Total pages in book: 30
Estimated words: 28845 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 144(@200wpm)___ 115(@250wpm)___ 96(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 28845 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 144(@200wpm)___ 115(@250wpm)___ 96(@300wpm)
Matt’s eyes went wide.
“Take him home, Sarah. Elaine and I will gather everything we need,” Aunt Lucy said as she walked into the kitchen with my mother.
“What about me? Do you need me?” I asked.
“No!” everyone in the room shouted. Well, everyone except Matt.
I folded my arms and huffed.
My mother walked over to me while Sarah grabbed Matt and practically dragged him out of the kitchen, Lucy following behind.
“Hollie, sweetheart. Out of all of us, you’re the one with the most power behind your spells, and now that you’re pregnant, well, your spells are getting a little bumpy.”
“A little?” Lucas asked with a laugh. When I glared at him, he pressed his mouth together lightly.
“Now, Lucas has something he needs to talk to you about,” Mom said. “I’ll check in with you later.”
We both watched my mother whisk out of the kitchen. Turning to look at me, Lucas drew his brows together. “I didn’t think your mom could read minds.”
I gave him a wink. “It’s the mom intuition.”
Lucas
I stared at the locket in my hand and rubbed my thumb over the engraved name on the back. The memory of the vision came back to me, and I closed my eyes, almost willing myself to go back in time. When nothing happened, I scoffed.
“Magick my ass.”
As I stood to leave the bedroom, the door opened and Hollie walked in. “Everyone will be here soon.”
“Sarah and Matt too?”
A smile played at the corners of her mouth. “Mom, Lucy, and Sarah were able to do a reverse spell on him and he’s back to his normal self. Or at least, Sarah thinks he is. Once they were finished, he went to sleep. Woke up on Sarah’s sofa, told her that she and her family are insane, and then stormed out.”
I shook my head.
“Guess he’s going to deny the magick and keep fighting against it,” I said. “I wonder why, though. Why is he so hell bent on refusing to acknowledge it?”
“And you?” Hollie asked, her eyes so hopeful-looking that I couldn’t ignore it any longer.
“I accept it, Hollie.”
“You do?” she asked as she crossed the room and stood before me.
With a single nod, I replied, “I do.”
“What changed your mind?”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “That vision. Then the locket appearing in my hand.”
“You could have picked it up from the site and not realized it.”
Lifting a brow, I asked, “Are you now saying I don’t have some kind of gift?”
“No, not at all. I think you do.”
“I’m not really sure what to do with all this,” I said.
Hollie shrugged. “Nothing, if you want. It’s up to you.”
I leaned in and kissed her on the forehead. “You know I love you so very much.”
She tilted her head and smiled up at me. “I do know that. And you know I love you more than the air I breathe.”
“I do know that.”
She took my hands. “Come on, let’s go out back.”
Figuring she wanted to show me the set up for the Fourth of July party we were throwing later that day, I followed.
We stepped outside, and I drew in a deep breath. It wasn’t very hot for July, and the air felt crisp. I glanced up to see if a storm was about to move in.
We sat down on the outdoor sofa, and Hollie squeezed my hand. “What did you want to talk to me about?”
Giving her a confused look, I asked, “What do you mean?”
“Yesterday, my mom said you wanted to talk to me.”
I laughed. “That’s right. The mom intuition thing.”
She winked.
“Hollie, do you really think that our baby is the reincarnation of someone in your family tree?”
“I don’t know,” she replied with a shrug. “Does it matter if she is?”
“No, but that vision was so damn real. I felt like I was in that room with her. And when she called me daddy—I don’t know. I’ve been rattled ever since.”
“Here’s what I think. After Charlotte’s home was discovered and you showed up, it created a connection to the past. So Charlotte used your magick to take you there.”
I rubbed at the back of my neck. “But why?”
“Maybe she wanted you to see something or know something.”
“About her?”
“Possibly. Or maybe it was about how she died.”
I drew in my brows as I let that sink in.
“Did you notice anything in the vision?”
“No. I mean, of course I noticed her and the doll she was holding. I’m pretty sure it was the same exact one we found at the site.”
“Lucas, have you ever thought about why you wanted to be an archeologist?”
Hollie’s question caused me to take a moment to truly think about it. “I love history and discovering things that have been lost.”
She smiled. “Have you opened the locket yet?”
With a shake of my head, I replied, “No.”
“Maybe we should open it.”
Reaching into my pocket, I pulled the locket out and stared down at it. “What do you think is inside?”