Page 89 of The Lightkeeper

“Yes, quite.” His eyes twinkled, looking at me more intently than he’d even glanced at the drawing.

“You were interested in this one?”

“Yes. The starfish.” His smile quirked.

“Sea star,” I corrected without thinking. Lou would argue that if he bought the drawing, he could call it whatever he liked, but I couldn’t. I just couldn’t.

His bushy brows lifted. “Oh?”

“Technically, they aren’t fish, so the proper name for them is a sea star,” I explained, shoving my hands into my pockets.

“Fascinating.” He stroked his chin. “So, you’re an artist and a zoologist?”

“Just an artist,” I assured him. “The rest I learned… from a friend.”

He looked from side to side, scanning the breadth of other paintings of mine hanging on the walls.

“Must be quite a friend.”

“Excuse me?” I lowered my voice.

“Well, the rest of your paintings are landscapes. I presume that the person who gave you the facts was the one who also promptedyou to switch subjects… and mediums.” His head tipped. “A big change, I would think, so it must be someone special.”

I tensed. I didn’t want to share—didn’t want to talk about her. Right now, all I had were her memories, and I didn’t want to give them away to some stranger in my gallery. But then I looked back at the drawing of Stuart and his three legs and breathed through the tightness in my chest, remembering that this was why I was here—why they were here.To know me. To know my art.And if Aurora were here, she would’ve been halfway through the tale of her daring rescue of Stuart during the storm.

“She is,” I rasped, feeling my lips tip upward even as the ache in my chest intensified. I stepped forward, closer to the drawing, and felt the crowd fade away. “His name is Stuart.” I glanced back. “The sea star,” I clarified. “She found him injured during a storm, so she brought him inside my li—my house, got him a little aquarium, and I’ve been watching him regenerate ever since.”

The man—Richard—was silent for a moment. “Fascinating,” he finally said low.

“Once his arms are regenerated, I’ll put him back in the ocean.”

“Not a pet then?”

I shook my head. “He belongs back in the ocean. The lighthouse was just a temporary stay to heal.” As soon as the words left my mouth, they boomeranged right back against my chest.

The lighthouse was my temporary place to heal. It still was. But one day, I’d have that whole piece again.

“Well, we all need one of those once in a while,” he murmured softly, and the conversation drifted to a heavy silence for a moment—a feat considering the crush inside the gallery. But then the older man turned to me with a warm smile and revealed,“I’ll be honest, Mr. Kinkade, I’m an amateur art collector, so this is all new to me.”

This was all pretty new to me, too,but I kept that thought to myself.

“What brought you into the art world?”

“There’s only one world, Mr. Kinkade. Full of art and science. People and animals and… sea stars.” He chuckled. “I was already in it, I just wasn’t looking.” Slowly, his head turned from the drawing to look at me. “Funny how you can live in a world for so long and miss out on so much of it, even beautiful things that bring you joy, things that you love.”

My throat tightened, and before I could think of a better answer, an honest one slipped out. “Yeah.”

I blinked, and I saw her smile. Heard her laugh. Smelled her sweetness. I saw my family and friends. The way they embraced me. Sheltered me. Respected me.Foughtfor me.

His hand on my shoulder brought me back to the present. “Good thing it’s never too late to stop missing out on them,” he said with a tone that made the conversation feel so much deeper than a discussion about art. But before I could think more on it, he added, “Sorry for my rambling, buton that note, I think I’d like to buy this one if it’s still available.”

“Of course. Let me grab my sister.” I waved Lou over. “Richard would like to purchase the sea star, if it’s still available.”

“You’re in luck, it’s the only ink drawing that hasn’t been sold.” Lou’s smile at me split her face.

My jaw dropped.The only…holy shit.I stared at her, silently passing along the question,Everything else sold already?

She tried to keep her nod discreet, but there were practically fireworks of excitement in her eyes.

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