Hammie Mae glances between us as if she’s confused by what this might have to do with her. “Is everything okay?”
I take a moment to steel myself, straightening my spine until I can feel my Frankenstein bride hair brushing against low-flying insects and possibly disturbing the local bat population. “Hammie Mae, I know your username on the ancestry site is Lovemydoodle. And I know you’re my sister.”
The gasps that follow could collectively inflate a hot air balloon. Even the jack-o’-lanterns seem to pause their flickering to witness the drama.
Hammie Mae’s jaw drops, and her eyes widen with genuine shock. “Wait—I’m your what?”
“My sister,” I repeat, my voice steadier than my nerves. “Half-sister, to be precise.”
“What in the world is going on?” Mom demands, stepping forward. “Hammie Mae, I’m sorry, but I’m afraid Bizzy isn’t feeling well. The sleep deprivation from having a newborn can cause all sorts of?—”
“I’m not hallucinating, Mom,” I interrupt, keeping my gaze fixed on Hammie Mae’s bewildered face. “I did a DNA ancestry test, at Emmie’s baby shower a few months back. It flagged a close relative with the username Lovemydoodle, who is a perfect match as my sister, and we couldn’t figure out who it was.”
I turn back to Hammie Mae. “It’s you, isn’t it? You not only love labradoodles, but we both know that you don’t know who your real father is.”
All eyes swivel to my own father like synchronized sprinklers, with accusations practically dripping from their stares.
“Don’t look at me!” Dad throws his hands up defensively, causing his cape to flutter in a panic. “I never slept with Matilda Westoff!”
“Oh, how would you know?” Mom scoffs, rolling her eyes so hard I’m surprised they don’t detach and roll across the pumpkin display. “You can barely remember where you parked your car half the time, let alone who you parked yourself with during your wild years.”
“She’s not my type,” Dad insists with the conviction of someone defending their questionable honor.
“If she’s breathing, she’s your type,” Mom shoots back.
“Now that’s not fair—” Dad begins, then reconsiders. “Well, okay, it’s a little fair.”
“Wait a minute, Bizzy…” Mom suddenly freezes, her green face scrunching up in concentration. “Did you say you had a sister out there?”
“Yes,” I’m quick to confirm. “According to the DNA test, I have another sister, and I’m pretty sure she’s here in Spider Cove.”
Mom and Dad exchange a look so loaded it needs a warning label, then practically collide in a fierce embrace. Mom’s costume crumplesagainst Dad’s vampire attire as she lets out a sob that catches everyone off guard.
“What’s happening?” I demand as my internal alarm bells ring louder than the haunted house sound effects. The last time they were this close it required police presence to pry my mother off of him—and the baseball bat she was holding, too.
Something is very wrong,Fish observes from her position at my feet.Hoomans only hug like that when someone’s died or they’re hiding something massive.
Did someone die?Sherlock wonders as his head bobs around looking for proof.I don’t smell death. Just sugar and those weird cinnamon brooms they sell this time of year.
Georgie steps forward, adjusting her fishnets with a grimace. “I think it’s obvious what’s happened here. My love potion fell into the wrong hands. She’s supposed to be falling into the arms of my handsome brother, nothandsome why botherhere.” She jabs a thumb toward my father.
“Mom? Dad?” I inch their way. “What’s going on? You’re scaring me more than the haunted house.”
Mom wipes her green face, smudging her witch makeup into what amounts to abstract art. “It’s true, you have a sister out there, but it’s not Hammie Mae.”
“Then who?—”
“It’s me.”
The voice comes from behind me, clear and confident.
I turn, the world suddenly moving in slow motion, as the most unexpected Halloween surprise yet reveals itself in the flickering light of a hundred jack-o’-lanterns.
And suddenly, everything I thought I knew about my family is about to change forever.
CHAPTER 26
Istare at the woman before me as my brain struggles to process the single most unexpected plot twist of my life, and I’ve found enough bodies to fill a small cemetery, so that’s saying something.
