Stars Over Alaska (Wild River #4) - Jennifer Snow Page 0,42
created for the love of it.
And then she’d smile seeing the next one.
He’d tried to teach her to paint and let her fool around on the white canvas wall sometimes, but her passion and talent had ended with photography. When he’d gotten sick, he’d stopped going out to take new photos, so he’d painted hers...
Like the one still on the wall now. The image of the Chugach Mountains in the middle of a rainstorm with thunder and lightning... Ironic that it was the last one he’d done before he’d died—and before her life had gone to shit.
She scanned the shelves and found the dining room painting in the corner, a blanket draped over it. Would her mother be willing to let her have it? Send it to her in LA once she got back there? She hated to think of it here in the garage. And obviously Eddie and Katherine hadn’t wanted it or they would have taken it already.
She wished she could explain how much this small thing meant to her and why she’d gotten upset, but she wasn’t sure anyone would understand. So many important people had been stolen from her life far too quickly and she needed something to hold on to.
The garage door opened and Leslie quickly wiped her eye and voided her expression of any emotion as she turned around. Levi entered and shot her a concerned look. “Just checking on you. I saw you slip out.”
Like she always used to. Like she did that day...
She swallowed hard. “I’m good. Eddie’s cauliflower thing didn’t look very appetizing.” Jokes. Deflecting from real emotion. Her only way to cope.
And this time, Levi let her do it. “Definitely not his best creation,” he agreed, scanning the garage. “This place looks exactly the same as it always did.”
“Yeah... I was just looking for the painting,” she said, slightly embarrassed for her reaction in the dining room. For once she’d like to say she was fine and holding things together and have her actions back her up.
“So you and your mom...everything okay?” he asked carefully.
She sighed and waved a hand. “Bickering as usual. Nothing new there.” Making light of her relationship was the only way to survive it. For years she’d felt sad and guilty and angry. She’d longed for her mother’s support during her teen years. She envied the relationship Katherine had with her and what hurt the most was the fact that her mother didn’t seem to feel like she’d lost anything when Leslie had moved out. She’d never asked her to move back home. She hadn’t made an effort to make things right at all. The more time that passed, the harder it had become to think that they could ever reconcile. She spotted her father’s camera on the shelf next to his old photo albums and processing stuff. She picked it up carefully and blew the layer of dust away. She might not be able to take the painting with her right now, but she’d take the camera. No one was using it. No one else wanted it. It wouldn’t be missed.
“You still taking photos?” Levi asked, looking slightly relieved. “I bet LA provides some stunning scenery.”
She did and it did, but it was a hobby that she liked to keep to herself. She shook her head as she wiped the dust from the lens. “Not really. But I thought I might take a few while we were stuck here.”
His attention caught the word stuck and his face fell slightly.
But she refused to feel guilty for distancing herself from him...from her past. It was a self-preservation thing and if he knew her at all, he’d know that and not take offense. She’d stupidly let her guard fall the night before and look how that had turned out.
Had he thought about the kiss? He must have, but she’d bet he wasn’t replaying it in his mind the way she was. Levi had reacted exactly the way Leslie would have predicted. With distance, with a clear head, by pushing her away. Ignoring the conversation or any discussion about it was the best idea. Forget it ever happened.
“Do you know how much longer that will be?” he asked.
Unfortunately not and it was making her crazy. “No. Still no update on the stalker.”
“I’m sure police in LA are working on it.”
She wasn’t but she nodded. “Is Selena ready to go? Are you ready to head back to the resort?” She’d had enough of the family get-together.