Page 31 of Ella and the Enchanted Bookshop

Would Asher do something like that? I wondered. Build a dream with someone and then give it all away?

I didn’t know what Asher would do. After all, I’d known the man less than a month. But even from what little I did know about him, I got the feeling he wouldn’t put up with antics the way my father had.

Just then, Nevada stepped out of the trees and back onto one of the town roads, and I suddenly looked around me in surprise. I wasn’t sure how it had happened, as I hadn’t meant to go this particular way. But as I’d thought about Asher during my descent from the mountain, rather than going home, I had apparently drifted toward Margaret’s bookstore instead.

The porch had even more pumpkins than it had the last time I’d been there, and she’d added twinkle lights to the edge of the roof. A bowl of candy sat on a table on the porch, where all the neighborhood children knew they could take a piece. And now the porch overflowed with not only pumpkins, but with countless pots of red, orange, purple, and yellow chrysanthemums as well.

The sign on the door said CLOSED, much to my disappointment. Only then did I realize that in my longing for my parents, I must have unconsciously directed my horse toward Margaret. Apparently, however, Margaret wasn’t there to be had.

But just as I was about to turn my horse toward home, I spotted a to-go cup with a lid and a letter on the welcome mat in front of the door. And the letters on the envelope had been written so clearly and in such large letters that even from my place on the horse, I could see the name on the front.

To Ella

Mystified, I climbed down from Nevada’s back and went up the front steps. Sure enough, my name was on the front of the envelope in big, scripty letters. It was on the lid of the cup beside it as well. Which, I could now see, was on top of a book–a new young adult fairy tale retelling from one of my favorite fantasy authors.

Unable to figure out how she’d known I would be there–as I’d not even planned to come myself–I broke the wax seal on the back and pulled out her letter.

Dear Ella,

I had a feeling you’d be coming out this way this afternoon, so I took the liberty of leaving you a few treats. I apologize for not being at home, but Belle and I had some business errands to attend to. We should be open again bright and early tomorrow if you’re able to stop by. But even if you can’t, please enjoy the new release and your pumpkin spice chai. The book is a gift from Asher, by the way, as a goodbye present. I couldn’t give it to you until today, however, because it only just arrived from the publisher. As always, keep reading the storybook every night. And if you’re impatient for the end, do your best to help the story along. You’re a smart girl. It shouldn’t be too hard to figure out. If you need me, you have my number.

Love,

Margaret

I stared at the sheet in shock.

Margaret had always had an uncanny ability to sense when things were wrong in my life, but I had always believed that to stem from a lifetime of people watching. This, though…

This was a new level entirely. And to be honest, it was a little terrifying.

I picked up the cup and lifted the lid, taking a deep whiff of the steaming liquid inside. Sure enough, it was pumpkin spice chai, and it was still as hot as when Belle might have poured the hot water from the kettle.

Standing up, I looked around. There was no one nearby, not even on the street, which meant there was no one to witness the same impossible things that I just had.

And yet, they were here. And, I realized suddenly, they were the kind of love I needed deeply right here and now.

So with an incredulous smile and a shake of the head, I gathered my letter, my tea, and my book, and made my way back to my horse.

Maybe there was such a thing as magic after all.

15

A Harvest Ball

When I checked the storybook that night, the story still hadn’t progressed any further. But according to Margaret, it was something I could help along.

If only I knew how.

Despite our conversation, Casey announced the next day that she was still leaving for her ten-thousand-dollar work conference in two days. Something had changed since our confrontation the afternoon before, however.

Since she’d awakened me early that morning to do chores, there had been no pretense of politeness or even bare civility. Instead, she’d spent the whole day treating me with smug smiles and the silent treatment.

I didn’t try to fight her again. Not because I was afraid of her, but because I knew it wouldn’t do any good. But that was okay. Because in the time since our conversation, I’d made up my mind that something had to change. My life wasn’t going to be this way forever. I just had to figure out how to make that change without putting my beloved horses at risk.

It was a puzzle that I just couldn’t figure out how to solve.

I didn’t figure out the reason for Asher’s surprise tiara either until Thursday, when a letter arrived in the mail with fancy gold foiling.