Page 59 of Fresh Canvas
A calm, sweet silence settled over us both.
The atmosphere felt lighter, as if sharing our burdens somehow had provided more oxygen. Breathing felt easier than it had in a long time. Based on the relaxed curve of Val’s shoulders against the window, Val likely felt the same.
But after a minute or two, his shy smile faded as his dark eyebrows creased together.
“Oh my gosh. I’m an idiot.” He stood and rushed to his computer.
I sat confused, watching him from the floor.
“I forgot to use the older database,” he explained. “We updated the software to our new system a couple years ago. The acquisition of Attersee waswaybefore the new software.” An image began to load of a scanned document.
I raced over. Peering down at the screen, I recognized it as an accession form template. My sight rested on two lines of print at the bottom.
One of them was typed. One of them was signed.
Listed Curator: Blythe Barlow
Management Approval:
Kendra Steele.
sixteen
VAL
“Oh my gosh.” Horror flooded Amantha’s voice, her twin moonlit eyes growing huge. “Oh my gosh!” She muffled her words with her fingers.
Amantha began to pace like a frantic wildcat, spiraling into a monologue.
“It was Blythe. It was Blythe?! Why? Why would she do that?” Amantha spun and shook my shoulders—or at least, she tried to. “Do you know what this means?”
I steadied myself against her panic, opening my mouth to respond.
“I’m fired,” she cut in. Clapping her hands onto her head, she began to pace again. “I’m gonna get fired. If Blythe finds out I know it was her, she’s gonna fire me! If Kendra finds out it was Blythe, she’s gonna fire her, and I’m gonna get fired as a freaking casualty!”
Hair was beginning to stick out from her smooth ponytail. Amantha stopped in the center of my office, chest heaving. Her luminous eyes filled with tears as her lips began to quiver.
“I can’t… Ryan will… Anthony needs—” At the mention of herson’s name, she covered her face with her hands and began to cry.
Pride be damned.
I closed the distance between us in two long strides. Without hesitation, I pulled her tight to my chest. Something akin to liquid sunshine blossomed where her body met mine. Nothing had felt so right in a long time.Fitso right. The meadow scent, I realized, must be her shampoo. I rested my cheek against her soft hair, letting myself drown in it.
“We don’t know for sure it was Blythe. And you arenotgoing to get fired. I won’t let that happen to you,” I murmured. I wasn’t sure if I could stop it after all was said and done, but I’d try. After everything I’d learned about this small, infuriating woman, she sure didn’t deserve this too.
Ryan was a complete moron, that much was clear. The fear and pain in Amantha’s eyes when she’d first seen Vanessa in the park had been beyond messed up. I never wanted to see that look again.
While I had been faking our relationship in front of her ex husband’s mistress, the feeling of Amantha nestling into my side was entirely real. A protective force I had forgotten had reawakened inside me. Iwantedto protect Amantha. And anyone important to her—which meant Anthony.
Although I didn’t know the kid, the way Amantha’s face had shone when she talked about him was all I needed. Maybe it was because I never got to have kids with Stella, but they always held a special place in my heart. No kid should have his home ripped apart because of his selfish dad. They both had been through enough.
Amantha’s shoulders stilled as her tears turned to sniffles. Still in my embrace, hands resting on my chest, she lifted her chin and coughed out a tiny laugh.
“Oh crap. I’m sorry about your shirt.”
I looked down at the tears and streaked mascara. “No white shirt is safe with you, is it? Coffee spills, mascara…” I offered a soft smile. “It’s okay. I have a spare in that cabinet over there.”
“You keep spare button-ups in your office?” Amantha snorted. “That’s just so…Val.”
