Listen To Your Heart Read Online Free Page A

though.”
    â€œOkay, I’ll take out a subscription. Any phone calls?”
    â€œNot a one. Seems like everyone goes underground on Monday. Too much partying on Bourbon Street over the weekend. So, get the box and open it already. Let’s see what they sent us. If it is magazines, you can give one to Mrs. Lobelia when she comes over.”
    Josie walked into the hallway, looking over her shoulder to see if Rosie would follow her. Her heart thumped in her chest when the little dog stayed under the kitchen table. She picked up the box. Kitty was right: It was light. She was curious now. Her sandwich could wait.
    Kitty watched as Josie slit the top of the packing box with a sharp knife. She dug down into the bubble wrap and pulled out a stuffed animal. “It’s a boxer! What in the world?”
    â€œNow I know where I saw the hunk!” Kitty cried. “He’s in the same magazine we were in but he’s in the back end of it. When we first got it, I was like you. I just read our own article and chortled a bit. Then one day, I was leafing through it, and there he was. It isn’t nearly as grand as the one they did on us. That dog you’re holding is his. The same one who ran amuck on the cottage. What does the note say? Hurry up, read it.”
    The Maltese came out from under the table and yipped her pleasure at the sight of the huge stuffed animal. “Would you look at that,” Josie whispered to her sister. The little dog used her snout to topple the animal until it fell over. She bit down on one of the pointed ears and dragged it to her bed at the far side of the kitchen. She tilted her head to the side to see what her mistress thought of the situation. Josie clapped her hands and said, “Good girl, Rosie.”
    â€œI was starting to worry about her. Do you think they sent the boxer to us by mistake and ours went to . . . him ?”
    â€œI’d say that’s a logical assumption. What does the card say?”
    â€œJust that they enjoyed working with us and they wanted to send this small gift as a token of their appreciation. One of their employees makes stuffed animals. That’s all it says.”
    â€œWow! What do you think he’ll say when he gets ours? Do you think he’ll bring it back? You could call the magazine and get his address. They’ll give it to you when you tell them about the mistake.”
    â€œI will do no such thing. I’m not taking that away from Rosie. Look at her—she loves it. Where’s the magazine? I want to see what it says about him.”
    â€œI thought you weren’t interested.”
    â€œI’m not. I just want to read it.”
    â€œYou’re going to have to wait. I hear a car, so that must mean Mrs. Lobelia is here. Mrs. Lobelia with lots of money.”
    â€œSave that article for me, Kitty. I’ll read it later. You know what? Just for the heck of it, go ahead and call the magazine and get his address.”
    â€œJust for the heck of it, huh?”
    â€œYeah, just for the heck of it. You never know. That screen door might turn out to be an expensive proposition. I had to order new hardware. And I had to get new screws for the window boxes. New plants. That adds up. I might want to change my mind and send him a bill.”
    â€œSounds like a plan to me. Consider it done.”

Two
    J osie took one last bite from her po’boy before she ran to the hallway mirror to check her appearance. She tweaked the curls falling over her forehead, pinched her cheeks for a little extra color, and smoothed down the long linen skirt. New clients deserved a good presentation. Then she remembered the condition of the cottage floor, with all the dirt and the fluffy vermiculite that dotted the green outdoor carpeting. “It is what it is,” she muttered as she skipped her way down the ladybug walkway.
    She was tiny, so tiny at first glance that Josie thought she was a child. She wasn’t just