Covered In Paint: Book Five of the Art Of Love Series (16 page)

Brooke nodded, relieved to have a topic she could discuss in mixed company. “Yes. I only struggled at the end. I was almost late turning in my grades, but other than that…”

She drifted off and turned to see Carrie pounding a choking Drake on the back. Her irritated gaze swung to him.

“Drake, these people eat nuance with every meal. You might as well have hung an
I laid Brooke Daniels
sign around your neck. If we don’t confess to sleeping together now, they’ll harass both of us until the end of time.”

She glared at her wicked stepbrother who sat grinning in his seat at the end of the table. “Oh, stop gloating, Michael. Drake and I didn’t get together because of anything you did…and by the way, I am never confiding in you again. It was just an accident of timing that Drake came to seduce me while I was grading papers and that wasn’t the first time. There…are you satisfied now?”

“What the hell did I say?” Michael demanded, wincing when his wife smacked his arm.

“Good thing the kids didn’t hear you swearing or you’d be standing in the corner, Mister,” Carrie said sharply.

Ignoring the bickering that was standard between Michael and Carrie, her gaze went back to the completely red-faced man at her side.

“You had better toughen up if you’re going to hang with me here. We talked about this weeks ago—my annoying, but loving new family comes with the package.”

“Yes, ma’am. I will make my sign this afternoon,” Drake said, sighing heavily.

Brooke shook her head and went back to her pancakes, listening to her mother chuckling beside her.

“You totally embarrassed the first man you brought home. I don’t think I’ve ever been more proud of you,” Jessica declared.

Sighing at her irreverent parent, Brooke continued eating and let herself imagine what a normal, reserved life might be like.

***

After breakfast was done, Brooke had Drake drop her off at her house. When he had disappeared from sight, she promptly got in her car and drove back to her mother and Will’s. Passing through, Will refused her offer to help clean up. He was singing as he loaded the dishwasher for what Brooke knew was probably the second or third time.

She prowled through the house until she found her mother sitting on the sun porch, but in a newly purchased rocker that overlooked the backyard. She was sipping tea and staring out at the shed she used for a studio. There was a tall rectangular column of stone in the middle of the concrete patio in front of it.

Maybe the area wouldn’t win any landscaping awards, but it certainly represented the combined lives of the two artists who lived in the house.

“I take it the column is another David in the raw?” Brooke asked, eyeing the untouched stone.

“Yes. It’s going to a museum in Minneapolis. The quarry delivered the column yesterday. Thankfully, this one didn’t require the crane. They just rolled it around the side of the house on a monster dolly. It certainly made a racket when they placed it on the patio though.”

“What are you working on these days?” Brooke asked, studying her mother’s contented face. She wondered if anything close to that kind of happiness was in the cards for her.

“I’m doing more sculptures too—working on breasts again. The new ones are a combination of glass and metal. Carrie has found me quite the lucrative audience. I think she’s determined to place something I’ve done in every woman’s center and birthing facility across the US. She is simply amazing at matching art and audience. The one I’m working on now is going to Markey Cancer Center. She said Brown out of Louisville was considering one as well. Local art is evidently a draw because it shows support for the community those centers are serving.”

Mention of two of the most well-known and local cancer treatment centers had Brooke sighing. She retrieved one of the nearby plastic chairs and placed it where it faced her mother. There would be no better segue for their discussion.

“Mom…it’s strange to be speaking of breasts and cancer centers because I have something I need to share with you. You see…well, there’s a possibility…oh damn it. Mom, I may be using one of those cancer centers soon…for myself. There’s a lump in my breast. I’m having it removed in two weeks. The doctor hasn’t said it’s cancer yet, but there were things on my mammogram that concerned her.”

“Brooke…What?…A lump?” Jessica reached out a hand. “You’ve had lumps before, right? They’ve always gone away.”

“Yes that’s true…but this one isn’t,” Brooke said softly, turning her mother’s hand over in hers. “The doctor wants to remove it to see what we can find out. She says it’s the safest thing to do.”

Jessica tightened her grip and shook her head. “Okay…let them remove it. They’ll find nothing. It’s probably just a hormone imbalance or something like that. Think about it…you’ve been on birth control since your teens. Birth control can cause problems for women as they get older. You’re thirty now, Brooke. Maybe you should go off your birth control for a while. You want babies anyway.”

Brooke didn’t answer at first because her mother’s words ripped away the veil she’d thrown over everything in her mind. She’d been working hard to keep from thinking the “what did I do to cause this problem” sort of thoughts. It was a lump. She was going to let the doctor remove it. She couldn’t handle worrying about anything more than that. She had no energy to waste on phantom regrets about her birth control decisions.

“Mom, I’m sleeping with someone right now. I can’t go off birth control. We’re using condoms too, but I’m kind of hoping not to have to continue that forever.”

“Oh my God, that’s right…what did Drake say when you told him about the lump? After losing his wife to cancer, he must be terrified. I thought he was unusually quiet this morning. Now I know why he was so uncomfortable around me,” Jessica declared.

Brooke snorted. In the middle of every disaster, there was always laughter with her mother.

“No, Mom. That’s not the reason Drake was acting strange. Drake doesn’t know about the lump yet. I don’t know how to tell him—for the reason you just mentioned. Actually, I’m worried about how he’ll react when I do.”

“What do you mean Drake doesn’t know? Brooke…you’re sleeping with the man. You
have
to tell him.”

“Yes, I am sleeping with him…as often as possible…which is precisely why Drake’s having trouble talking to you. He feels guilty.”

“For what?”

Brooke laughed at the confusion wrinkling her mother’s forehead. It felt good to laugh. Her mother’s cluelessness about male sensibilities remained entertaining.

“Maybe Drake is ashamed of deflowering your virginal daughter so thoroughly.”

“Brooke, if you don’t want to tell me why Drake’s so embarrassed, you don’t have to. Just say so…there’s no need to make anything up,” Jessica declared.

Her mother’s disbelief made her laugh more. “Mom…what I’m telling you is the real reason. Drake is way more private than you seem to want to think he is. Even though he’s an artist who paints naked women, he doesn’t like the world knowing what he does with those same women…or doesn’t do.”

Jessica shook her hair. “Honey, you announced what you two do at breakfast. What are you talking about? We all knew you and Drake were sleeping together. It’s obvious from the way the man looks at you like you’re a meal and he’s starving.”

“But it’s polite to pretend not to notice such things—not that you or any Larson I know would ever honor such a social nicety,” Brooke insisted, choking on her laughter when her mother gave her a chastising look. “Oh my God, will you just let it go? You’re the only mother in the world who wants to hear details about her daughter’s sex life.”

“I’m sure that’s not true. And I’m not asking for details…I just want to know he’s a decent lover and that my daughter is happy with him.”

It was on the tip of her tongue to tell her mother about Drake’s Tantric sex offer, but she knew that would prompt further discussion. Her mother was discreet, but that revelation wasn’t the kind of thing she wanted to risk. He hadn’t made good on it yet anyway. Brooke snorted as she sought the right words to appease her nosy mother.

“Drake is poetic and thoughtful and…okay…the man is just as seasoned as you predicted. I like his style in bed. There now…is that enough to satisfy your inappropriate curiosity?”

She laughed again when her mother nodded solemnly. Then her hand got squeezed hard.

“Okay…that’s enough about Drake. Are you scared about the surgery…about what they’ll find?”

Brooke looked out into the yard, checking inside herself. The truth was there, but for once she didn’t want to know it. She looked back at her mother.

“No. I’m not really scared yet. I’m pretty sure I’m in denial because I try my best not to think about it. However, I have done everything the doctor wants me to do, including scheduling the surgery to remove the lump. My mind refuses to believe it might really be cancer. The lump isn’t growing…the doctor said that was a good sign. I’m checking it every day on her orders. There are also no other lumps. I figure that’s a good sign too.”

Jessica nodded, bit her lip. “Okay. You probably need to know that I’m scared enough for the both of us. That’s honest. I don’t think I can handle losing you to cancer. You’re so young. If anyone should have cancer, it should be me. I’m older and not nearly as healthy as you are.”

“Mom…diseases like cancer don’t care about coulds and shoulds and woulds. I refuse to spend my time worrying until I know there is a reason…which was also my doctor’s advice. Maybe I do keep hoping to wake up one morning and find the lump either gone or getting smaller, but it’s not happening this time. I found the lump early, and it’s small. Both are good things in my favor. I’m doing all I can right now.”

“Of course you are…of course you are,” Jessica said. She reached out and wrapped her daughter in her arms. “I’ll be brave when you need me to be brave…I promise.”

“I know you will and I hope you don’t have to be. I love you, Mom.”

“I love you too. Please say I can tell Will about this.”

Brooke pulled back and looked into her mother’s troubled gaze. If the news was bad, her mother was going to need comforting as much as she would. “I’m not intending to keep this a secret. I was just waiting until I could find a way and a time to tell you first. Of course you can tell Will, and Will can tell Shane and Michael.”

“Tell Drake…before anyone else does,” Jessica advised.

“Okay. I’ll tell him tonight,” Brooke said softly. “Tell Will not to say anything to my meddling stepbrothers until tomorrow. Michael is a blabbermouth to Drake and Shane will show up on my doorstep to give me counseling.”

“They like you, Brooke.”

Brooke sighed and laughed. “I know…but I’m not used to having people all up in my business…except for my mother.”

“I’m glad you told me. Now I can pray about it. I love you…no matter what you find out…and I’ll be here.”

“I know you will, Mom. I love you too.”

Her mother’s hair brushed against her face as she nodded against her cheek. Brooke hugged tighter, grateful for her mother’s strength of character. It had always been the two of them against the world. Now they had the entire Larson clan to lean on.

The prospect of so many people knowing about her problems didn’t appeal to her, but if the outcome of her surgery wasn’t positive, at least she was glad her mother would never be alone after she was gone.

Chapter 13

“Drake, before I fall more in love with you…”

“Wow…wait. Just like that, you announce you’re falling in love with me? A few days ago you didn’t want anything to do with me because of the nude model in my art class. Now we’ve jumped from I’m slime to you’re falling in love with me? I can’t keep up.”

Brooke giggled, more at his tightening grip on her while he was teasing.

“We’ve had makeup sex at least six times since the naked model shock. I know you were there for all of them. Truthfully, I don’t know if I’m falling in love with you or not. I’m just assuming…I’ve never been in love before. However, I am starting to fantasize about dragging you and Brandon to all future pancake breakfasts at Mom and Will’s. I figure wanting you present to observe my bi-monthly torture must mean I’m getting serious.”

“Those feelings are not love, Dr. Daniels. Those are your sadistic tendencies manifesting. Definitely not helping your falling in love argument.”

Brooke giggled again. Drake was very funny when he was relaxed. “I thought you were willing to step in front of zombies for me?’

“Zombies—yes. An annoying Larson male? I don’t know…I’ll have to think about that one. First, I have to learn to look your mother in the eye. I don’t know how to get past my guilt. I’m just a few years younger than Jessica. I don’t know why the age thing bothers me, but it does.”

Brooke snorted against her pillow. “So you’re afraid of the Larsons
and
my mother? Maybe I’m just being delusional. There’s no way I could be falling in love with such a wimpy guy.”

Drake reached out and ran his fingers over her smile. “I swear I can be brave when I have to be.”

Brooke sobered, glad to finally have an opening to talk seriously. “I believe you. In fact…I think you were really brave about your wife.”

They were both lying on their sides, enjoying the afterglow of yet another satisfying lovemaking session. She hated to interrupt their quiet enjoyment.

To soften her curiosity about the woman who had once occupied the place she did now, Brooke raked her fingers through Drake’s hair. “I realize bringing up your dead wife is terrible pillow talk. By now you should have learned though that I’m the kind of person who requires a lot of honest communication to get comfortable. At the moment, I’m just speaking what’s on my mind and in my heart, and I hope you can hear it that way. I’ve often thought about how hard it must have been for you to watch someone you love go through what your wife did.”

Drake sighed and nodded. “Yes. Watching the cancer take Tracy’s life was the hardest thing I’ve ever endured.”

“What kind of cancer did she have?”

“Initially, it was a lump in her breast…then it spread to many other areas. She tried the typical treatments. They didn’t work and sometimes even made things worse. Eventually she quit treatments and just took pain meds. It wasn’t just the cancer that affected Tracy…all three of us changed as we had to deal with it. Brandon gave up sports to spend his after school time with her. He never returned to them after Tracy was gone, and I never forced him to. It was yet another piece of counseling advice I ignored about my son.”