MilagroTucked into the fiery pink mountains of Nueva Rosita, New Mexico, sat a cozy little bookstore named for the woman who hammered the first post into the dirt, giving birth to the small town that would be raided and renamed more times than she could count. Until she was erased from every sign except this one.
Milagro’s Books was a miracle, one that had been passed down from generation to generation. Once just a makeshift bookshelf in the back of Milagro’s closet full of leaflets and bound family histories, now a modern storefront serving coffee and conchas and carrying books from all around the world.
A humble monument to the kind of magic only books can summon. Or at least, that’s how the
New Rose Newspaper referred to the shop after Milagro’s great--great--granddaughter replaced its plumbing and dressed it in a dazzling mural to hide its cracks. She, her husband, and her daughters were Milagro’s caretakers now.
But what they hadn’t yet realized was that she was taking care of them too, the same way she had cared for every one of her grandchildren who had taken up Milagro’s mantle. The same way she took care of every person who crossed her threshold looking for answers. For a story to help them realize their own.
And Milagro’s great--great--
great--granddaughter Cat? Well, hers was only getting started. But she wasn’t the only one searching. Which is why she, her cousin Sofia, and their best friends, Mari and Ana, were currently picking the lock to Milagro’s side door and sneaking inside after hours. Because tomorrow was their first day of high school, and few beginnings are scarier than that.
Chapter 1CatCat had been picking locks since she was just a year old. Okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration. But the first time she broke into Milagro’s Books, she had barely learned to walk.
Her parents were scanning the exterior of the building, calculating how much it was going to cost to revitalize the place—-Milagro’s great--granddaughter Hilda was turning eighty that year and was no longer able to care for it—-and while they were loudly discussing (not arguing about) the possibility of becoming the owners of an ancient (and allegedly haunted) bookstore, Cat waddled around the side of the building via the wrap--around porch, slipped in through a cracked door, and disappeared from sight.
What none of them knew was that not only did the bookstore need a new (very expensive) roof, but a kitchen fire started by one of Hilda’s grandsons had irreparably damaged one of the load--baring walls, which meant that the entire thing could collapse at any moment.
What they also didn’t know was that that moment would come while their precious toddler was alone inside. Cat also had no clue of the danger she was in. Instead, she toddled from one bookshelf to the next, touching spine after spine, until she spotted the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. A copy of
Rainbow Weaver, the tapestry on the cover striped just like her father’s favorite bubble gum up against a cool blue mountain range, all centered around a girl with eyes almost as big and bright as her mother’s. It lay on the floor in the center of the store like a stray jewel spilled from a sunken treasure chest.
Cat fell to her butt and scooted her way across the floor until she reached the book. She couldn’t read the words, of course, but the words were only half the story. So she picked it up and opened it in her lap, her eyes widening over the multicolored yarn and intricate patterns. She was so enchanted that she didn’t hear her parents calling or the crack of the roof pitch. In fact, as the entire thing came down, she barely felt the whoosh of the debris as it hit the ground just a few feet away.
It wasn’t until her mother, Camila, scooped her up and out of the swirling dust that she finally registered what had happened. But her mother was trembling for another reason. Not just because her daughter had gotten lost or because the bookstore was now in ruins, but because she was standing in the only spot that hadn’t been touched, the destruction forming a perfect circle around them both.
Suddenly, Cat’s father, Gabino, noticed something fluttering down from the rafters.
“What is it?” Camila asked.
Gabino snatched it out of the air. His eyes widened. “An insurance policy.”
“What?” Camila stared over his shoulder at the piece of paper, tears welling up in her eyes. “I can’t believe this.”
Gabino hugged Cat and Camila close. “Do you think it’s still good?”
It turned out, the insurance policy was, in fact, still good. Which is why they were able to rebuild the bookstore into something even more magical than it was before and why Cat and her friends were currently sneaking inside, as they had been doing since the day they officially become a foursome.
That was the other thing about Cat. She loved traditions, rituals, and anything to do with ceremoniously marking the passage of time. Things that allowed her to press pause so she could savor the good moments and better brace herself for the hard ones. Like staying up late to linger over the last few pages of a love story that made her feel like she was flying. Like hiding under the covers with that same book while her parents yelled at each other in the next room.
Her favorite tradition was the top--secret meeting of theChismosas Only Book Club. They started it on the summer solstice after Sofia read
How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe, and she loved it so much that she had to annotate every page. Then she passed it on to Cat, who also put her favorite highlighters to good use before passing it on to Mari, who couldn’t help but doodle every kiss and swoon--worthy quote in the margins before passing it on to Ana, who sobbed so hard at the ending that the entire thing was drenched in her snot by the time they finally met up at Milagro’s to discuss.
They sat in the alcove right next to the pastry display case, acting out their favorite scenes, repeating their favorite lines, hearts racing as if they were reliving it all again. Until Cat’s mother finally kicked them out for being too loud.
She shooed them out with the rag she used to wipe down the counters. “You chismosas are scaring away my customers!”
That summer night, Cat sent a text that would change everything.
Copyright © 2026 by Laekan Zea Kemp. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
