croakies.

Irony was so very cruel.

I closed my eyes, wishing I’d done more stuff that I’d wanted to do. Unfortunately, all the wonderful moments of my life didn’t flash in front of my eyes as they should have. I really wished they had. It would have been fun to relive some of them.

Like the sweet, life-changing moment Maude Quilleran settled Mr. Wicked, fat and fuzzy, into my arms as a kitten…

My uncontrolled downward plummet stopped. My gaze snapped open, and I was lying face down about ten feet from the surface of the sidewalk. I blinked for a moment, wondering when the final painful drop would crash me into the stained concrete.

Then I slowly rolled upright, and my feet settled gently down onto the ground.

I took a slow, deep breath, willing my heart to stop hammering in my chest and my pulse to slow.

I’d survived!

The door to Croakies opened and the bell jangled. The familiar sound made my chest ache in a totally different way. I realized in that moment that I loved the bookstore, and I loved my life as an artifact keeper. I mean, I got to play with magical toys every day. Who wouldn’t love that? Even though some of them tried to eat me. Or stomp me into keeper dust. Or blow snot on me and then pummel me about the head and shoulders with a dismembered gargoyle foot. Yeah, long story for another time.

An elderly woman with a smooth cap of shiny white hair held the door for me, smiling widely. She had an armful of cozy cat mystery books and a mystery lover’s gleam in her eyes. “Beautiful day,” she said with obvious contentment.

I took another deep breath, smelling the sweetness of my favorite town in all the world, and placed my hand on the door. “It is, isn’t it? Thanks so much.”

“That’s an adorable little baby you have there,” she said, giving Wicked a scratch under the chin.

I nodded, watching her walk down the street. She reminded me a lot of Mrs. Foxladle, and that thought made me smile.

“Are ya gonna just stand there all day lettin’ the flies in?” called a raspy, decidedly male voice from inside Croakies. Stepping through the door, I let it slide closed behind me. I stood looking around, not sure if I was seeing correctly.

The store looked like Croakies. But it didn’t look like my Croakies.

“Can I help you find something?”

I glanced toward the unfamiliar voice, frowning when I saw the short, balding round man crouched behind the counter, eyeing me like Mr. Slimy eyed his next meal on wings.

I glanced back toward the door. Beyond the glass of the front window, the ugly wooden Croakies sign trembled on the end of its chains from a soft breeze.

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