“Did we do it?” Echo panted.
“I think so,” Harvest panted back.
Dad moved closer, helping the girls upright. They fell into an exhausted group hug. “You did it all right. No thanks to me.”
Epilogue
“I should’ve known.”
The four of them stood near the boat ramp on the Allegheny. Cade Hutchinson gazed into a slow-moving pool near the shore.
“You were under a spell,” Quinn said.
“I commune with your mother every day. Yet I didn’t realize I hadn’t done so since arriving here. If she hadn’t finally broken through...”
“It’s okay, Dad,” Echo put a hand on his shoulder. “You came through. You made a net of night.”
“How did you do that?”
His eyes remained on the pool. “The nests of nocturnal birds. A scrap of grape vine bark here, a thread there, a pliable twig. I wasn’t thinking clearly. I was making a nest of night, not a net.” He smiled to himself.
Or maybe at something he saw in the water.
Quinn stepped closer, looking down at the clear pool. It was warmer today, but overcast. Even as she looked, she saw nothing but the river bottom.
“It was here when I first saw her.” Dad might have been talking to himself. “Trinity. I must’ve been, oh, no older than that boy with the nightmares. And from that moment on, I vowed to be with her.”
Finally, he tore his eyes away. “And so it’s off to South America. There are people condemned as witches there. I’m hoping the barrier to the Twih will be thin enough...”
The three sisters exchanged expressions, not knowing what to say.
“Considering how often it happens, I’m still no good at goodbye. I love you, girls.”
There was a group hug, and kisses, and individual hugs. Dad finally gave them a sad smile. “I’ve got a plane to catch. But I did listen to your Aunt Mary.” He pulled a brick-sized phone out of his overcoat. “Sat Phone. You’ll actually be able to get ahold of me now. Goodbye, girls. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
They watched, silently, as he walked up the bank and got into his rental. Quinn swiped a tear as the car disappeared around the loop of the parking lot.
“All that, just so Ava Taylor could get at Dad.” Echo shook her head.
“Thankfully we turned the spell on her. I wouldn’t want to face her again. She was almost as powerful as Mom.”
Harvest gave Quinn eyebrows. “How do you figure that?”
“The spell, the love spell, the one Leshy said Dad was under. It wasn’t Ava Taylor’s. It was Mom’s. He’s been under her spell since he was a boy. Ava nearly broke it.”
“But Mom triumphs,” Echo half-smiled. “Even from the depths of the Twih.”
They started toward Quinn’s car. She was thinking about Dad, seeing Mom for the first time in that pool of water. From that moment on, she had been his life. He still roamed the world, looking for a way to be together with her. Where does love like that even come from?
“Back to school in a couple days, Squirt.” Harvest walked alongside Echo. “Still the best spring break ever?”
“Not yet. I wanted to try out a new candle idea. You guys wanna help? You don’t have plans for the weekend, do you?”
Harvest groaned and rolled her eyes. Quinn couldn’t help herself, and gave her baby sister a hug. “Whatever you say, Squirt. As long as you aren’t declaring a major in paleontology.”
“What’s wrong with paleontology?” Echo gave her the eye.
Quinn shrugged. “It’s just that the best schools for it are so far away. I like having you come home on the weekends.”
“Well, I’m still deciding. For now, SUNY Fredonia is just fine. Besides, we’re just starting to get good at this witch stuff. You think I’d miss out on that?” Echo gave Quinn a light punch in the shoulder.
“I guess not.”
“You know what I think we should do?” Echo asked.
Harvest took the asymmetrical glasses from her pocket and stared at Echo. “You think we should go get ice cream.”
Her face blanked. “Whoa. I guess those things can do more than I thought.”
Harvest put them away. “No, they can’t. You just always want to go get ice cream.”
Though she rolled her eyes, Echo couldn’t help but smile. They piled into the car and headed for Dairy Queen.
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Catalog of Books
Triplet Witch Sisters Mystery Series
Two’s Company, Three’s a Coven
Resting Witch Face
Bewitched and Bewildered
THE WITCH SISTERS OF Stillwater
Hoodoo and Just Desserts
A Shade of Murder
That Ol’ Black Magic
A Whole Lotta Witchin Goin On
The Beast Cometh
Secrets and Sorcery
THE LUCKY DILL DELI Mystery Series
A Yuletide Wallop
Haunted Homicide
THE SINISTER CASE SERIES
The Sinister Secrets of the Snake Mirror
The Sinister Secrets of the Deadly Summoner
The Sinister Secrets of the Enchanting Blaze
THE GRUMPY CHICKEN Irish Pub Series
A Frosty Mug of Murder
Treachery on Tap
A Highball and a Low Blow
Cursed With a Twist
A Whiskey Sour Wipeout
THE CHRONICLES OF AGNES Astor Smith
The Peculiar Case of Agnes Astor Smith
The Peculiar Case of the Red Tide
OLD SCHOOL DINER COZY Mysteries
Murder at Stake
Murder Well Done
A Side Order of Deception
Murder, Basted and Barbecued
Murder Ala Mode
THE CURIOSITY SHOP Cozy Mysteries
The Curious Case of the Cursed Spectacles
The Curious Case of the Cursed Dice
The Curious Case of the Cursed Dagger
The Curious Case of the Cursed Looking Glass
The Curious Case of the Cursed Crucible
THE WE’RE NOT DEAD Yet Club
Fetch a Pail of Murder
Wedding Bells and Death Knells
Murder or Bust
Pinched, Pilfered and a Pitchfork
A Hot Spot of Murder
WITCHY WOMEN OF COVEN Grove Series
THE WITCHING ON THE Wall
A Witching Well of Magic
Witching the Night Away
Witching There’s Another Way
Witching Your Life Away
Witching You Wouldn’t Go
Witching for a Miracle
TEASEN & PLEASEN HAIR Salon Series
A Hair Raising Blowout
Wash, Rinse, Die
Holiday Hooligans
Color Me Dead
False Nails & Tall Tales
CAESAR’S CREEK SERIES
A FROZEN SCOOP OF MURDER
Death by Chocolate Sundae
Soft Serve Secrets
Ice Cream You Scream
Double Dip Dilemma
Melted Memories
Triple Dip Debacle
Whipped Wedding Woes
A Sprinkle of Tropical Trouble
A Drizzle of Deception
SWEET HOME MYSTERY Series
Creamed at the Coffee Cabana
A Caffeinated Crunch
A Frothy
Fiasco
Punked by the Pumpkin
Peppermint Pandemonium
Expresso Messo
A Cuppa Cruise Conundrum
The Brewing Bride
WHISPERING PINES MYSTERY Series
A Sinister Slice of Murder
Sanctum of Shadows
Curse of the Bloodstone Arrow
Fright Night at the Haunted Inn
MAD RIVER MYSTERY SERIES
A Wicked Whack
A Prickly Predicament
A Malevolent Menace
THE MONKEY’S EYEBROW Tea Room Series
A Tiny Bite of Murder
Murder on the Ghost Walk