Page 104 of Family Affair

Coco turned around to see Lucy leaning against the door leading to her room. “All that glitters is not gold.”

Lucy’s brows rose in an expression of dubious surprise. “Since when did you become so jaded?”

Since when? “This is a very good question, mom. Since I got involved with his kind of people.” She angrily pointed her finger at the door that Ross had just cleared.

She couldn't think about what Ross had revealed. It couldn't have been true. He had dropped the bomb to mess with her head. Ross and Cade shared some heavy history, and now Ross wanted to infect her with his distrust.

And she was afraid it was working.

To distract herself from the onslaught of doubts, Coco picked up the paintings she brought back from La Vedova and set out to carefully remove them from their cardboard wrapping. Sitting cross legged on the floor, she took them out one by one, critically examining each work before sticking the canvases to the closet where a wire shelving was repurposed to hold the paintings upright.

She was good. And they were quality paintings. She stood by what she had produced, and Rosa could shove her opinion where the sun didn’t shine.

Suddenly, Coco frowned, not comprehending what she was holding. Her brain made a complete stop. For a full minute, she stared fixedly at the drawing.

“What a cute illustration!” Lucy came up from behind and was looking at what was in Coco’s lap. “Not your usual style. Is it not yours, honey? Whose is it?”

Slowly, Coco lifted her eyes to look at her mother.

“This,” she said hoarsely, “is an example of the late Frank Sheffield’s considerable talent. The Pollock drawing.”