Second Chance Girl
Page 37

Carol couldn’t help adding, “He’s right. She’s sweet, but has a nose for trouble. Plus, she’d totally eat all the food.”
“I’ll make a note that Sophie’s leaving,” Pallas said as she entered the information.
Carol leaned close and lowered her voice. “Relieved about the dog sitter?”
“You have no idea,” Pallas whispered back.
They went through the rest of the list.
“I can’t believe I’ll be seeing you all in person for our next meeting,” Maya said with a laugh. “I’m very excited.”
“Us, too,” Pallas told her. “If that’s everything, we’ll let you go.”
Carol was about to grab her purse and bolt when Maya said, “Carol, can you stay for a second? I want to talk to you about something.”
“Sure.”
Trapped like a rat, she thought, hoping Maya didn’t also ask Mathias to stay. But the other woman only waved goodbye to everyone as they filed out of the room.
When they were alone, Maya leaned close to the camera. “I heard about your Millie project and that Ronan is donating a piece to help raise the money.”
“I’m heading out to his place tomorrow to choose one. I have no idea what I’m supposed to look for.”
“He’s brilliant. I don’t think you can go wrong with anything he does.” Maya tilted her head. “When Del and I are in Happily Inc, we’d like to do a video about Millie and your quest to raise money for her herd. I don’t know if Mathias mentioned it, but we own a video production company. This is what we do, all over the world. We’d make something short you could use on your website. I’ve been emailing with your dad and he has some great ideas for where we could set up our shots. You’ve been really sweet to help with the wedding and this is my way of saying thank-you.”
“You don’t have to do that,” Carol said automatically.
“I want to. Del and I love our work. It won’t take long and we’ll have time.”
“Thank you. That would be wonderful. We need to beef up our website so we can continue to raise money to support the preserve. A video from you and Del would really help.”
“Good. We’re looking forward to seeing you and Millie in person in a week.”
“Us, too.”
They ended the call. Carol sat alone in the conference room as she tried to figure out what had just happened. She hadn’t done much of anything to help with the wedding, so why would Maya want to thank her in such an extraordinary way? Did Mathias have something to do with it?
There was only one way to get an answer and right now speaking to him was impossible. She had no idea what she thought or felt, let alone what to say. The man made her insane.
The only solution seemed to be not to think about him. An impossible task considering he pretty much haunted her thoughts nearly every second of every day.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CAROL STOPPED BY the studio before heading up the mountain. She’d seen Mathias’s car still parked in his driveway, so knew he was home and it was safe. Okay, not safe, exactly. Just that she wouldn’t run into him—something she couldn’t deal with right now.
She pulled into the studio’s parking lot, then went around back where Natalie had told her she would be working.
The huge open art studio was nearly the size of a warehouse. There were high ceilings, lots of light, and several separate workstations. Mathias and Ronan took the far end—massive, dangerous-looking ovens dominated the space. Nick’s area was more in the middle. He mostly worked with wood—creating carvings that were so lifelike as to breathe. Natalie had claimed a small corner close to the double doors.
Carol walked in and found her friend sitting at a large drafting table. Natalie created beautiful mixed-media artwork, but instead of using acrylic or oil, she used scraps of paper and found objects.
Natalie looked up. Carol waved and walked over to sit in the spare chair by the table. She saw several small origami animals standing together. They were all in shades of dark pink and purple.
“Adorable,” Carol said as she studied a three-inch-high penguin. “Who are they for?”
Natalie seemed to hesitate for a second, then pushed up her glasses and smiled. “I have a friend with a nine-year-old daughter. She’s into pink and purple these days and adores animals.”
“They’re wonderful. She’ll love them.” Carol wondered who Natalie knew with a girl. None of their friends had daughters. Maybe it was someone she’d known from before she moved to Happily Inc.
“Thanks. So today’s the big day. You’re driving up the mountain.”
Carol wrinkled her nose. “I’m not going on a pilgrimage. I’m just picking out a piece of artwork for an auction. Which is why I wanted to stop by. You’re an artist with a great eye—any advice?”
“Anything of Ronan’s will sell for big money. He’s so gifted.” Natalie sighed. “I wish I were that talented.”
“You are! Look at the beautiful paintings you create.”
“Thank you for being my friend, but let’s get real. My stuff sells for maybe three hundred dollars. Ronan’s can go for three hundred thousand dollars. We’re not in the same league.”
“Beauty and creativity aren’t about money.”
“Maybe not but money helps pay the bills.” Natalie laughed. “It’s okay. Ronan’s used to others envying his talent, if not his brooding personality.” She reached across the table and picked up a small owl, then placed it in Carol’s hand.
“At the risk of mixing my metaphors, not to mention my animals, choose wisely, young grasshopper.”
“That’s not especially helpful.”
“Sorry. Ask Ronan what will sell for the most. No one knows what his buyers like better than he does.”
“Isn’t that insulting and crass? Shouldn’t I love the art for the sake of it?”
“Not when you’re trying to get the most money out of the sale.”
“Thanks,” Carol murmured, secretly wishing she was dealing with Mathias instead. They might be in an awkward phase of their relationship, but he was always easy to talk to. Even when he was making her crazy, she was comfortable around him. Ronan was a lot more mysterious.
“Wish me luck,” she said as she rose.
“You’ll do fine.”
Carol followed the directions Mathias had given her. Ronan’s house was several miles off the main highway. As the roads got steeper and steeper, she was grateful for the relatively warm weather and dry conditions. She would not want to make this journey when it was raining. As for snow—she didn’t think he lived high enough for that to ever be a real problem.
At about a thousand feet, desert gave way to lowland scrubs and small trees. At two thousand feet, she entered actual forest, no doubt watered by the huge underground aquifer that allowed the town to flourish.
She turned onto a private road and drove until she saw a huge stone house. The structure seemed to have grown out of the mountainside—no doubt because of a great architect, she thought as she walked to the front door. There were lots of windows and trees everywhere. She would guess the back of the house had amazing views of the whole valley.
Ronan opened the door before she could knock.
Like his brothers, he dressed casually in jeans and a T-shirt. His coloring was lighter than theirs, but she recognized the smile.