Bewitched and Bewildered

by Constance Barker

  “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

  The Peculiar Case of the Lost Colony

  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