Our Red Hot Romance Is Leaving Me Blue by Dixie Cash Page B

porch and sat in the grass, watching his master warily.
    Justin opened the screen door and slammed it with all his might. “Why are you doing this to me?” he bellowed to the air. “If you’ve got something to tell me, just say it! I’m not taking any more of this shit!”
    Overcome with emotion Justin dropped to the porch, hard. He buried his head in his hands. His stiff upper lip quivered and he wept, releasing a deep reservoir of sorrow and anger into his hands. The tears that he had held back for so long flowed. No one placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, no familiar voice soothed. No one and nothing made a sound. Beyond his angst, his only awareness was the faint scent of roses.
     
    Nearly to Odessa, Sophia sat back and watched the arid West Texas landscape speed past her window. Domestic Equalizers , she thought, curious about the origin of the name and thetwo women who had claimed it. She had spoken by phone only to Debbie Sue, but she knew the other partner from a voice in the background. Sophia hoped to be around them long enough to get the full story of their business. She knew a little of their reputation and couldn’t wait to meet them.
    She drew a deep breath in an effort to calm herself. This would be the first time she had ever publicly demonstrated her abilities. To say she was nervous was putting it mildly.
    Because she had seen clients demand proof from her grandmother, Sophia had no doubt the client in Salt Lick would also. And she didn’t know at the moment how she would manage that. Most people thought a psychic could call up visions like using the TV remote control, going from one premonition to another. But it wasn’t like that. She didn’t know how her visions came; they just did. She couldn’t necessarily predict their arrival. Sometimes a scene formed in her mind. Another time, holding an object would prompt a flashback and cause her hand to shake. One occurrence had never been the same as another, and it wasn’t just one thing in particular.
    The only thing she knew for certain was that the Domestic Equalizers and their client expected to meet her grandmother. Sophia showing up instead probably wouldn’t be welcomed. They might even think she was crooked. “Gran Bella,” she whispered softly, “I am going to need your help. Please don’t let me fail. Please help me help these people. Are you with me?”
    A voice came into her ear. “I am right beside you, querida . We will not fail.”
    Sophia smiled and finally relaxed into her seat, but a gravelly male voice interrupted her rest. “Excuse me, miss.”
    Sophia looked up. A tall, swarthy man loomed over her. She had been aware of his eyeing her ever since she boarded the bus. He gave her a tobacco-stained leer. She scooted as far away as she could, until she was pressed against the window. He pointed to the empty seat beside her. “Mind if I sit here, pretty lady?”
    Sophia visualized her Gran Bella demurely sitting there, hands crossed on her lap. “No, I’m sorry. The seat is taken.”
    The man looked at the seat, then at her and backed away. But not before eyeing her up and down one more time. From where she sat, she couldn’t see where he went, but she hoped it was all the way to the back of the bus.
    Time passed. Between reading Cosmo and catnapping, before Sophia could believe it, the driver announced their arrival in Odessa.
    Sophia gathered her purse and magazine and made her way off the bus, looking around at her new surroundings. Except for the outline of El Paso’s Franklin Mountains, which ran north and south, dividing the city almost in two perfect halves, the scenery was the same. Flat land, few trees, lots of open, uncluttered skies. And heat.
    Stepping into the air-conditioned bus terminal, she shivered at the sudden change in temperature, but the chill was a welcome reprieve from the ninety-plus heat outside. She scanned the room, noticing travelers of every age, size, shape and color. Several people,