The only Daniels she remembered was a single woman with a young child. She recently started attending the church where Amber’s uncle pastored. Her aunt had told her about the woman, presumably since they were close in age, but she didn’t remember her from high school. The only other person she knew with that name was someone she didn’t care to remember. Thankfully, he’d left town after graduation and hadn’t been back since, to her knowledge. She prayed it wasn’t him.
“Are you okay?” Natalie tilted her head and touched Amber’s arm.
“Yes, sorry. I was trying to place Mr. Daniels, but . . .” She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. I understand your dilemma. I don’t want your grade to suffer, so I guess you’re excused from the recital.” Her stomach knotted. How many other girls would have a conflict thanks to this teacher? Amber had put a non-refundable deposit down on the auditorium.
“Thanks. I’m really sorry. I wanted to do the solo. I love the waltz you choreographed for me.”
“Thank you, sweetie.” She motioned toward the glass door. “Your friends are waiting.”
With a wave, Natalie darted out the door to meet her friends.
“Great. Now what do I do?” She groaned. Natalie was her prize student. She’d hoped the teen would inspire the younger girls. She shouldered her bag and stepped outside the street-level studio then locked up. If she didn’t get several more students soon, she would have to close her studio. Maybe moving in with her aunt and uncle like Aunt Merry suggested was a good idea after all. She’d save on rent and be able to apply that money to her business.
She had saved up for years to be able to open her own school of dance. After five months of operation, she’d expected to be turning a profit. She’d been optimistic when several girls from the summer theater had signed up for classes. So optimistic in fact, she hadn’t been as careful with her savings as she should have been. Maybe she should create some new fliers and hang them in businesses around town. She strolled along Second Street.
She’d been walking aimlessly and suddenly realized she’d made her way over to Main Street and now stood in front of Java World. Gabby, the owner of the coffee hangout, seemed to know everything about everyone. Maybe she’d have information about this teacher and if she had a chance of changing his mind. At the very least, she’d probably be willing to hang a flier in the window once she made some.
Amber pulled open the glass door and stepped into the cozy shop. The scent of fresh coffee and cinnamon rolls greeted her.
“Good afternoon, Amber,” Gabby said. “Long time no see.” The thirty-something brunette beamed a smile that reached her brown eyes.
Amber offered a grin she hoped hid the fact expensive coffee didn’t often fit into her budget, but she liked to treat herself every now and then. “Hi there. Could I get a small coffee?”
“Sure thing.” She turned and pumped coffee into a paper cup. “I don’t think I’ve seen you in here since this past summer when you came in after rehearsals for the musical. How’ve you been?”
“Not bad. How about you?”
“Business has been steady. You look a little down. Is there anything I can do to help?”
Amber widened her eyes. How was it that Gabby could read people so well? “To be honest, I’m disappointed and frustrated.”
Gabby handed her the coffee. “I’m sorry to hear that. I was going to take a break. Let me grab my tea, and we can talk. Venting my frustrations usually makes me feel better.”
She didn’t know Gabby all that well so the offer surprised her, but the woman had a reputation for being friendly. “Sure. Talking about it might help.” She took her coffee to a corner as far away from everyone else as she could. Not because she was anti-social, but she didn’t want anyone to hear her complaining.
Gabby sat across from her with an expectant look on her face.
“One of my best students just told me she can’t be in the Christmas recital because her choir teacher won’t let her out of rehearsal for the school’s winter program.” She blinked back tears, surprised at her emotions. “I’m sorry. I know we’re talking about a dance recital, but this is so important to me. I put a lot of time and effort into choreographing a dance to feature her strengths.” No way would she admit her financial difficulties to Gabby.
Gabby sucked in a breath. “That’s too bad. I can understand why you’re disappointed. If I could dance, I’d offer to step in, but I have two left feet.” She made a sad face. “Can’t you work extra with one of the other girls and get her up to the same level?”
Amber shrugged. “I could try, but there’s not that much time.”
Her face lit. “Sure there is. It’s only the end of October. Christmas is two months away.”
“True, but the recital is the second weekend in December.”
“From what I hear, you’re an excellent instructor. I’m sure you could teach that dance to another student.” Her eyes gleamed. “Or better yet, you could do it yourself. Your students would love it.”
Amber bit her bottom lip and tilted her head to the side. “I don’t know. The recital is supposed to showcase the students, not me.”
“But you’re their teacher.”
“I’ll think about it.” The idea sent her pulse into overdrive. She hadn’t performed in a while. Her focus had been on choreography and teaching. She loved to dance, but she’d need to practice a lot to feel comfortable performing again.
The door to the shop opened, and a familiar-looking man entered. She couldn’t place him. Wait, that looked a lot like TJ from high school. What was he doing here? Tension knotted her stomach.
Gabby must have noticed her attention had shifted, because she turned and looked at the man, too. “Oh, that’s Brett. He started coming in here last month. I think he’s new to town.”
“Brett? I thought he was someone else. He could be this other guy’s twin.” Relief washed over her. TJ was not her favorite person, and she’d been happy when he’d left town. “He’s cute.” She’d thought the same of TJ once upon a time.
Gabby chuckled. “I suppose he is, but he’s much too young for me.”
“How old are you?” Amber pursed her lips after the words popped out. She really needed a stronger filter.
Surprise lit Gabby’s eyes. “Let’s just say I graduated about ten years before you.”
“No way. You look much younger than thirty-seven.”
“Thanks.” She stood. “Break’s over, so I need to get back to work. Don’t forget what I said. There’s no reason you can’t do that dance yourself.”
“I won’t forget.” Funny that Gabby was so strict about her break time since she owned the place. Then again, she probably wanted to hold herself to the same standard as her employees.
Amber studied Brett from behind. He’d been in town over a month, and her not seeing him before now was crazy. Then again, Oak Knoll had grown by several hundred people this past year due to the cost of housing in the surrounding areas. Thankfully, her hometown had managed to escape the housing crisis so many others faced. But if too many more people moved here, it would become a problem.
Brett walked to the other end of the counter and picked up his order. Was he a coffee or tea drinker? He suddenly turned and looked directly at her.
She gasped and looked down. Her face heated. He’d caught her staring. She pulled out her phone and pretended to text someone.
“Excuse me.”
She looked up—Brett. “Hi.”
“The owner said I should come over and say hi.”
Amber shot a look toward Gabby. “Really? I wonder why.”
A confused expression settled on his handsome face, and he glanced over his shoulder at Gabby. “So you don’t need to talk to me?”
She shook her head. “But as long as you’re here, you’re welcome to join me. Unless you’re waiting for someone?” She’d never been shy, but Gabby’s boldness took things to a new level, to her way of thinking.
“I’m not.” He hesitated. “You’re the
spitting image of someone I went to high school with. I almost feel I know you.”
“I had the same thought when you walked in.”
He pulled out the chair Gabby had vacated and sat. Brett was cuter up close than he had been at a distance. He had a boy-next-door look about him with his dark hair swept to the side of his forehead. “I grew up here, but it’s been several years since I’ve been around. Maybe that’s why we seem familiar to each other.”
She stilled. “You grew up here?”
He nodded then went on to tell her the year he graduated and about his family without giving her a chance to respond. “My dad was really into sports, so I played football and baseball.”
He’d graduated a year ahead of her, and he was a jock. Unease settled in her stomach. “Did you happen to go by the name TJ in high school?”
His face lit. “Yes! T for Tom and J for Junior. I don’t care for my first name, and I didn’t want to go by TJ as an adult. I go by my middle name now. So you remember me? I wish I could place you. How did we know each other?”
Her pulse galloped out of control. TJ Daniels. She took a calming breath, forcing herself to behave like an adult and not a hurt teenage girl. “We didn’t. You were a year ahead of me.” And she’d had a huge crush on him until she’d overheard him making fun of her to one of the other guys on the baseball team. “I was a dancer—a bunhead. You might remember me better if my hair was pulled into a bun.”
His smile faded. “I remember. You were a ballet dancer.”
“Still am. I own Pointe Dance Studio on Second Street.” Did he remember mocking her after the talent show? Wait a minute. She narrowed her eyes. “Weren’t you in choir in high school?”
He nodded, still looking uncomfortable. “Yes. I’m the choir teacher at the high school and the middle school now.”
She sucked in a sharp breath. This day kept getting worse. She sat up taller. “So you’re the person I need to talk to about getting my student excused from rehearsal to perform in my Christmas recital.”
He frowned. “You’re Natalie’s dance teacher?”
“I am. She’s incredibly talented and—”
He raised a hand. “I’m sorry, but I can’t make an exception for one student. Then everyone will expect the same.”
Telling him he was as big a jerk now as he was in high school sat on the tip of her tongue, but “I see” came out instead. Maybe her filter was working better after all. She stood.
“You look angry.” His brow furrowed. “It’s nothing personal. I have rules in my class, and I have to enforce them. If I didn’t, my students wouldn’t respect me, and we wouldn’t be on track to win a few competitions this year.”
She took a calming breath. Her entire body shook. She clenched the seatback. “Congratulations.” She raised her chin and marched toward the exit.
A chair scraped against the floor. “Hey, wait.”
She stopped and nearly got trampled by him.
He took a step back. “Sorry. I didn’t expect you to stop.”
“You said to wait.” She glared and didn’t even care. She tried hard to be nice to everyone, but TJ, or rather Brett, didn’t count.
He chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck.
“What do you want?”
“Uh, nothing I guess. Maybe I’ll see you around.”
“I hope not,” She muttered under her breath, nodded, and forced herself to walk, and not rush, the rest of the way to the door. What would she do now? Why did the choir teacher have to be Brett Daniels, of all people? She might have stood a chance with someone else, but not him.
An Encore for Estelle (Melodies of Love Book 2) Page 16