Tempting the Artist (15 page)

Christina’s mouth dropped open and she
watched her mother walk, no glide out of the room with one of the
platters of cake, her long patchwork skirt dragging the floor.
Violet always said what was on her mind, which was fine with
Christina. She just never knew what would come out of her mother’s
mouth.

Christina turned to her grandmother
frowning. “What does ‘your aura is in full bloom’ even
mean?”

Her grandmother shook her head
laughing. “Chile, your guess is as good as mine. That mother of
yours know she’s special.”

“
Yeah, that’s a nice way of
putting it. I’m afraid to ask what you thought of her when daddy
first brought her home to meet you and Grampa.”

That got another laugh out of her
grandmother. “Let’s just say, I thought she was special then too.”
They both laughed and then her grandmother turned serious. “To be
honest, though she was different than what I had in mind for your
father, I thought she was perfect for him.”

“
Really?” This was the
first time they had a conversation about her parents meeting. “Why
did you think she was perfect for him?”

“
Growing up, your dad was
always very serious and a little stiff if you ask me.” Her
grandmother smiled as if thinking about a particular instance. “But
when Vee came into his life, it was as if someone turned on a
switch inside of him. He was like a different person. He laughed
more. He started hanging out with his friends more often, whereas
before Vee, he stayed in the house watching television or just
lying around. He also joined a rock band, spiked hair and
all.”

“
What?” Christina knew her
father played the drums and tinkered a little with the sax, but she
didn’t know he actually joined a band. She had heard that he never
fully pursued a career in music the way he wanted to because her
uncles and grandfather talked him out of it.

“
Your father nearly drove
me crazy when he first started learning how to play the drums. Our
house was much smaller back then. So your grandfather made him play
out in the garage.”

“
What else?” Now Christina
wanted to know everything.

“
Once he started dating
your mother, it was as if he gave himself permission to relax and
be himself. He even got caught sneaking in through a window one
night after missing curfew. Before Vee, he would have never tried
anything like that. He wanted to be what he thought your
grandfather and I wanted him to be. What I remember most is that he
was happier, especially whenever your mother was around. Somewhat
like you are when you and Luke are together.”

“
Really, Gram?”

“
Really. I watch you from a
distance and your whole face lights up when you see him or whenever
he speaks. I’m a true believer that God has the perfect mate for
each of us and I think you and your father found yours.”

Christina wasn’t sure what to say,
especially when she thought about her conversation with Peyton. Her
sister might’ve thought Luke was a bad influence, but Christina
knew better.

“
I thought you didn’t like
Luke.”

Her grandmother set the spoon down on
the counter, wiping her hands on her apron. “Why would you think
that?”

Peyton
was on the tip of her tongue, but instead she said, “I don’t
know. I guess I just thought—”

“
I don’t dislike, Luke. I
don’t know him. He’s been over here what, one or two times? And
when he is here, he’s usually hanging out with Craig, Zack or the
other boys.” Her grandmother studied her for a moment, her hands on
her rounded hips. “Now do you care to tell me what this is all
about?”

Christina set the spatula down. She
ripped a paper towel from the holder sitting on the counter and
wiped her hands.

“
You seem to treat Luke
differently than you treat Craig and Zack. When they walk into the
house, your eyes light up and you turn your cheek up, expecting a
kiss from them. You don’t do that with Luke.” Christina leaned her
back against the counter. “But you’re right. You haven’t really had
a chance to get to know him like you have the others. So I guess
we’ll have to make sure we don’t miss many more Sunday
brunches.”

“
Does he have family in
Cincinnati?”

“
No. He doesn’t have any
family.” Christina’s heart hurt for him. She couldn’t imagine a
life without her family. She told her grandmother how his parents
had died, but didn’t mention that he had a sibling.

“
Well, I’m glad he has you
and now he has us. But I’ll tell you like I told your other
cousins. As long as he treats you right and respects you, he’ll
always be welcomed in our home.”

Hours later, Christina dried the last
pot with a sigh of relief. Every Sunday the women took turns with
clean up duty. Today it was Christina, Peyton, and Martina’s turn,
but as usual, Martina found a way to do just a little to claim that
she helped and then she disappeared.

“
Alright, I’m out of here.
See you tomorrow,” Peyton said on her way out of the kitchen. At
least they were on speaking terms, but there was still some
underlying tension between them. Jada said Peyton was probably
jealous of Christina’s relationship, but Christina wasn’t sure that
was true. Something else was going on with her sister.

“
Hey, baby. You almost
ready to go?” Luke walked up behind her and placed a kiss near her
ear, the warmth of his breath sending a sweet thrill through her
body.

“
Perfect timing.” She
turned to face him, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Has
everyone else left?”

Luke shook his head. “Not quite. I
just finished playing pool with Jerry and there are a few people
still downstairs playing Spades.”

“
Oh, that’ll probably go on
for another two hours.” Christina stepped out of Luke’s arms and
grabbed her handbag from the lower shelf in the pantry. “Let me
just say bye to my grandparents. Hopefully, they’re not upstairs
changing clothes yet.”

Christina and Luke headed toward the
front of the house hand in hand and ran into her grandfather on the
way to the door.

“
Hey, kids. Are you two
leaving?” he asked over his shoulder.

“
In a few minutes. We just
wanted to say bye to you and Gram before we left.”

“
Okay, give me a second.
This is Walter at the door. He has a piece of art that he’s
insisting I see before your grandmother and I leave.”

“
Oh, cool. Maybe I’ll check
it out too.” Christina was drawn to art like ants to sugar. She
couldn’t resist sticking around to see what new piece her
grandfather’s friend had found. Walter wasn’t an art broker, but he
and her grandfather were art enthusiasts.

“
You don’t mind do you?”
Christina whispered close to Luke’s ear.

“
Nope. Today my time
belongs to you. If this is how you want to spend it, looking at art
instead of making love to your man, then…” He flashed that sexy
grin and wiggled his eyebrows.

“
Ohhh. In that case, give
me ten minutes and then we’re out of here.”

“
Alright, Walt, let’s make
this quick,” her grandfather said by way of greeting when he opened
the front door. He and Walter were the best of friends, growing up
together in Arkansas before later moving to Ohio.

“
Hey Uncle, Walter.”
Christina wrapped her arms around his frail shoulders. He was tall
like her grandfather but seemed to get thinner as he
aged.

“
Good seeing you,
sweetheart.”

Christina was pretty sure he didn’t
know which granddaughter she was and always went the safe route in
referring to all of them as sweetheart. She introduced him to
Luke.

“
Nice meeting you young
man.”

“
Same here, sir.” Luke
shook Walter’s hand.

“
Okay, Walt. Show me what
you have there.”

Christina and Luke followed them into
her grandfather’s office, her favorite room in the house. She
always felt at home when she stepped into the room, the smell of
leather and sandalwood greeting her at the door. The large space
with wall-to-wall bookshelves and huge leather furniture brought
back fond memories of when she and her cousins used to play in the
office.

“
Steven, you have to take a
look at this. I almost fell over when I found this on eBay. It cost
a pretty penny, but I think when you see it, you’ll agree that this
masterpiece is worth every single cent.”

“
You said it’s a
landscape?” Her grandfather asked and pulled a foldaway easel from
next to one of the bookshelves while Walter struggled to remove the
painting out of the sheath.

“
Yes. Do you remember the
creek in Arkansas where we all used to fish?” Walter
asked.

“
Of course. It’s my
favorite spot in the world. That’s where I asked my Katherine to
marry me, right under that huge elm tree.”

The small hairs on the back of
Christina’s neck stood at attention. She unconsciously took a step
back as tension spun in her gut.

It couldn’t be.

As if sensing Christina’s distress,
Luke moved closer, his arm slid around her waist. “You okay?” His
words were quiet, meant for her ears only.

All Christina could do was nod, her
focus trained on the painting that was still covered. She didn’t
want to jump to conclusions, but a sinking feeling lodged in her
chest as she struggled to breathe.

It was as if Walter removed the
covering in slow motion and then there it was. Her first sell. The
painting that had landed her an agent.

All the air seemed to seep from the
room and her knees went weak. If it weren’t for Luke holding her
up, Christina was sure she would have puddled to the
floor.

Her grandfather stood opened mouth,
gaping at the picture. “Who’s the artist?” he finally
asked.

“
Sasha something or
another.” Walter put on his glasses and pulled a sheet of paper
from his wallet. “Oh, here we go. The artist is Sasha
Knight.”

How in the world did he
find this?

“
Never heard of her, but if
the rest of her work is anything like this …” Steven Jenkins’ voice
trailed off as he continued staring at the painting and then he
turned to Christina. “Do you remember when I used to tell you and
your cousins stories about the creek?”

Perspiration laced Christina’s top lip
and her heart beat double time. All she could do was nod, not
trusting herself to say anything.

“
I told you this was a
piece that you had to see.” Walter straightened the painting on the
easel as both he and her grandfather studied the art.

“
The details are
unbelievable. I had a photo, but it disappeared years ago. I wish I
still had it because this painting is almost identical, even down
to the daffodils along the water’s edge.” Christina didn’t miss the
wistfulness in her grandfather’s voice. He had always been full of
stories of his childhood, but the creek held so many fond memories
of his youth.

Guilt stabbed Christina in the gut for
borrowing the photo without telling him and then not returning it.
That was her first landscape painting. She had entered it into a
contest not thinking it would be the painting to jumpstart her
career.

She could feel Luke’s gaze on her as
she tuned in and out of her grandfather and Walter’s
conversation.

“
Baby, this is a perfect
opportunity to tell him. I’m right here with you.”

Of course, he was right, but
…

“
Steven?” Her grandmother’s
voice carried from the hallway. “You’re going to make us late,” she
said walking into the room wearing a sleek navy blue dress with low
heels. “Oh, hi Walter. I should have known you were the one holding
him up.”

Walter grinned and kissed her on the
cheek. “Hey, Katy. This old coot would have probably been down here
putzing around whether I was here or not.”

“
Oh, my.” Christina’s
grandmother moved closer to the painting. “This is the creek. My
goodness, the picture is so lifelike. It’s like I’ve been
transported back to that day in May when you asked me to marry
you.” She smiled up at Steven, looping her arm through
his.

Christina couldn’t take anymore. It
was as if her heart was going to beat right out of her
chest.

“
Grampa, Gram, we’re going
to head out.” Luke dropped his arm from around her. “Take care
Uncle Walter.”

They made a hasty retreat from the
house and neither she nor Luke spoke until they were safely in the
car and on their way home.

“
Please don’t be
disappointed in me,” Christina said staring out of the passenger
side window of Luke’s Lexus RC350. The intimate interior of the
luxury vehicle, with seats that felt as if they were hugging you,
did nothing to comfort her. “I just wasn’t ready to come
clean.”

“
I’m not disappointed.
Surprised maybe, but definitely not disappointed in you.” He
squeezed her thigh before returning his hand to the steering wheel.
“I’m sure you’ll tell them when you’re ready. But…”