Silas
I’d askedJune to marry me in as informal a way as possible…but she’d said yes.
And that meant I was putting a ring on her finger as soon as possible.
When Grandma Hazel passed, she’d left explicit instructions that we were to take whatever we wanted from her jewelry box, but that we should only do it when weknewwe’d found the one.
I was lucky enough to have found two.
And now it was June’s turn to get one of Hazel’s rings.
“About damn time,” Rhett said as we climbed the stairs, as if me and June hadn’t been moving way faster than anyone would consider normal. “Ever since she came back to town, I’ve been thinkin’ you must be comin’ by for a ring soon.”
Rhett had baby Hazel on his hip, the little thing chewing on a teething toy shaped like a peach. She looked just like her mama—wide golden eyes, rosy cheeks. She made blubbering little noises, kicking one foot as we climbed the stairs.
“You gonna help him pick one out?” Rhett asked, bouncing her lightly.
“Sure hope so,” I said. “Bet she’s got better taste than you.”
Rhett scoffed, but Hazel cackled—immediately setting him grinning too. “Never heard Willow complain about hers.”
We reached the landing and took a right toward the extra bedroom, where Rhett and Willow had carefully brought a lot of our grandmother’s things once they’d started clearing out the attic. Letters, her old sewing machine, and—of course—the antique jewelry box. It was an old chest about the size of a shoebox that us kids had been obsessed with trying to get into when we were little, solid oak with secret compartments and puzzle keys. Grandma Hazel would just chuckle and bat us away, saying we wouldn’t find a damn thing in there until it was time.
Now was the time.
“So…how’d you pick out Willow’s ring anyway?” I asked. “Feel like I never even saw that thing until y’all decided to tie the knot—and it suited her like it was made for her, perfect fit and everything.”
“You’re not gonna believe me,” Rhett said with a smile, little Hazel now reaching up to tug on his beard. He didn’t seem to mind it as we opened the bedroom door, stepping inside.
“I’ve seen too much to doubt at this point,” I muttered.
He huffed a laugh. “Alright…well, the jewelry box was lost for a bit after Hazel died, tucked away somewhere in storage. And you know, when Willow showed up…all kinds of other stuff started appearing too—and I foundthis boxnestled in some roses with a secret compartment already opened on the side. It was like Grandma picked it herself.”
Hazel gurgled as if in agreement.
The jewelry box was sitting on top of an old vanity table, a chair tucked beneath it. I pulled the chair out to take a seat, while Rhett sat just a couple feet away on the edge of the bed,Hazel bouncing on his knee. Her eyes were wide, fixed on the jewelry box as I inspected it.
“Yeah…still don’t know exactly how to open this damn thing,” I muttered, running my fingers over the gold engravings on top—stars and moons and flowers, a few esoteric symbol I recognized from my books. I’d’ve been lying if I said I didn’t take after our grandmother—more of a witch than any of my brothers were, anyway. I peered down at some of the symbols, humming.
“Huh,” I murmured.
“See somethin’ interesting?” Rhett asked.
“It’s a hexafoil,” I said, gesturing at the little six-petaled flower etched into the center of the lid. “Remember? Grandma used to carve them into everything…almost habitually, right? Little protection symbols. I carved one into an amulet for June after she got bit.”
“Looks familiar,” Rhett said. “Push it.”
I frowned. “Don’t look like a button.”
“Well, may as well try,” he started.
But before I could do anything, Hazel took it upon herself to do the honors.
She flopped forward, a huge smile on her face, and slapped one little hand against the lid…
…and it popped open with a whisper of breath that smelled like roses.
She let out another one of her signature cackles, knees bending as Rhett held her in a standing position, bopping up and down. Her whole body seemed to reach for the box as I opened the lid, eyes finding not one ring…but four.
