Page 42 of Hex Appeal

Eventually, my fingers find the folded paper in my pocket.

Valerie notices.

“Your turn.”

I pull it out.

“What did you bring?” Jessie asks.

“Nothing from an ex.”

I unfold the paper.

There are only five words written across it: Being afraid to disappoint others.

I spent most of my adult life making choices I could defend to other people.

The sensible job. The steady paycheck. The benefits. The retirement account.

Even when I started making candles again, I treated it like something I had to earn the right to enjoy.

Then I came here. I chose this.

And somehow, even after making the biggest leap of my life, part of me is still waiting for someone to tell me I've made a mistake.

My parents. My old coworkers. The people who laughed when I said I wanted to sell candles.

I look at the words again.

Not anymore.

“I release the need to live a life that makes sense to everyone else.”

The women around me grow quiet.

I smile. “And I choose the one that makes sense to me.”

I toss the paper into the fire. The corner catches first.

Then the flame races across the words until they're impossible to read. Valerie slips an arm around my waist. I lean into her.

For a moment, we watch the fire together. I think about Gran giving us this house. About the shop. About Welles.

About the way he holds me at night like he's surprised to find me there and has no intention of letting me go.

My chest squeezes.

There are some things I want to release. But there's something else I'm finally ready to admit I want to keep. Him.

Because, while I don’t need him to make my life good, he sure has made it wonderful.

Maybe the next bit of magic I need to work isn't about letting something go.

Maybe it's convincing one stubborn, grumpy fire chief that he doesn't have to spend the rest of his life waiting for the next thing to burn.

EIGHT

WELLES