Page 130 of Fairy Godmothers Aren't Cheap

I was terrified. What if this was my dream, and I smashed it like I’d smashed so many other things in my life over the past few months?

Or, maybe, just maybe, it was like Sally had told me. I’d only smashed that old life so I could move forward into something so much better, such as this career.

And such as being able to let go of my fear and finally risk my heart on the man I knew was worthy of it.

* * *

I burst into the house,eager to tell Sally my job news. I’d texted James already, but he hadn’t replied, probably because he was knee-deep in maps or all the training he had to do.

“I got the job!”

Sally whooped from the kitchen.

“Congratulations!” She met me in the kitchen doorway, with a tray of sugar cookies. “Look what I made.” The cookies were giant, and decorated with different messages.Congratulations! Way to go! New job!

“What?” I looked at her in wonder. Talk about confidence.

“I knew you’d get it.” She held the tray out to the side and gave me a big, one-armed hug.

We moved to the counter to try the cookies. They were tender and amazing. There was a hint of cinnamon and I was in love. I could sit down and eat the whole batch.

I brushed the crumbs from my lips and stole a second cookie. “I don’t know what I’m going to do without your cookies.”

“You’ll just have to stop by my bakery,” Sally said, wiping her hands on her apron.

“What?”

She grabbed a folder off the counter, and with a flourish, handed it to me.

“What is this?” I flipped through the typed pages, searching for clues.

“A lease.”

“For what? Where?”

“For my bakery, silly! You convinced me to follow my dream.”

“I did?”

“Of course you did!” Sally was wearing a cute, frowning smile, her eyelids lowered as though skeptical of my so-called act. “With you working so hard to make that park a reality, I realized I was just sitting here, dreaming when I could be out there doing.”

“You did?”

“And you got all of those kids and moms excited about my cookies.” Her cheeks pinked. “So, I started thinking, why not? What am I afraid of?”

“That’s really great, Sally.” I set the folder back on the counter and gave her a giant hug.

She poured so much love into me with that one embrace it made me homesick for her, for this, for the family I’d found during my toughest months. Was this the emotional struggle most of my friends had gone through when leaving home for the first time? Because it really sucked.

I was glad I wasn’t moving very far away.

“But I thought you and Otto wanted to travel? You just got the motorhome.”

She waved a hand. “We decided we’re more the weekend warrior types. And Otto says he’s always wanted to run a business, so he’ll do the paperwork side of things while I bake.”

“That sounds perfect. I promise to buy dozens and dozens of your cookies.”

Sally laughed, delighted. “I’ll be in that brick building right beside your park. It used to be a bread factory.”

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