upload

“It’s anxiety,” I told her, recalling something my grandma had once told me. “It may seem like a bad thing, but it’s good, too.”

Kelley pulled back and looked at me like I was crazy.“A good thing? How?”

“It means you care. Life is so much better when you have things and people that matter to you. And the best part? You can harness that anxiety as motivation. Fuel. Use that nervous energy to propel you toward your goal, and you’ll be there in no time.”

“Seems like you speak from experience,” she said with a tight smile.

I nodded.“Well, from my grandma’s, at least.”

“It’s good advice. Did your grandma have anything to say about love?”

I widened my eyes at this.“Love!”

My friend turned bright red and looked toward the floor.“Well, it’s a crush, and I know I have no extra time to think about things like this, but every time I see him come into the coffee shop, I— Oops, I’ve said too much.”

“Kelley!” I gasped, grabbing her forearm and forcing her to look up at me. “Please tell me it’s not Drake.”

She shrugged coyly.“I know, I know. He’s just so cool, like he doesn’t care what anyone thinks of him. I wish I had that kind of confidence.”

“It’s important to you what others think, and that’s okay. It’s because you care about them. That’s way better than Drake’s cool confidence.”

“Maybe, but he’s just so smart, and he has all this random knowledge.”

“He knows a little bit about a lot of things,” I said, recalling his words from earlier that night.

“Exactly!” Kelley crooned. “Do you think I’ve got a shot with him?”

“Well, you’re kind of his boss. I’m pretty sure there’s laws against that kind of thing.”

Her features pinched into a frown.“You’re right. What was I thinking? I don’t have time for a relationship right now anyway.”

“Hey. There will be time for all that later. And you’re going to make some guy very happy one day. Look at you with the business and the house!” I hated to discourage her, but I also knew that Drake was interested in someone else—me. What I would give for that not to be true, especially nowthat I knew Kelley would happily take my place as the object of his affection.

She smiled.“You’re right about that, too. I should probably let you get back to your cats before they run away on you, huh?”

Right, the cats.

I gave her another quick hug.“Thanks for showing me around. It’s a lovely house. Congrats again, Kelley, and see you at work!”

I let myself out and raced back around the house, using my phone light to guide me. I found both cats standing near the old well that had served as Luna’s cauldron.

Luna had a lovesick expression on her face, and Merlin was the very picture of rage. Had I just walked in on my cats canoodling?Really?

“If you two have kittens, I am not raising them!” I growled into the night.

“That’s enough out of you,” Merlin growled right back. “It’s not our fault you took forever in there. We had to do something to pass the time. Now are we ready to go, your highness?”

I nodded stupidly.

“Then lay your hand on me, and I’ll teleport us back home,” the cat commanded.

I hesitated.“Um, that’s okay.”

Luna stepped forward, her blue eyes taking on a red hue in my flashlight.“Gracie, dear. I know what you’re thinking, and it’s all right. We were only grooming each other.”

Grooming, uh-huh.

Still, I didn’t want to stay stuck in this awkward situation any longer than I had to. I placed a hand on Merlin’s head.

He blinked twice, and we were home.

14

“Wait,” I cried as my feet touched down on the linoleum kitchen floor. “We forgot the ingredients for the spell!”

“Already took care of that while we were waiting,” Merlin said, jerking his head toward the table where an array of plant life had been spread across the surface.

“What’s this for?” I asked, picking up the only non-organic object on the table—a ceramic garden decoration shaped like a frog with a giant, open mouth.

Luna smiled wistfully.“This was Virginia’s. It used to sit on the edge of the porch. She used it to hide her spare house key.”

“Yeah, her and everyone else in the state of Georgia,” I quipped. Seriously, why have a spare key at all if you were going to make its hiding spot so obvious? “Why did you bring it back? Are you missing her, Luna?”

The normally docile cat snarled at me.“Heavens no! Why would you even think I’d miss that monster? We need something that belonged to the spirit in life. It will help us summon and trap her.”

“As opposed to some other ghost?” I deadpanned. “Because we have so many ghosts knocking on our door.”

Luna shook her head at my snippiness.“The potency of any spell is much stronger if you add an object that belongs or belonged to the intended recipient.”

Oh, yes. I knew this.“Like when you took Merlin’s hair for the love spell?” I pointed out with one eyebrow raised.

She let out a little cough.“Precisely.”

“So is everything ready? Can we make the potion now?”

“Carry it outside for us, and we can get started,” the she-cat told me, and I was quick to comply.