Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

“You don’t really believe any of that, do you?” Marissa asked as she inched toward the door to the gallery.

Danny wanted to reach out and stop her. He wanted to pull her into his arms and never let go. But she was clearly spooked, and he thought if he got any closer she might bolt. “Yes, I do.”

Marissa balled her hands into fists as irritation radiated off her. “I am not going to look ninety in twenty years if I don’t forgive you.”

That wasn’t what Sophie had implied, but Danny was smart enough to keep his thoughts to himself. “Not with medical advances.” He gave her a small smile and then felt his head and eyesight go fuzzy the way they always did when a vision was bearing down on him. Then the image of Marissa tripping over a large pot in his gallery flashed in his consciousness .

The vision was gone just as quickly as it arrived, but he always needed a moment to get reoriented.

“What did you see?” Marissa asked him.

“Be careful of the large pot to the right of the door when you go back into the gallery. If you knock it over, you’re going to end up falling and cutting your leg deep enough that you’ll need stitches.”

“That’s two visions in less than five minutes,” she said and then stared at him as if waiting for some sort of answer.

“Yes. It was like this toward the end when we were married. It’s why I sought out help.” Frustration was getting the better of him, and he had to keep his attitude in check so that he didn’t snap at her. The visions really took it out of him sometimes, especially when they were about her. All the memories would come roaring back, and then he was left with a deep-seated sadness.

Marissa’s shoulders sagged as she leaned against the wall. Her eyes were red, and it looked like she was holding back tears. “I wish you wouldn’t have kept any of that from me. But right now, I can’t spend more time with you. I need… I don’t know what I need. Time to process this, I guess.”

“I understand,” he said, knowing there was no other answer.

“Do you really?” she asked, peering at him as if she were trying to look into his soul.

“Of course I do.” This time he let his irritation show. She was acting like she was the only one who’d been hurt. If Sophie was right, Danny had just learned that he’d left his entire life behind, based on a lie. It was one hell of a pill to swallow.

She frowned. “Okay then. I should go.” Marissa hesitated a long moment before she turned and walked through the door leading to the gallery.

Danny sat on one of the stools and buried his throbbing head in his hands, digging his fingers into his scalp, trying to ease the ache.

Crash!

“Dammit!” Danny jumped up and burst through the door to find Marissa standing next to the pot he’d warned her about. It was in pieces on the floor, but one glance at her leg confirmed that she’d avoided getting cut.

“I’m so sorry,” she said, kneeling down to try to gather the broken ceramic pieces. “I remembered your vision at the last moment and grabbed the door handle to keep from falling. Unfortunately, I couldn’t save your pot.” She stopped gathering the broken pieces and reached into her bag, pulling out her wallet. “How much is it? I’ll pay for it.”

“No way,” Danny said, waving the idea away. “And don’t worry about cleaning it up. I don’t want you to cut yourself on the sharp edges. I’ll broom it up. It happens. I can always make another one. I’m just glad you’re okay.”

She sat back on her heels and looked up at him, her expression slightly defeated. “I’m sorry, Danny.”

He walked over to her, holding out a hand.

She took it and pulled herself up.

“There’s nothing to be sorry for.”

Marissa shook her head. “I should have listened to you. I was just overwhelmed and hurrying out when I should have been paying more attention after your vision.”

He squeezed her hand. “Like I said. It’s all right.”

They stood there like that, holding hands, not saying a word until a tall, leggy, raven-haired woman pulled the door open and froze when she saw the pottery shards on the floor. “Oh gosh. That’s not good.”

Marissa dropped Danny’s hand and stepped out of the way, leaving his fingers cold. “Just a small accident,” she mumbled.

Danny gave the woman a smile. He recognized her as Payton’s former boss. They’d met at Payton and Atlas’s wedding the year before. She owned the newest inn in town, The Enchanted, and had been in before to inquire about specialty mugs that included their logo. “Olivia, it’s nice to see you. Come on in and take a look around while I sweep that up.”

“I better go,” Marissa said. “I’ll… talk to you later.”

Danny nodded at her and tried to ignore the dull ache in his chest as she walked away from him.

“Rough day?” Olivia asked, her tone full of sympathy.

“You could say that,” he said but then pasted on a smile. “The joys of running a retail operation, right? Let me get that broom.”

“I’ve got it.” Olivia pointed at the broken mess but then dropped her hand and asked, “Where is your garbage bin?”

He walked behind the cashier counter and placed the small bin where she could see it.

“Perfect.” Olivia pointed at the broken mess, crooked her finger, and then turned and pointed to the bin. A wind picked up, swirling the mess into a spiral off the floor, and then every last piece of the broken pot shot right into the bin.

Danny walked over to where the mess had been and let out a low whistle. “That was impressive. If you didn’t have an inn to run, you could clean up in the housekeeping department.”

She let out a guffaw and shook her head. “That was a terrible pun.”

He chuckled. “Fair enough. Thank you. I appreciate your help.”

“Sure.” Olivia walked over to the wall of mugs and plucked a midnight blue one with a white rim off the shelf and said, “I’ve got an idea in mind. Do you think we can modify this a bit for the custom mugs we talked about?”

“Absolutely.” Danny made a conscious effort to brush off the events of the afternoon so that he could focus on Olivia as he got out a pen and paper. “Shoot.”

By the time they worked out what was possible that matched Olivia’s vision, Danny was feeling almost normal again. Delving into his creative energy had always helped to center him when he was going through something stressful. They agreed on a prototype, and when Danny walked her to the door, he said, “Thanks for the opportunity to work on this project with you. I’m really looking forward to it.”

“Thank you, Danny. I’m very excited. If they go over well with our guests, hopefully it will be lucrative for both of us.” She stepped out the door, waved, and said, “Merry Christmas!”

“Same to you.” He shut the door, glanced at the clock, turned the closed sign, and locked up. Everything inside of him wanted to head to Sleighed, to see Marissa, to spend time with her just as Sophie had said. But he knew if he pushed her she’d bolt. So instead, he went back into his studio and forced himself to sit at his pottery wheel.

But after ten minutes, he gathered up the ruined pot, formed the clay into a ball, and tossed it back onto his work bench. His mind was too busy racing. Working wasn’t going to be an option. Not tonight.

He locked up, stopped off at home to shower, feed Bells and give her some love, and then got back in his 4Runner and headed to the one place that he thought might give him some peace.

Half a dozen cars were parked in the lot in front of the Frost Family Tree Farm. Christmas music was playing from the speakers set up throughout the property, and a trio of kids were running around tossing snowballs at each other. The cheer instantly made the dark cloud hanging over Danny’s head dissipate. It was hard to be a Grinch when everyone was so full of Christmas spirit.

“Danny, hey man,” Zach said, spotting him when he walked through the gate into the clearing. He was behind a table that was set up with a hot chocolate station as well as Christmas cookies and various pies. “Are you here for a tree?”

After hesitating for just a moment, Danny nodded. He hadn’t come to the farm for that, but now that he was here, he thought it was just the thing he needed to cheer up his apartment for the season. “Nothing too big. There’s not a lot of space in my apartment, but it’d be nice to decorate for the holiday.”

“What about the gallery? We can deliver one there, too,” Zach said as he handed a woman a cup of hot chocolate.

“Sure. Why not?” Danny walked over to the table and grabbed a reindeer-shaped cookie. After he took a bite, he asked, “How much?”

“I don’t charge family.” Zach emerged from behind the table and wrapped an arm around Danny’s shoulders. “Now, tell me how your date with Sophie went. Will she be your date at the family Christmas gathering this year?”

Danny let out a bark of laughter. “Hardly. Do you know what she is?”

“ What she is?” Zach asked as he paused to look at his cousin. They were standing in front of a room of trees that couldn’t have been more than five feet tall. “I know who she is. One of Payton’s friends who is here for the season. As for what she is, are you implying she’s a fugitive or something?” he asked with a laugh.

“That certainly would be less complicated,” Danny deadpanned.

Zach frowned at him. “What’s going on, Danny?”

“Apparently Sophie is a sugar plum fairy and is here to help me and Marissa repair our relationship.” Danny waited a beat, and when Zach didn’t say anything, he added, “I told you a fugitive would be simpler.”

“A sugar plum fairy?” Zach asked, looking dubious. “ You mean like someone who is sent to earth to bring joy?”

“Sort of. I guess. I don’t know for sure if that’s exactly right,” Danny said, frowning. “She said it’s her job to make Christmas wishes come true and to right the wrongs of fallen fairies. She said her sister cursed me and Marissa and that’s why our marriage fell apart.”

“I thought your marriage fell apart because of your visions,” Zach said, looking concerned.

“Well, yeah, but that was part of the curse. Sophie says the only way to break the curse is to spend as much time as possible with Marissa, but she’s not interested. I’m just… I don’t know, man. It turns out that I was fed bad information back then, and it blew up my life. I’m not sure there’s any fixing it now.” He ran a hand through his hair, wanting to scream. Maybe coming here to see Zach had been the wrong idea. “I should go. I didn’t mean to dump any of this on you.”

When Danny started to walk away, his cousin grabbed his arm, stopping him. “Wait. Come with me.”

Danny didn’t ask questions. He just followed his cousin, ignoring the activity around him. He was tired of trying to process the events of the day. Soon enough, Zach led him into the outbuilding that served as his office.

Without a word, Zach reached into his desk and pulled out a bottle of whiskey and two shot glasses. After pouring them each a shot, he held one up and said, “Here’s to taking the first step into the rest of your life.”

Danny eyed the shot and then his cousin. “What if it doesn’t turn out the way I hope? ”

“There aren’t any guarantees in life, man. But imagine having the opportunity to undo a mistake you made years ago and not doing everything in your power to make it happen.”

“How do you know I think it was a mistake?” There wasn’t a lot in Danny’s life that he regretted, and until a few hours ago, he hadn’t regretted leaving Marissa. He’d desperately wished things could have been different, but he’d also never regretted keeping her safe.

“Dude, it’s obvious every time you look at her.” He held his shot glass up again.

Danny nodded once, touched his glass to Zach’s, and downed the amber liquid, vowing that one way or another, he’d do everything he could to break the curse that had kept them apart for far too many years.

“Good man. Now, let’s go get you those trees,” Zach said.

Danny nodded, but when they got outside, he asked, “Do you mind if I help out here for a while first? I think a little holiday cheer might be just what I need to clear my head.”

“Help?” Zach chuckled. “We can always use help. How about loading trees for the customers after they check out?”

“Perfect.” Danny followed his cousin out to the parking lot where a woman and her preteen son were trying to load a tree on top of their SUV. Danny walked up to them. “Do you mind if I help?”

The woman glanced at him, let out a sigh of relief, and said, “Thank the Christmas gods. My arms are killing me, and I haven’t even tied the first knot yet.”

Danny gave her a sympathetic smile. “Don’t worry. I’ll have this done in no time.” Since the tree was already on the roof, he showed her son how and where to tie the rope, and once it was secure, he tapped the roof, letting the woman know they were done.

She leaned out the window, holding out a tip. “Thank you for your trouble.”

“You don’t need to do that,” he said, trying to refuse the money. He really was there just trying to keep his mind off his own troubles.

“I insist,” she said. “If I’d had to do that myself, I’m sure it would have ended up swimming in the river the first time I took a corner. You’re a life saver.”

He took the cash, pocketed it, and wished her and her family a Merry Christmas. By the end of the night, he had a pocket full of cash that he stuffed into the tip jar near the hot chocolate station. He got one of the five foot trees and then went home to Bells, determined to find the Christmas spirit. He was going to need it if he was going to convince Marissa to believe in sugar plum fairies.

When he drifted off to sleep that night, all he saw in his mind was him and Marissa and a sable-colored dog in a porch swing, watching as snow drifted down on a nearby tree that was covered in twinkling lights.