Page 48 of Ella and the Enchanted Bookshop

“You have no proof,” she said in a small, petulant voice.

Jay tapped the folder. “I have all I need right here. And as I’ve already shared it with the sheriff’s office, they’ve had a chance to look at it. As far as they can tell, everything checks out.”

Casey took a step backward and grasped the edge of the door, but before she could get it shut, Doug was at her side.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he said politely. “Because if Miss Ella presses charges, I’ll be forced to enter this house in a very unpleasant way. And I would prefer not to do that in front of your girls.” He glanced at the window to the left of the door, where Harper and Jaelyne were staring wide-eyed through the glass.

Casey’s jaw flexed, but she stopped trying to back up, and Jay turned to me.

“Because this is really your business–”

“Business that you had no right to butt your nose into!” Casey snapped, but Jay calmly continued.

“Because it’s your business, you have to be the one to press charges. I can’t do that for you. But I can promise you that my legal team is at your beck and call and will be your representation for as long as you need it. And as I’ve said, my investigator and I have already shared all of this with the sheriff’s office, and they’ve verified it. Which means that the sheriff here can execute an arrest without a warrant if you want to press charges.”

I stared at him, unable to find the words I needed to express the thoughts and feelings that were swirling around in my head.

First, I was in shock. Asher’s father, who had only met me twice, had spent what was probably an exorbitant amount of money on a private investigator to do for me what I never could have done for myself. It had never crossed my mind that my parents would leave their home to me after Casey had so adamantly insisted that everything in it was hers. And now he was offering me his legal team? It wasn’t like I was his daughter. Heck, I wasn’t even officially dating his son.

And yet… he had done it. And now he was giving me the power that I’d never imagined could be mine.

And here were Asher and the sheriff, here to support and protect me as I faced the woman who had worked so hard to take everything that was mine.

But then there were the girls looking with terrified eyes through the glass. If I pressed charges, I would be essentially taking away their mother. They would be like me in a way, without someone to help or guide them.

Even as my conscience was pricking me about this, however, I thought back to all the ways Casey had, in a way, harmed them as well. She’d encouraged Harper to be cruel to me when we were young, and she’d spent countless dollars and hours on conferences to be away from them as often as she could manage, leaving me to be their sole guardian, even when I had been far too young to safely carry such a responsibility.

She’d also neglected the horses more times than I could count. Last night, after years of threats, she’d mistreated and then fired Derrick despite his long and faithful service. She’d even put me in danger by trying to force me to spend time with creeps like Ron. She waited more than half a week to check on me after I’d passed out in the barn because she wouldn’t stay to help me.

Like a predator, she’d seen my father and had gone after him to take what she’d wanted, lying and cheating and stealing until she got it.

“Ella,” Casey said. For the first time, her voice was full of tears, and she was trembling. “I was only doing what I had to to take care of my girls.” Her voice was barely under a whisper. “Can’t you forgive me? We can… make things right. You can move back in, and we’ll hire Derrick back, and–”

“I can forgive you, Casey,” I said in a quiet voice. “But I can’t give you what you want.” I met Asher’s gaze. “Not this time.”

The porch was eerily silent for an eternal moment before Casey’s face contorted into an expression of rage. “You… you ungrateful girl!”

She lunged at me, but before she could reach me, Asher had snatched me away from her and pulled me safely against him. At the same time, Doug and Jay grabbed her by the arms. She thrashed so hard that Doug had to shove her down and press her to the ground so he could get the handcuffs out and around her wrists.

“Well,” Asher said as Doug began to recite Casey’s rights to her, “we’ll just add attempted battery to that long list of poor choices now, won’t we?”

I hadn’t realized until he spoke that I was shaking. Asher kept his arms wrapped around me, his hold gentle but firm.

“She’s never attacked me before,” I said in a trembling voice.

In response, he only kissed the top of my head and rubbed his fingers across my back again and again. And I closed my eyes, trying to focus on the pressure of his hands as I breathed.

“And she’ll never do it again,” he said into my hair.

Just then, another vehicle pulled up in front of the house. It was Miss Margaret’s.

“Margaret?” Jay asked, looking confused.

“I figured I would be needed this morning,” she said briskly. “Oh, good, Doug. You’ve done an excellent job.”

“Um, thanks,” Doug said, also looking confused.

“How did you know–” I began, but she just waved her hand at me.