Chapter 37 Coco
Coco
Natalie keeps us very busy for the rest of the day—a nap pile-on, more exploring, and dinner. By the time the sun’s beginning to set, I get a text from Cristina.
Tonight’s the night—the full moon. It’s now or never.
The joy I’ve felt all day crashes and burns into a pit of ashes.
If I miss gathering the flower, I won’t get another shot for a month. I can’t keep Stone from his memory for that long. It isn’t right.
My stomach drops like a boulder, and I glance over at him.
He’s lying on the couch, attempting to nap while Natalie’s sprawled on top of his stomach, peeling open his eyelids.
I watch them—Stone wanting rest, Natalie doing her gremlin best to keep him awake, Hercules curled up on the floor—and something inside me aches with want. I want this. Them. Not just for a day. Not just as a performance. But for real.
“Natalie, you mentioned wanting to see Stella the unicorn, right?”
“Right,” she says, blowing on Stone’s face. “Wake up, sleepyhead. You still owe me three piggyback rides and a dance battle.”
I press my lips together to keep from laughing. “How about we head over to Wadley Farms and you’ll get your wish, plus piggycorns?”
Natalie jumps off, hitting Stone in the stomach with her elbow.
He bolts up. “I’m awake! Ouch! Why’d you elbow me?”
“Sorry.” She grabs him by the cheeks and kisses his forehead. “Get up, napper! We’re going to play with piggycorns.”
Stone yawns. “Will they keep you?”
She nibbles the inside of her lip, thinking. “I would love it if they kept me!”
He rises. “Then let’s go.”
“No fair!”
He picks up his sister and slings her over his shoulder. “Of course they can’t keep you. Come on, Hercules, let’s go play with your nameless cousin.”
We reach Wadley Farms right at dusk. The horizon sings as streaks of raspberry and blue ice race across the sky. Piggycorns graze in the yard, and the unicorn stands in the field, watching us with silky black eyes.
Cristina meets us at the door. “Well, hey, Natalie!”
“Cristina!” Natalie throws her arms around my friend. “It’s good to see you.”
“It’s good to see you, too. From what I hear, you came to visit Stella.”
“It’s been ages since I last saw her. I want to ride bareback!”
Cristina pumps her brows at me. “Really?”
Stone steps up. “Whatever’s safe.”
“I’ve ridden her bareback before,” Natalie informs us. “We’re like this.” She twists her middle finger over her forefinger, suggesting they are BFs forever. “May I see her?”
Cristina takes her hand. “Come on. Let’s find out if Stella’s up for riding.”
As they walk away, heading toward the field, Stone glances at me. “I’ve never met a unicorn. At least, I don’t think so.”
“You probably have,” I tell him, feeling a twinge of guilt. All day, I’ve watched him with Natalie and pretended to be part of their family. I’ve never wanted anything more, and I’ve never deserved anything less. I push away the sorrow and force a smile. “Would you like to be reintroduced to her?”
He winks. “I thought you’d never ask.”
Natalie does ride the unicorn bareback, which according to her, is very painful. “Ouch! I should have brought crotch padding!” she shouts.
While she does that, Stone and I walk around the farm, petting piggycorns and watching as Hercules meets the lambicorn that lives there.
The other lambicorn is really more of a sheepicorn. It’s full grown, but that doesn’t stop Hercules from trying to play with it as if they’re the same age.
The little lambi bends at the knees and jumps to the right, doing his best to entice the larger animal to give chase.
However, the sheepicorn boredly chews on a patch of grass and watches Hercules as if the young lamb has lost its mind.
As the moon rises in the sky, Natalie slides off Stella, and she and Cristina head into the house for a s’mores snack, which Natalie insists Rowe keeps in stock.
“We have them every time I visit,” she says with authority. “I know where she hides the ingredients.”
“Let’s find the goodies, then,” Cristina tells her conspiratorially. “If you can pull them out, I’ll make the sandwiches.”
“But I wanted to play with fire.”
“Um. No.”
As they walk off, I guide Stone toward the pasture. “Time to get acquainted with Stella.”
“I would love nothing more.”
The unicorn watches us quietly as we approach. I’ve met her a few times but have no idea whether she recognizes me. A question that’s quickly answered when she walks over and reaches her nose toward my face.
“Hey, girl.”
Stella breathes deep, and as she exhales, a blanket of calm drops on me. It permeates every nook and cranny of my being, reaching for all the hidden places—those filled with worry, guilt.
It’s like she’s telling me I’m on the path of doing what’s right, and it’s time to release the burden buried deep between my shoulder blades, knotting up the muscles of my body.
Then Stone extends his hand, and the unicorn stretches her neck for him to pet her.
“I’ve met you before,” Stone murmurs as he slides a hand down her nose. He closes his eyes, and for a moment he looks blissfully at peace—and handsome. So handsome, with his sharp, angled features, smooth jawline, gorgeous, thick hair.
His eyes pop open and he regards me. “What?”
“What?”
“Why’re you looking at me like that?”
“I’m not looking at you in any way.”
“Yes, you are. What is it?”
I sigh. “All right. I was just wondering what it would feel like to rub your chin.”
He laughs. “Come and do it. But first, answer a question: What is that feeling I have?”
“Oh, that?” I lean my shoulder on the fence. “I believe that’s the unicorn gift. Stella gives them when you see her. I don’t know if she gives them to everyone, but I’ve heard Rowe say she bestows said gifts of wonder on those she likes. Why? What did you feel?”
“Peace, calm,” he murmurs.
The unicorn raises and drops her head like she’s nodding. “Okay, girl.”
I pet her again, and when I do, I feel something slide up my ankles.
When I look down, flowers are growing from the grass—big, tall yellow-blossomed brown-eyed Susans, one of my favorites. The stems rise and wind around my ankles, lifting to brush against my knees. An entire field of them.
“You’re glowing,” Stone whispers.
“What?”
He nods to my hands.
My gaze falls on my fingertips, which shine with magic. It’s not the painful blue sparks I’m used to. No. It’s a full-on golden halo of power.
Out in the pasture beyond Stella, the ley lines drum in the same color, as if we’re in sync. As if I’m tied to this land and part of it—like we exist in a symbiotic relationship.
“You are magic,” Stone whispers almost reverently, as if he’s standing before the shrine of the Blessed Zoning Coordinator.
“What do I do?”
“Touch the earth,” he instructs.
Fear wobbles my confidence. “What if it explodes?”
He laughs. “Do you really think that’s going to happen? Your glow matches the ley lines over there, and you think if you touch the ground you’re going to, what? Cross the streams, like in Ghostbusters?”
“I mean, maybe?”
“Just try it. Be the brave Coco Chanel I know you are.”
I clench my hands, but the glow doesn’t die. It only strengthens, and so, figuring that if I don’t do this my whole body will look like a giant glow stick in a few minutes, I drop to my knees and lay my hands atop the soft, dewy grass.
Almost instantly, a ripple of magic erupts from underneath my palms. It’s small, and fades before it reaches the pulsing ley lines.
Stone drops beside me. “You’re holding back. Don’t hold back.”
“I’m not—”
Before I can tell him I’m not, that he’s wrong, he takes my face in his hands and kisses me—deeply, with a yearning that sends little tingles spiraling down my spine.
This is not the kiss of a man who woke up from amnesia and is trying to figure out his life.
This is the kiss of man who has figured things out—who’s strapped into the front row seat of a roller coaster, ready to face every dip, every turn, every loop head-on.
And I’m with him.
Completely.
Utterly.
It’s stupid.
More than that—it’s spellbound.
And no doubt, it’s also love.
It’s as if his feelings soar beyond the lack of memory, like they’re seeded deep inside him and nothing can rip them away.
I give myself over to the kiss, dissolving, melting into it and him.
When Stone pulls away, it feels like the sun’s been plucked directly from the sky.
I blink, opening my eyes.
He nuzzles against my cheek. “Now, do it. Show me what you’ve got.”
Something clicks inside me, and I dig my fingers into the earth, grabbing big clumps of grass.
Power ripples from my hands, and this time it doesn’t fade out. This time it surges all the way to the ley lines, and when they touch, the earth ignites.
Light erupts from the ground, illuminating the entire pasture as if someone lined it with lights and flipped them on.
I sit back on my heels. My jaw drops.
Stone exhales a low whistle. “Look at that. Just imagine what you could do if you really tried.”
Like what? I wonder vaguely before the answer comes. Moments later, the grass grows quickly, shooting up around my feet, and hundreds of tiny pink flowers spread across the pasture, popping up in a wave as they move toward the horizon.
The glow from the earth begins to fade, and I feel myself tiring.
This was a lot of effort, even if it was easy. Because of Stone. All because of him.
I glance at him shyly and see him gently watching me with a warmth in his eyes that makes the tops of my ears heat.
I have no clue why. I’m already fake-engaged to the man. The time for embarrassment is long gone.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
“For what?”
It’s a good question, and one that has a longer answer than I think he’ll ever guess.
“For a long time I’ve been afraid to let myself shine, because what if I’m tarnished?
Thank you for standing up to my family for me.
For some reason, I don’t. I should, I really should.
But I guess there’s part of me that thinks my sparkle could never match Brittany’s, so it doesn’t matter what I say—they won’t listen.
Worse, they won’t hear me. You hear me. You see me, and I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve you. ”
He takes my hand and kisses each of my knuckles as he speaks.
“I think I can only see you because I can see me. I don’t remember who I was before”—his voice breaks, but he catches it—“but who I want to be from now on is a man worthy of your love. Worthy of you. I did this once, but I can’t remember how it was done, and I can’t imagine it being nearly as romantic as this. ”
He gently tugs the engagement ring from my finger and drops down on his knees.
“You are like a star that fell from the sky—you have so much magic inside you. And I know the risks—I know what people in this town believe about those with power. But I’ll be damned before I let anything happen to you. I love you, Collette Higginbotham.”
The world tips, and I fall off. Loves me? He loves me. I feel the same with everything I have.
So I tell him. “I love you, too.”
He rubs the back of his neck bashfully. It’s the most humble and gut-wrenching expression. Weeks ago, I was terrified of Stone. He threatened to expose me to the entire town. Now he’s someone different. Someone worth loving.
“So.” He lifts the emerald ring. “Will you do me the honor of marrying me? Since I don’t recall the first time I asked and all, I want to remember it. I want to live it. I can’t miss another memory with you.”
My heart kick-starts to life, and I completely understand what he’s saying. This time with him has been magical, and I don’t want a life that he’s not a part of.
I open my mouth to answer, and then, right in front of me, a blade of grass shoots up and unfolds. No. It’s not a blade of grass. It’s a flower—one with purple petals.
The lunaria bloom.
I’d almost forgotten all about it. Or allowed myself to forget. Take your pick.
“Must be a sign,” Stone murmurs.
Of what, there’s no telling.
Stone holds the ring, waiting. My pulse thunders with a truth I can’t speak.
I know this is all about to end—that the lie I’ve been living is on borrowed time.
But for this breath, this heartbeat, I want to believe it’s real.
That we’re real. That love can start in a mess of magic and mistakes and still grow into something worth keeping.
So I nod. “Yes. I’ll marry you.”
It’s like I’m walking through a dream when he kisses me to seal our agreement.
Is it possible to love someone who doesn’t know their past? Is the past what makes us who we are?
Or is it the present? Or is it all of it, and even if we forget, the past still weaves into the nooks and crannies of our unconscious?
Whatever the answer is, I know I love Stone no matter his past. No matter his future.
I throw my arms around his neck and sigh into him as the lunaria bloom glows between us.
We laugh. We hug. We live in this moment for a long breath before I pull away and cup my hands under the flower, wondering at the hum of energy that runs up its stem and straight to the top.
Magic literally drops from the stamen in golden pollen, and I gently dig around the flower, collecting it from the root and cradling it in my hands.
“What is it?”
Your future. My teeth scrape over my bottom lip before admitting, “It’s a lunaria bloom and very rare. I’ve heard of them.”
“Now you have one.”
“Now I do.”
He kisses me again, and my entire body ignites. Heat pools between my legs and my nipples harden. Stone sweeps his tongue in my mouth, and it breaks me open.
It’s anybody’s guess what happens when the truth comes out. But for tonight, I needed to believe it. To say yes, even if my head knows better. I needed this dream. Just once.
When we part, he brushes kisses along my jaw, murmuring between each one as he says, “Do you think Natalie will mind spending the night here?”
“With a unicorn in the backyard? I’m sure it’s her worst nightmare.”
Stone huffs a breath that caresses the shell of my ear. “That was a stupid question. You’re right.”
I draw back, studying him. “Why do you ask?”
“Tonight I want you all to myself.”
This is the perfect time to stop him. But I’m done, tired of focusing on the lie instead of living in what’s real. By tomorrow, this might all be over, but for one night, I want to pretend that it’s real—before the glass ceiling shatters.