BooksBarbecue
Back Spells for Lost Things
Chapters (42)
  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Dedication
  4. Prologue
  5. – 1 – Willow
  6. – 2 – Mason
  7. – 3 – Willow
  8. – 4 – Mason
  9. – 5 – Willow
  10. – 6 – Mason
  11. – 7 – Willow
  12. – 8 – Mason
  13. – 9 – Willow
  14. – 10 – Mason
  15. – 11 – Willow
  16. – 12 – Mason
  17. – 13 – Willow
  18. – 14 – Mason
  19. – 15 – Willow
  20. – 16 – Mason
  21. – 17 – Willow
  22. – 18 – Mason
  23. – 19 – Willow
  24. – 20 – Mason
  25. – 21 – Willow
  26. – 22 – Mason
  27. – 23 – Willow
  28. – 24 – Mason
  29. – 25 – Willow
  30. – 26 – Mason
  31. – 27 – Willow
  32. – 28 – Mason
  33. – 29 – Willow
  34. – 30 – Mason
  35. – 31 – Willow
  36. – 32 – Mason
  37. – 33 – Willow
  38. – 34 – Mason
  39. Acknowledgments
  40. More from the Author
  41. About the Author
  42. ALSO BY JENNA EVANS WELCH

She reaches into her bag, and when I see the worn blue cover of Mason’s notebook, a giant wave of panic rises up inside of me. WILLOW has been scrawled on the front. He wrote my name on his notebook? I know how important it is to him. Did he really leave it for me?

“Oh,” I say, my throat tight. Emma holds the notebook out to me, and I take it, gripping it tightly between my thumbs and fingers.

“What is it?” my mom asks.

I take a deep breath. “It’s what he keeps track of his stargazing in. It’s really important to him.”

“Which means you are very important to him,” Emma says, her expression unreadable. “I read through it in case it had any clues, but I didn’t find anything. There’s an entry about you in the back.”

My throat tightens even more. I want to flip it open immediately, but I’m too anxious to do that in front of everyone. “We need to find him.”

“We’ll find him,” Simon says, but Emma’s face is telling another story. My throat is aching now. They’ll find him, won’t they?

“We’ll check in,” my mom says. “And please let us know if there’s anything we can do to help in the meantime.”

“We appreciate that, Mary,” Simon says, his shoulders sagging. It’s alarming to see his energy so dimmed.

Emma pulls me in for a tight, crushing hug, and for a moment I’m too surprised to react, then she releases me and she and Simon sprint for the car, and a moment later they’re gunning up the street.

My mom and I stand in the nighttime quiet for a few seconds, the only sound coming from the insects. My brain is an absolute tangle, but when I look up at the dark sky, I know something for sure. The stars existed without Mason and they’ll exist after him, but to me, the constellations make zero sense without him. Without Mason they’re just a random smattering of stars.

I make my way up the walkway so I can flip through his notebook under the porch light. I find it on the very last page.

Things that Willow and the Night Sky Have in Common:

1. Beautiful

2. Unpredictable

3. Makes you glad to be alive.

After I read the entry, I sink down onto the porch, my mom huddling beside me, and I bury my face in my knees, tears finally spilling down my face. Mason is really gone. This entry was goodbye.