Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

What in the world had Danny Frost gotten himself into? First, he’d gone on the ill-advised date with Sophie. Sure, she was beautiful and had a mystical allure that seemed to just draw people to her, but Danny mostly just found her exhausting. For the two hours they were on the horseless carriage ride, she kept asking him about his inner deepest thoughts and then pivoted to game show questions like, ‘if you could take your first date anywhere, where would it be?’

It seemed like she’d read a how-to book on dating and was checking off some sort of list. He couldn’t have been less interested in her if she were the last single female in the entire state.

What had interested him though, was breakfast. If he’d known that Marissa was going to be there, he’d have definitely pushed for a different place. He probably should have just steered clear altogether since he knew the establishment meant a lot to her, but there were only a few choices in town for breakfast, and he hadn’t wanted to take his date to a coffee shop. It was just his dumb luck that he’d chosen the day that she was there.

This was his cousins’ fault. If they hadn’t pushed him into the date with Sophie, he wouldn’t have been there at all. But he’d been backed into a corner, and if he hadn’t asked Sophie out, he’d have looked like a grade-A jackass. Maybe he would anyway when he told her he wasn’t interested, but it had to be done sooner rather than later.

Danny just wasn’t into Sophie at all. He’d known that last night before the public pressure campaign, but he’d agreed to take her out and had tried to keep an open mind. By the time she exclaimed that Christmas Grove was the perfect place to raise kids, he’d been completely done.

He was so over it he’d even considered canceling the pottery class that afternoon just to make sure he didn’t have to see Sophie again. But Marissa had said she was coming, and he just couldn’t bring himself to cancel and miss out on whatever that fiasco would bring.

Maybe he was a little bit evil, but Marissa’s jealous display that morning had amused him. It had also sparked a light of hope deep in his consciousness that maybe, just maybe she didn’t hate him and all her animosity was because she still hadn’t let go of him. Not completely. And that possibility made his heart beat just a little bit faster.

He’d tried to tell himself that it didn’t matter. That they’d broken up for a very good reason and picking up where they left off was impossible. But still… He couldn’t qu iet the voice in his head that told him she was his person. That she always had been and always would be despite whether they were together or not.

He got each of the pottery wheel stations ready to go with the supplies they’d need and then went into the gallery to wait for his students.

Kathy and Jill, a mom and her teenage daughter who’d been to his group class before were the first to show up. “Danny!” Jill, the teenager, cried as she ran over and threw her arms around him. “I just know I’m going to get the perfect mug today. And once it’s fired, I can give it to my dad for Christmas.”

He pulled away and smiled down at her. “Then let’s make sure you end up with a great one today, okay? Don’t be afraid to ask for help if you need it.”

She frowned. “I hope I don’t need help. I want to make it all by myself.”

“That’s fine, too, but if you need advice on technique, I’m here, okay?” On any other day, this was maybe his most favorite part of his job. He really liked sharing the joy of his craft with other people. And when they went away feeling joyful and triumphant, it soothed that place in his soul, telling him that he was making a difference. Maybe it was a small one in the grand scheme of things, but it was very important to him to bring that energy into the world.

“Go on into the back and pick your stations. I’ll be in as soon as the rest of the students get here,” Danny told the pair .

Kathy mouthed thanks and then the two of them went into the studio.

The door swung open, and Marissa walked in. She was wearing ripped blue jeans and a faded old sweatshirt that he was certain she’d had since high school. “Does your sweatshirt say Cougars on it?” Danny asked, staring intently at the faded lettering.

“Up here, buddy,” she said, waving a hand at him and then pointing to her eyes.

“What?” He blinked and then realized the faded letters were right across her bustline. He felt his cheeks heat and stuttered when he said, “S-sorry. That’s not—never mind. I was just trying to read the words on your sweatshirt.”

She smirked. “I know. I was just messing with you. Yes, it says Cougars . It’s from high school. I’d say it’s vintage, but it’s so faded now I think it’s just old. I usually wear it when I’m working in my yard, so I put it on for our annual decorating party. By the time we were done trimming my house and the one that Clara and Felicity share, I was nearly late, so I just wore it. I figured you’d appreciate the school spirit.”

Appreciate? No. All it did was make him remember her wearing it all those years ago. And how he’d dreamed of taking it off her right up until the day he’d finally gotten his wish. He clamped down on that memory hard. Now was not the time to be reminiscing about that.

“Right,” he said, running a hand through his short hair. “We’re just waiting for?—”

“You haven’t started without me, have you?” Sophie glided into the gallery, wearing white flowing pants and a matching shirt. To top off her highly inappropriate outfit, she’d worn white high heels.

“What are you wearing?” Marissa blurted. “You do realize this is a pottery class, right? We will literally be playing with clay.”

Sophie glanced down at herself. “What’s wrong with this? I thought I was supposed to wear something comfortable that I didn’t mind if it got dirty.”

“You were,” Danny said. “I meant like jeans and a T-shirt. Or a button-down shirt you’d only wear while painting your house. Not… this.” He wasn’t even sure what to call her ensemble. It looked like something he’d seen in a movie where two women wore linen pants and tunics to stay cool on a hot southern day while sipping sweet tea and repeating town gossip.

“This is fine. It’s old and I never wear it. Now, where do we start?” Sophie asked.

Danny shook his head. He guessed he wasn’t too surprised. So far everything that Sophie had worn had that rich bohemian vibe. It seemed insane to him that she wanted to take the chance of getting mud splattered all over her, but it was her decision.

“Come on.” Danny waved for the two women to join him in the pottery studio.

He waved at the pottery wheels that were lined up and said, “Grab an apron and then pick a seat. Doesn’t matter which one.”

“Where are you sitting?” Sophie asked Danny as her heels echoed off the cement floor.

“At the end to demonstrate and then I’ll be walking around, answering questions and helping wherever I’m needed.”

He watched as Marissa took the wheel closest to where he’d be demonstrating.

But when Sophie spotted her already getting comfortable on the short stool, she walked over and loomed over Marissa. “Would you mind moving? I have trouble hearing instructions, and I do better when I sit in the front of the class.”

“This isn’t a classroom,” Marissa said, making no effort to move.

“Yes it is.” Sophie pointed to the stool next to them. “That’s a perfectly good space. I don’t see why you can’t just move down one.”

“Maybe because I—” Marissa started in a sharp tone and then abruptly stopped when she saw Kathy and Jill starting at them. Then without a word, she moved over one space.

If Danny had been on the fence about dating Sophie, that horrific display of self-entitlement would have told him everything he needed to know. “Okay, there’s just the five of us today. Me, two newbies, and two repeat offenders.”

Kathy and Jill chuckled softly.

“Thank you! Finally, someone appreciates my humor.” He saluted Jill, making her beam.

“I’m sorry, Danny,” Sophie said in a sickeningly sweet voice. “I know you’re trying to hype us up, but I don’t need all that. I have a schedule to keep today, and if we don’t get moving, I’m going to be late. ”

“Late? For what?” Danny asked.

“Her Wicked Witch of the West meeting,” Marissa muttered.

“Wicked Witch?” Sophie let out a soft chuckle. “That’s a new one. Usually it’s more along the lines of Tink.”

Marissa grimaced but didn’t offer an apology. While the woman seemed magical earlier while they’d been having breakfast, now she just seemed like an entitled tourist, and Marissa prayed that Danny saw through her strange facade.

“Let’s just get started, shall we?” Danny sat on the stool at the end of the two rows and started talking about the properties of clay, why water was used in throwing, and how to center the clay in the middle of the wheel. He gave a demonstration, making it look very easy, and then he moved on to showing us how to throw a pot. When he was done, he leaned back and said, “Okay, your turn. Make me a pot using the techniques I just showed you.”

Everyone got to work. Jill and Kathy dove right in, and Danny was not surprised when Jill had made the mug she’d wanted perfectly.

“You’re a natural,” Danny said, giving her a high five. Then he moved on to Sophie, who somehow had a bunch of clay handprints on her apron but had managed to keep every inch of her white outfit completely clean. Maybe Marissa was right and she was some kind of witch.

“Am I doing this right?” Marissa asked him as she tried to raise the walls of her pot.

“Almost,” Danny said as he stood behind her and eyed her technique. “You need to push harder with your fingers on the inside and just guide it with the fingers on the outside of the wall.”

Marissa tried to emulate what he’d said, but the pot was just getting wider and wider, instead of taller. “I’m clearly not understanding something.”

Danny glanced over at Sophie. Her pot looked perfect. It was pretty enough to rival even Danny’s best.

“She’s a ringer,” Marissa said. “I don’t think she really needed lessons.”

Danny agreed. It wasn’t normal for someone to pick up this craft right out of the gate. He turned his attention back to Marissa. Her pot was quickly becoming a lost cause. “Do you mind if I sit behind you and guide your hands with my hands?” he asked her.

Marissa startled for a second and then quickly nodded. “Yes, please.”

“You got it.” Danny was nervous as he pulled his chair over and positioned it behind her. The anticipation of having her in his arms made his hands shake, so instead of putting them right on her hands to steady her project, he ran his hands down her arms first.

That was a mistake. A huge one.

Because suddenly he didn’t care about pottery, his store, this class. He just wanted her in his arms and the rest of the world be damned.

“Danny?” Sophie said as she concentrated on her piece. “I think you’re going to be impressed by this.”

“I’m in the middle of something,” he shot back, unwilling to interrupt this moment for anything in the world .

He slipped his fingers over Marissa’s and for a brief moment, they held them there, intertwining their fingers. His eyes were closed, and he was taking in every single second of touching the woman he’d ached for far too long.

“Son of a?—”

Slap!

Danny sat stunned as he watched the wet clay drip off Marissa’s nose. The wet clay that had come from Sophie’s wheel. “Oh, oops!,” Sophie said and then let out a laugh as if she hadn’t almost taken Marissa’s eye out.

“Are you okay?” he asked Marissa. She wasn’t screaming and threatening to sue anyone, so that was a good sign.

“I’m fine,” she said and got up to rinse the clay off her face. The moment she sat back down, Sophie reached over and grabbed her arm. “Look, I did it!”

The pot was very good for a first try. Hell, it would stand up to any of his instructor’s work. He narrowed his eyes at Sophie. “This isn’t the first time you’ve done pottery.”

“It’s not?” Sophie asked, putting on an air of innocence.

Danny just shook his head and walked away. He wanted nothing to do with someone who was that experienced but still managed to hit Marissa in the face with a very wet piece of clay.

Marissa was staring at Sophie, and then as if a black force of evil had walked right into the studio and possessed her, Marissa stood up and smeared her completely covered-in-mud hands right down the back of Sophie’s pristine white shirt .

Danny was rendered speechless, but not for long when Sophie threw her hands up in a V.

“Finally! Victory at last.” Sophie grinned at Jill and Kathy. “Do you mind giving us some privacy? There are things I need to discuss with Danny and Marissa.”

“I think that’s for the best,” Kathy said, tugging her daughter along after her. “Danny,” she said on the way out, “I think we’ll be doing private lessons from now on.”

“Sure, Kathy. I’m sorry about that. I had no idea any of this would happen.”

“I should hope not,” Kathy said with a sniff of impatience. “It’s just not fun when other people are desperate for your attention.”

Danny walked her and Jill through the store and then returned to the studio to find Marissa with her arms crossed over her chest, demanding to know why Sophie felt it was necessary to ruin everyone’s experiences.

“Not everyone’s,” she said, lifting her head as if she were proud of herself. “Yours specifically.” Her voice was full of glee.

“Mine! Why? What did I ever do to you?” Marissa demanded.

“Nothing. But that’s not relevant. What you should be asking is why I’m here.”

Danny stepped in between them and said, “Fine. I’ll bite. Why are you here?”

Sophie sobered immediately. “To right a wrong that was committed sixteen years ago.”

“Sixteen years ago?” Marissa and Danny cried at the same time .

She smiled. “Yes. Sixteen. Marissa, Danny, it’s your lucky day.”

“How’s that?” Danny asked.

“Because,” she said, looking almost gleeful, “I’m going to give you the tools to break that curse that’s been hanging over your heads.”

“Curse? What curse?” Marissa asked.

“The one that scared your husband away all those years ago. I’m here to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Danny stared at her as if she were an alien. His arms were crossed over his chest, and he wanted to throw her out. But he couldn’t, not when she was saying things about a curse. A curse he hadn’t known about and was skeptical it actually existed. “If you’re here to help, then what was the date about? And the childish clay fight? If you had something to say, you should have just said it.”

“I needed to see if the passion was still there,” Sophie said and then mimed polishing her nails on her lapel. “It is. In spades. The two of you will be naked together by nightfall.”

Danny took a long look at Marissa and said, “Gods, I hope so.”