Page 70 of The Grump I Got Stuck With

I couldn’t believe this. “Alistair, I’m not canceling on Lesley. I’ve been looking forward to this for weeks.”

“You can reschedule at a later date when we’re not having to look over our shoulders every time we want to step outside.”

I huffed, shaking my head. No. I’d finally found something that connected me to my mother, and I wasn’t about to give up on it because his shady ex had been caught. Had she not ruined enough? “Look, if you don’t want to go into town, or if you don’t want to take Kenna into town, then that’s your decision.” My heart already ached knowing Kenna was about to be confined to Dunhope. It wasn’t a decision I agreed with—but Alistair was the parent. It was his call—for Kenna. Not for me. “But I’m still going.”

Alistair’s hands curled against his keyboard. “I would prefer it if you didn’t.”

I opened my mouth, then closed it again. I actually couldn’t believe how quick he was to disregard my feelings on this matter. This wasn’t just some fun hobby I was picking up for the hell of it; this was my chance to learn the same craft my birth mother had made a career out of with someone who had actually known her. However little Lesley had to tell me about their interactions, today literally meant the world to me. “I don’t think that’s fair of you to ask.”

Tension coiled between us. I could see how bothered he was by my decision, and unease prickled at the top of my spine. I gave him everything: my time and support and understanding. Why was it so easy for him to dismiss something that was important to me?

“Obviously, I can’t force you not to go, but I’m asking you to reconsider.” He said it with a clenched jaw.

“I won’t.”

I left Alistair to stew and returned to my room, taking a long shower, scrubbing myself from head to toe with all the fancy bath products that had shown up after I’d signed my contract. Once my fingers were sufficiently wrinkled, I realized I was just wasting time, so I turned off the water and got out.

Princess forced her way into the en suite, releasing a curl of steam into the bedroom. She pranced over and licked water from my foot.

“That tickles,” I complained.

She barked once as I toweled off, following me around the room as I got changed. Lesley had told me to wear jeans and a long-sleeved cotton top for the lesson. Clothes that didn’t leave any skin exposed, and no synthetic materials that could melt. I hadn’t even thought about that.

Once I was dressed with my hair pulled back, I decided I didn’t want to wait until it was time for the lesson to head into town. I’d just head in early and kill some time at the café.

“Best stay out of his way,” I murmured to Princess as I picked her up and kissed her fuzzy head. “I’ll see you later.”

I put Princess down, walked downstairs, and slipped out the front door, thankfully without seeing Alistair again. Outside, I cleared some snow from my windshield, then got into my van. The fact that it practically purred now when I started it (Alistair having insisted that Lyle upgrade some parts of my engine at his expense) didn’t make me feel any better as I made my way to town. I parked along the high street, close to the Deerhound, and got out, hurrying out of the cold into the cat café.

Maybe some cute kittens would help me shrug off how uneasy Alistair’s attitude had made me. I really wanted to focus on this new glassblowing adventure. I placed my order, then settled in at a table while a welcome flutter of nervous excitement bubbled in my gut. I wondered if this was how my bio mom had felt the first time she’d worked with glass like this.

I caught my lip between my teeth, smiling up at Cat as she brought over my latte. “Thanks.” Cat was one of the first people in town to make me feel welcome, and she always stopped by to chat when I came into the café.

“Of course. We’re also running a special on cakes if you fancy something. I don’t know what I was thinking when I placed the food order this week.” She laughed brightly. “Must have been sleepwalking.”

“Sounds great. I was actually eyeing up that Victoria sponge when I was placing my order.”

“Ooh, it’s fab, isn’t it?” Cat said. “And speaking of fab things, we’re hosting a special event night for the kids next Thursday if you want to bring Kenna by. There’s a cat hypnotist coming.”

I shoved aside thoughts of having to smuggle her out of Dunhope. “That sounds delightfully weird.”

Cat laughed again. “That’s what I said when Isla found her online. But I’m sure the kids will be entertained however it goes.” She nodded to the counter. “Let me get you that cake.”

I smiled gratefully. Maybe cake would settle my nerves. My thoughts drifted to my lesson, and I shook off a silly idea about crafting some unrecognizable blob.

I didn’t think I was going to be amazing my first time around, but I had Scottish glassblowing blood in my veins. I couldn’t be that bad. This was gonna be great.

“I’d really love to be able to make glass animals like my bio mom,” I said to Lesley as she handed me safety glasses and heat-resistant gloves. I thought of the dolphin my mom had left me as part of her will. I had it wrapped in a box back in Connecticut because I’d worried about bringing it with me and having it break.

“We’ll start you off with something simple today like a small ornament,” Lesley said. “From there, we’ll be able to progress you. Once you get the hang of blowing a small air bubble and controlling the thickness of the glass while rotating the pipe, we’ll focus on detaching the glass cleanly.”

None of that sounded particularly difficult, but I knew Lesley was the expert. I was just eager to make something incredible. Maybe I could manage an axolotl for Kenna one day!

“If you can master all that by the end of this session, next week we’ll pick up with you attempting teardrops and ovals,” Lesley continued.

“And that’ll get me to animals?” I asked.

She gave me a patient smile. “All in good time. Get the basics down first. Then you’ll be amazed at how quickly you progress. Suddenly, that teardrop becomes the body of a bird or a fish. That sphere becomes an adorably chubby penguin.”