“I’ll put your tools away and lock up. You go get Kinsley.”
He shot me a grateful look. “I appreciate it.”
He disappeared around the corner, and I heard the rumble of his truck as he took off. I cleaned up his tools and locked the front door.
When I returned to my house, Blake was outside painting while Lilliana played in the water table. I came up behind Blake, dropping a kiss on her bare shoulder which was tense. "What's wrong?"
"I can't decide what to teach, and I'm running out of time. Today's the day. Will they want to paint a sunset, the beach, a palm tree? Is that cliche because we live on an island? Maybe I should have them paint a still life. You know, an apple or a banana."
"I think you should do the sunset." I nodded toward the canvas that was leaning against a nearby palm tree. "It has the beach, a tree, and the beautiful colors."
Her shoulders lowered. "You think?"
I kissed her softly. "You're worrying too much. It doesn't matter what you paint. Everyone's going to love you."
She leaned into my chest. "So you keep saying."
"I might be a little biased, but I've seen how people react to you. There's no chance that they won't love you in this role." I massaged her shoulders, easing the tightness I felt.
Her head rolled back. "That feels good."
I squeezed the ball of tension in her muscles. "You should pick something and go with it. Stop second-guessing yourself."
She moaned. "I don't know why I'm so worked up about this. It's just a silly art class."
I turned her so that she faced me. "It's not silly. This is important to you. It's your dream."
She let out a sigh. "I can't wait until the first one is over with. I'm so nervous."
"I have a feeling you're going to love it so much; you won't want it to end." She was passionate about sharing art with others, and I knew she'd love it.
She winced. "I have to get ready to go."
"I'll pack everything up and then watch Lil so you can get ready. Then we'll go to the library."
She raised a brow. "You're coming too?"
"I want to support you, and I signed Lilliana up." I grinned.
Her eyes widened with surprise. "You didn't have to do that."
'"How could I miss the event of the summer? Everyone is talking about it."
She groaned. "No, they're not."
"Mom said that the women from the senior center are coming, which means everyone is coming." They tended to spread the word about events going on around the island.
She lifted her hand to show that it was shaking. "How am I going to paint?"
"As soon as you pick up the brush, you'll relax because you love to paint, and you enjoy sharing your joy with everyone else."
She nodded. "You're right."
"I know I am," I said, and she laughed.
I sent her upstairs, then packed the truck with the easels and other supplies she'd found online: paints, brushes, and canvases. I'd convinced her to talk to Saylor about building a simple website so that she could advertise her classes.
I had a feeling she was going to be in high demand after this. She'd be offering classes at the community center, the senior center, and the resort at the end of the island. I was selfishly happy because maybe if she could see she could make her dreams come true, she might stay.
