“I’m sorry about that,” Aldon said. Why would the monarchy have ignored Thistledown’s requests for help? Even as he wondered this, he knew he shouldn’t get involved. Infrastructure and town redevelopment were not his department.
Ahead, a throng of people caught his eye. As they got closer, Aldon realized it was a line of men, women, and even children, waiting to get into a homeless shelter. Guilt lodged in his throat like glue, making it hard for him to speak.
“Why is there such a long line?” he asked.
“The shelters are full,” Piper said. “It’s like this every day. Many people have to sleep outside, under bridges and on the streets, at the mercy of weather conditions.”
“How long has it been this bad?”
Piper shrugged sadly. “For at least the past four years.”
An out-of-place giggling came from the backseat, all of a sudden.
“Look, Mommy,” Willa said. “There’s even a little refrigerator back here. Prince Charming has soda and fizzy water in his car fridge.”
At Willa’s words, a deep sense of shame fell over Aldon quite suddenly. Here he was driving a luxury car through the streets while the sidewalk was crowded with people who couldn’t even attain basic needs like food and shelter. He owned a castle in this town, and here were residents who had nowhere to live.
“This is unacceptable,” he said.
“I agree, but who’s going to fix it?” Piper’s eyes pierced Aldon’s.
“I am.”
He stared at the crowd of people in front of the shelter and silently promised himself. He would do something about this terrible situation. It was time to take action for Thistledown.
Piper followed Aldon through the market with Willa at her heels, unable to believe what she was seeing with her own eyes.
“How much food are you going to buy?” she asked him.
“As much as I can fit into my car for now,” he said.
After filling eight buggies with nonperishables, Aldon paid the store clerk. Piper’s eyes almost bugged out of her head at the total displayed on the cash register. She’d never in her life seen a grocery bill of that size, but Aldon didn’t even flinch as he handed over his credit card. What did she expect? He was a prince.
And a generous one at that. Piper’s heart leaped at seeing Aldon spring into action for her town.
She and Willa helped him stuff his sports car.
“The trunk won’t shut,” Piper said, after several unsuccessful attempts.
“That’s no problem,” Aldon assured her. “We’re only driving a few blocks, and I doubt I’ll get a ticket.”
Piper laughed. “I guess if you did, you could probably get out of it, right?”
Aldon grinned at her. “I have a few connections.”
“I guess you do,” she said, playing along. “We can pull up to the back of the shelter. That’s where they take donations.”
Aldon followed her instructions, and together, with Willa’s help, they carried bag after bag of groceries into the shelter.
“I can’t thank you enough, Prince Aldon,” one of the shelter volunteers said. “This will feed all of our community members for the week.”
“Well, it’s only a temporary solution, but I promise to do more,” he said. “I had no idea how bad things were here in Thistledown. I’m going to do everything I can to help this town’s economy recover.”
Piper watched him speak with the volunteers and was moved by his sincere drive to help. He’d really stepped up today and done what he could to give their little town a much-needed boost.
Outside, the crowd was buzzing with the news of Aldon’s generous delivery. People scrambled to shake his hand and thank him.
“Please don’t thank me,” he said, taking one woman’s hand. “It’s the least I can do. I truly didn’t know things had gotten so out of hand. I’m sorry I didn’t get here sooner.”
An angry voice piped in from a few feet away.
“You should be sorry.”
The gruff words came from a mustached man with narrowed black eyes and a scar on his pale chin. “There you are living in the lap of luxury in your castle, drinking wine, while we have to boil our water just to use it. Why haven’t you done anything about the water quality issue here?”
A few supportive echoes came from the crowd, and Piper felt sweat gather on her forehead. Would there be a riot here? Would they attack Aldon? She tightened her grip on Willa’s hand and prepared to back away, but Aldon fearlessly approached the wild-eyed man.
“You’re absolutely right,” he said, and the crowd shushed. “I can see what a problem it is for the town, and I’m going to do something about it. I promise.”
Silence was followed by quiet chatter. Piper could sense a tone of approval within the group of homeless community members.
Aldon turned to face the crowd. “I can assure you all that I have every intention of making sure your needs are addressed. Thistledown Valley won’t be forgotten any longer.”
Again, Piper was astonished. Not only had he made the angry man feel heard and understood, but he’d been able to calm the crowd.
And, she thought, he seemed completely sincere.
Perhaps she’d been wrong to assume Aldon was no different from his family. His kindness with Willa and now this generosity and sincere concern for her town showed Piper a different side to the man.
As they left the homeless shelter, she felt drawn to Aldon for more than just his good looks. He had a good heart, and that was worth much more.
“Mommy.” Willa tugged on Piper’s arm. “Can we go to the park?”
Piper looked at Aldon.
“Is that okay with you?” she asked.
“Sure,” he said.
A few minutes later, they strolled through the lush greenery of Dandelion Park, named for the wide-open space that had once been overrun by weeds, including dandelions. It had taken days to treat and pull everything when she’d volunteered to take charge of them. She was sure some of her work clothing still bore the stains she’d gotten here while restoring this very park.
“The gardens here are lovely,” he said and pointed to a row of azalea bushes. “They remind me a bit of the ones at the castle.”
Piper felt herself blush. “That’s probably because I designed and planted the garden,” she admitted.
Aldon’ eyes lit up. “You are quite the artist, Piper.”
“Thank you.”
“I helped too!” Willa said then ran ahead of them, eventually breaking into a rhythmic skip down the pebbled path.
“Aldon,” Piper began, “I want to thank you for what you did at the shelter today. You were the hero this town desperately needed.”
Aldon waved away her compliment. “It was really no big deal.”
“It was a big deal to them,” she said then paused. “And to me.”
As Willa skipped ahead, Piper stopped in her tracks, causing Aldon to turn and face her. Entranced by his gorgeous eyes, she closed the space between them, stood on her tiptoes and planted her lips onto his.
In the space of that moment, the world went away, and Piper let herself be swept away by the prince’s kiss.