Free Shadow Witch by Geof Johnson Page B

if we don’t get her back?”
    “We’ll get her back. I’ll find her, if it’s the last thing I do.”
    * * *
    Jamie made a doorway for Fred and Sammi to return from Momma Sue’s house, and he spent the rest of the time until dinner trying to learn more about Sammi’s magic. She was not very helpful, though. She seemed more interested in her new necklace.
    “Look what Momma Sue gave me!” she said again, displaying it proudly. “It’s a half moon, and it’s silver. Real silver.”
    She started to twirl it and Jamie quickly held out both hands. “Stop! I’m not wearing my counter charm. I don’t want to get hexed.”
    “I have one.” She gestured at a bracelet on her wrist, made out of woven fabric. She shook it and smiled as it danced around her arm.
    Jamie scratched his head and sighed. “We’re not getting anywhere right now.” He turned to Fred, sitting beside him on her gold sofa. “Is it almost time to eat?” He had dropped several hints about staying for dinner, but Fred had ignored them so far.
    “Yes.” She stood and offered her hand to him. “And you need to go.”
    “But I haven’t learned that much about Sammi’s magic yet.”
    “Some other time.” She pulled him up from his seat and led him to the foyer, stopping at the front door and putting her arms around his waist.
    “But I —”
    “Shh!” She gave him a quick kiss and lowered her voice. “Don’t pout. I’ll visit you tonight in a dream.”
    “You’d better. I’ve hardly seen you at all this weekend.”
    “We have extenuating circumstances.”
    “True. But tomorrow I need to talk more with Sammi. I’ll try to get off work early so I can try a few things with her, while the sun is still high enough to give us some good shadows. I really want to see how her power works.”
    “Fine, but don’t push her too hard. She’s just a little kid, you know.” She opened the front door, kissed him again, and gave him a gentle push toward the steps. “Now scoot.”
    Jamie jammed his hands in his pockets and sulked across the street to his house, where he found his father in the family room, reading the paper in the recliner, and his mother making dinner.
    Rachel leaned her head out of the kitchen door. “Jamie, are Fred and Sammi home yet?”
    “They’ve been home. I wanted to talk more with Sammi, but Fred kicked me out.”
    Rachel pulled off her apron and dropped it on a nearby chair. “I’m going to run over there for a minute. I’ll be right back.”
    “What about dinner?”
    “It’s almost done. I set the timer on the stove. When it dings, turn the oven off.”
    “They’re getting ready to eat, mom.”
    “Lisa won’t mind if I just pop in. I want to see Sammi for a minute.”
    “You just saw her this morning,” Carl said without looking up from his newspaper.
    “Not for very long.” She hurried down the hall to the front door.
    When Jamie heard it slam, he said, “Dad, why is she doing that?”
    Carl rubbed the side of his face for a moment before turning to Jamie. “She likes Sammi, and I think she feels partly responsible for Sammi being here.”
    “But....” Jamie looked down the hall where his mother had just gone. “Don’t you think she’s going a little bit overboard with this? And Fred’s mom too? They’re acting so...I don’t know...weird.”
    “Jamie,” Carl said with a sigh. “I think...I think they’re both suffering from empty nest syndrome. Do you know what that is?”
    “Yeah, but I haven’t left home yet. School doesn’t start until August.”
    “But you’re gone a lot now. We don’t see you as much as we used to.”
    “But I have things to do.”
    “Like hang out with your friends?”
    “Everybody does that. It’s what you do when you’re my age.”
    “I know. I did it, too. But your mom is having a hard time dealing with it. You’re her only child.”
    “You don’t seem too bothered by it.”
    Carl inhaled deeply through his nose and stared at the wall before he