Rachel was moving from piece to piece in a slow glide. She wouldn’t buy anything here, since she was far more likely to pick up simple nature scenes in junk shops or use one of her crafty ideas to form art out of the rocks and plants surrounding their property. But she enjoyed beauty, so she explored the area more like a museum visitor, absorbing the content with obvious relaxed enjoyment.
Then Ben turned his attention to Cass. Though she hadn’t indicated she was looking for anything in particular, it seemed one specific item had captured her attention in the new arrivals area. The piece was large, since she had her head tilted up, and the side of the thick wooden frame traversed six feet of the wall. However, from his vantage point, Ben couldn’t see the subject matter.
Marcie stopped beside her and looked up at it. For an instant, their expressions were almost identical, an unexpected sadness mixed with appreciation for the work. Marcie slid her arm around Cass’s waist and Cass leaned against her, another unexpected reaction. Ben’s brow creased. Marcie spoke to her and Cass nodded, gripping the hand at her waist. As the women moved onward, Marcie pointed to another couple pieces that seemed to lighten both their moods, since Cass chuckled, the pleasant, feminine sound reaching Ben’s ears.
However, as they moved up the stairs toward the gallery’s second level, Marcie glanced toward Ben over Cass’s shoulder. She twitched her chin in a significant yet subtle movement toward the painting they’d left. Ben nodded, understanding, and Marcie returned to talking to her sister.
After they disappeared out of view, he rose and moved to the painting. When he stood before it, he instantly understood why the two sisters had reacted to it as they had. It was a Buddhist monastery in the mountains, the structure nestled in among trees and rock, a star-strewn and moonlit sky cloaking it all. The title of the painting was “Peace at Last.”
Marcie and Cassandra’s oldest brother, Jeremy, had died recently, the result of a lifelong battle with drug addiction. The grief, particularly for Cass, was still fresh. But during his final years, their troubled sibling had found peace at last at a monastery in Thailand, thanks to contacts Jon had in the area.
Ben moved to the employee manning the desk and quietly handled the transaction, instructing him that he’d pick it up the following day. The employee, a young, fashionably dressed man in gray vest, white dress shirt and black slacks, understood Ben’s request for discretion and assured him he wouldn’t put a sold sign on the work while Cass was still in the store. His co-worker, another male twenty-something, nodded in vigorous agreement as he arranged frame pieces the two men had been discussing. Ben concluded he must work in the back, because he was covered with a light frosting of sawdust and wore jeans and a denim shirt.
As Ben returned to his seat, he thought about where Cass would put the picture. She’d probably have Lucas hang it on the back wall of the sunroom. It was her favorite reading, visiting and napping area. She’d frame the painting with the exotic plants she placed strategically amid the comfortable lounge furniture.
It wasn’t the usual thing, a man so intimately knowing the behaviors and preferences of his closest friends’ wives, but then they weren’t the usual kind of group. Proof of his thoughts, Savannah and Rachel had found their way to the painting, and, almost at the same time, they glanced toward him. He gave them a slight nod, confirming he’d already made the purchase, and Savannah’s expression warmed as Rachel smiled.
Rachel headed up the stairs while Savannah drifted away to consider a clay sculpture. Okay, this one wouldn’t be for the nursery, since it was of two figures twined erotically together, but Ben wondered if she was considering it for her and Matt’s master bedroom. They had a long glass table along one wall, below the mounted flat screen. The only thing there right now was a blue pottery piece Rachel had given Savannah for her birthday, so it left room for the sculpture Savannah was studying.
When they’d come into the gallery, Ben had noted there was one other patron, a man in slacks and golf shirt. He’d disappeared into the back display rooms, but had now reappeared and was perusing the paintings. Or appearing to do so.
He might have come in with that intent, but when he started ambling in Savannah’s direction, Ben easily picked up that his purpose had changed. Or maybe this was a normal hunting ground for the guy.
Ben narrowed his eyes. Logically, he knew Savannah was more than capable of brushing off a come-on in a public place. Just as he knew Cass made more than enough money to buy a pair of pretty shoes. That wasn’t the point.
What particularly irritated him was he knew the guy could clearly see she was married. That three-carat diamond flanked by diamond-studded wedding and anniversary bands was kind of hard to miss. This guy wasn’t looking for a relationship. Just an afternoon hook-up, which meant he was probably married himself.
Shame they couldn’t fit a body in the trunk next to the women’s packages without the risk of getting blood on them. That might be the only thing that saved his life.
He’d gotten close enough to Savannah to speak to her in low tones. People who appreciated art always seemed to do that, talking in hushed voices. Savannah tilted her head his way. She wasn’t unfriendly, but she didn’t smile. She’d recognized the same thing Ben had, probably as soon as the guy had darkened the area beside her.
She responded to him, apparently discussing the artwork. Giving him a courteous nod, she started to move away. He put a hand on her arm, his expression amused, teasing, as if chastising her for running away from him.
Ben was already on his feet as the guy was reaching out, but Savannah glanced Ben’s way and shook her head, a subtle movement. Cutting her eyes back to the man, she said something. Whatever it was resulted in a dramatic change. He backed off, his demeanor far less charming. Though he made a pretense of looking at some other pieces, he exited the store within a minute. Savannah went back to her own interests, but she tossed Ben a look that told him she’d had it well in hand. She also mouthed Neanderthal, Dana’s favorite term for him and the other K&A men when they reacted so protectively.
He spread his hands out in a conciliatory way, but backed it up with an unrepentant look as he took his seat. Yeah, she was tough, but if Matt thought he’d let some asshole man-handle the mother of his child and the love of his life, the best outcome for Ben was looking for another job. The far more likely scenario was Matt having him buried beneath the K&A parking garage under a new layer of cement. For old times’ sake, he might make sure he was dead first. Maybe.
Savannah came to him when she was done with her looking. Since he was in the only chair in that corner, he started to rise, but she shook her head and amused him when she perched on his knee, accepting his hand at her waist to steady her. “Find something?” he asked.
“I’m going with the Blue Dog print, as well as that smaller one of Pete the Cat, sitting on the street sign at Jackson Square. That can go in Angelica’s playroom.”