Dreams Claimed (Warfield's Landing, #1) (16 page)

Wow. Nic wasn’t sure what to say... she hadn’t expected an apology, let alone one that heartfelt.

As if picking up on her confusion, Daniel smiled at her. “We can talk about it later if you want... But for now... What do you want to do today? Are you up for giving us a guided tour of the renovation projects?”

She answered quickly. “That would be great. You’re interested? Really?” She could think about his apology later.

“Yes, I’m interested. Really.” His tone was teasing. He slung his knapsack over his shoulder and held out his hand. She took it. “We’ll have lunch at the cafe. We can eat on the patio so there won’t be a problem with Bentley... right?”

“Yeah. We can do that.”

*****

H
and in hand, with Bentley on Daniel’s other side, they headed toward the miniscule downtown of Warfield’s Landing. Daniel was relieved and grateful that Nic was making this so easy... and, he admitted with an inward wince, probably easier than he deserved. He vowed to take the lesson to heart.

The rush of the Susquehanna accompanied them, along with the buzz of power boats racing up and down the river.

It was a work day, so they left Bentley tied outside each site.

Their tour of the storefront was pretty quick.

“It was Stevie’s idea to buy this and use it as gallery space. We’ll have movable walls for display.” They stood in the middle of the first floor and looked around. The space was open, and a new wall stretched across the back. There was a doorway leading to a hall, with a couple of offices. “Those are the offices for the gallery here along with the offices for the Artists’ Co-op.”

Daniel looked around. The space was large and bright. He could picture it as a functioning gallery. “Is Stevie working with you?”

Nic made a face. “Not officially. I’d really like to get her on board.” With a grin, she confided, “I’m selfish. If I can get her involved, she can handle most everything and I’ll be free to paint. Karyn thinks that there’s a breakup coming with Stevie and Mark. I hate that she’ll be hurt, but he’s an asshole and he never has appreciated her.”

Mentally, Daniel raised his eyebrows at Nic’s language. His little artist really didn’t like the guy.

“Let’s go see the schoolhouse. Needless to say, it’s a much bigger job.”

Daniel gave the space a final glance as he followed Nic out.

The old schoolhouse sat further down Tumpline Road, at the edge of town. Across the street and beside the river, several picnic tables had been set-up.

Nic pointed over there. “I was lucky that lot was for sale, as well as the large wooded parcel behind the school. We’ll be able to maintain nature views from all of the apartments. We’ve got a landscape architect working on plans for this space beside the river. It’ll be available for use by the public as well as the Co-op residents.”

They tied Bentley to a tree near a picnic table. From his knapsack, Daniel pulled out a bowl and water for the dog.

Standing by the road, Daniel looked over the construction site. The schoolhouse was getting new life, that was for sure.

Nic was explaining some of the renovation details. “We had custom, energy efficient windows made that mimic the look of the old windows. The school looks the same but the savings should be significant.”

Daniel whistled as he fought the urge to count the windows. “That must have cost a pretty penny.”

“Yeah... it did. I’m trying to do it all the right way. I have the money and I figure better to do it now than later.”

Daniel thought he heard a self-conscious note in her voice. He pulled her close. “Hey! Don’t be embarrassed. Obviously, Jamie or Max, should I say... wanted you to have the money.”

If anything, Nic got more embarrassed as he said this. Shit. He turned her to look at him. “I’m not upset about any of this...”

She couldn’t meet his eyes. “I feel guilty that I didn’t tell you about the money.”

He lifted her chin with a finger. “Nic, honey... CeeCee, Luke, and I all have substantial trust funds. I understand. You didn’t tell me about your money and look at it this way... I didn’t tell you about mine. We were...” He corrected himself. “We are still getting to know each other. Trust takes time... and that’s okay.” He smiled down at her. “Although, I will say, I want this to be permanent.”

This surprised her and her lips formed an O.

He pulled her closer for another quick hug. “Now, I want the grand tour.” He put his arm around her as they crossed Tumpline Road.

*****

N
ic stood in the area that would be her living quarters and studio space. She’d chosen the four classrooms at the far end of the school. They were two classrooms on each side of the hall on the second floor. The hall width added a considerable amount of space to the apartment.

The inner walls had been removed and replaced with I-beams where needed. At the moment, it was a huge, empty space.

Daniel was standing on the middle with a grin on his face. “This is going to be incredible.”

“You approve?”

He looked over at her. “I sure do... large loft style windows looking out over nature, not a city...” He shook his head. “It’s amazing.”

She grinned.

He said, “Now... show me what you and Karyn have planned.”

*****

T
hey had lunch at the Riverside Cafe. Nic introduced Daniel to Ruth Ann, Janelle, and Nita. Nita had given Nic a big thumbs up out of Daniel’s line of sight.

Now they and Bentley were in the Jag, top down, and heading to Haver de Grace to pick up take-out for dinner.

“What about Bentley?”

He looked over at her. “I didn’t bring food for him, so if you don’t mind, I’ll buy some.”

“No problem.” She turned in her seat to scratch Bentley behind his ear. “We don’t want you to starve... do we, big guy?” After she loved on the dog she looked at him sideways. “Maybe you should buy enough for him to have breakfast tomorrow.”

His heart thudded. He looked over at her. She was smiling steadily. “Okay.” He called back to the dog. “You hear that, buddy?”

Bentley’s tail thumped loudly, and broke the tension. They laughed and the dog barked.

*****

T
he remains of their Thai take-out was on the small table. Sitting on the modest wicker couch, Daniel had his feet stretched out and resting on the coffee table — again with Nic’s permission - and she was curled under his arm.

Bentley was asleep nearby. As far as Daniel was concerned, today was going to be filed away in his favorite memories.

They’d been chatting casually, getting to know each other, alternating questions.

Now it was his turn. “Why did you leave Alexandria? It was clear during the board meeting that you planned to move here but I had the idea that you’d wait until your space in the schoolhouse was ready.”

“That was my plan... Then, my studio at the Torpedo Factory was vandalized.”

“What?” He was appalled. “What happened?”

“We don’t know for sure, but we think it was my friendly neighborhood stalker. Some of my newest paintings were slashed, sketchbooks were defaced. I felt violated.”

“Oh, Nic.” He pulled her close. “I should have been there for you... but I was too busy with my head up my ass. I’m sorry... what can I say. I was a jerk.”

She patted his leg. “That’s okay. I knew you needed to work things out. CeeCee is important to you, and she always will be. I understand that.”

He hugged her close. “I’m so sorry.”

“Anyway, Thomas sent over two of the M and T project managers and a bunch of interns and they had me moved out of Old Town and into Warfield’s Landing in about 48 hours.” She chuckled. “From my point of view, it was the easiest move ever. I’m promising myself I’m going to hire them to move me into the schoolhouse, when it’s ready.”

She twisted in his arms to look at him. Deliberately changing the subject she said, “It’s my turn. So, your turn... how about you and Luke and CeeCee?”

He’d been debating for days... did he tell her about his crush on Audrey or not?

This was his chance. “The summer before I started seventh grade, I was farmed out to my grandmother’s. She tried her best, but I was still reeling from my parents’ divorce, my shock that Dad had been given custody, and my fears about being sent to boarding school in the fall.”

Nic moved from under his arm. She swung around, sitting cross legged on the couch. She reached out, cradled his hand between hers and gave it a comforting squeeze.

He squeezed back and continued. “Boarding school was everything I feared. Luckily, Luke and CeeCee and I met in the first week... we bonded instantly, and we’ve been friends and family for each other, ever since.”

He paused and gathered his thought. She waited patiently, her eyes focused on his face.

He took a deep breath. “When I was at my grandmother’s that summer, there wasn’t much to do. She had a big old house with a huge attic. I spent a lot of time exploring the attic, looking in old trunks... stuff like that.” He paused and could feel his cheeks warm.

Nic gave his hand another squeeze and smiled encouraging.

“Anyway... there were bunches of old magazines from the 1950s. You know, the big format ones, like Life and Look?”

She nodded, her eyes fixed on his.

“I found one that featured a young movie star. She was on the cover. Audrey Hepburn?”

Nic nodded. He could tell that she didn’t know where this was going.

“Well, in the photo series, she was wearing a large white man’s shirt and skinny black pants... her hair was short, and, really... you look a lot like her.”

Her brow creased, and he laughed. He decided to go whole hog.

“I saw you on the Metro one day. I was going the other direction. I saw you and all I could think was — Audrey Hepburn.”

Final confession time... “I still have that magazine. CeeCee and Luke know about it. Luke saw your picture in the Torpedo Factory Art Class brochure... and then he found that you had a show at Gallery 22.”

“You still have the magazine?”

He was grateful that she focused on that and not on his borderline stalking behavior. “Yeah. It’s one of my most cherished possessions.”

She nodded, shrewdly. “I can see that. It’s all tied up with that difficult time... and maybe became like a talisman for you? Life can be so complicated, can’t it?”

“It doesn’t have to be.” He pulled her into his arms. “Here with you...” The dog snored loudly. “And with Bentley.”

She melted into his kiss.

T
he next morning, Daniel woke to the sound of Nic talking with Bentley in the other room. She had gotten up early and when he’d stirred, she’d told him to go back to sleep. He drifted back into dreamland.

He woke a bit later and looked around the bright, sunny space. He recognized Nic’s furniture from her tiny place in Old Town. This condo was several times the size of her Alexandria apartment.

From what she’d told him yesterday, she’d made the move to Warfield’s Landing about a week ago. He’d been impressed at how completely she was moved in. When he and Luke moved into their condos years ago, it had taken him months to get unpacked and organized.

He heard a door snick shut and realized that Nic was taking Bentley outside. Feeling guilty he sat up and looked for his clothes.

He padded out to the living area and found that Nic, bless her heart, had left coffee and a note. She and Bentley were going to bring back breakfast from the Riverside Cafe.

His phone rang. Luke.

“Hey!”

“How’s it going? Since you and Bentley didn’t come home, I’m assuming that she was too nice to toss you on your ass like you deserve?”

“She was... and believe me, I intend to remember and appreciate her graciousness... Thank god, she’s a dog lover.”

Luke laughed long and hard. “It sounds to me like you owe Bentley big time... maybe you need to invest in an avocado ranch.”

“Ha! I can’t believe that avocados are good for dogs. Anyway, one of Nic’s many house plants is an avocado and she’s already explained to Bentley that we do not eat family members.”

“I love it. Tell Nic I said hi and I look forward to meeting her... soon. Take care, man.”

Daniel put the phone away and poured a mug of coffee. Sipping it, he wandered around the living room, looking at the sketches on the walls, and the books in the bookcase. When he’d been in Nic’s Old Town apartment, things happened so fast, he hadn’t gotten a feel for her living space.

On impulse, he stepped into the room Nic was using as her studio. The work table was covered with sketches, mostly landscapes. He recognized the ruins of the abutments for the Port Deposit Bridge and views of Port Deposit from this side of the Susquehanna.

There were a couple of sketchbooks on the table and with only the slightest prickle of conscience, he leafed through them.

He frowned as he realized that some of them had been defaced. Maybe when her studio was vandalized?

In one he was startled to find sketches of himself. Red marker had been scribbled over lively sketches. Instantly he knew that Nic hadn’t done it... no matter how upset with him she might have been.

A couple of the drawings were of him in her Old Town bedroom. She must have sketched them the one time he spent the night there. Others were obviously drawn from memory.

He closed the ruined pad and idly flipped the cover sheet on a matted drawing.

He froze. It was a brilliant sketch of Nic. Nic asleep... and it was signed by Max Hayes. The bare shoulder and the beautifully rendered sheet told the story of lovers. The exquisite detail clearly demonstrated the love of the artist for his dreaming model.

He stared... sick... CeeCee had been right. Nic and Max had been having an affair.

“Daniel?” He heard Nic through a haze of pain and he felt a large furry head nudge his hand.

“Daniel, are you alright?” Nic moved over to the work table. She glanced down at the drawing. To his horror, a look of guilt crossed her face. She reached out and slid the drawing around so she could see it, too. “I guess it’s time we had a talk about this.”