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and trust you have in him. Remember, he fell in love with you knowing you were psychic.”
    “I’ll think about it,” she said, then after bidding Maxine good-bye, she stepped outside. As the icy wind blew against her face, her mind wasn’t on telling John about her visions, but on the visions themselves. She was back. She hadn’t lost her gift, and now that she knew she could still use it, she hadn’t realized how much she’d missed being psychic or how it had defined her.
    There was a reason she was blessed with an ability not everyone had. Even if she once again lost the power to perform a reading, she could go on with her life as she had for the past two years. For now, she would discover what had happened to Kelly’s mom, and why.
    And she knew exactly where to start.
    Once she was in her Jeep, she dialed Ian’s number.
    “What did you think of Maxine?” Ian asked.
    “That’s why I called you.” Celeste made a quick turn and drove toward the Sugar Shack. “I’m not sure. I like her, but I can’t help feeling skeptical. When was the last time you spoke with her?”
    “Last summer. She came to watch Cami perform at the theater and I invited her to sit with me in my private loge. Cami gave one hell of a performance that night. Maxine had loved the play.”
    Her father’s fiancée, Camilla Carlyle, was a former ‘scream queen’ who had starred as the lead role in numerous horror movies during the ’80s. A couple of years ago she’d reinvented herself and had gone on to do a variety of highly successful plays. Which had been a great decision on her part. While Celeste had loved the campy horror movies Cami had done, the woman came alive on stage.
    “You’re sure that’s the last time you two talked?” she asked, still skeptical.
    “Yes, why?”
    “Let me ask you this instead…what did you tell Maxine about me?”
    “If I recall, other than showing off pictures of my granddaughter, you were not discussed.”
    She slowed, then stopped at a red light. “Well, you must have told her something about me. Maybe when I first moved to Chicago?”
    He let out a sigh. “Celeste, I don’t like repeating myself, but I will anyway. I told Maxine you could use a mentor, and that I felt your gift was as powerful as your mother’s. That’s it. When I tried to offer her more information, she cut me off and told me she would prefer to meet you in person and draw her own conclusions about you.”
    “So you didn’t tell her how I met John, or about my gnomes?”
    “What did I say about repeating myself?”
    She rolled her eyes and pressed on the gas pedal when the light changed to green. “I heard you. I’m just having a hard time believing you or her.”
    “Interesting. Especially coming from someone who has been looking for acceptance her entire life.”
    Her dad was right. Instead of trying to find a way to discredit Maxine, she should welcome the woman’s advice. After all, she had helped her with the grounding method.
    “I’m sorry,” she said, and turned down an alley, then into the small parking lot behind the bakery designated for employee use. “You’re right. I’m not being fair to Maxine.”
    “Well, did she help you at all?”
    “She did, and I was able to do a reading.”
    “Excellent,” Ian responded, and she swore she heard the smile in his voice.
    “I don’t know about that.” She stayed in the Jeep, but let it idle in order to keep herself from freezing. “I have more questions now than answers. Which is the other reason why I called you. I need a favor.”
    “As a father or an investigator?”
    “I think you know.”
    “If you need an investigator, ask your husband for help. I spoke with him before you called. He’ll be boarding the company jet in about an hour.”
    The thought of telling John about the visions and Maxine made her stomach flip. “I’m worried how he’ll react,” she said, unwilling to admit to her father that her biggest worry was that John would