Page 29 of Summer Fling (The Kingston Brothers #5)

Chapter Nineteen

Dalton

O ver the past two weeks, Blake was engrossed in preparing for her class, ordering supplies and testing various subject ideas. There were more canvases in my living room than ever before, but I loved having her things in my space.

I promised Hudson I’d talk to Shep, so I showed up at his house on Saturday morning. When I arrived, he was cutting boards on the front lawn.

Shep turned off the saw. “You here to help?”

“Blake has her art class at the library today. But I wanted to check on you.”

Shep rolled his neck to ease the kinks. “Everyone worried about me? Or was it Hudson?”

“You know it was.”

He gestured at the piles of wood next to him. “Tell him I’ve got everything under control here.”

“I can do that.”

He gripped the table in front of him. “The house is keeping me busy. But it’s good. I’m excited to bring this place back to life.”

“Grandma would love that you’re doing this.”

His expression softened. “She sure would. I want to fill it with family. Once I get the renovations done, we should hold Sunday dinner here.”

He gestured for me to follow him around the back of the house to the patio and pool. There were a few tall palm trees but nothing impeding our ocean view. I settled into one of the chairs he’d arranged around a wrought iron table, and he grabbed me a water from his outdoor fridge.

I twisted off the cap and drank from the bottle, considering him.

His phone rang; Kinsley’s name came up on the screen. “She almost never calls. I should take this.”

Kinsley was supposed to be helping him film the renovations. Although I hadn’t heard if they’d made any progress yet.

Shep stood and paced the patio, not bothering to go somewhere more private. “Kins, what’s going on?”

He listened for a few seconds, then stopped walking. “You’re kidding me. He never fixed it?”

At her response, he bit off a curse. “You can’t live there. Everything is ruined. You said so yourself.”

He fell silent, and I assumed Kinsley was telling him something about where her and her daughter were going to live.

Shep ran a hand through his hair. “You can live here. In my house. I haven’t touched the bedrooms. You can share my bathroom until the guest bathroom is finished. I can take you shopping for clothes.”

I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my thighs, wondering why Shep had offered to let her stay with him. She worked for our company, so any one of us would have stepped in to help her, but I’m not sure any of us would have invited her to move in with us.

But then again, Shep was the last single Kingston brother, and his house had six furnished bedrooms.

“You sit tight. I’m on my way.” He clicked off the call.

I raised a brow. “You gotta go?”

“I need to lock up.” He stood frozen in one spot as if he couldn’t decide what to do first.

“I’ll put your tools away and lock up. You go get Kinsley.”

He shot me a grateful look. “I appreciate it.”

He disappeared around the corner, and I heard the rumble of his truck as he took off. I cleaned up his tools and locked the front door.

When I returned to my house, Blake was outside painting while Lilliana played in the water table. I came up behind Blake, dropping a kiss on her bare shoulder which was tense. "What's wrong?"

"I can't decide what to teach, and I'm running out of time. Today's the day. Will they want to paint a sunset, the beach, a palm tree? Is that cliche because we live on an island? Maybe I should have them paint a still life. You know, an apple or a banana."

"I think you should do the sunset." I nodded toward the canvas that was leaning against a nearby palm tree. "It has the beach, a tree, and the beautiful colors."

Her shoulders lowered. "You think?"

I kissed her softly. "You're worrying too much. It doesn't matter what you paint. Everyone's going to love you."

She leaned into my chest. "So you keep saying."

"I might be a little biased, but I've seen how people react to you. There's no chance that they won't love you in this role." I massaged her shoulders, easing the tightness I felt.

Her head rolled back. "That feels good."

I squeezed the ball of tension in her muscles. "You should pick something and go with it. Stop second-guessing yourself."

She moaned. "I don't know why I'm so worked up about this. It's just a silly art class."

I turned her so that she faced me. "It's not silly. This is important to you. It's your dream."

She let out a sigh. "I can't wait until the first one is over with. I'm so nervous."

"I have a feeling you're going to love it so much; you won't want it to end." She was passionate about sharing art with others, and I knew she'd love it.

She winced. "I have to get ready to go."

"I'll pack everything up and then watch Lil so you can get ready. Then we'll go to the library."

She raised a brow. "You're coming too?"

"I want to support you, and I signed Lilliana up." I grinned.

Her eyes widened with surprise. "You didn't have to do that."

'"How could I miss the event of the summer? Everyone is talking about it."

She groaned. "No, they're not."

"Mom said that the women from the senior center are coming, which means everyone is coming." They tended to spread the word about events going on around the island.

She lifted her hand to show that it was shaking. "How am I going to paint?"

"As soon as you pick up the brush, you'll relax because you love to paint, and you enjoy sharing your joy with everyone else."

She nodded. "You're right."

"I know I am," I said, and she laughed.

I sent her upstairs, then packed the truck with the easels and other supplies she'd found online: paints, brushes, and canvases. I'd convinced her to talk to Saylor about building a simple website so that she could advertise her classes.

I had a feeling she was going to be in high demand after this. She'd be offering classes at the community center, the senior center, and the resort at the end of the island. I was selfishly happy because maybe if she could see she could make her dreams come true, she might stay.

I ignored the voice in my head that reminded me she wanted to share her art with the world, not just this small island.

I got Lilliana dressed in a pretty yellow dress and was just putting on her white sandals when Blake came downstairs in a blouse and long flowy skirt, looking like the artist she was. "You look beautiful."

She nodded toward Lilliana. "You know her dress is going to get paint on it, right?"

I remembered how she'd said other employers hadn't appreciated her painting with their kids. "It'll make it look even better. We should go if we want to have enough time to set up before people get there."

I'd called in my brothers and their significant others to help us unload, and they met us at the library.

We had everything inside within a few minutes, and Blake took over directing where to put everything. Each easel would be a station. They were expecting so many people today; she was essentially teaching two classes, one right after the other. So we put two of everything at each station.

She'd set her easel up by the windows with the sample painting showcased on another.

Hudson appeared next to me. "This is cool."

I nodded.

He glanced at me. "Are you nervous for her?"

"I had to hold it together this morning for her, but now I'm a mess."

He chuckled. "You should stand in the back so she doesn't notice."

Picking up Lilliana, I edged toward the back of the crowd, and he followed me. When we were safely tucked away by the last easel, he asked, "Does this mean she'll stay on the island at the end of the summer?"

"I don't know,” I said, setting Lilliana on the floor so she could get her hands on the brushes.

"You haven't talked to her yet?" he asked incredulously.

I waved a hand at the room. "She's been frantic, worrying about everything being delivered in time and what to teach."

"Ivy said she's great with Henry. She's patient, and Henry adores her."

"She's going to be great today. She doesn't have anything to worry about." Then why was there a pit in my stomach?

Lilliana grabbed a brush and began to rub it over the blank canvas. The paint wasn't out yet, so I didn't have to worry about her ruining anything. It was just for fun.

Hudson didn't offer anything else, and I knew he was waiting for a real answer from me.

I shifted on my feet. " I need to talk to her, and I will. Once this is over."

He inclined his head toward Blake, where a man was talking to her, holding the hands of a little boy. "Be sure that you do."

Hudson walked away, but I was fixated on Blake's conversation with this dad. If he reached out to touch her, I'd intervene. But I didn't like how he was smiling as he was talking to her, and her face lit up as she talked about whatever art-related thing was the topic of their conversation.

I hoped it was art related, at least. What if he was asking her out? I clenched my jaw so hard I was worried I'd crack a tooth.

Before I could decide what to do, Hazel appeared in front of the room and waved her hands. "Can I have everyone's attention?"

When the crowd quieted, she continued, "We have two classes scheduled this morning, and I'd like to get started. This will be the first but hopefully not the last art class with Ms. Blake. We're so excited to have her here this morning to share her love of art with us."

Everyone clapped, and I picked Lilliana up so that she could see her. She reached her arms out and said, "Blay."

"Not now. Blay's teaching a class."

Lilliana wiggled until she was down, and then she took off. I tried to rush after her, but there were too many people and easels that could topple over if I wasn't careful.

Lilliana reached Blake first and put her arms up. "Up."

"Oh, sweet girl." Blake lifted her, and I finally reached them. "Sorry about that."

"It's okay. But I do need my arms to teach." Then she addressed Lilliana, "I can come around and see your painting in a bit, okay?"