Page 19 of Ella and the Enchanted Bookshop

I grimaced. “My stepsisters know how to care for horses. At least, Harper does. She was raised around them. And Jaelyne can be good with them too… when she focuses enough to remember what she’s doing from start to finish. But she usually wanders off before half the job is done, and Harper whines until Casey lets her quit most of the time. And Casey likes to… oversee things.”

“And you’re worried what will happen to the horses if you’re not on top of things?” he asked.

I sighed and nodded. “I went to summer camp when I was seventeen. I’d been planning on going for over a year. My dad was the one who booked my spot. And it was great. But when I got back…” I swallowed hard. “Four of the horses were sick. One almost died. Apparently, there had been a heat wave while I was gone, and no one had thought to check on them to give them extra water. Not even Casey.” My fingers tightened around the reins as I remembered the horror and dismay I’d felt when I’d come home to find the animals in such a terrible state. “We saved them, but I’ve never felt comfortable leaving them alone like that since.”

Asher didn’t answer, only stared ahead of us in a thoughtful silence. I glanced at him several times, wondering if he was annoyed or angry, or if he might move Tomcat to another boarding facility after hearing such a story.

I hoped he wouldn’t. But I wouldn’t have blamed him if he did.

“I get it,” he finally said.

I stared at him in surprise. “You… you do?”

He nodded. “I wish the situation were different. And honestly, I’m hoping you find another way because this one isn’t good.” He turned and met my gaze, his deep brown eyes locking onto mine. “But I understand.”

A strange urge to cry hit me once again as I smiled at him. And all I could whisper was, “Thanks.”

9

My Life as a Fairy Tale

Iclimbed into bed that night, and for once, I didn’t feel like I wanted to sink through the mattress. As much as I resented Casey’s continual conference addiction, as it drained our resources and left me even more work than usual, there were benefits to not having to deal with her face to face.

Such as today, when I’d gotten not one but two hours with Asher.

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt this happy. Not because we’d talked about anything particularly romantic, or because we’d we engaged in exceptional flirting. But Asher was easy to talk to, and he was an excellent horseman. And that he’d booked an appointment with me and kicked Ron off the property?

Be still my beating heart.

As if hearing my thoughts, a text popped up on my phone. It was Asher.

Think if I book enough beginner lessons, I could get pretty good on my own?

I snorted. The man was possibly better on a horse than I was.

I don’t know. You need to work on your posture. I recommend several more sessions before we move on to the next skill set.

Even as I texted him back, though, I tried to talk some sense into my own head. Because my heart sure wasn’t listening. As perfect as this man seemed, no one was perfect. And he was in the military. He wouldn’t be able to keep taking time off like this to wander all over the Colorado mountains with me on horseback.

That thought did sober me.

Yes, he was obviously pursuing me. I wasn’t so blind that I couldn’t see that. And while I admittedly didn’t know much about military life, I did know that they moved a lot. I also knew that he could be sent overseas or to another part of the country at the drop of a hat.

And if… or rather when that happened, what happened then? He couldn’t keep flying or driving back a couple times a month. As it was, he was in Utah most of the time, and while it was only one state over, I was sure that the girls there wouldn’t hesitate to give him a second glance, should he find someone easier to date.

Even more than that, though, was the question of what happened next. What if he did decide I was the one? What if he proposed, and we had the big wedding with the cake and the presents and the honeymoon? I couldn’t marry him and stay here. And he couldn’t just leave the military. Because while I didn’t know much about the military, I did know that its members were contractually obligated to serve for a number of years.

If he asked, could I follow him? Could I leave my parents’ dream home behind? Because if I did, I would be leaving every bit of their legacy in Casey’s hands. And without anyone to fight for the horses and the budget and the home I loved so much, she would bring them all to ruin with her constant spending and lack of love for the animals. Then she would probably sell it all to the highest bidder and start again, not caring that she’d just sold everything I held dear.

With a sigh, I started to turn off my light, my mood far darker than it had been moments before. But as I reached for my lamp, I realized that Margaret’s book was still sitting on my bedside table.

Magic wasn’t real, of course, which meant that magical books didn’t exist. And yet, a flicker of fear made my heart beat slightly faster as I remembered our talk yesterday and her instructions:

Read it every night.

I hadn’t remembered to read it every night. In fact, after a few days of witnessing no changes in the story, I’d been so tired I’d started to forget. In fact, I’d almost convinced myself that it wasn’t adding the story, piece by piece, after all. I’d just been so tired that I’d missed some because there were extra blank pages.

Still, as I thought back to the days when it had added bits and pieces, it had only ever added them when…