Gypsey Blood Read Online Free Page B

bothered to grasp all the nuances.
    “Busy.” Rita plopped on a stool at the counter next to the breads and pastries that her uncle delighted in baking. The heavy, chocolate aroma made her mouth water and reminded her that she had missed lunch. One of Uncle’s brownies, loaded with black walnuts, were a chocoholic’s fix for a week.
    Finished with the stacking, he yelled to the back kitchen. “Millie. Make chicken salad. Sweet rye bread, for my niece to eat.”
    “Comin’ right up, oh mighty master ,” the main cook yelled back.
    Uncle scowled, shook his head. “One day, I fire that sharp-tongued woman.”
    Rita smirked. “Well, maybe you should try asking instead of shouting demands.”
    “Who shout? Big man have big voice.” He wiped the counter and filled her in on the latest gossip about the other shop owners in the square. When the bell dinged, he collected the readied plate from the serving window.
    Rita wolfed down half the sandwich. She watched her mother tuck money into her blouse, smile at the woman, then maneuver her electric wheelchair around tables and customers to reach the counter. Gold slippers peeked from beneath Anna’s long, flowered skirt.
    “Business looks good, Ma. You feeling okay? You look a little pale.”
    “Ach.” Anna waved her hand in the air. “It bothers me sometimes to keep the truth back from customers.”
    “You say destiny win anyway, Anna.” Dragus looked at Anna’s legs. “Ja. You say you learn with big car crash. Not even you stop people’s sadness.”
    Anna nodded and twisted the wedding band she still wore. “When I read their palms and see troubles coming to them, it gets harder to fight giving them the words to make them ready in some way.”
    “If it’s not life-threatening, Ma, even you’ve admitted it’s best to keep it to yourself, give no warnings. You can’t prevent life’s little hiccups.”
    “That doesn’t lessen my discomfort.” Anna brushed a strand of hair from her eyes. “Ach. Enough. I have to live with it. Eat.”
    Rita swiveled on the stool and finished her quick dinner, sipped hot tea, and tackled the brownie Uncle Dragus set before her. Rich, creamy chocolate coated her tongue. Rolling her eyes, she sighed, “Umm, wonderful.” She licked her lips, catching each stray crumb. “You know, Uncle, the guys at the station are thinking of arresting you and setting you up in a cell so you can bake for them.”
    Dragus laughed. He leaned his wide body over the counter and whispered, “You tell I use little hish-hash. Secret ingredient.”
    “Oh Lord, then they may never let you out of the jail,” Rita teased.
    Anna’s brown eyes glinted, her gaze sweeping over Rita’s face. “Hmm, though it’s nice to see my daughter again, I think she has something heavy on her mind.”
    “Yeah, you’re right as usual. I really need to talk to you both.”
    “If it’s about the man you met today, he will be good for you. You already more than half trust him.”
    Rita closed her eyes and pretended to bang her forehead on the counter. At times, she was glad that her mother’s extra-sensory receptors worked so well. Other times, she wished her mother would point her antenna in another direction.
    “No, not about him,” she said. “But it’s important.”
    “Let’s all go back to the office.” Anna angled her chair toward a paneled door at the rear of the restaurant.
    As soon as the door clicked shut, Rita blurted, “The crystal’s not working right.”
    “Impossible.” Anna guided her chair to the large oval desk. “The crystal has never weakened. Your chosen work is why I gave it to you. Its powers have helped you. Guided and protected you.”
    Standing near the window, Uncle Dragus nodded.
    Rita slouched in one of the leather chairs in front of the desk. “Have you been following the news of the murdered prostitutes?”     
    Anna tapped her fingers on the desk, her eyebrows rose. “Tea leaves and palms are not the only things I