Page 2 of Hargrave Artistry
“With the torch.” He gave her a big grin. “I saw you. We saw you.”
A bunch of people had probably seen her do that. It was a miracle she hadn’t stirred up any gossip and gotten blamed for the fire out at the Hideaway a few weeks ago. But something about his little guy’s reaction made it feel far more important.
Bryce pointed toward the end of the alley. “Aunt Sharon let me watch from right over there.”
Nat suppressed a smile. The kid was adorable. “What did you think?”
“It was super cool. And you got to wear really big goggles.”
“Safety first and always,” she said, earning a nod from Sharon.
He looked at his aunt. “You don’t wear goggles when you paint.”
“You’re right, I don’t. Painting rarely poses a safety risk. Different processes require different precautions. You must work safely and correctly no matter what tools you use. You’ve seen me wear goggles when we work out in the yard sometimes.”
“Yeah. And the big gloves.”
“Those too,” Sharon agreed. “Let’s let Miss Natalie get back to her work.”
Bryce dug in his heels. “She said she was done.”
“Look around.” Sharon crouched down to his level. “Do you think this is where her supplies and tools should stay? You remember that clean up time is an important part of the process.”
“That’s true,” Nat agreed.
“We can help,” Bryce offered.
He really was the sweetest kid. “Another time, how about?”
His chin bobbed up and down. “I’ll talk to Mom. She’ll say it’s okay. She works across the street,” he informed her.
At the Island Bloomers flower shop. Natalie and her sisters coordinated with Bryce’s mom, Molly, and the shop owner Nina,to keep fresh flowers at the Hideaway. “All right then,” she said to Bryce. “I’ll look forward to your help on another day.”
He waved and soon the adorable pair were gone.
She did clean up the workspace, and she rolled the finished sculpture toward the gallery, wrangling it into the storage area. Once the city approved the sculptures, they would be installed and revealed to minor fanfare.
Big fanfare to her. She’d never been invited to participate in this kind of a commission before. Her mind filled with a view of how she imagined it would go. Her sisters would be front and center, as proud as could be. Their mom would be there in spirit.
And her father… Absent. She didn’t even know how to reach him these days. At one time, she’d been the quintessential daddy’s girl, now she was afraid she was developing some troubling daddy issues.
The alarm on her phone went off and she said goodbye to the gallery owners and dashed off to the Hideaway. It wouldn’t take long to get everyone checked out and to the airport on time.
After that, she might treat herself to an evening of building tiny sandcastles on the Hideaway’s private beach before heading home to Veronica’s place. The younger of her two older sisters, Veronica had bought a house here on Brookwell when they opened the B&B, giving them easier access as they launched their business.
Natalie found sharing a house with her sisters now that they were adults a bit weird. They were getting along remarkably well considering their individual eccentricities. It amused her to imagine how shocked their parents would be. Nat figured it helped Veronica a great deal that she and Celeste traveled often.
Since changing their business model at the B&B to full-house rentals, Celeste had given up her suite at the Hideaway that she’d called home. She was adapting well to the changes. For Nat, it wasn’t much different. She was part nomad at heart,enjoying the variety in moving from one short-term teaching assignment to another around the state. It gave her the flexibility she needed to hold up her end of the Hideaway business and still find inspiration in everyday beauty and experiences.
But right now, she wanted the familiar. Her body yearned for the beach she knew so well—to feel the scrub of the sand underfoot, hear the soft drum of the surf in her ears, and lean into the rejuvenating breeze that would tug at her hair and fill her lungs.
Carving small sandcastles had become a bit of a ritual after finishing big projects. She could lose herself in something small and easily completed. Something whimsical that would wash away with the next incoming tide.
Eccentric? Her family would definitely think so. Which was why she’d never been inclined to tell them about it.
Chapter Two
Early the next morning,before Veronica emerged from her bedroom, Natalie was already out of the house. She set a pot of coffee to brew for her sister and slipped away, eager to spend some time at the marina.
