Page 34 of The Witch's Cottage
“Harrison approves,” I say.
Alden arches a brow. “Of me or the carving?”
Harrison and I meet eyes, and I smile. Without him needing to say a word, I answer, “Both.”
Chapter 20
Alden
THE FIRST TIME I DRAGGED my cart up Brookside Road, I had no intention of falling for the green-haired woman who was waiting for me on the porch. But now, as I push the cart filled with bread and cookies down the lane and she walks beside me, Harrison trotting through the fresh spring greens on the forest floor, I wonder how I could ever go back to a life without her in it.
And the answer hits me square in the chest: I can’t.
I don’twantto.
A smile tugs at my mouth, and I don’t even try to stop it. When Aurora tips her head back and her green eyes meet mine, she goes a shade of pink.
“What?” She reaches up to pat her hair, which is loose and hanging down her back in soft waves. “Is there something in my hair?”
There isn’t, but that gives me an idea.
I set the cart down with a thump and a creak, and Aurora watches me curiously as I step off the path and kneel besidea downed log. A chipmunk is inside it, and I even givehima smile before I stand and face Aurora.
Her curiosity instantly melts into the warm grin I love so much.
“What’s this?” she asks.
Gently, I take the single spring flower I plucked from the earth and slide it gently behind Aurora’s ear. Her skin is warm and soft, and I can’t resist placing a kiss to her lips.
“There. Now you have something in your hair.”
Her smile turns playful, and she gives me a shove—or tries to, at least. With a soft laugh, I grab hold of the cart and resume pushing it toward Faunwood, and Aurora falls into step beside me.
“Remember that song you were singing in the garden that morning when I came by?” I ask.
Aurora tips her head, and then her eyes light up. “You mean ‘The Dance of the Earth and Sky’?”
“That’s the one.”
“Of course. What of it?”
“Would you sing it for us?”
Her cheeks are already pink from the fresh spring air, but they go a slightly darker shade. “I don’t know...”
I give her my softest smile. “Please? I’ve wanted to know how it ends since that morning I interrupted you.”
Aurora nibbles her bottom lip, then closes her eyes and takes a tiny breath. And then she begins to sing.
“Oh, the earth turns green and the sky turns blue, in a dance that’s ancient and forever true. From the mountains high to the valleys low, the earth and sky in a waltz they go. The sky does paint the morning light, with hues of gold andpink so bright. While the earth lays down her morning dew, to welcome the day, so fresh and new.”
On and on she goes, singing her song as the sun rises higher in the coral sky, and I feel, for the first time in a long time, like I’m perfectly whole inside. All thanks to Aurora Silvermoon.
When we arrive in Faunwood, the festival is in full swing. My first instinct is to quickly duck away and seek quiet solace in my cabin, but then I look down at Aurora, who’s beaming with excitement, and I know there’s no way I’m going to miss this. If she’s here, this is exactly where I’m supposed to be.
“Alden! Aurora!”
We both turn to see Lydia and her fiancé, James, waving to us from a cart parked at the edge of the market square.
