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Janie took a deep breath. “There… there was a comet that night. A shooting star. And Grandma had been so upset that day, looking at the photo the way she does when she’s sad about losing the necklace.”

Ethan suddenly knew exactly where this was going.

“And so,” Janie continued in a subdued tone, looking down at her hands, her earlier boldness now completely gone, “I made a wish on the shooting star that the necklace would come back. Or that someone would come and tell us where it was – someone who knew where to find it. Maybe… maybe that was why this happened.”

She continued to look down at her hands as silence filled the room once more, before raising her eyes slightly. “I’m sorry, Grandma. Did I do something wrong?”

Eula’s eyes shone with tears. “Not at all, darlin’,” she said, rising from her chair to envelop Janie in an enormous hug. “You were trying to help. How could you have known that your wish would summon Great-Grandpa Curtis?”

Curtis was still looking stunned, and Ethan didn’t blame him.

To be pulled from the afterlife a century after your death by the wish of a little girl…

well, it must have been difficult to wrap your head around.

Ethan was still struggling a bit with it himself.

But he was quickly coming to learn that this was just the way things went in Girdwood Springs. There was definitely magic in the air.

Chloe offered Curtis a comforting smile, and he nodded his appreciation back.

“So, where should we go from here?” Sylvie asked, taking all of this remarkably in stride. It seemed like this kind of thing was old hat to her. “It looks like the wish went astray, since it summoned Curtis instead of someone who could find the necklace.”

“Weren’t you saying this… this Kira might be able to help us find the necklace?” Chloe asked Henry. “Maybe if we found it, the wish would be fulfilled and Curtis could return to his family.”

“We can definitely ask her,” Henry said.

“I’ll give you her contact details.” He shook his head in disappointment.

“Caleb might normally be able to help out, given he’s a dra—” He glanced over at Janie and quickly cut himself off, before continuing, “an incredibly lucky guy. But he’s out of town on a film-buying trip at the moment, and no one knows when he’s going to be back. ”

Ethan could tell that he’d been about to say given he’s a dragon .

Dragon shifters were renowned for their good luck – they could’ve definitely used his presence here in the search for the necklace, even if his pegasus would’ve rolled its eyes right out of its head at the thought of working together with it.

But the dragon was out of town, presumably adding to its hoard, so they were on their own.

“I lost it near Rudd Gorge back in the spring of ’82, just on the northern side,” Eula said, looking a little glum. “But I looked so many times, and it’s been decades – I don’t want to bring everyone down, but I don’t see how you could possibly find it.”

“Well, we’ll give it our best shot,” Ethan said, feeling the first glimmer of hope since this whole thing had begun.

“We’ll get Kira to narrow the options down, and I’ve got pretty good eyesight – I might be able to spot it.

” That was an understatement – as a shifter, Ethan had excellent eyesight, far sharper than any human could imagine.

But he couldn’t exactly say that in front of Janie.

“And,” he added, “hopefully Curtis will be able to tell when we’re getting close. He’s been able to sense when he’s near a building that he knew in life – maybe it’ll be the same with the necklace.”

And you will have me to supervise you, the pegasus said grandly. How could you fail, with such an accomplished guide?

Chloe turned to Curtis, her eyes shining. “Are you happy to go up into the mountains with us to look for the necklace?”

Curtis nodded resolutely. ~Of course. And I would also love to see the forest one last time.~

He sounded wistful, and Ethan couldn’t say he blamed him. It had to be hard, coming back to your original home and seeing everything again, but also wanting so desperately to return to your family.

Janie still looked a little upset, her forehead creased in a worried frown, and Ethan smiled at her. “Thanks for helping us out, Janie – we couldn’t have solved it without you.”

She looked up at him, her earlier bravado gone. “You really mean that?”

“We do,” Chloe said warmly, and the others nodded.

Janie smiled a wobbly smile.

“Should we get going?” Chloe asked, and Ethan nodded, standing up.

“Thanks, everyone,” he said – and he meant it. “This really means a lot to me, and you’ve all been a huge help.”

“No problem,” Henry said, reaching over to give him a firm handshake.

“You know where to find me if you need me – I pretty much live at the bakery,” Sylvie said, remaining firmly seated. “You’ll excuse me if I don’t get up!”

All Eula said was, “Thank you,” before throwing herself at Ethan and wrapping her arms around him in a hug so tight that it would do a pro wrestler proud.

“Uh…” Ethan said, flailing his hands around uncertainly, before he slowly, awkwardly, hugged her back, hesitantly patting her on the back. “You’re welcome,” he added. “Don’t mention it.”

Somewhere beside him, he heard Chloe laughing. The sound lifted his spirits, and in that moment, he truly believed that they would be able to do it. They’d find the necklace, and Curtis would be free to return home.

And maybe he’d even finally get the chance to tell Chloe that they were mates, and explain everything that entailed.

The last couple of days had been such a blur, and their relationship had been so prickly initially, that it had never felt like quite the right time.

Then, when it had felt like the right time to tell her, Curtis had ruined the moment with his ghastly sense of timing.

He was determined to tell her as soon as possible. The quicker they found the locket, the quicker they could sit down and have a proper talk.

“Okay,” he said, peeling himself away from Eula. Determination rose inside him.

“Let’s do it.”