Karma's Spell (Magical Midlife in Mystic Hollow Book 1), Lacey Andersen [best book club books .txt] 📗

the sound of the waves hitting the shore was like the sweetest music. Muscles I didn’t know were clenched relaxed, and I walked slowly to the porch.

My brother rose from one of the two rocking chairs, and I froze. Was he taller than I remembered? Henry was always so tall and so thin. His dark hair, the same almost-black brown shade as my own, was still left long, like when he was a boy. And yet, he’d filled out a little. He even had some softness around his stomach.

I smiled. “Henry!”

He grinned and walked out to meet me. When we reached each other, he awkwardly leaned in and gave me a loose hug before he pulled back. “Welcome home.”

“It looks the same,” I said.

He shrugged.

“Want to help me bring my bags in?”

He nodded, and we went to the car and started unloading it. “What happened to your arm?”

“Just a car accident.”

He stood to his full height, loaded with my bags, and I closed the door. We went back up the path, climbed the patio stairs, and headed inside. The big living room, filled with huge floor-to-ceiling windows, made me catch my breath. I wandered to the windows and pressed a hand to the glass, staring out at the wild waters. How many times had I laid by these windows and read as a child? How many times did I sit out on that beach and let the waves wash over me?

“Do you want to go in your old room or mom’s and dad’s?”

I stiffened and looked back at him. “You’re not in the master?”

He shook his head.

“I guess—I guess their room.”

He nodded and took off down the hall.

I followed after him, through the big open kitchen, and passed my old bedroom, the bathroom we shared, and his room, before coming to the last room. The door was open, but I entered hesitantly. After my parents had died, we’d stayed in this house. After a time, I’d redone this room, erasing most of the memories that hurt to remember, but still it felt weird to be in here. He set the bags down on the bed and turned back to me.

“My girlfriend and I have plans to play War Guild online.”

I grinned. “So things are still going well with you and Alice?”

He nodded. “She’s my girlfriend.”

“Okay,” I said. “I’m fine. You go have fun.”

He left, not looking back, and I couldn’t help but smile. He and Alice had been dating for ten years. She still lived with her parents. He still lived here. They both just liked their space, according to him, and they were both happy with things exactly the way they were. It was kind of strange to me. Everything about their relationship was unconventional. They just did what made them happy, and yet, I was the one getting a divorce.

Maybe this time around I should just try to be happy too.

I slipped my phone from my pocket and sent Travis a quick text letting him know I’d made it to Mystic Hollow without any issues. He might have only just started college, but he had an old soul, and ever since Rick’s cheating had been outed, he’d worried about me like he was the mom instead of me.

After a few minutes, I got a thumbs up back.

So articulate.

Touching my mother’s locket, I tried not to think about the toads in my garden, the clothes tossed behind a fast food restaurant not far from my house, or the car that I’d parked in his spot in his new apartment complex; or at least in the spot I thought was his. It wasn’t like I murdered them. It wasn’t like I did anything.

But then again, I thought I turned them into toads, so who knew what I’d really done?

I tossed the dusty sheets and blankets in the wash, unpacked, and went to get a snack. Every piece of food in the fridge was labeled with Henry’s name, all still on his half of the fridge, just like it had been when it was the two of us living together. I grinned and decided that it’d be better just to head to the store.

Well, it would have been if I wasn’t exhausted from driving most of the day with a braced shoulder.

Take-out it was. The store could wait until tomorrow. It wasn’t like I needed breakfast to survive, and the take-out would get me through lunch if I managed to sleep in.

Now the big question. Pizza or burgers?

That may have been the big question, but the real question was whether or not I’d be able to stay awake long enough to actually eat it. I hadn’t realized how late it was or how tired I was.

Outside once more, I took a deep breath of the late morning air, letting the salty scent fill my lungs before I drove the relaxing path to the closest store in town. There were only a few spots out front, but I managed to catch someone backing out. I turned on my blinker and waited, but when they pulled out, another car swooped in and took the spot.

My mouth dropped open. I unrolled my other window and shouted, “I was waiting for that spot!”

A lady with a bad perm turned around and grinned. “You don’t own a parking spot.”

When she whirled away from me, I glared and narrowed my eyes.

Suddenly, a loud sound, followed by three more big pops, made me jump. The woman turned back around, and we both stared at her four flat tires. Her jaw dropped. My jaw dropped. I stepped on the gas and decided to head for the other store in town.

I was shaking a little when I reached the store a few minutes later and parked. Tires pop all the time. Right? It wasn’t because I was glaring at her. It wasn’t anything I did. No one could possibly blame me for it.

Grabbing my purse, I awkwardly put it over one shoulder and headed inside. Pushing the darn