Page 39 of Kian

“I’m not going to leave you. I will have to get back, but there’s no reason not to see you again. The only way I’ll stay away is if you want me to.”

Gretchen smiled. “That won’t happen.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” Kian picked his cup up again. “What should we do the rest of the day?”

“I need to paint, so you can do whatever you want.”

“What if I want to do you?” He laughed when she punched his arm.

“Let me get some painting done… first.”

“Alright. I’ll find a movie.”

“Okay. I’m hoping to get the paintings finished so I can get them to Chicago by June. A new gallery is opening.”

“How does that work? Getting your art into a gallery?”

“Well, for me, a woman I went to college with owns an art gallery and she asked if I’d be interested in showing my paintings. Of course, I said yes, not thinking they’d sell as well as they did.”

“Do you paint under your own name?”

“I sign them G. Casteel.”

“I’ll have to do a search on you.” He grinned.

Gretchen laughed. “You can do that.”

“I’ll leave you to it then. I’ll find something to do. I might go back out after a while and call Killian.”

“Of course. But just to let you know, once I start painting, nothing else exists. I won’t be ignoring you; I’m just concentrating.”

“Got it. I’ll let you know and if you’re not paying attention, remember when you look for me that I headed out.”

“Okay.” She kissed his lips, then headed toward her easels while he walked to the living room.

Kian sat on the sofa, then swung his legs up and stretched out. He picked up the remote and aimed it at the TV. He couldn’t find a damn thing to watch.

“All these channels and nothing on,” he muttered.

After an hour of trying to find something that would interest him, he decided to head out. He got up, walked to the bedroomand pulled on warmer clothes, then made his way back to where Gretchen was painting.

“Hey,” he said quietly, hating to disturb her.

“Hey. Are you going to head out?” she asked as she faced him.

“Yes. Is it alright if I take your phone?”

“Well, how else were you going to call Killian.”

He frowned and narrowed his eyes. “Yep, a smartass.”

Gretchen laughed. “It’s on the counter. It should be fully charged. Take the gun.” She walked toward the gun cabinet, unlocked it, removed the Magnum and handed it to him. “Please be careful.”

“I will. Is it okay if I take Lobo?”

“Sure. He’ll love it.”

“Alright.” Kian kissed her lips, picked up the phone, and looked at the dog. “Ready, boy?” When Lobo barked, Kian grinned. “We won’t be long.”

---