Epilogue
“Thanks so much! enjoy them,” I called as a mother guided her daughter out the front door. The little girl was carrying a crinkly brown paper wrapper full of the freshly toasted sugared walnuts I had warming in a repurposed antique popcorn machine. It was the week of my grand opening, and the Chancellor Christmas bazaar, and the shop was packed. I’d completely outdone myself decorating for Christmas. I’d managed to fit seven fully-decorated Christmas trees in the small shop, and the greenhouse was loaded with amazing pink, peppermint striped, and ruby-red poinsettias. Violet’s granddaughter, Lacey, a student at the college, had started working with me the week before, and was doing an amazing job. I watched in quiet satisfaction as she raced back and forth from the kitchen to the tea garden in the greenhouse serving egg nog, frosted sugar cookies, peppermint or cranberry tea, and gallons of hot chocolate. The tea house was a hit.
“Julie,” my dad said. “I think this dip might be bad. It tastes weird,” he added as he looked from his pretzel to the jar in his hand.
“That’s because it’s lemon peel face cream,” I replied with a laugh.
“Face cream?” my dad said, looking puzzled.
“Don’t worry. It’s organic,” I replied.
My dad laughed out loud and set the jar down.
Just then the bell above the door rang and Alice, Rayne, and Horatio entered. Everyone was bundled up and covered in a light dusting of snow.
“Ready?” Alice asked.
“Jules, it’s so busy here. You sure you have time?” Horatio asked, casting a glance around the store.
“Go,” Lacey called as she passed through with a tray. “We can spare you an hour.”
“Horatio! Nice to see you again,” Dad called.
“Nice to see you too, Mister Dayton. Mind if I borrow Julie for a bit?”
“Take an hour, Julie. We’ve got you covered. Oh! And I have something for you. I almost forgot.” Going behind the counter, he pulled out a bag and handed it to me.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Ice skates. They belonged to your mother. You’re the same shoe size, right? Don’t you remember when she used to take you down to Lily Hill Park? You went every winter when you were a kid…well, until Mom’s back started to give her problems. You know she wanted to be a professional ice skater? She was part of the Chasing Stars skate team. I just found her trophies and photos the other day when I was packing some things up.”
Chasing stars. I slowly unwrapped the package and looked at the ice skates. They were white and decorated with faded silver stars. All at once, memories of my mother and me ice skating flooded over me like they’d been unlocked from somewhere deep within my memory. All these years I thought she’d wanted me to play it safe because that’s what she did. I’d either forgotten or never knew that she, too, had wanted more. And in that moment, I understood my mother in a way I never had before.
“Do you remember how to skate?” Horatio asked.
I shook my head. “No, but I’ll try,” I said then started pulling on my coat. Following behind Rayne and Alice, Horatio and I headed outside.
Main Street was closed to traffic and had been transformed into a winter wonderland. The snow and ice sculpture competitions were well underway. Fat snowflakes drifted downward. A sleigh pulled excited revelers past, the jingle bells ringing merrily. Across the street, Milt Row and the other husbands of the coven witches were standing around a bonfire as they sold Christmas trees from a lot just near The Grove.
“Where’s Viola?” I asked.
“Stuck,” Horatio answered. “Falling Waters is booked.”
“We’ll get her out today yet, if I have something to say about it,” Rayne said, gazing longingly toward the restaurant, his eyes twinkling. I looked from Horatio to Alice. Neither of them seemed to notice the expression on Rayne’s face.
“You going to spend the whole day on your butt again?” Alice asked Horatio jokingly.
“Hey, I spent the week practicing so I wouldn’t look like a total failure in front of Julie. Thanks for completely shattering the image.”
Alice laughed. “Sorry!”
Rayne sighed heavily then turned his gaze from the restaurant.
Walking arm in arm with Horatio, my mind got busy.
“And just why are you grinning like that?” Horatio asked, leaning in to kiss my cheek. “My sweet,” he added, nibbling my ear.
“Oh. No reason,” I said, but I was already thinking through the recipes in the box. My heart was brimming with love. I wanted everyone to feel just like I did. Maybe Rayne and Viola just needed a push in the right direction.
Well, that was nothing a magical cupcake couldn’t solve.
The Fairy Godfather
What happens when a fairy godfather falls in love?
With my excellent track record as a fairy godfather, the elders sent me to Chancellor on a mission to help Alice, the quirky owner of the local bagel shop, find her Prince Charming. No one has managed to find a match for Alice. Where they failed, I will succeed.
The only trouble? My head isn’t in the game because I’m too busy falling in love with my best friend’s sister.
I’ll need to get my feelings in check before I blow it for Alice. The upcoming Cherry Blossom Ball should give me the perfect venue to make a little magic happen. Can I pull it off before the clock strikes midnight on both our dreams?
“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.”
Chapter 1: Rayne
The sound of the honey bees buzzing all around me was sweeter than any Vivaldi concerto I’d ever heard. I sat lotus style in the apple orchard, inhaling the sweet scent of the apple blossoms. My eyes closed, I could feel the white petals falling on me as a soft wind sent them spiraling. The warm spring sunlight shone down on my face. It must have been almost noon. The rays of sun felt warm on my skin. I listened to the bees hum as they danced from flower to flower. Perfection. I inhaled deeply, and with each exhale, set my enchantments on the wind:
Bring a love for Alice.
Now is the time.
Bring a love for Alice.
One that’s finer than wine.
Wine? Not a very good enchantment, and not a very good rhyme. No wonder Alice was no closer to meeting the man of her dreams than she’d been the day I met her three years ago when I’d gotten my assignment.
Wine…of course it would be wine. Ever since I’d set eyes on Viola Hunter, the dark-haired wine heiress who just happened to be the sister of my best friend, I’d been distracted. I imagined her skipping nymph-like through the apple orchard under the spring sun. Imagining, however, was as far as I’d ever taken anything. Viola Hunter, whose family’s vineyard sided my small country farmhouse, had already friend-zoned me. There was little use pining over a woman who just wasn’t into me. After all, Alice was supposed to be my focus. I needed to shake Viola from my thoughts. Poor Alice. I was doing my best, but she still wasn’t where she was supposed to be. I needed to try harder.