Against the Wall (Stoddard Art School Series Book 3) (23 page)

That prickling sensation was back under his collar. “What are you talking about? What kind of peace offering?”

“I sent flowers. Come on. What woman can stay mad at the man she loves after he sends her a stunning bouquet of three dozen long-stemmed red roses?”

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Kay moved as if she were walking under water while the rest of the world was on fast forward. For the first hour after Bear left with Diane, she did nothing but circle Bell Harbor. The blur of happy tourist’s faces only adding to the shock of what happened.

Had he been lying to her this whole time? Playing two women? Two coasts? Had Diane not shown up, would he have gone on lying? Let Kay move in with him?

“Likes having someone warming his bed…”

What was he telling Diane? Was he lying to her as well?

“Bear’s told me such stories about all of you.”

Was she just another colorful character he’d met here? Another worker at the inn he’d joke about not working weekends? A charming, quirky addition to his new life in Maine?

No, she was a charming, quirky idiot who made the mistake—again—of trusting the words that came out of a man’s mouth. A shaft of pain through her chest stopped her in her tracks. This couldn’t be happening again.

Not again, not Bear.

She was so sure this time. She’d been careful. Cautious. After Todd, she’d watched for all the signs, the little avoidances, the occasional trip up, when he couldn’t quite remember one lie from another, body language…another naked woman in the bed.

Kay slapped a hand over her eyes. No. There had been nothing to warn her off handing Bear her heart on a silver platter. She had no one to blame but herself.

She still had the letter from Madeline Sullivan crushed in her fist. Bear had been in such a hurry, he hadn’t even read it before he scribbled his signature at the bottom. Kay let out a sob. See, it was easy to get away with a lie. She’d done it too. It was amazing how easy it had been. It had rolled off her tongue and she hadn’t batted an eye.

But she was an amateur compared to the rest of them. Todd, Claire, Bear. How did they do it? Maybe after a while you just believed all your lies. Perhaps that was the biggest lie of all—the one you convinced yourself was the truth.

She tore the letter in half. Tears flooded her eyes as she tore it again, and again. There was no way she was going to head down that dark, potholed road. The truth would always scream through the chaos for her. It was the only way she could survive.

Bear wasn’t her future. The truth was, he wasn’t even her present. She really couldn’t blame him. She was the one who wanted a relationship with no strings. Wasn’t that the agreement?

He was a job. A job where she forgot the rules about getting involved with clients. A summer’s folly. She’d been foolish and naïve to see it as anything more. The summer might not be over, but the game was.

She had work to do. A painting to finish. As hard as it was going to be to step into the lobby, she had a professional responsibility to her client—Mr. Barrett Coulter.

Then what? Hell, she was practically all packed, thanks to her mother. Another wave of pain settled on her. Claire was sick. Dying? Kay couldn’t pretend that wasn’t happening either.

She did a slow turn there on the sidewalk. Bell Harbor. It had always been her soft place to land. Perhaps this was the biggest lie of them all. There was no soft place. Only children believed pretty pink fantasies. Life was hard. Her heart had the scars to prove it.

The phone rang again.

It had started not long after Kay had worked up the nerve to come back into the inn. She didn’t answer it. Her cell rang a moment later. She turned it off. Part of her wanted to unplug the inn’s phone, but each time it rang, it only solidified her resolve.

She wasn’t leaving until the mural was done, even if she had to work straight through until morning. The last addition before the final wash was placing the new into the old. The inn’s new owner…and his dog, resting in the shade of the inn’s front porch.

Over the last few weeks, Kay had taken several candid pictures with her phone of Bear to work with. Looking at them now, remembering when she took them—the afternoon at the lighthouse, one of him talking to Skippy, and one from yesterday.

She’d taken it in the penthouse, where the fading light of day had fallen across his face. It hurt her heart to look at it.

The phone rang again, and Kay choked back the tears threatening to wash her out to sea. She added the paint she needed to her palette.

The image came like water from the end of her brush. Bear lounging on one of the long benches that lined the porch. Dressed in dashing period costume, he sat casually. One arm draped along the back of the bench. Legs crossed in a relaxed pose.

Shadow sat at his feet. His eyes bright and attentive. His tongue lolling out one side as it had the habit of doing when he was happy.

It was as if Kay blinked, and there they were. A touch of highlight showing the gleam of Shadow’s coat and it was done. She stood there, brush poised, searching for any small touch she had missed or anything more she needed to add.

But there was nothing more to add, only one tiny thing to erase.

Starting at the far end, she began the final wash with a wide brush in one hand and a wiping rag in the other. Brushing on, wiping off, she left it only slightly darker at the edges The whole process took less than two hours, but the effect was even more stunning than she had anticipated. It aged the painting. Softened the brightness. Mellowed the color. Stepping back, it truly appeared that the mural had been painted a hundred years ago.

It looked amazing.

Kay swallowed the sudden lump in her throat. Had she finished this one day earlier, she would have rushed to Bear and pulled him into the lobby to show him. He would have loved it. Said so before saying how much he loved her. Lifted her in those strong arms of his and spun her around in the excited way he celebrated each room as it was finished.

But there was no celebrating. The inn was silent. Even the phone had stopped ringing.

Kay added a touch of thinner to a dab of classic red. Lying on her belly, she took her liner brush and swept in her signature on the bottom right corner of the far wall.

Time to pack up and leave.

With all her brushes cleaned and sorted, and the paint stored in bins, Kay folded up the last of the drop cloths.

“Special Kay? You in here?” Walter pushed into the lobby, followed closely by Shadow.

The dog rushed her, then past her. He must be looking for Bear.

“There you are. You had the lot of us worried.” He picked up the inn’s phone and listened before hanging it up again. “Don’t you know how to answer a phone?”

She ignored him. “I was finishing the mural. What do you think?”

Some of the bluster faded from Walter as he did a slow turn. “Oh, baby girl… You’ve outdone yourself on this one.”

“Thanks.” She crossed her arms over her chest and held tight.

Walter narrowed his eyes at her and cocked his head. “Bear’s been trying to reach you, Honey. Called the house in quite the state looking for you. What’s going on?”

Kay was saved from answering by the return of Shadow. He sniffed the bins of paint, danced around her, sniffed some more. She tried to pet him, but he kept dodging her. “He’s hyper. Did you feed him too many cookies again?”

“Naw, I think he’s sensing the storm they say’s coming. It’s all those damn fools on the Weather Channel got to talk about. Say it’s gonna be a cocka, but I don’t believe it.” Walter grabbed for Shadow’s collar. “Sit, boy, relax ’fore you wear a hole in the floor.” The dog obeyed but sat panting. “He’s been twitchy and whiney for the last hour or so. Probably worried about where Bear’s gotten to.”

Kay added the last drop cloth to the bin of supplies. “He’s probably landing in Los Angeles by now.” She rubbed a hand over her forehead and studied the floor. “Um…the next time you talk to him, let him know I’ll send him a final bill in a week or so. I don’t know where he should send the check, so—”

“Next time I talk to him? Why ain’t
you
talking to him?”

“It’s complicated.” Kay planted her hands on her hips.

“Like ex-wife complicated?”

“I really don’t want to discuss it.”

“What do you think is going on? You don’t believe he’s gone back with her, do ya?”

Kay swept the room with a hand. “Do you see him here?”

“One thing’s got nothing to do with the other.”

“Walter.” Kay shook her head. “I know you like Bear, and somehow you thought he and I would end up together, but…”

“But what? The man’s crazy about you.”

She met his gaze. “That’s not exactly what his ex-wife is telling me.”

“And who you gonna believe? The man you obviously have feelings for or some woman you just met?”

“She’s not
some woman
, Walter.” Kay sighed “She’s his wife.”

“Ex,” Walter emphasized.

“She’s not convinced of that.”

“Who cares what she says? I’ve seen the way he looks at you. The way you both be moony eyed for one another.”

“You know how great my judgment is where men are concerned. Seems I was wrong again.” She couldn’t fight the tears that had been threatening for hours. She swiped an angry hand at her cheeks.

“That’s bullshit, and you know it.” Walter scowled at her. “I love you, Special Kay, like you’re my own. I know you’ve had a tough road, but…enough is enough. You’re so used to people failing you. You’re waiting to jump up and say,
See! I told you, you’re just like everyone else
. Well, folks ain’t perfect. Life ain’t perfect. But if you’re going to walk around expecting people to hurt you, guess what you’re going to get? Hurt. Loving someone is all about trusting. Trusting they have your back. That they have your heart. Doesn’t mean they won’t screw up. It means there’s something stronger to hang on to when the water gets too deep.”

By now, Kay couldn’t fight the flood of tears. “I’m not waiting for people to fail me, they just do.”

Walter shook his head. “Because then it’s easy for you to bail.”

Kay caught a sob. “Well, maybe no one has been worth the fight.”

Walter closed the distance between them. He pulled a folded bandana out of his rear pocket and mopped at her face. “Maybe not, but what if you’re wrong?” He spoke to her gently. “What if you ran before you knew the whole story? What if you took off on something wonderful?” He rubbed her arm until she met his gaze. “Your heart has been broken for so long, baby girl. Don’t you think it’s about time you gave someone a chance to put the pieces back together?”

Kay buried her face into his chest. Shadow whined at her feet.

“I just want to see you happy, Special Kay. Both of you.” He hugged her tight. “Before you run off, just think about what I said.” He pulled back and tipped her chin. “I may be an old curmudgeon, but I’ve been in love with the same woman for thirty years. It hasn’t always been smooth sailing, but it sure as hell’s been worth it.”

Walter handed her his handkerchief before kissing her forehead and gathering Shadow to leave. Kay pulled a deep shaky breath and blew her nose. He was right. She was too quick to believe the worst. Bear had only been kind and loving. If he hadn’t told her about Diane, perhaps it was truly because there was nothing to tell.

She looked around the lobby again. Secretly, she was glad Bear wasn’t around to witness her meltdown. It was foolish. Surely, if Bear Coulter was planning to move back to California to be with Diane, Kay would have seen some sign of it long before now.

“Kay Winston?”

She spun around. A delivery man stood just inside the door with a clipboard and a long white box tied with a wide blue ribbon. She dabbed quick at her eyes, sniffed, and tucked her hair behind an ear.

“Yes, I’m Kay Winston. I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you come in.”

“These are for you. I just need a signature.”

She quickly scribbled her name where he indicated and took the box from his hands. “Thank you.”

“Enjoy.” With a quick wave, he was gone.

A small white envelope sat tucked into the ribbon. Placing the box on the desk, Kay opened the card.
“Sorry, Bear.”

Fresh tears threatened. She’d been so unfair to doubt him. She should be the one apologizing.

Kay tugged on the ribbon and lifted the lid. The rich smell cut through the disbelief screaming in her brain.

Roses.
Oh, God… He sent her roses.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Bear pulled his wallet out of his rear pocket and slipped out his credit card. “I need a ticket on the next flight to Portland, Maine, or Boston. I’ll take whatever you have.”

“I’m sorry, sir, but all the flights into Portland are cancelled until further notice due to inclement weather. Boston has issued an alert. We’re to hold some of those later flights on delay until they are cleared.”

“What about the 4:19 to Boston?”

She tapped into her computer. “Seems they’re going to try and get that one out.” She checked the screen. “Unfortunately the flight is full, but I can put you on the standby list.”

Bear nodded. “Fine, put me on the list. I’ll take my chances. What gate?”

“D15. If you can’t get on that flight, your gate attendant can go over your options.” The agent leaned over the counter. “But if I were you,” she whispered, “I’d try to find a hotel room. Anybody heading to New England is going to be looking for a bed tonight. Sorry.”

Bear took off running. He had to make that flight.

People packed into the gate. He was fifth on the wait list. Bear didn’t bother to plead his case to the gate agent. It would be a waste of time. Scanning the waiting area, he spotted a lone man. Business traveler by the look. Laptop, wrinkled suit. Bear approached him.

“Sir, I’ll give you six hundred dollars for your seat on this flight.”

The man glanced up from his computer. “Fuck off.”

“I’m serious. I have to get on this plane.”

The man snorted. “Yeah, so do I.”

“Eight hundred.” Bear held out his wallet.

The man narrowed his gaze and smirked. “Fifteen hundred.”