The Meltdown Match (A Romance Novella) by Rachael Anderson

you dare walk away from him just because you weren’t really matched up by the sun.” She paused. “I can’t believe I had to say that. Now you’re making me sound crazy.”
    Courtney sighed. “Believe it or not, I know all that—I do. I just can’t make my illogical feelings see logic, if that makes sense. It’s like with my writing and Heimel. I could never stay here permanently because this town would become the place I live, not the place that inspires me. Then The Meltdown Match and Mitch happened, and I finally thought that everything had changed. But now I don’t know anything anymore.”
    Hannah’s mouth parted as she blinked at her sister. “Oh my heck. You’re like one of those athletes who won’t cut their hair or wash their socks the entire season because they think it will jinx them.”
    Courtney brought her knees to her chest and frowned out the window. “Told you I was a mess.”
    “I’ll say.” Hannah shook her head in disbelief. “Know what? I think this is one of those times when your over-active imagination is getting the best of you. You live in the real world. You know that, right? A world where apple trees don’t grow fruit during the winter, the wind doesn’t have healing properties, and the sun’s definitely not a matchmaker.”
    Courtney frowned. She’d always liked to believe that her books had the power to inspire, but maybe they didn’t. Maybe they only created daydreamers with unrealistic expectations. Like her. So much for thinking this talk would help. It had only made things worse.
    “I know,” she finally muttered.
    “Do you? Really? Because I’m not so sure.” Hannah rose to her feet and walked toward a small bookcase where she pulled out a copy of each of Courtney’s four published books.
    She held one up. “Remember what inspired this one? You came home for the summer, and Mitch organized a camping trip. It was windy, and I sprained my ankle, but no one had an ace bandage in their first aid kit, so Mitch made a joke about how if wind could heal, it would be better in no time. The next day, you started writing this book.”
    She tossed it on the bed and held up another. “Remember when you took a semester off and came home in the dead of winter? It was below freezing outside, and to help pass the time, Mitch invited everyone over to his house for games. You said you were craving an apple, and he said not to worry. He had a tree out back that grew apples all year long. Then he disappeared and came back with an apple.”
    Another book landed by the first before Hannah held up the next. “And this one, about a small town that produces amazing artists? That story came after Mitch made us all drive to Anchorage to see Lilly’s painting at that gallery. While we were there, he said that Heimel must have something special in the water, because not only did Lily’s painting make it in a gallery, but you’d just published your first book.”
    The book landed on top of the others as Hannah held up the last one. “What about the time we went spelunking? Don’t you remember?”
    Hannah’s voice seemed to fade into the background as Courtney’s gaze dropped to her hands. She did remember now. Everything. The apple. The healing wind. The magical town. And the cave of truth, where no one could lie.
    All this time, she’d been giving Heimel credit for her inspiration when it had really been Mitch—the same person who’d inspired her with her latest idea. How had she been so blind? So stupid? So wrong?
    Tears sprang to her eyes at the same time Hannah’s hand came to rest on her knee, bringing Courtney back to the present. “Don’t you see? What you have with Mitch is way more miraculous than winning some stupid ice-melt contest. What you have with him is something some people look for their entire lives and never find.”
    It was true. Even with tears marring her vision, Courtney could see more clearly now than ever before. A warm feeling spread through her body,