Page 2 of All Dressed Up

“Agreed. So, who’s left?”

Gwendylyn pointed to the side of the field. “See what’s going on there?”

Mary craned her neck to get a better look. “Oh my lord. That’s my cousin Adam. I’d recognize that lanky chap anywhere.”

Gwendylyn nodded. Distant cousin was more accurate since Adam wouldn’t be born for many decades after Mary passed away. “That’s Rachel Foster asking him out for the first time. We both know how that ended.” Not far from Rachel and Adam stood Bethany Wilson.

“What’s that she’s holding up?”

“That would be a video camera.” They watched in silence for a few seconds as Bethany continued to film.

“It must have been hard for her.” Mary smacked her knees. “Well, it all worked out in the end.”

“Yes, it did.” Gwendylyn nodded her agreement. With a little support from Mary and her, the souls finally united during the holidays. They both had a front row seat in the town’s park this spring when Adam proposed to Bethany.

“Bethany’s now with Adam. One broken heart mended. We can retire.” Mary twisted around to face Gwendylyn. “Unless...” Her eyes widened. “You’re not talking about Rachel’s heart, are you?”

“No. Rachel now knows Adam wasn’t the man for her.” Gwendylyn pointed in the direction of a football player on the sidelines, his gaze locked on Rachel and Adam. Without warning, he yanked off his helmet and walked slowly toward the players’ bench, his head down.

“Who’s that?”

“Will Jenkins. He’s been in love with Rachel for years. I’ve tried to get them together with one spell after another, but nothing seems to work. I can feel the energy of their attraction circling them, but I can’t get their souls to unite.”

“They watched in silence as Will approached the players’ bench and reached behind him, bringing a black backpack onto his lap. He unzipped it and pulled out a long cherry pink flower with a note attached to the stem. Within seconds, he ripped the note off the stem and shoved the paper back into his bag.

“What type of flower is that?” Mary asked.

“Snapdragons.” Gwendylyn put her finger to her mouth to shush her friend. “What happens next is very important.”

Standing, Will flung the backpack over his shoulder and walked over to a large trash can, tossed the flower in, and walked off the field.

Gwendylyn had watched this scene play out countless times. She’d tried hard over the years to get these two together and thought she had succeeded last winter, but it didn’t last. It was as if his heart on this night had went AWOL...

Pushed its way out of his body and left...

“Oh my God. That’s it!” She sprung up.

“What’s it?” Mary asked.

“I can’t believe I never realized it. Will’s heart didn’t break.”

“It didn’t? I thought you said it did.”

“It was worse. Much worse.” She paced for a second, then immediately stopped in front of Mary. “It gave up. I can’t connect the two hearts because Will’s is missing.” Gwendylyn grabbed Mary’s arm and hoisted her up, leading her to the trash can. She waved her hand over it. A second later, the cherry pink snapdragons were in her hand. She handed it to Mary.

“What do you want me to do with this?”

Gwendylyn knew exactly what she needed Mary to do. “Help Rachel find Will’s heart.”

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