Forgotten First Kiss

Chapter 6

Tennille didn’t show her face that afternoon. I directed the classes, which included a run-through of the fall showcase. Of course, I had to defer to the teaching assistant who knew the choreography, but I kept the music running and gave the kids directions for how to enter and exit the stage. They all seemed excited for next weekend’s show.

“Miss Danica!” A few kids ran up to me. One of them squatted down on the floor and did a backward roll. “That’s a winter-pepper.”

“A what?” I knelt down to look her in the eye. Her red-sequined costume glittered. “What’s a winter-pepper?”

“A backwards somersault!” She broke into giggles and the three kids ran off. Oh, I got it. Somersault, summer-salt, winter-pepper.

“Where’s Miss Tennille?” another little girl asked—Shenae, a cute kid with tight curls. “I wanted to show her my band-aid.” She held up her finger, wrapped in a pink bandage that was decorated with a cartoon character.

“She couldn’t be here today, honey. But I love your band-aid. It’s got Princess Cupcake right on it!”

Shenae beamed. “You know about Princess Cupcake?”

Kids were so cute. They often thought adults lived in isolation chambers, unaware of pop culture. “I love how strong she is and how she saves the Candy Kingdom and frees her dad.” I’d seen the program just so I could connect with my students, who’d all been talking about the Candy Kingdom series of books turned into TV shows for the past two years. “She’s brave. Just like you, when you got a cut!”

Shenae grinned, showing a gap for a missing tooth. “I love you, Miss Danica.”

“I love you, too.” I loved all of them, this job, this gym, this calling in life that let me connect the past—my grandmother’s and sister’s lives—with the present kids taking lessons, and with the future of Wilder River, filled with physically healthy kids full of confidence in their bodies and spirits.

There was no scenario where I would have agreed to sign it away. Not a snowball’s chance.

Where is Tennille?

When class ended, I rode my bicycle to her house. That was no small task. She and Liam lived at the top edge of a neighborhood built in the foothills. At one point, I was panting so hard I had to get off my bike and push. Blast my accident! I was stronger than this!

Finally, I made it there—only to find Tennille and Liam hurriedly loading suitcases into the back of a car.

“Going on a trip?” Acidity laced my question. “I got the paperwork in the mail, Liam.”

Liam stormed at me. “I told Tennille to tell Ivan not to send you the copy.” His teeth were clenched. “I swear, if I ever see that shyster again, I’ll”—he made a ring with his hands and shook it, as if choking imaginary Ivan.

Tennille rushed up to me, tears in her eyes. “It’s so awful, Danica. I’m so ashamed! When I got your messages this morning, I realized what had happened. That you somehow had copies of the contract. I bet Jeremy’s big shot lawyer in Reedsville wrung them out of Ivan. Ivan and all the Rutledges were always the weak-willed branch of the family.”

Rather than admit Jeremy hadn’t brought them to my attention, I said, “Tell me what you were thinking.”

“It was so crazy, Danica, when you lost your memory. You didn’t know me. You didn’t know the kids or the business or anything. You rarely came into work. Yeah, I know the doctors told you you couldn’t, but when you showed up, you were useless. I was drowning. I thought if I owned Constant Energy, I could sell it. Or repurpose it as a jiu-jitsu studio. The kids and I don’t really connect, and I am sick to my grave of making costumes.” She made a gurgling sound. “Do you know how many calluses my fingertips have from putting sequins on lace? For forty kids?”

“And so you stole my business?”

“Danica. Don’t put it like that.”

“What other way is there to put it?” And how had she convinced me to sign that contract? That still seemed so unlikely. “You know the building belonged to my ancestor. You know I scrimped and saved to purchase it. You know my heart and soul is in it.”

“But that’s the thing, Danica. You didn’t know that. When weeks and weeks went by, and you had zero interest in the property or the kids or the business aspect, I got desperate. Liam contacted his cousin Ivan, and we told him what we needed.”

“Where did my signature come from?”

“You’ve signed your name a thousand times on paperwork for the shop, Danica. It’s not like I don’t know exactly what it looks like.” She rolled her eyes at my apparent naïveté. “We’re partners. We’re close.”

“That’s what I had always thought.”

“Look, there was no guarantee you were ever going to remember anything. And you were obviously much more interested in going around town with that multi-millionaire Jeremy Hotston, and making out with him in public places. You’d gone off your rocker. I didn’t want to start losing clients because of your reputation going down the toilet or because they questioned your mental incompetence. I had to act fast.”

All of her excuses conflicted with each other. First she was going to sell it, then she didn’t want to lose clients. My neck grew so hot it could have turned water to steam.

Liam snorted. “You were unrecognizable. Don’t blame us. You were the one acting like a lovesick idiot, chasing Jeremy Hotston, your mortal enemy. Everyone in town saw it. We have a thousand eye witnesses who will attest to your insanity. Any jury will believe our side of the story. I had to protect my money. Fifty thousand dollars I put into that shop. I just wanted the money back. By not caring anymore, you were burning our investment like it was … something you cooked.”