Page 39 of Ella and the Enchanted Bookshop

“Four missed calls from Margaret?” I muttered to myself. I immediately called her back, but it only went to voicemail. Then I checked for Asher’s messages.

Only Asher’s messages weren’t there.

Panic spiked my heart rate as I searched my call history.

No Asher.

My breathing sped so fast that I wondered if I might pass out. He wasn’t even in my contacts.

How? How had I lost the one number that meant more than any other? Glancing at the clock, I tried to call Margaret again. But again, she didn’t answer. She didn’t answer again for the rest of the night.

I also found myself at a loss when I went to get Asher’s number from Jaelyne.

“When you got Asher’s number from my phone, you copied it into your contacts, didn’t you?” I asked, trying to keep my voice from trembling.

Jaelyne, who had been watching a video on her tablet, scoffed. “I did. But Mom caught me sending him another picture of you, and she got really mad. She said if I didn’t delete him, she’d take away my phone.”

I’d never felt such despair as I did just then.

I went to church the next morning, as I always did, but I found it hard to smile and make small talk like usual. Instead, I felt myself shaking the moment the service finished as I stood and searched for Margaret.

I didn’t find her. But I did find Belle.

“Belle!” I hurried over to my friend, relief pounding my chest. “I’m so glad I’ve found you. Where’s Margaret?”

“She had to leave just after the service finished,” Belle said, looking oddly uncomfortable. “But I’ll warn you… Margaret’s not very happy with you right now.”

I froze.

Me?

Margaret wasn’t happy with me?

I’d never imagined such a day could come.

“Why?” I asked anxiously. “Because I lost my phone for a day?”

She frowned. “You lost your phone?”

I nodded profusely. “I lost it on Friday. And when Jaelyne found it again last night, it was dead. I saw I missed Margaret’s calls, but when I called, she didn’t answer.”

Belle stared at me for a long moment before her eyes widened. “Oh. Oh dear,” she said quietly.

“Belle!” I pleaded. “Just tell me what’s wrong!”

Belle closed her eyes briefly and sighed before opening them again. “Margaret got a distressed call from Asher Friday night. He said that you’d cut off all contact with him by text. Something about how you’d thought about it, but you couldn’t handle being away from the horses and your parents’ farm. And how you couldn’t let your relationship go any further.”

I listened in horror. “But… I… I didn’t send that!” I stuttered. “I didn’t get my phone back until last night! And when I did…”

Suddenly, the fear that had churned in my stomach until I was nauseous hardened and turned to ice. I hadn’t sent that message from my phone. But someone else did. Someone who had no desire to see me happy.

“Casey!” I muttered under my breath.

“Look,” Belle said with a sigh. “I’ll talk to Margaret. She’s pretty mad, but I think she’ll come around when she hears the truth.” She gave me a wry grin. “But she’ll still fault you for leaving your phone open.”

I closed my eyes and swallowed. “Thanks. I’ll… come by and explain.”

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