Page 16 of Christmas with the Cowgirl
“That your star walked away from, and essentially killed—” She stopped herself when Miles winced and his gaze flicked to Jeremy, who was looking at the painting again.She closed her eyes for a moment, angry with herself.She hoped Jeremy was adept, as most kids his age were, at tuning out the adults when they weren’t talking directly to him.
“That was thoughtless of me,” she said quietly to Miles, nodding toward Jeremy.“I’m sorry.”
He let out a compressed breath.“At least you realized.Too many don’t.At least, too many in my world.”
“Because they would never do it?At least, for that reason?”She nodded very slightly toward Jeremy who had moved closer to look at the KR in the lower right corner of the painting.
“Some would, more wouldn’t,” Miles said.
“And you’ve had to deal with a few of the latter, I’m guessing.”
He let out a snort of laughter.“Oh, yeah.”
“I understand a Mr.Swiff is one of them?”
His eyes widened, but one corner of his mouth quirked upward.“Been talking to Jackson?”
“Nic, actually.She doesn’t much care for him.”
“Nor does most anyone who has to deal with him.”
“Got a bit of an ego, does he?”
“When they were handing them out he got a bit of everyone’s, I think.”
She grinned at that.“My dad’s got a saying about guys like that.He says he’d like to buy him for what he’s worth and sell him for what he thinks he’s worth.”
An undeniably genuine laugh broke from him.“I’ll have to remember that one.”
“Was he awful about Jackson leaving?”
He hesitated, then said simply, “Yeah.He was.Still is.”
She studied him for a moment.“Well, I get the feeling not many in your position would be as gracious about it as you’ve been.”
To her surprise he looked a little embarrassed.Was acknowledging he’d acted like a caring human being and not a Hollywood power broker so rare for him?If so, that made it even more special.To her, anyway.
“You said you had two?”Jeremy asked, clearly bored with the adult talk now.
“Yes, I do have two Kyle Rafferty pieces, although the other one isn’t a painting, it’s a charcoal drawing.”
“You can draw with charcoal?”Jeremy asked, looking puzzled.“Isn’t that for barbecues and stuff?”
“Well, why don’t we look at it and you can see,” Miles said.
A much too belated realization hit Riley.She’d automatically mentioned having two pieces by the revered local artist, but hadn’t really thought about ushering visitors in to see the second one.Jeremy would be fine, in fact the charcoal drawing would be perfect to show him now that she’d seen his fledgling talent as an artist himself.
But she was feeling a sudden qualm about showing it to Miles Flint.Not because she didn’t want him to see it, or because it wasn’t, in its own way, just as brilliant.It was because of where it was.And that was the biggest warning she’d had yet about her reaction to this man.
Because that charcoal sketch was in her bedroom.
Chapter Nine
Riley seemed suddenlytense, and Miles had no idea why.At least, not until she turned to Jeremy and spoke.
“Come along, then.It’s in one of the bedrooms.”
He knew then, with an odd certainty, exactly what bedroom it was in.
