SECRETS & LIES 7 (Secrets & Lies #7) - H.M. Ward Page 0,31

You always have. Don’t let that asshole steal this from you.” She hesitates and adds, “But if it’s too much right now, I understand.”

Shaking my head, I sit on the stool and smile. “No, Ma. It’s perfect.”

She beams. “That’s the first time you’ve called me Ma in a really long time.”

I glance over my shoulder at her. “You used to hate it.”

“I don’t feel that way anymore.” She glances around, trying to hide her happiness. “Bathroom is back there, a mini-fridge is fully stocked over there, and I hope you brought your cell because I’m leaving you here to paint.”

Smiling, I laugh lightly and show her my phone, “Yup, I’ve got it.” After I promise her I’ll call when I’m done for the day, she hands me a set of keys and heads out.

I glance around at my first studio. The feeling is bittersweet. I select a paintbrush from the glass and wind my hair into a bun, then stab it with the brush before I get to work.

CHAPTER 17

Loneliness leaks from my heart and doesn’t stop no matter what I do. I miss him. I miss Nate. Another few days creep by at sloth speed. I spend the day and most of the night painting. I’ve taken to calling an Uber when I go home because it’s past midnight. Mom is different. She changed that night. So did I.

My paintings are all dark and fragmented. There’s no flow, no life. It’s as if my soul were sucked dry. Exasperated, I toss my brush across the room. It splatters dark blue paint on the concrete floor and skids to a stop.

My phone chimes. It’s probably Beth again. We’ve been texting nearly non-stop. She met a guy and is determined to keep him from her brothers. I smile and reach for my phone. When I see the name on the screen, my chest tightens.

NATE: CAN I SEE YOU?

“I wish, but I’m two thousand miles away,” I mutter to the empty room.

As I start to type back, I feel eyes on the back of my neck. As I turn slowly, I know he’s already here, standing in the doorway. “Nate?” I say his name like a question, certain it’s not him. It can’t be.

He smiles sheepishly at me. “Sorry for the lack of notice, and the total dick moves in Texas. I thought I had a little time, and then you were gone. I didn’t know until you’d left.”

I’m frozen, emotions locked up tight, and nothing spreads across my face—not happiness or hatred. I’m blank as the canvases around me.

Nate steps toward me, his eyes locked on mine. “I took a chance. I came to find you, and your Mom said you were here. I hope you don’t mind.” He’s careful, cautious.

I’m mute, lips parted, silently staring.

He continues, “You see I was in New York, and I thought I’d see if you were all right.”

“What were you doing there?” The question tumbles out.

He lowers his head and then inhales slowly, making his eyes meet mine once more. “I just received two payments—one from the fracking company that bought my land for top dollar. The other from the insurance agent who was certain my house burned to the ground because my girlfriend didn’t know how to cook.”

I snort a small laugh and look away. “Well, that’s mostly true.”

“I never thanked you for that. For protecting me, for helping me.”

“You would have done the same for me.”

He says nothing, just watches me with those sapphire eyes. He continues, “I gave the money from the oil company to an environmental fund who filed for an injunction this afternoon. Ferro can’t drill until the court hears the case.” He smirks, revealing a dimple on his left cheek. “And the rest of this, well, I was talking to my half brother, and it turns out he’s not an asshole. He’s actually a good guy.”

“Peter?”

He nods. “Yeah. He offered me a job up here.”

My heart thumps once and falls into my sneakers. I planned to go back to Texas, but he won’t be there. He’ll be up here. “Did you take it?”

“Yes.”

My eyes sting as they get glossy with tears. I blink them back and smile fakely, trying to be happy for him. “So, you’re a part of the Ferro family now? I’m glad. It sucks being alone.”

He steps forward, closer to me, but still an arm's length away. “Yeah, I thought about what you said. I'm not at all like my biological father, so it wasn’t right