Page 5 of Hot Zone
“That’s a tarot deck, and those aren’t a good choice for her. They’re kind of dark and gloomy looking. She needs something cheerful. I have a few that would be good for her. Just let me know when you’re ready. I got you covered.”
“I know you do. She loved everything I gave her for her birthday.”
“That was easy. Her birthday was in February, and amethyst is a beautiful stone.”
“Yeah, but the amethyst dragon was beyond perfect.”
The door chimed, and I called out a greeting before I shoved the last bite of my burger into my mouth.
“Here.” Steven held out his hand for my trash. “I’ll get this cleaned up while you take care of your customer.”
“Thanks.” I left him to it and went through the door that led to the front room. It was the biggest of the rooms, which was good because it kept people from feeling closed in when they first came in. The walls were lined with figurines of different deities, tarot decks, and a decent selection of books about different spiritual practices.
A young woman I’d never met before was wandering around looking at things. She looked a little lost, which wasn’t unusual the first time someone came into the store.
“Can I help you find anything?” I asked.
“Oh!” she jumped and placed her hand on her chest. “I didn’t see you there.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. I just wanted to check and see if you’re finding everything okay? My name’s Mars.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Tabitha. I actually came in for incense. My roommate shops here, and she buys one that smells so good.”
“The incense is right through there.” I motioned through the door that led to the room where my incense, candles, and resins were located. “Do you know what it’s called?”
“She said it’s called Balance.”
“Ah, yeah, that’s one of my more popular ones. Let me show you.”
I walked with her and stopped in front of the incense rack. This was one of the few things Troy, my ex, had done right. He’d built this shelf unit for me using PVC pipe, and it was perfect for displaying my homemade incense sticks.
“You’ll find the bags right here.” I pointed at a box filled with long plastic bags. “You can pick and choose as many scents as you want, but I highly recommend keeping them to one type per bag.”
“There are so many to choose from.” She started picking up different sticks and smelling them.
“I try to keep a good selection. I’m working in this room right over here.” I pointed towards an opening that led to the room where Steven was sitting. “We call that room the tea room. I have a large selection of herbal tea blends and plenty of hot water if you want to try a cup.”
“Thank you. Viv told me I would love this shop, and I think she was right. It just feels good in here.”
“That’s what we aim for. If you have any questions, just holler at me.” I left her to shop and joined Steven at the table.
“New customer?” he asked.
“Yeah. Ziva made these really cool flyers that kind of explain the shop and what we do here. I’ll give her one before she leaves.”
“That’s a good idea. You have so many workshops and events out back, and I bet a lot of your customers have no idea.”
I shrugged. “The ones who are supposed to know, know.”
He sighed. “That whole the universe leads the right people to the right thing attitude is fine and dandy, but you’re running a business here, Mars. You have to let people know what you’re offering.”
“I believe if a class is for someone, the information will cross their path in some way.”
“And maybe you sharing about your shop and your classes is the way. Just think about that.”
“I know you’re right, but Dahlia always said Spirit led people to the ranch when the time was right, and that seemed to work for them.”
“Wildflower Ranch is a commune, Mars, not a store. Speaking of the ranch, how is Dahlia doing?”