Page 111 of Fairy Godmothers Aren't Cheap

“What’s with you this morning?”

“Remember how I applied for grants so we could buy a play structure for your park?”

“Yeah?” When the lots had been seized by the police, we’d made contingency plans in the hopes that we could still build the park, even though our initial timeline was clearly scrapped. We’d also applied for every long shot and sent in every possible proposal to every possible sponsor we could think of.

A smile broke across James’s face. “We got one.”

“We did?” I was suddenly wide awake.

He nodded. “And I found a company who can install the equipment in a week.”

I squealed and launched myself at him, my socks slipping on the polished tile floor. He caught me, holding me tight. But I was holding him even tighter while trying to jump in his arms.

“I love you! I love you! I love you!” I yelled, my joy spreading through me, leaving warmth and sunshine everywhere there’d ever been clouds.

I stopped jumping, James’s breath on my neck sending shivers up and down my spine, suddenly very aware of the muscular man holding me in his arms. The man who was always here, always in my corner. Solid. Reliable.

My boyfriend.

The man I’d wished upon and received. The man I’d then wished away, but was still here. The man whose life had been influenced by my wishes, but didn’t seem to care.

And I’d just told him three little words I’d honestly never thought I’d find anyone to say them to.

I slid from his arms, embarrassed, smoothing my shirt down over my waist. “Sorry. I’m just really excited.”

He pulled me into his arms again, gently lifting my chin with a finger. His warm eyes met mine, and in them I saw all the caring, affection and tenderness that I’d ever wanted. “I love you, too.”

* * *

I wasin love with James.

James was in love with me.

It was perfect.

And it had been for almost two weeks.

But Estelle. My fairy godmother. Magic glitter and wishes. Unicorns, rainbows and no clue what was real.

I needed to talk to Estelle. She had to be back from her vacation by now, even though the witchy receptionist at Your Fairy Godmother kept insisting Estelle wouldn’t be back for some time. Our calendars were different. Yeah, yeah, yeah. She was lying to me, and I knew it. There had to be a rule about her keeping me from my fairy godmother.

I tightened my hand around James’s, listening to the kids play on the newly installed playground and letting the sun’s heat seep into my pores along with the feeling of happiness. I needed this to last forever. I needed to know how to make the leap from wishes and magic into reality.

“We’re literally watching cement dry,” James cracked, and I smiled.

“Yeah. It’s great, isn’t it?”

“Because it’s free?”

James’s dad played poker with the owner of a local concrete company, who offered the leftovers he had from various projects. The only stipulation was that there probably wouldn’t be enough for what we needed, and that he wouldn’t know if he had any extra until the last minute, etcetera, etcetera. Lots of caveats.

But then today he’d shown up with enough to not only create the paths in one go, but to also put in a basketball area. I had a feeling his huge surplus from today’s earlier job had actually been intentional, and I was beyond grateful.

And not just for the concrete company, but for James, too. He’d helped me make forms for the concrete last week so they’d be ready whenever the cement was, and now he was helping me guard the wet stuff against mischief. We were hot, grubby, and tired.

Happy.

The sound of the kids playing in the playground was bliss. Success. We’d done that. We’d brought them this happiness. The play equipment had been installed a few days ago, with James and I, along with Josie, Gabby, Lamonte, Tamara, Samantha and Malachi spreading several truckloads of donated pea gravel underneath the new structure. We’d had to rush, so the eager kids, who kept sneaking onto the slide before it was ready, could play safely. I was amazed at how busy the park was already. The word had spread and wow. Had there really always been this many pre-school aged kids in Everstone? It was amazing.

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