Looking for Mr. Good Witch by Joyce and Jim Lavene Page B

the years—chocolate sin cake.
    Dorothy was beautiful in her green dress when she came for me. She got out of the Mercedes and spun around again. Her makeup was perfect, as was the antique emerald necklace and earrings she wore. I knew they had belonged to Olivia.
    â€œDoesn’t she look scrumptious?” Olivia seeped out of the partially opened car window. “The emeralds are fantastic on her, yes? What a good idea to spend time in Elsie’s attic. I wish my ancestors had saved something besides expensive jewelry and priceless antiques.”
    â€œYou look lovely.” I smiled at Dorothy before I addressed Olivia. “Are you going to the celebration?”
    â€œOf course. I’ve never missed one.”
    â€œYou might get some flak from the witches,” I pointed out, though it broke my heart to say it. It was better for me to hurt her feelings than for someone at the event to.
    â€œI don’t care. If someone doesn’t like it, they can just kiss my behind. I want to see my daughter shine at her first full moon celebration.”
    â€œI don’t blame you. I just wanted to make sure you’d thought it through.”
    â€œI’m tougher than that, Molly.” She wrinkled her nose. “I can handle it.”
    I didn’t think she could, but the decision was hers. She could always leave the celebration and stay in the car until we were ready to go.
    â€œWhat was Dorothy talking about—putting me into Harper’s body?”
    â€œElsie mentioned a spell she recalled. I don’t know yet. How do you feel about it? It would only be temporary.”
    â€œI know how those spells work. Witches have always been able to mingle with animals when they needed a disguise. I’m not sure how Harper would feel about it. He’s a little prudishwhen it comes to magic. He’s not like Isabelle or Barnabas, who understand how it works. He only has the spirit of a British sailor in him.”
    â€œI know.” I shrugged as we got into the silver Mercedes—Olivia calling shotgun. “It’s something to think about for the future. One hundred years as a ghost is a long time.”
    â€œI think he might go along with the idea if I ask him the right way.”
    â€œIt’s worth a try,” Dorothy said. “Show her the rune, Molly.”
    I turned to reach my hand between the seats so Olivia could look at the rune. I didn’t need to, because Olivia simply stuck her head
through
the car seat and stared at it.
    â€œThat’s something.” She traced the mark with her finger. “Dorothy told me what happened with the Bone Man. You must’ve been scared out of your mind.”
    â€œI was at first,” I admitted. “But later I felt comfortable with him. Did you feel that way too?”
    She giggled. “I don’t know if I’d say
comfortable
, but I wasn’t scared of him anymore. You know, it’s kind of funny—I remember being there with him and all the things we did—but it’s really hazy. More like a dream than something that really happened.”
    â€œMaybe that’s because you’re dead,” I suggested.
    Olivia’s eyes widened. “I’d expect something like that from Elsie, but not from you, Molly. Dead people have feelings too. I remember other things that have happened since I died that don’t have that gauzy quality to them. I think the Bone Man may have cast some sort of spell on me. Now that we know he has magic, it’s possible.”
    I didn’t want to get any further into that discussion, which might include Olivia relating everything she’d done with the Bone Man. Instead, I went back to the rune on my palm. “Any ideas what this could be?”
    â€œI’ve never seen anything like it.” She continued to studyit. “I take that back. Once when I was in Ireland to buy crystal, I saw an Irish rune that looked similar to this one.