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Rose pulled back and had a wide grin on her face. Tears streamed down her face as she attempted to talk.
“She…she…bought…wants…more…fighting over…painting!”
Her face returned to my neck, and the five guys all turned to Lily and Kipton.
“Can you decode that, please?” Blayze asked.
“Jax hung up her landscape painting today.”
Rose said something, but it was muffled.
“Not even five minutes after he hung it, Kylee Heart walked in.”
“Who is that?” Ty asked.
“Uncle Ty, she’s only the hottest actress around right now. She’s filming that western show south of Hamilton,” Nathan said with a look like he couldn’t believe his uncle had no idea who the actress was.
Lily went on. “Kylee loved it, said she wanted to commission the artist for more paintings!”
“Meanwhile,” Kipton added. “Jonathon Wiser came in and saw it. He wanted it for his new bed-and-breakfast. Kylee told him she had just bought it, and Jonathon then asked Jax if Rose had any more. Then Kylee said, ‘oh no, get in line, buddy, she’s painting another one for me.’ Then she suggested he commission Rose to paint the creek on his property where his bed-and-breakfast was, and he thought it was a great idea!”
Lily nodded. “And Rose had been standing there the whole time!”
Kipton jumped up and said, “And Jax sold it for three-thousand dollars!”
“What!” Josh said as he stumbled back and bumped into Nathan.
I held Rose tighter as I said, “I told you, sweetheart. I knew it would sell fast because it was so beautiful.”
“Rose, I’m so damn proud of you.”
When Rose heard her father’s voice, she drew back, and I set her down. She wiped at her tears and looked directly at her father. “Daddy, I think I could do this. I think I could sell my paintings.”
He smiled at her, cupped her face in his hands, and brushed his thumbs across her cheeks. “Baby, I always knew you could. Don’t tell your mother this, but you’re a better painter than she is!”
We all laughed.
Rose turned to look at me, then back to her father. “I’m also going to be taking a teacher certification class, and I applied to be the art teacher at the elementary school next year.”
Ty’s eyes went wide with shock. “An art teacher?”
“I know it’s not what I thought I wanted to do, and I had a ton of fun designing Bryson’s house, but I don’t want to do that for a living. Maybe I’ll also do some consulting if a firm needs it for environmental input on their project.”
“Sweetheart,” Ty said as he took her hands in his. “Why didn’t you tell us you wanted to pursue art? Your mother and I would have stood behind you a hundred percent.”
Rose looked at me and smiled. I leaned in closer and whispered, “I told you.”
When Rose turned back to her father, he had tears in his eyes. “Rose, we would never be upset that you followed your heart. We simply want you to be happy.”
Ty drew his daughter into his arms and held her.
“I’ve never been so proud of you, Rose.”
When they broke apart, Rose wiped her tears away. “Thank you so much, Dad. I was confused about what I wanted to do.” She smiled at me. “But everything seems to be falling into place now.”
“I’ve got my own news!” Josh stated, causing everyone to turn and look at him.
“Bryson is going to be our new coach!”
Rose spun around, her mouth gaping open as Nathan added. “And he’s going to give us private pitching lessons!”
“For free!” Ty added with a wide smile as Bryson just groaned.
Chapter Twenty-Four
ROSE
I stood in front of the large, two-story home and stared at it. It was finished. I wasn’t sure how Bryson and the contractor had managed to get it built as fast as they did, but here it was, one week before Thanksgiving, and it was finished. It was empty, but finished.
Arms wrapped around me, and I felt Bryson’s chin rest on the top of my head. “It’s beautiful, Rose.”
“How in the world did you manage to get them to build it so fast?”
“Easy. I offered bonuses if they got it finished before Christmas. It was my bonus they got it finished before Thanksgiving.”
Turning, I looked up into his green eyes. “So your bribes worked?”
He shrugged. “They did, and I won’t feel bad about it. They still have some items to finish up inside. The punch list is long, but I told them all to take a week off for the holiday. Since everything is inside now, if it snows, we’re good.”
I placed my hands on his chest, wishing we didn’t have coats on. I missed feeling the heat of his body against mine.
“It really is a beautiful house. No one believes me when I tell them my girlfriend designed it. They keep asking what firm you own!”
Laughing, I dropped my head to his chest while he wrapped me in his arms once again.
