Mountain Charm (28 page)

Dylan stopped walking and took a moment to just look at her.

He knew he could live to be a hundred years old, and he would never see anyone as beautiful. But it wasn’t just her long black hair and bright blue eyes that stunned him. It was a thousand little things he knew would seem insignificant to anyone else. Her laugh. Her smile. The way she loved her mother. The way she adored her dog. The way she treated every single person who walked into her music shop as if they were her long-lost friend.

Dylan glanced across the water. Just along the edge of the maple trees was where their house would be. Angelina wanted two stories with a wrap-around porch facing the pond. They would live there. They would make babies there.

And they would grow old together there.

Angelina gazed at the mountains, smiling as she thought about her day. Their lives had been crazy lately, but today, she had actually taken the time to notice a calendar . . . and the date.

Never had a calendar made her so happy.

“You look so happy, sweetheart,” Dylan said as she sat down on the grass. He leaned close and kissed her softly.

“I am happy.”

“About anything in particular?”

Angelina grinned. “Maybe.”

“Hmm. Keeping secrets from your fiancé?”

“Oh, I have many secrets.”

“Well, it’s a good thing I’ll have the rest of my life to learn them all.” Dylan played with a strand of her hair, twirling it around his finger. “Did you have a good day?”

She couldn’t stop smiling. “I had a great day. What about you?”

“My day was . . . weird, but you’d be very proud of me. I spent the entire afternoon with my father.”

“Is he still alive?”

“He was when I left him back at the office.”

“Well, then, I
am
very proud of you.”

Dylan laughed. “We had lunch and went shopping. It was . . . okay, I guess. It wasn’t too awkward. I don’t know that I could stomach it every day, but—”

“Wait. You went shopping with your father?”

Dylan nodded. “Believe it or not, he gave me some good advice. Since I had absolutely no idea what I was looking for, he told me to choose something that reminded me of you. And that’s when I’d know.”

“You’d know what?”

Dylan pulled the tiny velvet box out of his pocket and lifted the lid.

“I would know I’d found the perfect ring.”

She blinked rapidly at the pretty ring nestled inside the box.

“Oh . . .”

Dylan removed the ring and slipped it on her finger.

“How did you know my size?”

“I called your mom from the jewelry store.”

Angelina grinned.
Of course he did.

“Do you like it? I know it’s pretty simple. Just a single solitaire.”

“I love it,” she promised him.

The two of them smiled at the ring on her finger.

“So, what other magical charms are you hiding from me?” he asked.

“Hmm, well, I
do
have a secret to share.”

Angelina’s smile was beautiful as she leaned close and whispered in his ear.

“I can’t believe she’s thirteen,” Dylan said, wrapping his arms around his wife’s waist. Their front yard was filled with friends and family—and a lot of pink and silver balloons.

Allison Thomas loved anything girly and sparkly.

Dylan and Angelina watched from the porch while their daughter opened the last of her birthday gifts—a new guitar from her Grandma Celia and Grandpa David. She was surrounded by six of her best friends and her little brother, known among the girls as “the cutest six-year-old in the world.”

 “They’re both growing up too fast,” Angelina said, and Dylan murmured his agreement before pressing a soft kiss against her neck.

On the day they’d become engaged, Angelina had whispered in Dylan’s ear that her period was twelve days late. This news led to a whirlwind trip to the pharmacy, followed by the longest three minutes of their lives.

Angelina and Dylan had married at the pond two weeks later.

Eight months after that, Allison Hope had arrived.

Just as her grandmother had predicted, Allison was blue-eyed and beautiful. From the age of three, it was obvious Allie was the opposite of her mom in that she was more than willing to embrace her supernatural gifts. Like her grandma, Allie had the ability to predict the future and had been the one to tell the family she had a little brother on the way long before Angelina even suspected she might have been pregnant.

As the son in the family, Caleb Michael Thomas missed out on cool things like magic spells and psychic abilities, but he was a constant source of happiness. Caleb was all boy and loved nothing more than wearing camouflage and fishing in the pond. His best friend was a beautiful chocolate lab named Petey. While he wasn’t related to Cash—whom they’d buried nearly eight years ago—this dog was the spitting image of Angelina’s childhood companion, and just as loyal.

Angelina sighed contently as she looked around at the smiling faces. It had taken more than a decade, but their family had finally found peace.

Grandchildren have a way of healing hearts.

Celia was sitting on one side of the picnic table, talking with Dylan’s mom about their newest crafting project. Patti had moved to Knoxville soon after the birth of Allison, and she and Celia had become the best of friends. No one had cheered louder than Patti when Dr. Campbell had finally deemed Celia cancer-free and in full remission. When Patti wasn’t busy teaching at the University of Tennessee, she was in Maple Ridge, spending time with the grandkids and knitting with Celia. She had also stood by her best friend’s side on the day Celia and David had exchanged wedding vows.

“Your dad’s face is a little red,” Angelina said, grinning at her husband.

Dylan smirked. “Probably talking politics with David.”

On the other side of the picnic table was Charles Thomas, who was having a heated discussion with Angelina’s stepfather about the upcoming governor’s election. It had taken several years and many heated conversations, but Dylan had finally made peace with his dad. Charles had been retired from the paper for nearly five years, and no one had been more surprised than Dylan when his dad offered him the editor-in-chief position at the newspaper. He now lived in Gatlinburg and spent as much time in Maple Ridge as possible. Where he’d lacked as a father, he more than made up for it with his grandchildren. Charles loved nothing better than spending an afternoon with his grandson at the pond or sitting on the front porch while Allie played whichever instrument she “loved more than anything.”

Allison was a musical prodigy, so the beloved instrument could change daily, depending on her mood.

Looking across the grass, Angelina smiled when her eyes settled on her best friend. Maddie was wiping strawberry frosting off the mouth of her toddler. Nick was in the yard, tossing a football to their ten-year-old. After he lost his job in Atlanta, Maddie and Nick had moved back to Maple Ridge. He was still trucking, and Maddie had returned to work at the music store.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Dylan whispered in her ear, making her tremble. “You want another baby, don’t you?”

Angelina sighed. She couldn’t deny it.

“Maybe one more.”

Dylan nuzzled her neck, and she felt him smile against her skin.

“One more sounds good to me, but could it be a boy? I really don’t know that I can handle another daughter turning thirteen.”

Angelina laughed. Dylan had been dreading this birthday party since the day Allison had been born.

“The spell’s not so bad. I wished for you, and now I have a happy and healthy family and two beautiful kids.”

Dylan snuggled her close. “And a husband who can’t keep his hands off you.”

“That’s nice, too,” Angelina admitted with a grin.

As if she could hear their quiet conversation, Allison turned her attention away from her friends and gazed up at her parents standing on the porch. A brilliant smile stretched across her face, and Dylan sighed heavily.

Angelina bit her lip to keep from laughing. Dylan might have been dreading this day for thirteen years, but their daughter couldn’t wait to blow out her candle.

“She’s ready,” Dylan said.

Angelina turned around in his arms. “What about you? Are you ready?”

“No, but at least she’s not twenty-one.
That’s
when I’ll have a heart attack.”

With a grin, Angelina raised herself on her tip-toes and kissed him gently.

Moments later, an excited Allie joined her parents on the porch. She glanced over her shoulder and smiled at her grandmother, who was watching her with proud eyes. She then turned her attention back to her parents and reached for her father’s hand. Dylan leaned down, and Allie sweetly pressed her lips to his cheek.

“I hope I’m as lucky as Mom,” she whispered in his ear.

Allison Thomas gazed down at the shining candle. Its yellow flame flickered and glistened against the darkness of the living room. She had eagerly anticipated this day—her thirteenth birthday—since she’d been a little girl.

“Today is a special day,” Angelina said, her voice solemn.

Growing up, Allie had heard the legend, which had been passed down from her mother. It was a fairy tale—much like Cinderella—but without the glass slipper or the wicked stepsisters. Instead, this story involved nothing but a shimmering candle and a simple song, both of which would allow the young girl to blossom into a strong and intelligent young woman. She would be beautiful and—at the age of twenty-one—would find her true love.

It couldn’t be a fairy tale without true love.

From a young age, Allie had loved learning about her heritage, and her ability to predict the future had proven quite useful when it came to passing pop quizzes in math class. While some of her family’s stories were crazy, not once had she doubted the story about the candle and the love charm. With long black hair and piercing blue eyes, her mother was stunning. Angelina Thomas was joyful, gifted, and wise, and her husband loved her as much today as he had on the day they’d married.

“Are you ready?” Angelina asked.

Allie nodded. Her heart was thundering and her hands were trembling, but her mother assured her this was to be expected. The ceremony was an important rite of passage in a daughter’s life—a sacred ritual that had been passed down from her ancestors. One day, Allie would sit on the floor with her own daughter, and her daughter’s candle.

“I’m ready,” Allie said, her voice brave.

Her mother smiled proudly at her daughter as they joined hands. Between them, the candle danced, casting shadows upon the walls. Allie closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and began to sing.

“True love and sweet whispers

Till death do us part;

Send someone to love

My Appalachian heart.”

Angelina gave her daughter’s hand a reassuring squeeze, and with her eyes still tightly closed, Allison swiftly blew out the yellow flame.