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“So she’s been told,” Gavin replied.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“It means she’s been working since she was a child. Don’t get me wrong. Diane had her reasons, and I respect what she did to save her girls and herself. She and I have our differences, but she’s a good mother and a good manager. I merely worry that acting has become a habit for Brynn when her passion is something else.”
“Her art.”
Gavin stared at him for a moment. “She’s showed you her art?”
“Yes. We talked about it. My mom was an art teacher, so I know about the subject.”
“No wonder you made an impression.” Gavin looked like he’d just figured something out. “She rarely finds anyone who’s interested in her art. Her mother views it as a distraction. Her sister views it, and everything that isn’t about her, as an annoyance. Did you realize she’s drawn you several times?”
He shrugged. “She draws everything. She told me it’s part of her process. She draws a bunch of things and then figures out what she wants to paint. She paints from the drawing.”
He’d caught sight of her easel when he’d picked her up. She had several canvases waiting to be used.
He wondered how she looked while she was painting. He would love to watch her. They could spend weekends like that, with her painting and him taking care of their lives so she didn’t miss the light.
“Yes, I believe that’s what she does. I know she thought she would get to spend more time on her work while she was here. I’m afraid real life came into play.”
“Again, I’m sorry about that. I wish that footage hadn’t gotten out.”
“I think it’s good that it did. It’s better to nip it in the bud, so to speak. All that would have come of it is heartache, and she doesn’t need more of that. It sounds like you don’t need it either, Deputy.”
He was starting to wonder about that, to wonder if it might be better to have an aching heart than an empty one.
The door opened, and Armie was coming through. “Hey, I got a call from the clinic.”
Major got to his feet. Lila LaVigne’s practice was an easy ten-minute walk from the station house. “Is it my dad? His appointment wasn’t supposed to be until Thursday.”
“No. I think it might be Brynn,” Armie said. “Lila told me they’re bringing in someone from the B and B. One of the guests. We got an emergency call from out there. It must be about the same incident.”
He didn’t walk. He started to run for the clinic.
* * *
* * *
“You doing okay?” Harry asked as he took the turn that would take them into town. “Let me know if I’m going too fast.”
Brynn winced as she shifted. Pain flared through her, but it wasn’t scream-worthy. More like a hearty groan. She held it in because the last thing she needed was anyone panicking. “As okay as I can be given the fact that I’m a klutz.”
“You’re not a klutz. You’re quite graceful. And I don’t know that we’re going fast enough.” Her mother reminded her that she wasn’t alone in the truck. After she’d tripped over the cables of the equipment she’d used for this morning’s interview, Brynn had taken a header straight into the pool, twisting her ankle in the process. She might have gotten out of this trip to the ER if she hadn’t hit her head when she’d fallen getting out of the pool. That had been Duke’s fault. He’d been frantic and had gotten under her feet as she’d been exiting the pool while still wearing the Louboutins she always wore for interviews. Well, the ones she used to wear, since she’d broken the heel. When she’d tripped over the dog, she’d gone down again, this time without the aid of falling into water. She’d hit her head on the guide rail that led down into the pool.
She’d stared up at the sky for a moment while Duke had wailed. She wondered where she’d gone wrong in life. She was wet, cold, possibly concussed, and she’d lain there and thought about how to get the blue of that sky right, how to make the clouds look like the marshmallow dream she saw. It was so stunning, the contrasts. The blue sky and white clouds with golden sunshine filtering through both.
Then her mom had walked out, and everything had sped up again.
It had been a catastrophe.
“I don’t want to do anything that could make Brynn sick,” Harry explained. “If she’s got a concussion, she could be nauseous.”
“I’m fine. I’m actually a little hungry.” They kept going on about a concussion, but she was sure she didn’t have one. “I’m sorry about the trouble. And my mom’s wrong. I can be very clumsy.”
