Page 5 of Ella and the Enchanted Bookshop

“What is it?” Casey asked.

“I…” I took a deep breath. “I was hoping I could maybe have the night off. Seeing as I ran the camp all week.”

Casey gave me a blank look.

Remembering my cousin’s words, I took advantage of her confusion and pressed further. “I just took my final,” I went on, “and I was hoping to read my new book. Seeing as it’s my birthday and all.”

“What did you make on your final?” Casey closed the cabinet and turned to lean on the counter.

“I made a B,” I said. Even as the words came out of my mouth, I wanted to kick something. I could have easily made an A.

If I’d ever been allowed time to study.

Still studying me, Casey made a noncommittal noise.

Annoyance rose up inside me. “I’ve worked every day for the last eleven days straight,” I said, standing.

“We didn’t have any clients on Sunday,” Casey pointed out.

“Yes, but the horses still had to be taken care of!”

“And you didn’t think to ask Harper?”

“You know Harper doesn’t listen to me!” I cried in exasperation. “When has she ever done anything I’ve asked?”

Casey looked like she wanted to argue, but after a moment, she just shook her head and began putting dishes away again. Yet another chore Harper hadn’t done. “I am sorry, Ella, but I really can’t give you the night off. I have a mountain of paperwork waiting for me that has to get done.” She glanced at her phone. “And your riders will be here in less than an hour. You’ve got to get ready.”

I didn’t move immediately. Instead, I held her gaze for a moment longer before finally turning and heading to my room to change clothes. Because I knew–and so did she–that if I didn’t do the work, no one would.

Harper, who was four years younger than me, could have easily helped. She was eighteen and knew very well how to care for horses. She even had a social media account where she pretended to take care of them. And her subscriber count always seemed to be growing. Which would have been great–if she actually ever did any work.

Jaelyne, my youngest stepsister, did actually like helping me in the stalls… sometimes. But where Casey rarely required Harper to help, she rarely required Jaelyne to finish what she started. Despite being only twelve, she had quit more activities, sports, and music lessons than most people twice her age. And her lack of follow-through was the same for her chores. Too many times to count, I’d come across some poor horse Jaelyne had started to groom and before she got distracted and abandoned the task halfway through.

Before I was out of the room, though, Casey called after me. “Oh, before I forget, there’s a cake in the fridge for you when you get back in.”

“Oh, um, thank you,” I said in surprise. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d gotten a cake for my birthday. My fifteenth birthday, maybe? I used this knowledge to comfort myself as I changed, trying to smother my disappointment at the loss of an evening of reading. My stepmother had gotten me a cake, at least. And that was more than I’d gotten in a long time.

3

Once Upon a Time

Istepped into the barn and drew in a deep breath. Many people didn’t appreciate the smells of hay mixed with manure mixed with the scent of animals, but it was a comforting scent to me. Especially when the smells of horses and hay overpowered that of the manure.

“Hey, Ella!”

I turned to find Brianna Washington hanging up a shovel. “Happy birthday!”

“Thanks!” I looked around. “It looks amazing in here.” Then I paused. “But aren’t you two supposed to be off by now?”

Derrick, Brianna’s father, appeared at the other end of the barn. “Yes, but I happened to know that it’s your birthday.”

Brianna flipped her braids out of her face. “We wanted to finish cleaning out the stalls before leaving.”

I threw my arms around Brianna, then Derrick, my throat so tight I could barely speak. “Thank you,” I whispered. “That means so much.”

And it did. Because it meant that I would probably have an hour less of work to do after the camp was done tonight. Maybe I’d get to at least crack open my birthday books after all.

Derrick was more of an uncle to me than a ranch employee. He’d been my dad’s best friend since before I’d been born, and he’d been working at the ranch for almost as long. And the day Brianna had turned fifteen, she’d joined him. They were as much a part of the ranch as the horses.