A Modern Witch - By Debora Geary Page 0,87

tomatoes. Too damn bad.

“Thank you,” murmured Nat. “I can take care of myself, but thank you.”

She could, but who the hell needed to go on defense against their own parents?

They walked in silence to Nat’s studio. There was a class just coming out, and Nat was swarmed. She was a very well-loved teacher.

Jamie considered, and then pushed some of the emotions and chatter into the minds of Nat’s parents. Feel how your daughter is respected and loved, you idiots. This is her life, not a co-ed joyride.

He wasn’t at all convinced his mind powers were up to the job of shifting Nat’s parents. Next time he’d bring backup. Lauren would have enough training in a few more months to give them an emotional transplant. That kind of drastic tampering was normally frowned upon, but she loved Nat enough, he could probably convince her to try.

Nice fantasy, dude, but maybe figure out a plan that doesn’t involve enticing newbie witches over to the dark side.

Jamie’s parents walked into the main studio, and he trailed them. A snatch of memory floated by from the first time he had been at her studio. He’d replayed his precog memories for her.

And what knocked her hardest, you idiot? Not the baby, not the snowman. Christmas with his family. How could he have forgotten her aching yearning when she’d watched that? He didn’t know what Christmas with Walter and Virginia was like, and he planned to avoid finding out for as long as possible.

No wonder she loved his family so much.

…

Lauren walked down the Chicago Pier. She’d just left the Greenleys after admiring the beautiful murals in progress on the nursery wall. They loved everything about their brownstone, including daily visits from the little imp who lived next door.

Even the wind couldn’t pierce her good mood. It was a really nice day for Chicago in mid-March, but that didn’t mean it was warm. She’d decided to combine work with work, and spend the afternoon at the Chicago Flower and Garden Show.

She came to the show every year. As a realtor, it helped her keep up with the latest trends in landscaping. That, and wandering the flower displays always made her happy.

This year, everyone was flocking to indoor wall gardens. She personally thought hanging plants sideways on your wall was asking for an unfortunate water incident, but if green walls sold, she would learn about green walls.

It was good to be home and back with the familiar. It was also time to stop slacking on her training. Message received, Jennie, at least some of it.

Catching back up with her real-estate practice hadn’t been a snap, and neither had figuring out how to do her work with new mind-witch powers onboard. She’d caught herself peering into the mind of the selling realtor more than once, hoping to pick up information that might benefit her clients.

She was finding her own rules and ethics. Lately, she’d been conducting most negotiations by phone, where telepathy was of very little benefit. However, a light read of her clients’ emotions as they went through properties was proving immensely helpful.

She could pick up on unconscious wish lists reliably now, and it made matching people with the right home a lot more straightforward. The last couple of weeks had been some of the best of her career, and she had two more very likely deals on the table.

None of that had left much spare time for magic training. However, Moira was right—she needed to at least run some drills on a regular basis. While she browsed the latest trends in green décor, she could also get in a little nudging practice.

Nudging involved locating groups of two or three people and gently improving the quality of their interaction, much like she’d done with the boy who hated broccoli at the farmers’ market.

The couple just ahead of her looked like a good place to start. The young and very pregnant woman was dragging a man from booth to booth, mostly against his will.

Lauren settled gently into her mind and saw the small patch of back yard, all dirt and weeds. She also saw the dream—a picnic in the shade on a hot summer day, baby playing in the lush grass of a tropically landscaped yard. A little idealistic, perhaps, but very sweet.

Lauren shifted to scan the man’s mind. His was full of the really big holes you needed to dig for trees, the really big mess in the back yard, and the really big dollar signs for