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Back Spells for Lost Things Save as PDF
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

And that’s what finally does it. The mermaid is mid-drink, but her gaze snaps to mine. For a moment, we lock eyes, hers going wide, and I’m rushed with feelings of connection, understanding, pure perfection. This is magic. This is fate. This is meant to be. She is my sign.

And then my sign sprays a mouthful of coffee across the entire table.

– 15 – Willow

To be fair, I didn’t see Mason right away because I was attempting to caffeinate myself back into existence. My fourteen minutes of sleep last night were not doing my spinning mind any favors.

After the house, slipping back into my hotel room was easy and uneventful. The problem was the story.

The Bell family curse is… a lot.

I read it over and over, noticing new details every time. It reads like a fairy tale almost, but the addition of those few details that Violet and Poppy had offered elevated the story beyond make-believe. Lily was a real person, and her tea roses still exist. I can picture her gardening, her back turned to the sun. And we are all named after items in the garden, even if that is news to me.

So that part is true, but what about the rest of it? I mean, a family curse can’t be real, can it?

A part of me wants to dismiss this weird little story in this weird little book, but I can’t, because some part of it feels not quite true, exactly, but familiar. Woven into me. Ever since my parents sat me down to tell me that our life together was over, I’ve felt…

Okay, not cursed. But not okay either. But do I really believe in some made-up curse?

A tiny voice inside of me says yes, and the tone is less I think so and more of course you’re cursed, because the truth is I’ve always felt different, my edges have never fit, and a curse that has followed me through my bloodline would do wonders to explain that.

Obviously, it isn’t true.

And yet.

When it feels like my brain is going to burst from all of this thinking, I turn to Mason’s notebook. If I can’t figure out my family, maybe I can figure him out. Why was he at my aunt’s house? Does he have anything to do with my family? As I reach for the notebook, I hesitate slightly. This is obviously a slight invasion of privacy, but he also invaded the privacy of my aunt’s house, which makes this fine. Right?

Before I can stop myself, I lift the cover. And what I see is twisty handwriting with logs and excerpts and what seem like records of stargazing. New moon, good view of Canis Major. And Andromeda Galaxy with binoculars. Easy to find when you star hop from Cassiopeia.