Unlucky Charms Read Free

or black and white, like Pluckie. And I of course discussed black cats, who might be unfairly maligned when considered bad luck when they cross your path—or not.
    Eventually, I was done. I thanked everyone for coming and invited them all to visit the Lucky Dog—and perhaps buy some of the things I had shown off.
    I wasn’t surprised when Mayor Bevin wound up striding back onto the stage and retaking the microphone, thanking everyone for coming to Destiny and inviting them to visit all our shops and restaurants, take our tours, and just have a fantastic, superstitious, and lucky time here.
    While he talked, I wheeled my bag off to the side and put the toys back in, with Pluckie at my side. Then we exited the stage and went to the theater’s entry area to wait and greet the audience as they left.
    I was soon surrounded by people who thanked me and said how much they’d enjoyed my program. Some tourists promised to come visit my shop.
    Jostling the group nearest me aside, Flora Curtival was suddenly in front of me. “Great talk!” she said.
    I’d first met Flora about a month ago, when she’d stayed at the Rainbow Bed and Breakfast after arriving in town. She’d moved out a week or so later—into an apartment, I’d heard—after getting a job in real estate. Then she started approaching people she’d met in Destiny as potential clients, including me—which wasn’t a bad idea, since I’d finally started to seriously consider living someplace other than the Rainbow B&B. I liked the inn, but I’d now decided to stay in Destiny indefinitely. I’d even been the one who’d arranged for Gemma to manage the Broken Mirror. I wasn’t sure yet whether I wanted to buy a house or condo, or find a nice apartment to rent, but either way, I knew it would be fun to work out something where Gemma and I could be roommates.
    But not necessarily right this moment. Despite our interest in the town, we weren’t in a hurry to move.
    Flora was tall and thin. She dressed almost professionally, in a slender brown dress and heels I’d never dare donning without incurring a lot of bad luck for my legs and muscles. Her makeup was model perfect, and her short brown hair provided a nice frame to her attractive face.
    In short, she appeared to be someone who had something she hoped to sell to everyone she met. Which was fine with me, as long as she wasn’t too pushy about it.
    â€œThanks,” I responded, then looked away as Gemma approached, along with the Lucky Dog contingent, including Millie pushing Martha in her chair.
    â€œSo who’s up for a drink at the Clinking Glass Saloon tonight to celebrate Rory’s talk?” Gemma called.
    I wasn’t surprised when Jeri and her mother said yes, as did my good friend Carolyn Innes of the Buttons of Fortune shop and a couple of others, including Martha’s nephew Arlen, who I hadn’t noticed earlier.
    Flora said yes, too. Maybe she’d buy me a drink to cultivate my business.
    â€œIt’ll be good luck,” I declared. “I’ll be there.”

Two
    It was mid-November, and tonight was cool—not as cold, of course, as in many parts of the country, but still noticeable to me, since I’d grown up in Pasadena. Destiny was just south of California’s Los Padres National Forest. The daytime temperatures here were fairly moderate, but it often got chilly at night, sometimes going down to the 30s or 40s.
    Even so, the weather was dry, so I had no problem sitting outside on the patio of the Clinking Glass Saloon to ensure that Pluckie would be welcome. In fact, I usually preferred the patio, since the bar inside was dark, often crowded, and always noisy. Since I generally came here to chat with friends, some of whom had dogs too, the outside area fulfilled my needs more.
    Now I was sitting at one of the small round tables under a patio heater, waiting for more people to join us