Page 15 of The Bad Boy's Homecoming
“Are you sure you won’t stay for dinner?”Gran said, in a sweet soft tone, which Levi recognized from when he was young.
His grandmother had always been tough as nails, a proper Southern woman and a bossy matriarch of this town.But she’d also always had a soft spot for her grandkids whenever they were physically hurt.And she would use that same tone.It puzzled him that she would use it with Missy.A grown woman who was there to be the helper, but it seemed like his grandmother thought Missy was the one who needed tending.
“I promised Declan I’d help with dinner, and he’s making my favorite lasagna.Aunt Honey’s recipe.”
“Well say no more,” Gran said, with her hands up in the air.“Honey always made the best of everything.I’ll see you in the morning.”Then his gran gave Missy a gentle hug and smiled warmly.“Don’t worry, I won’t let Levi in your room,” she said in a loud whisper.
“Missy, before you go,” Dalton said, holding up his hands.“I’ll give you a thousand more than the offer you accepted on the red painting,” Dalton said, pointing into the art studio.
Levi almost sliced his finger and set the knife down with a muffled curse.
“Uh, I don’t have a buyer yet.I just painted that one this morning.”
“Afraid this buyer is too rich for your blood, brother,” Levi said.“Perks of being a pro-athlete.”
“Uh, I never said I’d sell that painting,” Missy said.
“Interesting,” Dalton said, looking from Levi to Missy.
“But when you do sell it, I’m the buyer,” Levi said, even though he knew he sounded like an idiot.
“Well, Missy, if you change your mind and want someone with actual good taste to own the masterpiece, I’ll give you five thousand.”
Missy’s pouty mouth opened in surprise and Levi’s gut twisted.
“Ten thousand,” Levi said.
Dalton squared off, staring at Levi.“You only want that painting because I do.”
“Wrong, I want it because it’s the first painting I’ve ever seen an artist paint.”He was speaking to Dalton but looking directly at Missy.“And the entire time I was watching her paint it, I wondered what the passion in her technique would translate to on the canvas.”
Missy didn’t blink.
“And?”Dalton pressed.
“It exceeded my imagination.”
“Fifteen thousand,” Dalton said.
“Twenty-five thousand,” Levi replied.
Dalton grinned and leaned over to Missy.“You should go ahead and complete this sale before he changes his mind.”
Levi shrugged.“My pockets are much deeper than yours, brother.”He found Missy’s brown eyes open wide with surprise and noticed unique gold flecks in her irises he hadn’t seen earlier.
Before she could respond the kitchen door opened and Wesley stepped in with no boots and just his socks on, but then stopped in his tracks.
“Why does everyone look so serious?What’s wrong?”
Gran clapped.“Your brothers are in a bidding war for Missy’s latest masterpiece.Care to get in on this?”
Wesley walked past them and craned his neck to look at the art that sat in the fading afternoon light, where the painting almost glowed, as if it were on fire.
“I can see why.What’s the highest bid?”
“Twenty-five thousand,” Dalton said.
“Damn, Doc, I knew medicine was lucrative but I had no idea you had that kind of change lying around.”
