Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Danny stared at the phone, unable to shake the uneasy feeling in his gut. He’d been throwing mugs on the wheel when the vision of a car hitting Marissa and Clara had hit him with an intensity he hadn’t felt since he and Marissa had still been together.

He’d been lucky that her number was still the same. If she hadn’t picked up… He shuddered thinking about the consequences. The last time he’d been this shaken, he’d thought the only way to keep Marissa safe was to run away. But Sophie had said that in order to break the curse, they needed to spend time together and learn to trust each other.

He wondered what he would have done back then if he’d known he’d been cursed. He definitely would have tried harder before he’d bolted.

Now that they were in the same town again, it was clear that their proximity had re-triggered the curse. He could either run away again or find a way to repair their relationship. This time he wasn’t running. He had a successful business, and he’d reconnected with his cousins, giving him the family he craved after his grandmother passed. Plus, if there was any chance to have Marissa back in his life, he was going to take it.

She’d been his best friend before he’d fallen in love with her. After he left her, his life hadn’t ever been the same again.

He rubbed at a spot over his heart. The dull ache almost never went away, only now it appeared to be intensifying. It was like a scab had been ripped off and he now had an open wound.

In his mind, there was only one thing to do. They needed to spend time together. But what was he going to do? Just show up at her house? He didn’t even know where she lived. Though he supposed that wouldn’t be hard to figure out. It wasn’t as if Christmas Grove was that big a town.

He sat at his wheel, finished the mug he’d been making when the vision hit, and then went about the business of cleaning up his shop for the night. Just when he was ready to turn out the lights, there was a soft knock on the back door.

Frowning, he opened the door and then raised his eyebrows in surprise when he found Marissa standing there in her grass-stained leggings and an oversized T-shirt. He studied her carefully, suddenly worried that she’d been hurt dodging the car that had almost hit her. “Marissa, is everything all right? ”

She nodded and swept into the studio.

He closed the door and turned to watch her.

Marissa wrung her hands as she glanced around, clearly nervous. “I, um, want to thank you for the help today. The phone call, I mean.”

“You don’t need to thank me for anything. All I did was make a phone call,” he said, unsure why his nerves were buzzing. He’d been terrified when the vision had hit him, but by the time he got off the phone with Clara, he’d known Marissa was all right. And while the whole curse thing was unsettling, he had managed to calm down while finishing his last mug. But seeing her there, looking vulnerable, made him want to scoop her up in his arms and keep her safe forever.

“Yes I do,” she said, meeting his eyes. Her expression was full of nervous energy. “I owe you an apology, too. This afternoon, I didn’t take the news well and…”

There was silence as Danny waited for her to finish her thought. When she didn’t, he said, “And?”

Marissa blew out a breath and he knew that she was finally going to finish her thought. “I think we need to take Sophie’s advice to heart.”

“Okay.” What did that mean exactly? “Are you saying you want to spend more time together?”

Her lips curved down as she grimaced, but she nodded. “Clara is worried about me.”

“So am I,” he said honestly.

“She’s afraid that you’ll have a vision and not be able to get in touch with me. ”

“I’ve had that same thought,” Danny admitted. “But what do we do about that?”

She hesitated and then suddenly blurted, “We have to break the curse.”

He’d thought that was fairly obvious. “The only way to do that is?—”

“We need to move in together.”

Her words hung between them in the deafening silence. Had Danny heard her right? Had she really just suggested that they move in together after being apart for sixteen years? Although it was exactly what he wanted, he also couldn’t ignore the unease that had formed in his gut.

“I mean, we should share a house. Get to know each other again. Just long enough to break the curse and then we can get on with our lives. Sophie said we needed to spend time together. Figure out how to trust one another again, right? Well, let’s do that. Pumpkin almost became an orphan today, and I’m nowhere near ready to give up my place on this earth. So, what do you say?”

“Pumpkin?” he asked, the name triggering something in his memory that he couldn’t quite place.

“My dog. I was walking her when that car came right for us.”

The image of a sable-colored dog flashed in his mind, and suddenly he remembered the dream he’d had with the two of them sitting on their porch. The dog’s name had been Pumpkin. A lump formed in his throat as he wondered if that had been some sort of premonition. It couldn’t be, could it? He’d never had a vision in a dream before. But the name had been right .

Maybe he’d just overheard someone talking about her dog Pumpkin and had incorporated her into his dream. It was possible that Jackson had said something about her.

“Danny?” Marissa asked, breaking into his thoughts.

He swallowed the lump and cleared his throat. “I live in a one-bedroom apartment. So I’m afraid my place would be a tight squeeze.”

She let out a sigh of relief. “That’s okay. I have a two bedroom. We could just be roommates while we get to know each other again.”

“I also have a cat. Bells. She’s just one year old, so really still a kitten. She’d have to come with me,” he said. Bells was a dealbreaker. He was already concerned that he left her alone too much while he was working.

Marissa smiled softly. “You have a cat? You always wanted one.”

He nodded. They’d talked about getting a kitten right after they were married, but both of them had school and work, and neither were home often. They’d decided it wasn’t fair to bring in a pet when they rarely had time for each other, let alone a pet that was dependent on them for everything. “She sort of just popped into my life last year and instantly stole my heart.”

“That’s sweet. Bells is welcome. Pumpkin likes other animals, so as long as Bells isn’t afraid of her, I’m sure they’ll get along fine.”

Danny stared at her, more than a little stunned at this turn of events. But then he nodded. “Okay. Are you sure, though?”

Her eyes hardened with determination as she said, “I’m sure. I don’t want to be crushed by falling things or run down on the sidewalk all because of some crazy fairy who cursed us years before. It’s time to fix this so that we can all just move on with our lives. If the fastest way to do that is to spend time together and heal what’s transpired between us, then I think that’s what we should do. We’re not kids anymore, Danny. It’s time to be grownups and put this all behind us.”

He certainly agreed with her about fixing the situation, but Danny felt sure that when it came to Marissa, he was never going to be able to move on. But still he nodded and said, “I’ll need to go home, pack some clothes, and get Bells. Do you want me to pick up dinner on the way back to your place?”

She shook her head. “No. I’ve already got something laid out for dinner. I’ll make enough for both of us.” She reached into her bag and pulled out a key. “This is for you. I’ll text you the address.”

“Thanks,” he said as relief rushed through him. The feeling was quickly followed by a trickle of anxiety. What if Sophie’s solution didn’t work? Would their arrangement only make things worse? He quickly shook his head. There was no point in inviting trouble.

“Okay. I’ll see you later tonight then,” Marissa said and walked out.

Danny watched her go and then finished locking up. As he started his 4Runner, a hint of a smile claimed his lips. For the first time in sixteen years, he was going home to the only woman he’d ever loved.