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“What?”

“Nothing. ”

Samantha rolled her eyes. “Sure. ”

“I just think you’re adorable,” Jeff confessed.

“Really?” Samantha nudged him with her shoulder. “I thought I was an annoying cartoon character. ”

“Oh, you heard Eduardo say that, huh?”

“On more than one occasion. ”

“He’s a coyote. They’re mischievous and moody. Just ignore him. ” Jeff nudged her back.

Turning her attention forward, Samantha could see the Mopac Bridge looming ahead. Little flutters of anxiety in her tummy made her wish now that she hadn’t eaten. Beside her, Jeff seemed unaware of her sudden nervousness as he dug around in his bag.

“When we get to the walkway, I need you to wait until I take care of a few precautions. ”

“Like what?”

Jeff pulled out a plastic bag with a cloth bag tucked into it. “I had this spell sent to me from a witch in Georgia awhile back. It’s a ward. It will throw up a barrier for about ten minutes. ”

“Huh?

“It will make anyone coming close to it have the sudden desire to go somewhere else. If I estimated this correctly, the area of effect should cover the entire bridge. ”

“What about the cars?”

“It won’t affect them. It specifically sends away people on foot. At least that’s what the directions say. ” Jeff gave her a sheepish grin. “I have been dying to use one. I saw one in action a few years a back and. . . ”

Samantha’s eyebrows couldn’t crawl up any higher on her brow. At her expression, Jeff finally seemed to understand this was not fun in her book.

He cleared his throat. “So, anyway, I’ll set this down, activate it, then we need to hurry up and find the ghost. ” Jeff gave her a worried little smile. “You are ready to do this, right?”

Shrugging, Samantha stared straight ahead. No one was really out this morning, which was a relief. But it felt odd dealing with ghosts during the day, not that she would have preferred the night or early morning. It was creepy enough dealing with someone who was dead.

The warm air stirred the dry, dead leaves bordering the walk. The sound was usually soothing, but now it made her uneasy. Maybe she was just being paranoid now that she was mentally preparing herself to see the ghost again, but she was feeling watched.

“Samantha, I know this is hard for you, but we have to start figuring out exactly what you can do with your abilities. ”

“I know. ”

“And I’ll be

here for you. ”

“I know. ”

“And nothing will hurt you. Ghosts can’t hurt you. You have to remember that. ”

“Okay. ”

“Is anything I’m saying helping?”

“Nope. ”

Samantha couldn’t tear her eyes away from the footbridge sprawling across the lake tucked into the shadows of the Mopac Bridge above.