by Lee, Lynette
He stood and began to walk toward the kitchen with his empty dishes but came back when she stood up and wrapped her in his arms.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the house before. I should have.”
It was simple and it was all she needed. She melted into his embrace and let the worry slip away from her. She couldn’t change it now, she guessed. She would just try to ignore the house, try to keep things simple with Noah.
If that was even possible.
Pulling into her parking spot at the apartment complex where she lived, Lily was struck with just how dumpy it was. After spending the night in Noah’s luxurious house, everything looked small and old by comparison. It was going to be hard to go back to her tiny cluttered apartment with the cracked ceiling and old carpet. Especially now that she knew he’d built the house with the intention of them living there together. She wanted to be mad about the added pressure. But unlocking her door and stepping into the musty room that was her entire living space other than her bedroom, what she really wanted was to be back at Noah’s place.
She shrugged out of her clothes and pulled on a t-shirt and shorts. At the moment, she felt like she could use all the comfort she could get. She grabbed a cup of coffee and went to her desk to see what was going on in the world. She’d turned everything off the night before with Noah and it felt strange that she hadn’t checked up on things in almost twenty-four hours.
Waiting in her inbox was an email from an old college friend who she’d contacted looking for the stone artist. Kelly Jacobs lived in Denver and worked at the modern art museum so she had a much better idea of the Colorado arts scene than Lily did. They’d been close friends in college, but they hadn’t talked in months and Lily was excited to hear from her. After briefly catching Lily up on her life in Denver, Kelly told her that she knew the exact artist she was looking for.
Not only had Kelly seen the artist, Isaac Delaney, she had contact information for him as well. Lily was so giddy as she read the email that she jumped around her tiny apartment a few times squealing. It finally looked like the job was coming together. The headboard would be the last piece. All there was left to do was order it and make sure everything was delivered and placed on time.
She hoped the artist would be willing to work with her. If not, she had no idea what she would do. She didn’t allow herself to think about it. Instead, she grabbed her phone and dialed in the number Kelly had given her.
After several rings she got no answer and no recording so she hung up and turned back to the computer. She shot him a quick note introducing herself and letting him know she wanted to commission a piece of work. Once she sent it she sat back with her coffee warming her hands and watched her inbox, hoping for an immediate response. She knew it was silly but she couldn’t help herself. There was too much riding on this one piece.
She shuffled through her papers, looking for something else to do, but after a few minutes she couldn’t take it anymore. There was no use sitting around waiting for him. She had the man’s address. She would just drive to Denver and try to find him. It had been a while since she’d visited her parents anyway and she told herself she was really going to visit them and would just stop by to see the artist since she was in the area. She went to her closet and began dressing once again.
Chapter Ten
The sun was bright and crisp as she headed out. Leaves littered the sidewalks of downtown Crystal Falls as she drove through heading to the freeway. It was getting colder every day and she’d made sure to bring her coat with her, knowing it might be below freezing by the time she returned from Denver. On the way she tried to call the artist twice more but still had no luck reaching him. She was nervous about just dropping in on him. She hoped the address was a business one and not his home. After a while of fiddling with radio stations and not finding anything she wanted to listen to, she dialed her mom’s number.
“Lily! I was just thinking about you,” her mom’s voice blared through the car speakers.
“Oh yeah? I was just thinking about you too.”
“Why haven’t you called lately? I tried to call you yesterday but you didn’t pick up.”
“Sorry about that. I was busy with something and had my phone off.”
“That’s okay, honey. I was just worried about you. You know how I get.”
Lily rolled her eyes. Boy, did she ever.
“I called because I’m going to be in Denver today. I’m meeting an artist to get a piece commissioned for the house I’m working on. Are you and dad going to be around this afternoon? I want to stop by.”
“Of course, honey. Daddy has a golf game this afternoon but I’ll be here and dad should be home in time for dinner.”
“Oh, I don’t know if I’ve got time for dinner. I can’t stay for too long. I want to get back home before it gets too dark.”
“Nonsense. You never visit us anymore. You can stay for dinner. You can even stay the night if you want. That way you wouldn’t have to drive in the dark.”
Ugh. She loved her parents but she couldn’t imagine spending the night with them, sleeping in her childhood bed, having her mom make her breakfast. “Oh, no. I can’t. I’ve got a meeting early. But I can stay for dinner.” It was a small compromise if it got her out of staying the night.
“Good! I’ll make lasagna.”
“Sounds good, mom. I don’t know how long my work’s going to take but I’ll give you a call when I’m headed over. Gotta go now.”
She reached to press the end call button, hoping to cut her mom off from any further conversation, but didn’t quite make it before she continued.
“Your sister told me something interesting yesterday.” The tone was obvious. There was no way she was getting out of this conversation. And she had a pretty good idea what it was going to be about.
“Really? What was that?” Lily’s heart sank. Damn her sister’s big mouth.
“She told me that Noah is working on the same house you are.”
Lily mumbled out a noise. She really didn’t want to be having this conversation.
“Is it true? Lily, are you working with Noah?”
“Yes, mom.” There, out with it. Let the flow of unwanted advice commence.
“Why didn’t you tell me? This is big news, honey. And you made me hear it second-hand from your sister.”
And wouldn’t Rachel regret it? Lily was already plotting to get her sister back for telling their mother. She’d even specifically asked her not to. What a bitch.
“I don’t know, mom. It didn’t seem that important. And I knew you’d freak out.”
“I don’t ‘freak out’. You should have told me.”
Funny, the high pitch of her mother’s voice sounded a whole lot like freaking out to her.
“Sorry.” She thought about making up an excuse, but why bother? Her mom wasn’t going to listen to her anyway.
“Are you two together again?” The hope in her mother’s voice made her grip the steering wheel harder. Imagine if she’d known Lily had spent an entire night with him, doing things that would make her mother blush. She could tell her the truth, she supposed. Tell her that they were seeing each other again. But then she’d never hear the end of it. Not only that, but she wasn’t really sure she would say they were together. It had all happened so fast. It wasn’t at all clear what they were doing.
“We aren’t together. He just happens to be working on the same job as me.”
“Quite a coincidence, don’t you think?” her mother asked.
“Not really. There are only a few architects and a few designers in the area. It was bound to happen eventually.” Although she hadn’t expected it to happen so soon. Hadn’t really even thought of the possibility before she’d shown up at the site to find his truck there as well.
“Look, mom. I’ve really got to go. We can talk more later.”
“But, honey,” her mom began but she pressed the button and hung up. Enough was enough. She needed to focus on finding the ar
tist and get Noah Caldwell out of her head.
Although she’d grown up in Denver, Lily was always a little flustered when she left the slow pace of Crystal Falls and went back to the city. Trying to follow the directions of her GPS was an act of bravery, having to constantly cut across several lanes or make quick turns onto streets she barely remembered. When she finally pulled up in front of a converted warehouse, she breathed a sigh of relief. At least she’d gotten there in one piece. But looking around the mostly abandoned neighborhood she began to hope she’d make it out in one too.
She checked her email once more in the car, hoping to have gotten a response from Isaac, but having no luck, she took a deep breath, grabbed her bag and hoped for the best.
The warehouse was subdivided into several shops and not finding a directory or sign for him, she pulled the address out and began walking the length of the warehouse. She passed a commercial bakery that gave off yeasty aromas, a computer repair store, and a machine shop before finding herself in front of a glass business door with nothing but the address - the same one Kelly had given her - in bold white at the top. She tentatively pushed at the handle but the door was locked. She knocked loudly, hoping this wouldn’t turn into a wild goose chase. But after a few minutes and a second knock she got no answer and turned to go.
She was almost to the bakery before she realized she was being chased.
“Hey, lady!” He called from down the sidewalk. “You looking for me?”
Her pulse raced. Finally! “Are you Isaac Delaney? The artist?”
He gave her an easy smile and jogged up to meet her.
“That’s me,” he said and stuck out his hand. His dark hair and eyes made his copper skin glow and she found his deep dimples adorable. He wore a dark t-shirt and his lower arms and ripped jeans were spattered with blue paint.
“My name is Lily Daly. I’ve been trying to get ahold of you about commissioning a piece.”
He gave her another dimpled smile and ran a hand through his shaggy hair. “Why don’t you come back to my studio and we can talk?”
He had long legs and a quick stride and Lily stretched to keep up with him as they walked back to his door.
“I tried to call and email but I didn’t get a response, so I decided to just drop by. I hope that’s okay.”
“Yeah, no problem. Sorry about the phone and all that. I turn everything off when I’m working on a project. Don’t need the distraction of the real world encroaching, you know?”
He swung the door open for her and she stepped through to a huge space made completely of glass and concrete. Metal beams criss-crossed the room and met more beams in the ceiling. At one corner was a small station with a desk and computer, cluttered with papers and paints. The rest of the space was taken up with art.
Several different stations took up most of the floor space, sawhorses holding planks of wood and canvas, blocks of marble half-chiseled, easels of various sizes in angles around the room. Along one wall were shelves full of supplies, more paint and canvas and stone than Lily had ever seen in one place.
“Looks like you’re working on more than one project,” she said when he came in behind her and ushered her to a battered swivel chair near his desk. When he pushed some papers aside and propped himself on the desk, ready to hear her out, she wondered if it was the only chair in the place.
“Yeah, I like to have a few things going at once. I need to do commission pieces to keep the money flowing. But then I’ve got ideas for stuff of my own, and sometimes friends ask for things. It’s chaotic, but it’s the way I like it. So what can I do for you?”
“I’m an interior designer and I’m working on a cabin remodel up near Crystal Falls right now,” she began. She adjusted her bag on her lap and leaned back gingerly, afraid the chair was going to snap in two any second. “I’ve got a client who wants a headboard, something really special, and I thought of you.”
“Have we met before?” he said, his brow furrowing.
“No, but you did a show up in Crystal Falls last year and I saw your work there. When my client told me she wanted something more unique your work popped into my head and I thought I’d try to find you. Which wasn’t nearly as easy as I thought it would be.”
“Ah, yeah. I remember that show. Kind of a waste for me. At least I thought it was,” he gave her another easy smile. “So you need a headboard?”
“I’m not sure if you’ve done anything like it before. But what I was envisioning was one of your pieces of stone art maybe mounted on the wall above the bed, or sitting on a frame that sat behind it? I don’t know exactly how it would work…”
He nodded his head, grabbing a pencil and paper beside him. “Okay, that sounds pretty cool. I’ve never done anything like it, but it could work.” He sketched quickly and then held it out to her to see. What he’d gotten on paper was exactly what she had in mind. She gave him a big smile.
“Perfect.”
He frowned and looked around the room, taking in each one of the projects he already had going. “What’s the time-frame on this? When would you need it by?”
She hesitated, knowing it was a lot to ask. “Middle of September?”
He let out a laugh. “Oh, you’re serious,” he said when she frowned at him. He blew a breath out and it ruffled the long locks of his hair. “That’s not much time. It usually takes three months or more for me to get a commissioned piece finished.”
Defeat washed over her. She’d spent so much time concentrating on finding him that she hadn’t thought about what she’d do if he couldn’t get the headboard done in time. She sunk her head into her hands and tried to catch her breath.
“Whoa, hey, girl. No need to melt down.” He shook her shoulder gently and she tried to keep the tears of frustration out of her eyes as she looked back up at him. “Seems like this is pretty important to you.” He looked around the room again and then hopped up from the desk so fast she grabbed her bag in fear.
He moved to one of the art stations and pulled a drape back from a piece of gorgeous marble, something between light pink and white and silver, with shimmers of gold running through the rock. She stood up and went to him.
“I’ve been messing around with this piece a while. It started out as a commissioned hanging but the buyer changed his mind and wanted something else instead so this has been sitting here a while.” He ran his hand over the smooth stone, working his fingers around the chiseled edges. “To tell you the truth, I didn’t know what to do with it anymore. It would take a little more work, but I think if we positioned it right, this could work for what we’re talking about.”
The marble was cold and smooth when she touched it and she tried to imagine it hanging above the bed in the cabin, the light from the fireplace bouncing off it, the rich wood of the walls bringing out each of the colors.
She smiled at him. “This could work. And you think you could have it done by September fifteenth?”
He gritted his teeth and ran a hand through his hair. “It would be tight. But I think it could be done. Of course, I’d have to charge you extra for the rush.”
“That’s no problem. No problem at all,” she replied, her heart racing.
“Then, yeah. I think this could work!”
Finally, things were beginning to look up for her. With this final piece in place, she could clearly see the end of this project. It couldn’t come soon enough.
They discussed a price and terms and she pulled out her checkbook to give him a deposit. She was excited to see what the finished product would look like. She knew it would be a masterpiece. She only hoped her client felt the same.
“Thanks so much for making this work. I don’t know what I would have done.”
“Hey, thank you for the opportunity to work on something new. I never would have thought about using one of these as a headboard. Might have to steal the idea from you.” He smiled and shook her hand after taking the deposit check.
“I’ll give you a call when I’ve got it finished a
nd we can arrange for delivery.”
With the headboard commissioned and a potential new supplier to work with, Lily left the studio full of hope.
Of course her excitement didn’t last. She felt a bad mood settle around her as she pulled into her old neighborhood. She’d had a perfectly fine childhood and a reasonably good relationship with her parents other than the few years of high school when she thought she was going to die, but it was always hard for her to go back. She liked her life in Crystal Falls, the glamorous rich with their ski chalets and the faux retro downtown with overpriced cocktails. It was easy when she was there to forget the poor neighborhood she’d grown up in.
But going home reminded her of how frustrating it had been to be poor and to want so much more out of life than what one had. She’d always wanted luxury, beautiful clothes, beautiful surroundings, beautiful people. She’d wanted art and delicacy but her childhood had been full of kitsch, a loud tv, and an even louder mother. She tried to limit visits to only a few hours. Otherwise she could feel it all closing in on her, a feeling she really didn’t like.
“Hey, mom! I’m here,” she called as she walked in the front door, the rusty screen door slamming shut behind her.
“I’m in here, hon,” her mom called from the kitchen. Lily set her bag down by the door and went to find her mother.
The smell of garlic and tomato met her. Her mom might be annoying and overly opinionated. But the woman could cook, there was no denying it.
“Smells good, mom,” Lily told her and planted a kiss on her mother’s cheek. The two looked very alike, despite the decades between them. Barbara Daly had the same light complexion and high cheekbones as both of her daughters.
“I’ve got some wine in the cupboard,” her mom told her with a giggle. “Be a good girl and pour us a glass.”
She wasn’t stupid. She knew her mom was plying her with alcohol so she could loosen her mouth and get the scoop on Noah. “I’ve got to drive.”
