0.5 Chess Pie & Choices Page 6

  Dad had let me ride Old Joe before, but it had been a while. I rolled the bike out and parked it in front of the porch. Before my hand loosened its grip on the handlebar, the last of the day’s sun gleamed on the engagement ring still sitting on my finger. Its sparkles forced me to complete one final task.

  In a panic, I rushed inside, finding a piece of paper and a pen in Nana’s antique wooden secretary. I dashed out a note in hurried scribbles, my hand cramping with my effort.

  Dear Tucker,

  By the time you find this note, I’ll be gone. I know that me leaving on the day of our engagement party isn’t the best way to tell you that I can’t marry you. But what would be a better way? I want you to know that my decision ultimately has nothing to do with you. I’m truly not ready to settle my life before I’ve even begun living it. There are things I want to experience and try before I can be a good partner to someone else.

  I know that this might be too much to ask, but please, don’t hate me. I wish I’d had the courage to tell you to your face, but every time I tried to, all I could picture was you on the night we went to the field with Founders’ tree and watched the lightning streak across the sky. I’d never felt so alive in my life, and ever since then, I’ve been trying to recapture that feeling with you. But I think my lightning lays outside of Honeysuckle for now.

  I’ll return someday, and maybe we can work things out at that time. Until then, I hope you’ll forgive me. You will always be the first owner of my heart.

  When I finished, I signed my name and slipped the engagement ring off my finger. Placing it the note in the middle of the kitchen table, I made my way to the front door and stopped short of the porch, wondering if I should leave something for Matt and Nana.

  But what could I say that would lessen their disappointment in me? Or make them not angry? Or make them not come after me? Better to be on my way and ask for forgiveness once I was gone then to give them a shallow explanation.

  I couldn't leave without giving them something, so I took out another piece of paper and scribbled on it the only thing I could manage. I love you. I'm sorry. Instead of adding it to the note on the kitchen table, I tracked down Nana’s cat, Loki, and, after enduring a few scratches and bites, folded it under his collar.

  Feeding off the nervous energy flowing through my body, I rushed back to the motorcycle. Turning it on, I muttered a few words for good luck and held my breath. Old Joe rumbled to life in one kick-start. Straddling the motorcycle, I strapped on the helmet and steadied myself for the journey to come. I had nothing more than a small seed of an idea—find others with magic like mine and see how far I could grow. A whole wide world waited for me, and I had claimed my wings. Revving the engine, I rode away from the life that I knew.

  The only way out of town was through the center of it. As loud as old Joe was, there would be no escape without attention. But with the motorcycle underneath me, I could fly beyond the nosy onlookers, past the familiar and into a great adventure, wherever it would take me.

  I ignored the faces of those who stared at me, unwilling to identify them. At the end of Main Street, one person stood out in particular. Uncle Tipper waved at me, a bright smile my final goodbye. His crow took off from his shoulder and followed me down the road, even flying low under the canopy of live oaks draped in Spanish moss so that I had a companion with me as I left.

  When I breached the town’s border, she swooped in front of me and circled in the air, turning around in the direction of Honeysuckle. I imagined her calling to me one last time before she returned to Tipper.

  In front of me lay roads yet traveled. Behind me rested the foundations to who I was so far. Someday, I would return, but not until I used all the heart and power inside of me to find my own way back home.

  Until then, there’d better a lot of sweet tea and good food out there to give me strength.

  * * *

  Dear Reader -

  Thanks so much for joining my newsletter and reading the prequel to Moonshine & Magic. I hope you’ll stay connected to hear about new releases and extra goodies available exclusively to my newsletter subscribers!

  Join Southern Charms Cozy Companions, my Reader Group, to discuss the series, other paranormal cozy mysteries, and share recipes and fun related topics!

  Southern Charms Cozy Mystery Series

  Magic & Mystery are only part of the Southern Charms of Honeysuckle Hollow…

  Suggested reading order:

  Chess Pie & Choices: A Southern Charms Cozy Prequel

  (Available exclusively to Newsletter Subscribers)

  Charli Goodwin is engaged to Tucker Hawthorne, the admired "prince" of Honeysuckle Hollow. Underneath the perfect surface of their union boils an ocean of doubt. If he's such a catch, then why does she feel like she's on the hook?

  When Charli's magical talents are put to the test to find something valuable to Tucker's family, she's set on a path that will test her love and show her where her true happy ever after may be.

  Moonshine & Magic: A Southern Charms Cozy Mystery Book 1

  Charli Goodwin doesn’t expect her homecoming to go without a hitch—after all, she skipped town, leaving her fiancé and family without a clue as to where she was going or why. Now that she’s ready to return home, she plans to lay low and sip some of her Nana’s sweet tea while the town gossips come out to play.

  Unfortunately, on her first night back, Charli discovers the body of her crazy great uncle (hey, everyone has one). She suddenly finds herself at the center of a mystery that threatens the very foundations of Honeysuckle Hollow and the safety of every paranormal citizen in it—starting with Charlie herself.

  With the clock ticking, will Charli’s special magical talents be enough to save not only the town but her own life?

  Lemonade & Love Potions (in the anthology Hexes & Ohs)

  Charli Goodwin can’t help herself when it comes to helping out her friends, especially a failed cupid trying to earn his way back into the matchmaking ranks. A singles mingle in her small Southern town should be the perfect event, but trouble with a capital T shows up when someone attempts to boost the odds of love in their favor.

  Sweet honeysuckle iced tea, it’s gonna take more than lemonade and a little magic to help Charli find out what’s wrong, solve the mystery, and save Honeysuckle Hollow from disaster again.

  Fried Chicken & Fangs: A Southern Charms Cozy Mystery Book 2

  An upcoming election and some new visitors to Honeysuckle shake up the magical small Southern town. When a beloved family member of one of the candidates disappears, it’s up to Charli Goodwin and her special talents to get on the case.

  What starts as a simple search uncovers a darker layer of manipulation and sabotage. Will she be able to figure out who is pulling the strings before the foundations of the town are destroyed?

  About the Author

  Bella Falls grew up on the magic of sweet tea, barbecue, and hot and humid Southern days. She met her husband at college over an argument of how to properly pronounce the word pecan (for the record, it should be pea-cawn, and they taste amazing in a pie). Although she’s had the privilege of living all over the States and the world, her heart still beats to the rhythm of the cicadas on a hot summer’s evening.

  Now, she’s taken her love of the South and woven it into a world where magic and mystery aren’t the only Charms.

  bellafallsbooks.com

  contact@bellafallsbooks.com

  Bella Falls’ Newsletter

  Southern Charms Cozy Companions

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