Chapter Eighteen

Moon

Being back at the shop was nice but that probably had more to do with the fact that I was on the gallery side, where the building was still normal. Pristine. Untouched by violence or the blood of my friend.

Being over here allowed me to enjoy stress-free time during the few hours each week I accepted walk-ins from artists. If I didn’t set a specific day and time, I’d never get to interact with customers who stopped in for art supplies and classes, which I surprisingly enjoyed more than this part lately.

Not that I didn’t love the local artists who brought me everything from oils and watercolors to sculptures and even painted gourds. I loved them and their passion for art, but the shop drew all walks of life. Hobbyists, aspiring artists, part-timers and students all showed up in my shop. It gave me an outside connection to the world that I needed. Appreciated. Relished.

As the final walk-in hours drew to a close, the chimes above the door sounded and I looked up just as Jana entered with Max behind her, several packages under his big biceps. “Hey guys, what are you doing here?”

Jana stepped up to the wide wooden table with a smile on her face as she rubbed her growing belly. “I figured I wouldn’t make you track me down this year, since you saved my life and all.”

“While I’m pretty sure that was the doctors, I’m glad you came in of your own free will today. You were giving me a complex,” I said as a joke. I knew we were both thinking about Jana from a few years back, so shy and insecure, always hiding the scar on her face that was barely even visible. I hounded her for weeks to be in my art show until she’d relented.

“And now I’m here to make up for it. Hopefully.” With a nod to Max, who placed three large paper-covered frames on the table, Jana began to unwrap each of them. “Let me know what you think,” she said, her voice shaky and quiet, like the Jana I’d met years ago.

But she did take a step back, giving me space to examine the paintings laid out before me. They were beautiful but different from her usual landscapes and still lifes. The colors were vibrant and emotional, the subjects all human. Her theme was there too, motherhood or maybe the journey of motherhood. Either way it shone through each painting, evoking a visceral reaction of longing and anticipation.

“Okay, when I said let me know, I kind of meant right now.” Jana’s nervous laugh sounded behind me, but I was too transfixed by the brush strokes, the colors and the always rounded belly just barely in the frame. The mother was always there, always watching but never quite part of the picture.

“It’s beautiful,” I told her honestly. “All of them are thought-provoking. Stunning.” Turning to Jana, I couldn’t help but smile. “I know I don’t have a right to be, but I am so proud of you Jana.”

She blushed prettily and swiped an errant tear from her eye. “Thanks Moon, that means the world to me.”

“Does this mean they’re all for the show?” There was more hope than question in my voice and Max snickered, feigning innocence when Jana glared at him.

“Yes, it’s for the show, and I’m leaving it all up to you. But now, I have something for you.”

I was learning that the Reckless Bastards might be big tough guys, but the women they loved were stronger. Tougher. Max picked up another package. This one wasn’t framed, and it was even larger than her paintings for the showing. Slowly and carefully I unrolled the cream drawing paper, revealing a variation on gladiator sandals, long legs and a tie-dye bodice. By the time I reached the top there was no mistaking who it was. Me. “As an Amazonian superhero?”

“Exactly what I said,” Max added proudly.

“It’s not a superhero or an Amazonian, Moon, it’s you. Just you.” She pointed to the hair, long black waves falling of the shoulders and she’d somehow managed to make the streaks of silver shine like diamonds through the sketch.

“I didn’t even know you sketched.”

“I don’t, which makes it a double gift for you. You get my first piece in a new medium, well more like my fifty-first but that part can stay our little secret.”

“I’ll take it to my grave,” I promised. “Seriously Jana, I’m honored. You really are a tremendous artist.”

“You should see me work a spreadsheet,” she joked, still not completely comfortable with praise.

“I have.” Max and I both laughed at the instant flush of her pale ivory skin, barely colored at all from the hot desert sun. “Client, remember?”

“Pregnancy brain, remember?”

“It’s been a few years but I do recall you ordered twice as many brushes as I needed and not enough paper. You need omega-3’s.”

“See Max, I told you Moon would have an answer.” She leaned into his affectionate touch and I had to look away. So much love and admiration, respect between the happy couple that I felt a pang of longing for something I wasn’t even sure I wanted.

Men had proven a disappointment in the long run so when I happened upon one, I never kept them for very long. It was easier that way. For everyone. A buzzing sounded in the distance and it took me a moment to realize I still had guests inside the gallery.

“Moon are you all right? Did you hear me?” Jana’s hand grabbed my shoulder and I looked down at her. “Your phone, it’s ringing. Has been for a while,” she added with worry in her voice.

“Sorry I must have zoned out for a minute. Excuse me?”

“Take your time.”

I hit redial on the unfamiliar number with a frown. “Hello, someone just called from this number?” I was prepared for an unsolicited sales call but I wasn’t prepared for the frightened woman on the other end of the line.

“Are you Moon Vanderbilt, Beau’s mother?”

Oh God, not Beau. “I am. What’s wrong? Please just tell me, no sugarcoating.”

“Beau is having an asthma attack, a pretty bad one. His inhaler isn’t working and the nurse is unfamiliar with the portable machine in his backpack.”

“He needs—”

“An ambulance is already on the way Ms. Vanderbilt. It’ll be much faster for you to meet him at the hospital.”

My heart raced like I’d just run a marathon and for several seconds, I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t focus on anything at all. “Oh. Okay. Thank you, Miss…?”

“Charles. Charlene Charles. Good luck with Beau.”

The call ended. I don’t know how long before I finally got my feet moving across the gallery and toward the door.

“Beau is having another attack,” I explained and tossed the shop keys to Max. “Lock up?”

“We got it. Go take care of my little man,” Jana insisted with a worried smile. “Call us if you need anything.”

With a brief nod, I pushed through the doors and quickly made the trip back home to pick up my purse and my car but I was brought up short after re-locking the front door. “Cross, what are you doing here?”

“What’s wrong?” Big strong hands landed on my shoulders, deep blue eyes looking at me like he was genuinely concerned.

“Nothing. I can’t talk, not now.” Keys fell from shaky hands but Cross was there picking them up. “Sorry. Thanks. I have to go…Beau.”

“What’s wrong with Beau?” His question was straightforward but there was tension in his voice like my little boy mattered to him.

“He had another asthma attack at camp today and they called the ambulance. I need to be there when he gets to the hospital.”

“Of course you do,” he said easily and put one hand against my lower back, guiding me forward as he slipped the keys from my hand. “I’ll drive.” Cross pulled the passenger door open and nodded for me to get in.

I stared numbly at his delicious backside when he jogged around the front of the car. “You don’t have to do this.”

“I know I don’t. But I’m doing it anyway.”

“Thanks.” It had been a long time since I had someone to lean on or even to drive me while Beau was in the middle of an attack. “Did you stop by for something, Cross?”

He grinned over at me, blue eyes twinkling. “To see you, Moon.”

“Oh.” What else could I say?