Page 43 of Shallow Remains

He leaned over to check out Maddy’s canvas. His eyes widened a bit. “Holy shit, it is. It looks just like him.” He narrowed his eyes at her. “I thought you said you hadn’t painted before.”

“I haven’t.” She used to draw a bit in her teens in the little sketchbook someone had bought her, but stopped when she started college.

Maybe she should start again. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed it. The simple pleasure of shutting her mind off and doing something creative. It was freeing.

“You’ve definitely got a good eye,” Willow said, coming up behind her to look over her shoulder. “His little face is just precious.”

He was cute. But she hadn’t put any paint down yet.

“Can I ask you something?” she said to Xanthe.

“Of course. Shoot.” Xanthe added a dab of blue paint to her canvas.

“Is there something wrong with Lachlan?”

Four pairs of eyes shot to her. “What do you mean?” Xanthe asked, clearly confused.

“I mean, why is he single?” He was handsome, kind to people, ran his own business, owned his own home…

It made no sense to her that he was single, and now she was emotionally and physically invested in him. If there were any red flags she’d missed, she wanted to know. Her experience with men was limited, and after what had happened in Syria, she didn’t trust her judgment.

“Has he ever been married?” she continued.

“Yes. But his wife died.”

Maddy stared at her, the end of her paintbrush poised in the air. Oh no… She’d just jammed her entire foot in her mouth without meaning to. “When?”

“Before I met him, before he moved back to Skelly. He never talks about it, and I don’t ask. I think he’s dated a bit here and there, but he hasn’t had a serious relationship since I’ve known him.”

“Nope,” Allistair agreed, frowning in concentration as he swept his brush on his own canvas. “He’s quiet about the dating thing too. Man’s almost as much a vault as his brother, never tells me anything juicy when I ask. It’s annoying.”

“Speaking of juicy, what happened to your date you were supposed to bring tonight?” Xanthe asked him.

Allistair wrinkled his nose and kept painting. “That’s all over.”

“What? I thought you guys really hit it off.”

“So did I, but it turned out he wasn’t the person I thought he was.”

“In what way?”

“He doesn’t recycle. Like, ever. That was the first red flag. I chose to ignore it. Then I noticed how often he eats red meat. Mostly burgers. It was like he was allergic to vegetables or something. I don’t know how many cows have died because of that man during his lifetime, but it’s a lot. Not to mention the environmental implications of that, or the long term impact on his arteries and colon. And don’t even get me started on how gross it was when he used the bathroom. My lavender air freshener didn’t stand a chance against that kind of stench.” He shuddered.

Maddy laughed with the others. Allistair was so funny.

“Honestly, I’m over the whole dating thing,” he said. “Dating’s stupid, and I’m sick of it. What I really want is someone to come home to every night. A partner to build a life with.”

Maddy wouldn’t have thought she would ever want that for herself, but the idea of coming home to Lachlan every day was dangerously appealing.

“I so hear that,” Bronwyn said, busy mixing paint on her palette. “Dating’s fun for a while when you first start, but it gets old fast when nothing sticks. Especially online dating. It’s a freaking minefield.”

“Girl, preach,” Allistair said with a nod.

“You could get a cat,” Maddy said. “Dogs are better for companionship, but they need more time and attention and you work long hours out of the house. Cats are easier to take care of.” She’d always wanted a cat. Would make it happen one day.

Allistair took that in with a solemn nod. “That’s true.”

“Unless you could take the dog to work with you?”