Evie listened to Javan and Alyx talk about the new play they were working on, and Jeff related embarrassing stories of Maxim. Alyx and Javan recalled humorous stories of a trip they had taken with Maxim two years ago. These stories were classics. They were always told. Evie had heard them several times before, but she never grew tired of them. It was her greatest dream, next to being an artist, to have a close-knit group of family and friends. Her family had never really been close. Her parents were always away on business, and she and her younger brother really had no relationship at all. Her parents had always provided for them, but they had never really been close. Not like Meg’s.
“So Evie, tell us about your painting,” Jeff said suddenly. “How is it coming? Sell anything yet?”
She smiled and felt her cheeks burn with a blush. “Oh gosh, no. I’m just trying to make it through school alive. Besides, I do mostly sketches anyway.”
“You’re going to try and sell your things after you graduate, aren’t you?” Alyx asked. “You’re so talented.”
Evie gave a shy smile. “I would like to make a living out of my artwork, yes.”
Barrett snorted. “There is no future in being a starving artist,” he muttered.
“Well Evie won’t be a starving artist,” Alyx retorted. “She is much too talented to be overlooked. She’ll be making millions and living in Paris while you are still scraping by on your used paperbacks.”
Barrett scowled at Alyx, but Evie grinned.
“Still,” Barrett said, “life shouldn’t be all about work.” He turned to fix his gaze on Evie. “You should get out once in awhile, have some fun.” He raised a suggestive eyebrow at her.
She sighed. “I have plenty of fun, thanks.”
Jeff rolled his eyes. “Barrett, why do you insist on trying to pick up on Evie? It’s apparent she is not interested. Why do you continue to harass her?”
Barrett looked at Evie again and smiled. “Well, because. She’s intelligent.” He gave an indifferent shrug. “I mean, she’s no perfect ten to look at, but her mind makes up for any physical imperfections.”
Evie blinked and the table went silent.
“Barrett, you just hit your all time low,” Meg muttered, flinging her fork down onto her plate in irritation.
He drew his dark brows together in a frown. “What? I think brains are much better than beauty. That was a compliment.”
Evie stood and turned to look at Barrett. She smiled sweetly. “Barrett, thank you for complimenting me on my intelligence. It will make the sting of rejection easier for you to bear knowing that I used my superb judgment in doing this.” She picked up her half full glass of lemonade and flung it at him. She then turned and strode away, furious tears burning behind her eyes. Javan had burst into uproarious laughter behind her over the sticky liquid dripping from Barrett’s dark hair and undoubtedly bewildered face. She ignored it and continued toward the house.
“Evie!” Maxim’s voice called after her. “Evie, hold on a minute.”
She stopped on the deck and folded her arms as he caught up to her. She turned just enough to see Meg apparently ripping Barrett another one.
“Evie, I’m sorry about my brother,” Maxim said. “He’s an idiot.”
She looked up into Maxim’s gentle eyes and sighed. “It’s all right.”
He frowned. “No, it’s not. Look, Evie, you’re beautiful. Don’t let anyone ever try to tell you otherwise.” His smile was soft.
Evie’s heart turned over and gave a small smile. “Thanks, Maxim.” She wished she could stay a little longer, but she was sick of Barrett, and she didn’t feel like fighting him off all night long. Besides, she knew Maxim was only saying those things because he was nice. “Hey, I’m really tired,” she said. “I think I’m going to go home.”
He frowned. “Please don’t leave because of Barrett. He really is a complete imbecile.”
She smiled again. Maxim was so sweet. Alyx was such a lucky woman. “No, I have to study for my finals tomorrow.”
“Okay, well thanks for coming.”
She nodded. “Of course! Congratulations on your book! Tell Meg I’ll see her tomorrow. One of you can give her a lift home, right?”
He nodded and smiled as she departed.
Evie sighed and made her way through the house and to her car.
She knew Barrett was a jerk, but he had still managed to destroy her evening. She knew she wasn’t beautiful, but she didn’t need it pointed out in front of all the people she admired the most. It was humiliating. He had embarrassed her completely.
She got in her car and started toward home. She wondered if anyone would ever think she was beautiful. She doubted it. She supposed she would have to get by on her brains and her talent… Since that was apparently all she had going for her.
Chapter Two
Evie had never been more relieved to end a semester in all her life. She headed for the main entrance of the building the way a prisoner being set free might head for the prison exit. It had been a rough, rigorous semester and she was all too happy to put it behind her.
She stopped in the foyer and admired the huge oil painting decorating the wall. It was a Traevyn Whitelaw original. He had graduated from Southern Oregon University and many of his paintings adorned the walls. This one was, by far, her favorite. It was entitled Innerworkings of a Creative Soul and it was basically an abstract of blues, purples and black all swirling in a cauldron of chaos. Everyone interpreted it as the artist’s passion, that the painting was how the artist viewed his own creativity and drive. Basically, he had so much swirling around inside of him that it was an unorganized and chaotic chasm of beauty.
Evie had always thought differently. When she looked hard at the painting she noticed that the black shades and dark purples seemed to form abstract and contorted shapes that reminded her of a man screaming. Everyone said the painting was a reflection of passion and creation. Evie had always felt it was a reflection of the deepest kind of sorrow. She had no foundation on which to base her theory. It had always just been what she felt.
“Evie!” a jolly voice called suddenly. “Oh, I’m so glad I found you!”
She turned to see her Art History and Painting professor hurrying toward her. He had a wide grin on his round face.
“Evie,” he said, “I read your paper on Traevyn Whitelaw.”
Evie groaned. Great. She’d probably failed miserably.
Her professor chuckled. “No, no, it was quite good. Actually, you scored the highest grade in the class. Traevyn Whitelaw is an elusive artist to write a paper on. I was very impressed.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Are you serious?”
He nodded, still grinning. “Evie, you are my most promising student. Your love for art is apparent in everything you do. As you know, I myself taught Mr. Whitelaw when he attended SOU. We have kept in touch over the years.”
Evie smiled, wondering what this really had to do with anything. It was fascinating, but the thought of falling onto her bed and not moving for the next hundred years seemed much more appealing to her at the moment.
“I spoke with him at the beginning of the semester about perhaps taking one of my students over the summer as an apprentice,” her professor continued. “He agreed, and I have been carefully monitoring everyone since then.” He put his palms together. “I have decided it should be you, Evie.”
Her eyes bulged and she was sure her jaw dropped clear to the floor. “W—What?” she squeaked.
“You have the highest grade in class, work the hardest, and it is apparent that you admire Mr. Whitelaw’s work very much.”
Admired? She practically worshipped the man. She had prints of his paintings everywhere in her apartment and the collector’s edition of his coffee table art book. She was obsessed with him. His work was beautiful and vibrant, full of deep meaning and symbolism. In her opinion, he was the greatest artist of all time, hands down. She blinked slowly, having trouble comprehending what Professor Roth had just said. “Y—
you want me to be his…apprentice?”
He nodded. “You would live with him for the summer and learn from the master himself.”
She could barely breathe. Her? Live with and learn from Traevyn Whitelaw all summer? Just the thought made her dizzy. She shook her head. “Professor, I—I don’t know what to say.”
“Say you’ll go,” he urged.
She nodded. Like she would ever pass up that opportunity!
He grinned again. “Excellent. You leave in two weeks. I will be contacting you with directions and a list of things you’ll need to take with you. Congratulations, Evie, you deserve it.”
With that, he turned and left her standing there, still completely dazed. It would take her awhile to wrap her mind around this one. Traevyn Whitelaw… A slow smile spread across her lips. She bet he was magnificent, full of life and beauty. She turned and all but fled out the door, wanting to go tell Meg as soon as possible.
* * * *
Two weeks later
Evie was beyond irritated. She had been driving for hours, gotten lost three times and, to top it all off, she had her annoying seventeen-year-old brother popping gum in the passenger’s seat. She scowled at nothing as her fingers gripped the wheel tighter.
Her brother heaved a dramatic sigh. “Seriously, Evie, just let me go back home. Why do I have to come on this lame trip with you?”
She sighed. “For the last time, Seth, Mom and Dad are going to be gone all summer and there’s no one to watch you.”
“I’m seventeen!” he cried. “I don’t need a friggin’ babysitter! Why couldn’t you just leave me at home?”
Evie met his eyes for a moment. “Need I remind you of the last time you were left alone? Mom and Dad came back early and found two of your friends having sex in their bed while another lit up a joint in the bathroom!”
Seth huffed. “Is that going to be held against me forever? At least I wasn’t doing that stuff!”
She rolled her eyes. “No, you were drunk and passed out on the sofa.” She shook her head. “Look, I’m not too thrilled about having to tote you around either! This is my chance to work with the greatest artist of all time, and I have to bring my little brother along! I’m not jumping for joy here, but Mom and Dad had no one else! I called my professor and he said it should be fine if you come with me. I have no other option and neither do you so shut up and help me look for this turnoff.”
Seth sat back with an agitated scowl. Evie sighed. She was not happy about her parents dumping her brother on her at the last minute. This was the chance of a lifetime. The last thing she needed was Seth hanging around all the time. He was a moody teenager. He would just be an annoyance. She glanced at him with his bleach blonde hair and leather jacket. He looked like Billy Idol. She was sure that would make a great impression. Please, Evie, you’re our only hope. Why did she always fall for that? She was sure there had to be somebody, anybody else who could have taken Seth. Yet, here she was, stuck with him all summer. It figured.
She guided her car down the winding coastal highway and turned onto the remote dirt road that was practically non-existent. They were somewhere in Big Sur, hours and hours away from Ashland. She felt like she had been driving for eons and the last portion of it had been on Highway 1, which was only a two-lane highway right next to the ocean that twisted and curved for miles. She had been battling Seth for control of the radio for half the journey, and he had appealed to her about five times to let him go back home. She just wanted to get where she needed to go so she could be away from her brother and away from the road.
The road took her down toward the cliffs overlooking the ocean, and the trees began to get denser and more foreboding-looking, their thick branches jutting out in awkward positions that looked like gnarled fingers. Wisps of fog slithered through the branches like serpents and Evie suddenly felt like she had ventured into a horror movie. She continued to drive, the fog getting thicker as she went along.
“Dude, Evie, this is kind of creeping me out,” Seth muttered.
Evie rolled her eyes. “It’s just fog.” But she did have to admit, everything felt dark and foreboding, and that was an ominous feeling.
Without warning the road widened out and an enormous, Gothic-looking house came into view. Evie gasped in surprise and slowed the car to a stop as she stared at the structure. It was dark, nestled in a grove of eucalyptus trees, sitting like a lonely sentinel. The architecture much resembled that of a sixteenth-century manor and she briefly felt like she’d traveled through time.
“Holy crap,” Seth said. “What kind of guy is this? A friggin’ warlock or something?”
Evie shook her head to regain her senses and unbuckled her seatbelt. “Come on, he’s an artist. It makes sense that his home would be artistic.” But she couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something horribly lonely and tormented emanating from the dark edifice.
She got out of the car and started toward the front door, shivering as the eerie ocean breeze blew gently across her skin. She heard the forlorn cry of a seagull as she approached and, behind it, the rhythmic pounding of the ocean waves. The breeze rustled through the leaves of the eucalyptus grove. Evie had to take a deep breath to calm her nerves before she knocked on the heavy, oak door.
“Seriously, Evie, let me go home,” Seth whispered, stuffing his hands in his jacket pockets. “I can hitchhike, or take a bus, or something. If you want to stay here in Edgar Alan Poe land, that’s cool, but I’d rather not if you don’t mind.”
Evie scowled and shushed him just as the door swung open. She raised herself taller and prepared a smile, but it promptly faded upon seeing the man in front of her.
He was very tall and had thick, black hair that fell in shining strands all the way past his waist. His hair alone made her stop and marvel. She had never seen such long hair on a man. At least not on a man who wasn’t a sleazy, old biker, or a Native American. Then again, maybe he was Native American… She wouldn’t know… And his hair wasn’t frizzy and scary like those eighties rockers. It was shining ebony that looked like it would feel like silk.
“Can I help you?” he queried.
Evie opened her mouth, but nothing came out. He was absolutely, breathtakingly…beautiful. Beautiful like art, like the covers of fantasy books with the rugged, manly, yet gorgeous hero. His features were harsh, all hard lines and sharp angles, undeniably masculine, but there was a strange, elegant beauty around his sensual lips and light green eyes that made Evie feel like she was looking at a living masterpiece.
Seth cleared his throat discreetly, which brought Evie out of her stupor, and she gave a nervous cough. “Excuse me, I am looking for Traevyn Whitelaw,” she murmured.
His facial expression remained impassive, and he merely shifted his weight in a lazy manner. It was a languid movement, like a jungle cat stretching. He sighed. “And you are?”
“Um…I—I’m Evelina Austin,” she stammered. “I’m—uh—supposed to be studying with Mr. Whitelaw for the summer… As his apprentice.”
His pale eyes seemed to look her over for a moment before they fixed on her own. “I am Traevyn Whitelaw,” he stated.
She swallowed.
“Who is your companion?”
“Oh, this is my brother, Seth.” She flashed a nervous smile. “My parents dumped him on me last minute. There was no one else to watch him all summer. I called Professor Roth and he told me it should be okay if I brought him with me.”
His dark eyebrows drew together in a frown and he stood up straight. “Oh he did, did he?”
It was almost a snarl. Evie retreated a step as his presence seemed to suddenly fill the entire world.
“It is most certainly not okay,” he spat, his voice a menacing growl. “Let me make one thing perfectly clear to you, Miss Austin. This apprenticeship program was not my idea, or my doing. Professor Roth approached me with it, and it was out of respect and gratitude for him that I reluctantly accepted. If not for him I would never have made it to where I am now. S
o, yes, you will be my apprentice. I will teach; you will learn what you will. What you do with that knowledge is entirely up to you. It is not any fault of mine if you fall flat on your face in your desired career. Professor Roth recommended you, so you must have some talent, but I want to get one thing straight, Miss Austin. I have better things to do than entertain a starry-eyed college student and her delinquent brother.”
Seth frowned. “Hey,” he protested.
“I am doing this out of obligation,” Traevyn finished, “not by choice.”
Evie stared at him, dumbfounded. He moved quickly, making her jump, and motioned her inside. She hurried to obey, grasping Seth’s wrist and hauling him in after her.
“Follow,” Traevyn commanded, shutting the door.
Evie trailed behind him up a staircase, her hands shaking horribly. The entire house was so dark, full of mahogany, black leather furniture, and wrought iron. She could even see a few tapestries on the walls, but her chance to take a look was limited as she hurried after Traevyn.
He led them down a hallway to a door, which he opened. “This will be your room,” he stated. “The boy can have the one across the hall. You will find it slightly less prepared as I was not expecting him.” He fixed his eyes on Seth.
Seth retreated behind Evie.
“The kitchen is downstairs and the guest bathroom is at the end of the hall. If you have a problem that you can’t seem to solve on your own, my room is at the far end of the other hall, if you make a left at the top of the stairs instead of a right. When I feel like teaching, I will find you. Otherwise, please do your best to stay out of my way.” He turned and strode back down the hall, disappearing around a corner.
Evie stared, acutely aware of her own heartbeat drumming in her ears. She swallowed, her mouth dry.
“Evie!” Seth hissed. “Dude, I told you!”
Dark Masterpiece (Serendipity Series 3) Page 2
