AllFreeNovel
Share Us
CHAPTER1
Daffy
Smiling, I wander through all the people sitting around my open space art studio. Everyone is in different phases of working on their projects. Some people are working at the wheel and spinning their clay into different forms. Some are pulling their dried greenware off the shelves where they were drying. Then there’s trimming the greenware carefully since it’s very fragile at this stage.
Others are painting them and adding finishing touches. Still others are covering them with glaze and readying them for this last stage of the process. The fired pieces are sitting in a separate room cooling.
Most of my customers are smiling and laughing but my eye is drawn to a young girl, maybe seventeen, who’s sitting off by herself with a teenage boy next to her. They’re locked in an intense conversation that makes me wonder what the hell is so scary in my little studio. It’s bright and cheerful and I do my best to keep things light and fun. They don’t seem like they’re having fun though. The girl’s eyes are bright with tears and I draw in a shaky breath, forcing myself not to walk over there and interrupt them. Find out what’s so awful on such a beautiful spring day.
My eyes are drawn to the long, high windows that look out on the mountains behind my shop. Bright sunlight lights the mountaintop up with golden fire and I can see that the snow is mostly melted on it. We’ve had a week of warmer than usual spring temperatures with clear blue skies and sunny weather.
The bell on my shop door dings loudly and the door slams into the wall. The room collectively turns and gasps, all eyes on the bearded behemoth currently taking up my entire doorway.
My eyes widen. That’s a lot of man! His dark hair is ruffled and unkempt like he hasn’t been to a barber recently and he runs his fingers through his shaggy locks, tugging at them while his steel grey eyes blaze around the room until they land on the young girl in the corner who’s attempting to shrink into the woodwork.
“Heather!” He roars, his big body shaking with anger. “What the hell are you doing here with him?”
My heart sinks when I see the two teenagers jump apart like they’ve been electrocuted. The boy pales, his lanky body tensing as the giant stalks over to the two of them.
“I told you to stay away from my sister,” he growls. He leans into the table and his big hands curl around the edges like he’s about to start throwing shit around the place.
Every eye is on the little drama unfolding and I know I need to take control of this lunacy right now. This is my shop and I’m not having some neanderthal scare the hell out of everyone in here. Especially a couple of kids.
“Hello,” I say brightly. “Can I help you with something?”
He doesn’t even turn an eye my way. His hard gaze stays locked on the kids. The girl moves closer to the boy and I see the giant’s aquiline nose flare like a bull about to charge someone.
“Oh…hell no,” I grumble under my breath and then try my best to get between him and the kids. To do that, I have to push my way past the kids on the one side of the table and then whisper at them to get behind me.
I turn my eyes back to the angry giant and my brain fizzles to a halt immediately. Shit! He’s damn gorgeous. His dark hair is rumpled and silky. His eyes are a deep silvery grey and they narrow on me as I block his view of the kids. My eyes drift down to his full lips when he opens them and grunts like a damn animal.
“Ummm. Yes. Hello. This is my place and I’m not sure what you’re doing here but I’m running multiple classes right now and you’re kind of interrupting them.”
He shrugs like it’s no big deal and my temper starts to spark. “I don’t think you get it. You need to leave. This is my place and you’re insulting my customers.”
He points a big hand behind me. “That ‘customer’ hiding behind you is my sister. And she’s not supposed to be with that no-good piece of trash right next to her. If he’s your normal customer then you’ve got a big problem with rats.”
My mouth falls open and I struggle to keep my temper and my head in check when his burning gaze shifts down to my body. Those huge hands curl into the wood of the table again and he growls. Fucking growls! Who does that?
A caveman that’s who. A sexy, chest-thumping, honest-to-god neanderthal type wrapped in green checked flannel and blue jeans so worn that they cup and outline every damn line of his huge body.
“I-I…”. I straighten my shoulders and lock my jaw.Get it together, I say to myself. This guy has me so messed up it’s not funny.
“I can’t have you talking about my customers like that. And you’re interrupting the class. You’ve got to leave.”
He grunts and leans back from the table, crossing his big, bulging arms over a wide chest that I’m surprised he’s not pounding on right now.
“I’m not going anywhere without my little sister. She’s not eighteen yet.”
“Why don’t you ask her parents to come talk to me. I’m sure we can talk all of this out. She’s not hurting anyone in the middle of my shop.”
His lips flatten and he glares at me like I just said a mouthful of dirty words.
“She’s my responsibility. I’m her guardian. Our parents are dead.”
My heart sinks straight into my belly and I tense, running my suddenly sweaty hands down my jean legs. “I’m so sorry to hear that. But she’s really not hurting anyone. They’re just working on some new pottery projects.”
“Which she can do at my house.” His eyes shift behind me. “Come on, sis. It’s time to come home. And we’re gonna talk about you coming here to meet him.” His burning gaze shifts to me again. “Which I know is what you were doing in this…” His gaze shifts around the room, his lips curling. “Place.”
