Page 62 of Magical Mischief

On the other hand, Stella threw her head back in a loud guffaw, quickly muffled into her coat sleeve.

Bella let out a half-yip, half-chuckle, hugging her arms around her ribs.

“Humans are something else,” Twobble said, shaking his head.

“Look,” I said, scowling though laughter threatened to bubble up, “Celeste doesn’t know about magic. She thinks I moved to Stonewick to work at the tea shop after the divorce.”

“Well, isn’t that what you did?” Stella asked.

“That had been my plan, but things have come up.”

“Your incantation hopped, skipped, and jumped into your ex’s mind. It won’t be hard to change, especially since he wasn’t the intended recipient,” Bella explained.

I glanced at my dad, who looked extremely pleased with everything.

“Here’s an important question, though.” Twobble brushed his hands over his chest and looked up at me. “Do we really need to fix this? Is it really all that bad?”

“Yes, we fix him,” I snapped, though a giggle escaped. “I can’t leave Celeste stuck with a barking Dad, can I?”

Stella patted my shoulder. “We certainly can’t unless we’re going for petty revenge. But let’s be the bigger people, yes?”

“Overrated,” Twobble hummed, and I chuckled.

Keegan cleared his throat and shook his head. “Okay, we’ve let it go on long enough. I’ll take over and turn him back.”

I stared at Keegan. “You can do that?”

“Of course. I’m a warlock.”

“Right. I forgot how handy you were.”

My phone buzzed again, Celeste’s name glaring at me.

Keegan closed his mind and recited something under his breath just as I answered the phone.

“Mom,” Celeste started and then stopped.

I heard Alex talking in the background, asking where his girlfriend went.

“Never mind. He’s back to normal.” She moaned into the phone. “I’ve probably just scared away my boyfriend. He’s out wandering the neighborhood for fresh air.”

“If he can’t handle a little hiccup now and then, he’s not the one for you.”

“Mom.”

“It’s true, but I love you, and I’m sure he’ll come around.”

“I hope so, but I’m ready to return home.”

“When will that be?”

“Two more days and then classes start again in a week.”

“I love you, Cel. Please call me if you need anything else. I’m sorry I wasn’t that much help with the case of the barking dad.”

She chuckled. “It’s just nice to hear your voice.”

“Yours too.”