remembering how she hadn’t wanted to come to Foggy Harbor South Carolina at all But Sam’s mom Deena had been right There were plenty of adventures to be found here And Sam hadn’t been alone thanks to her new friend Tuck his mom Mel the town veterinarian and Mitch who’d turned out to be her real dad 2
Mitch had been Mr Grumps the first day she’d met him but things were different now She was different now A full fledged unicorn protector like her dad she guarded the secret Unicorn Island that sat off the coast of Foggy Harbor Plus they were different now No more surprises Well almost none They had been stunned to learn that Sylvie Sam’s biological mother might still be alive after disappearing through a portal to another world But there was still so much they didn’t know and not much they could do with the information if they had it They couldn’t even start looking for Sylvie without opening the portal and doing that would drain the unicorns of their magic Sending Smeesie home through the portal had already sapped most of the herd’s magic nearly turning 3
them mortal and Sam wouldn’t put them through something so horrible again It went against everything she stood for as a unicorn protector The herd’s needs had to come first Sam inhaled the salty air blowing in from offshore and watched as her dad stared absentmindedly at Lost Luck the fog bank hiding Unicorn Island I bet he misses Sylvie Sam thought I wonder what things would be like if she were here Sam was only two years old when Sylvie disappeared but her curiosity about her birth mother and the hope that she was still alive nagged at her brain like an itch one she knew she couldn’t scratch which made living with it even worse Mitch downed his coffee and pushed back from the table Sam gathered their dirty dishes 4
Maybe we can go hiking tomorrow she suggested We can check on the unicorns too make a day of it Mitch’s bushy eyebrows scrunched together Not this week He tugged on his mustache I’ve got jobs to finish up Sam turned on the water and started slowly scrubbing a dish I know but We’ll do something before school starts he said with a smile I promise Okay she said in a small voice Mitch ruffled her hair Cheer up kiddo We’ve got plenty of time He grabbed his papers cell phone and wallet from the lobster cage coffee table Remember I’ll be gone all day gathering lumber for a big boat project There’s plenty of food in the fridge He headed for the front door then turned to offer her a crooked smile Just don’t burn anything Hasn’t happened in fifteen days 5
