“The orca one’s an artistic interpretation of Shipwreck Cove.Anyway, these are going to go out on the porch.I was going to put them out front, but now I’m thinking out back would be better.They’ll get more use back there.”
He shook his head, impressed as hell.“These are amazing.You could sell these in a heartbeat for five hundred each, easy.”
She looked at him, seeming unsure.“Yeah?”
He nodded.“Either through social media and your contacts here, or at the Saturday market in town.”And once word of mouth spread, she could wind up being busier than she bargained for too.
She rubbed the back of her neck.“I guess I could do that.Not these, though.They’re sentimental.Belonged to my grandma, and now they make me think of Bronwyn and Mae too.”
“How did I never realize you were this talented?”
Her cheeks flushed.“Oh, come on.These were just a fun project.”
“No, I mean it.What about the rest of these?Are they yours too?”He gestured to the framed canvases hung on the walls.Whimsical seascapes and little village scenes with that same magical flare she’d worked on the chairs.People here would pay big money for this kind of work, especially for scenes depicting the island.
“Yes.I’ve been meaning to start that blank canvas since I got here, but I’ve been so busy.Painting these chairs has given me the bug again though.”
He nodded, still blown away by her skill.“I know the feeling, and what it’s like to have a creative blockage when life gets in the way.Always a huge relief when things start flowing once you get back into it after taking a break.”
She gave him a soft smile.“Yeah, exactly.”She crossed her arms.“I still want to see your work.And maybe visit your workshop sometime.”
“Anytime.”They stared at each other for a long moment, until the silence started to become awkward.Reminding him she’d hinted about him leaving.“I should get going.”
“Sure.”
He went to the front door to put his shoes on.Thinking about her work.The way she’d stared at his mouth earlier.About all the connections and history they shared.
And the terrible secret that could tear them apart forever.
He should let things be, just be grateful that she was here on the island again, and that she still wanted to be his friend.But he wanted more.
Way more.Wanted it so bad it consumed him.
It was playing with fire.Would end in disaster.But even though his gut warned him that either he or both of them were going to get burned at some point, it still wasn’t enough of a reason to make him keep his distance.
“You busy tomorrow?”he asked.
“Other than Rufus and maybe some painting, no.Why?”
“It’s gonna be another hot one.You been out on the water yet since you got here?”
Interest sparkled in her eyes.“Just on the ferry.”
“We can do better than that.I’ll text you the details once I have them, but plan to meet up around noon.Sound good?”
The smile she gave him made his heart thud, hope building with painful pressure under his ribs.“Sounds great.”
Rufus barked when heheard someone at the front of the house.He ran to the fence and stuck his snoot through the bottom hole in the fence, watching the driveway through the two smaller ones above it.He loved his new snoot and peeper holes!
Tall Man got into a big truck and drove off.Rufus watched it go, wishing he could be inside it.He loved car rides.
When it had gone, he ran around the yard, checking all the other snoot and peeper holes.He snorted in frustration at the back fence.No snoot or peeper holes here.
He hopped up on his hind feet, putting his front paws on the wood to sniff.Short ones, then deep, long ones to try and read the scents on the air.
The smells from before were gone.
He dropped back to the ground and hurried around to the closest peeper holes in the fence, trying to see around into the trees.
