Sophie was humming to herself as she popped the frozen dinner into the microwave and set it to cook for a few minutes. She glanced around the kitchen, pleased to see that everything was put away and neat and tidy. She may be living by herself, but that was no reason to just do away with housework altogether, she mused as she tapped her foot, waiting for her four minute meal to be ready.
She really needed fresh veggies, stat.
She'd felt infinitely better after talking with Kat earlier in the day, more convinced that she could make a go of it here in Hay. Kat had made everything sound easy, sound simple, and it had given Sophie a much needed boost of confidence before she returned to work at the bookstore.
She had also happened to mention to Matt that Kat had said how sweet and patient he was, which made his face light up like a Christmas tree and Sophie to mentally mark that off the "to do list" in getting Kat and Matt together – it was all part of her master matchmaking plan.
They would make such an adorable couple, it hurt a little bit, Sophie smiled to herself as she leaned back against the counter in her ripped running shorts and tank top. She was doing laundry tonight, and was down to the bare minimum in her wardrobe until everything dried.
And considering the size of the miniature dryer, that was going to be a while, Sophie knew. Was everything in this country small, Sophie mused, until her eyes alit on the stove across from her. Well, everything except that monstrosity, she amended.
Her mind slowed and stopped, and she stood quietly, listening to the hum of the microwave and thinking of nothing in particular when she saw…
Movement.
Oh god, Sophie thought in panic, not again.
Not another spider.
She couldn't handle that tonight.
God, she hated spiders.
She turned, and instead of laying eyes on the spider she was expecting, it was worse.
With the speed of a ninja, Sophie jumped and landed her backside on the counter, pulling her legs up behind her in a rush.
A rodent… rat, mouse, it didn't matter, was scuttling along the baseboards of the kitchen.
A fuzzy, beady eyed, scuttling… rodent.
Sophie had few fears in life, honestly and truly, but spiders and rodents were at the top of the list. She'd even been traumatized when a childhood friend had gotten a gerbil as a pet and offered Sophie a chance to hold him.
She refused immediately and cried the whole way home from that incident.
The mouse-rat-thing scurried closer, and Sophie pulled her legs up further, and then did something unexpected, even to herself.
She screamed at the top of her lungs like a little girl.
**
Daniel's head shot up at the sound of an anguished scream coming from Fairfields. Though he was inside working on figures at his desk, he could hear Sophie's cry as though she were only a few feet away.
He bolted to his feet, looking out the window to see what the matter was, but could see nothing, despite a few lights being on at Fairfields.
He heard another scream of terror, and charged out of the house and across the lane, vaulting over Sophie's gate rather than taking the time to open it.
If there was an intruder, if she was hurt…
He'd never forgive himself for the way he'd treated her.
Shoving open the front door, he called out Sophie's name, but she couldn't hear him over her own keening cry.
Following the sound of her very loud voice, he sprinted down the hall to the kitchen, skidding to a halt as he saw Sophie, her face pale and streaked with tears, cowering on the kitchen counter.
"Sophie?" He asked with an edge of panic, his eyes darting from side to side. "What is it?"
With a shaking hand, she pointed to the corner of the kitchen where a healthy sized mouse was nosing around for crumbs. He nearly burst out laughing in relief, until he looked again at her face, and saw true, honest terror and no sort of grandstanding at all. She was truly terrified, he realized in a flash, his stomach roiling at her distress.
Without a word, he approached the mouse, grabbing a casserole dish and a thin plate from the shelf on the way. Cautiously, so as not to arouse suspicion, he cornered the mouse, and then shuffled it between the casserole dish and plate firmly but gently, so as not to hurt it or panic it.
Walking lightly, he trundled to the back door in the den, and kicking it open with his foot, walked a few yards out into the garden and then set the little mouse free. Clearly panicked from his abrupt disappearance from the warm kitchen, it scuttled into a nearby hedge and disappeared.
Daniel allowed himself one wry grin at the "terrible beastie" before composing his features and walking back through the door.
Sophie was still on the countertop, hugging her knees to her chest, her eyes wide.
He put the casserole dish and plate on the kitchen table, his eyes on hers as though trying to calm a panicked animal.
She lifted her chin slightly, obviously trying to put on a brave face for him. "Just what I need," she said clearly, her voice only a little shaky. "Mr. Snotty McHatesMyGuts having to save me. Again."
Daniel closed his eyes at her harsh tone, but admittedly inwardly that the moniker was appropriate from her standpoint.
He took a step forward, then another, slowly, as though she was as scared as the mouse he had just liberated from the house. "It's all right," he said gently, moving slowly. "It's gone."
Sophie sniffled. "How gone?"
"Very gone," Daniel said, his voice serious.
"Did you kill it?" Sophie asked plaintively. "I didn't want you to kill it."
Daniel shook his head no. "I didn’t kill him. I released him, and he joined up with the other boys and girls he grew up with. They're all very happy."
Sophie sniffed again, and then nodded, her face still serious, if a bit shell shocked, betraying no hint that she'd heard his teasing. "I'm scared of mice. And rats."
"He was just a little field mouse," Daniel said, his voice still soothing. "He won't hurt you."
"I know. But I'm still scared of them," Sophie whispered, her body still unmoving, a single tear sliding down her cheek.
Daniel took another step, until he was directly in front of her now. Wordlessly, he brushed the tear away from her cheek with the back of his hand, then he raised his arms and gently picked her up, lifting her down off the counter until her feet touched the ground, her body sliding slightly against his, causing a frisson of excitement to run up and down his spine.
As soon as she was steady on her feet, he took a step back, daring to meet her eyes for only an instant, flinty blue meeting liquid emerald.
And then he turned and silently fled from the house, his pulse pounding in his ears.
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