Page 47 of Ella and the Enchanted Bookshop

“Jaelyne,” Casey hissed, “if you don’t–”

She was cut off by the doorbell.

“What now?” she growled, pulling Jaelyne behind her by the wrist as she moved toward the house. But even as she walked, she paused to shout over her shoulder, “Ella, if you’re still here by the time I’m done with whoever this is, I’m calling the cops!”

I kissed my horse’s muzzle once more before slowly taking my suitcase and my purse and dragging them out of the stall, pausing only to shut the stall behind me. I was still wearing the princess dress, but what had seemed so beautiful the night before only now seemed to mock me more with each step. And even worse was that I still didn’t have any shoes.

I would go to Margaret’s. That was the only thing I could do. And once I was there, and I’d cried myself silly, she would tell me what to do.

I swallowed hard as I realized I was walking across the arena for the last time.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered to my parents, pausing to glance back at the stables once more. “I tried. I really did try.”

But as I spoke, another voice met my ears that was oddly familiar. Pulling my suitcase up onto the porch, I peeked around the corner of the house to see a pickup truck in the parking lot. Then my heart nearly stopped.

Asher and his father were standing at the front door. As was our neighbor, the county sheriff, Doug Paskins.

Asher’s father was in the front, presumably talking to Casey, and Doug was standing behind him, but Asher saw me first.

“Ella!” he called. “Wait!”

Jay turned to look, and his thick black and white peppered brows drew down into a heavy frown. “Just wait a moment, Miss Verre,” he said with a nod. “I think you’re going to want to hear this.”

In a daze, I pulled my suitcase up to the edge of the front porch.

“That girl has been ordered off my property,” Casey snapped.

“Actually,” Jay said, “it’s you who are trespassing on her property, is it not?”

I stared at him. Surely I hadn’t heard correctly. She was… what?

Jay gently took the suitcase from me and then handed me a folder containing a thick stack of papers. In a daze, I opened the folder and glanced inside.

“These look like legal documents,” I said.

Jay nodded. “And you would be correct.” He turned back to Casey, who was growing redder by the minute.

“What’s he here for?” she snapped, nodding at Doug.

“Just to make sure everyone stays civil,” Doug said with a smile. But his sharp eyes stayed on her. “Situations like this can get a little heated.”

“What situations are you talking about?” Casey demanded.

“Back when we started to get to know you, I was curious to know about the girl my son was interested in. So I started asking questions. But the more I heard from Asher and Miss Margaret, and then everyone else in town, the more something felt off.”

“As if anyone should believe a word of the town gossips.” Casey huffed.

But Jay went on as if she hadn’t spoken at all. “So I hired a private investigator and had him do his own investigation.” He tapped the folder in my hands. “It turns out that the property was never owned by a Mrs. Casey William-Verre. It belonged solely to Ella’s parents, and upon their deaths, according to the trust, should have been Ella’s property alone once she turned eighteen.”

I stared at him, afraid to believe my ears.

He gently took the folder from my hands and flipped it open to a tabbed page in the middle. “Did you sign this?” he asked, pointing to a signature at the bottom.

Unable to speak, I shook my head. That was my name, but it definitely wasn’t my signature. And I’d never seen that piece of paper in my life.

“That’s because Miss Casey here forged your signature and transferred the property to her own name. And that’s a felony.” He closed the folder. “It looks like she might have committed several of those, actually.”

I looked at Casey, sure she would explode into a long-winded denial about all the reasons she couldn’t possibly be guilty. But to my surprise, she had paled until she was nearly green.