Page 70 of Love Finds Home

“What do you mean?”

“I heard him on the phone. I think he was talking to Joker. He said he felt nothing. So, that’s how I’m going to feel, too.”

“Oh, Elle.” I pull her into a hug. “One day, you’ll tell me everything.”

“Right,” she huffs out a laugh. “That’ll be the same day you let me have the conversation with you about Keith.”

“So, let’s schedule it now for nine days after never?”

“Precisely. I also overheard another phone call. I think it was his brother. It didn’t go well.”

“Poor Ranger. He’s really been through it with his family.”

“He has. But just like everything else, today is about total avoidance of all the shitty stuff. Let’s make this wedding beautiful for our friends and family!” Elle cheers, an almost manic look on her face. It’s comical and gets another laugh, this time closer to real.

“Let’s do this!” I mimic her mania.

The weddings are beautiful, my friends happier than I’ve ever seen them. The men all look dapper in their dressed down suits, and the kids are all beaming. Big happy families. Something I know I’ll never have. I excuse myself when I can’t take it and lockmyself in the bathroom for a few minutes. I want a happy life. I want a man that loves me for all that I am. I know that man isn’t Keith, really, I do.

I think Elle and I need to have that night together sooner rather than later. She cuts through all the bullshit and isn’t careful with my feelings. It’s refreshing, and after today, I think I need a dose of Elle’s reality.

Chapter 25

Ranger

I meet Joker andDaniel at the gallery with Jorge and Elle the morning after the wedding. Elle’s nursing one hell of a hangover, wearing sunglasses as big as her head and paint splattered sweats. Jorge gives her the once over and rolls his eyes before pulling out a bottle of extra strength pain meds and handing her a couple with a bottle of water.

I mostly avoid Daniel all day, instead, following Elle around as she adjusts things in the outer studios and resets for regular opening. Joker asks her to go up to her studio after him and Daniel do their thing, and I slowly follow behind her, Jorge hot on my tail.

“What did you do to her?” he murmurs when we’re out of earshot.

“I didn’t do anything. She had a little too much fun at the wedding.”

“Nope. This is more than hangover Elle. What did you say to her?”

“I didn’t say a fucking thing.”

“Whatever you did, you need to fix it.”

“But I didn’t do anything,” I defend.

“Keep telling yourself that, but you know you did. That shoulder she’s giving you is damn near freezing. Bet if you think about it a little more, you’ll remember. You’re a smart guy.”

He passes me and hits the landing to the studio while I stare after him. I have no idea what I did, but I’ll be damned if I don’t figure it out.

The destruction of her studio hits me every time I walk into the room. All of her easels have been broken, all the paint poured out of cans or squeezed out of tubes all over the floor. The paint brushes are all laying in the puddles, the bristles cut clean from the handles. The canvases, painted and untouched, are all slashed beyond any chance of salvage. Even her pottery corner wasn’t left untouched. All of her clay is smashed to pieces on the floor around the kiln. It looks like whoever did this tried to break the thing, but that’s not happening.

And all of that destruction doesn’t worry me as much as the words written on the wall. Who thinks Elle’s life should have been theirs? And what will it take to get them to stop?

“We found some black hair.” Daniel is talking to Elle when I make my way to the center of the room. “Do you know anyone with black hair?”

“Well, I know you now,” she looks at the top of Daniel’s head, which is indeed almost midnight. “But, no. No one I can name offhand.”

“We’ll take it and run some tests on it. Hopefully, we get something from it.”

“And what if we don’t?” Elle asks, the lost look in her eyes again.

“You won’t be alone, Tink.” I step up to her, gripping her shoulders, my thumbs rubbing soothing circles on her soft skin. “Someone will always be there with you if I can’t be. And whoever is doing this will fuck up, and we’ll get them.”

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