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Carrying two rinned "It looks that way, and I’reat lives For the most part" He headed around the island and as he passed behind her, he picked up a strand of her hair, tossing it over her shoulder "Did you know the original house has burnt down three times since it was built?"

Sounded like some really crappy construction if that was the case Julia tucked the hair he flipped over her shoulder behind her ear "I didn’t know that"

"Yep The first fire burnt the house down to the studs Killed a great-great-great-whatever aunt and her daughter The second fire back in the early 1900s took out the top floor and killed Erabbed a carton of e and a sar "The third happened in the fifties Burnt the house down again This tiic"

He placed the ar on the island, next to the cups She’d never hadto taste

"Maybe you guys should have soested, praying the house didn’t burn down again while she was in it

"There’s nothing wrong with the wiring" Walking over to the stove top, he picked up the insulated handle and brought the steas "Did you notice anything odd about those who died in the fire?"

She did "They were all fes "Our grandmother died here, just outside the house She was in the rose garden and a stor in They can be fast and brutal down here," he explained, setting the kettle aside "Lightning struck a nearby tree and it fell on her, killing her instantly"

"Jesus," she whispered, eyes wide

"Our grandfather cut down all the trees out back after that, as if it were their fault" He poured a little of reat aunt, passed away just down the road The brakes in the car she was being driven in suddenly failed She was killed instantly The driver didn’t even have a scratch Great-great-grandht and then died in a fall down the second-floor stairs"

"Oh,that’sI don’t even knohat to say" She shook her head as he duar in each cup

"And I’m not done yet" He walked over near the sink and opened one of the drawers, pulling out a spoon "Several female cousins have died in bizarre ways One actually accidentally ran herself over Not sure how that happened, but it did, and our mother?"

Julia tensed as he came back to the island

Lucian sat down on the stool beside her, his body angled so it faced her "Our mother pitched herself off the roof of this house when I was eighteen"

"My God, I’lanced over at his She’d known that their mother had committed suicide, but not the how Not like the ic and heartbreaking

He didn’t sees to her "Then there were those who didn’t die The cousins who didn’t pass away untih that other family members had them committed into hospitals and asyluo" His gaze flickered to hers, and the air caught in her throat His eyesthey were such a beautiful shade Now that he was under the overhead lights, they were back to that sea-green that reminded her of aters she’d never visited He tapped the aze fro as she lifted it Taking a small sip, she was surprised at the sweet, s, she sed "It’s really good"

His grin returned

"Sodo you think this curse has soaze flickered away "It would appear so"

Curious even though she knew she shouldn’t be, she asked, "And you guys have no idea where she could’ve been this entire ti He leaned back a little as hea rush of shivers over her she did her best to ignore "You know she vanished the saht she’d run off because she was upset, but when she didn’t come back"