Page 68 of Painted

“Good luck,” Early called after Rhys, knowing what the program was about to begin entailed. “You can do this.”

Rhys sent them an anxious smile in return. If he followed through with what he had planned, the next few minutes could be some of the most painful of Rhys’s life.

TWENTY

Rhys’s heartrate kicked up with every step he took toward the dais at the front of the room. He hadn’t talked to anyone about what he was about to do except Early. He hadn’t even run it past his parents first. He’d kept Raina’s painting hidden since the night he had finished it, although he was certain his mum had seen it, since she’d taken his first class the day after he’d had his breakdown. To everyone else, though, it would be a surprise.

“Isn’t it about time to start the formal program?” Martin stopped his progress right before Rhys and his mum reached the front of the room. “Some of the donors are getting restless.”

Rhys paused to let Martin know they were about to begin, but Nancy stepped forward before he could say anything.

“It’s always about investors and deals with you, isn’t it,” she said, facing her brother like she was about to go to war with him.

Martin huffed impatiently. “Money isn’t always the root of all evil, Nancy,” he said. “Everything we’re doing tonight is going to a good cause. Mariel would have approved.”

“She might have approved of the cause, but not of the way you’re putting yourself in the spotlight,” Nancy huffed on. “Everything always has to be about you, doesn’t it.”

Rhys scrambled to know what to do. The sibling feud in front of him had clearly been going on for years, probably long before Mariel Flint’s death. It was strange to him, seeing as his entire, extended family had always gotten along, for the most part.

“Stepping up to take charge of something this important is not putting myself in the spotlight,” Martin snapped back, lowering his voice and looking around, as if he cared whether people overheard.

“You’re a hypocrite for championing this cause when you’re a drunk yourself,” Nancy hissed back.

“I’m sober,” Martin said, teeth clenched. “CADD helped me.”

“You say that now, but?—”

“Please,” Rhys said, holding up his hands to stop the argument. Being so close to so much hurt and the fireworks surrounding it was too much for his already raw emotions to handle. “Tonight is about Raina and Mariel, not about any of us.”

“It’ssupposedto be about Mariel,” Nancy said, as if she didn’t believe it actually was.

Something pulled together in Rhys’s soul, like he could hear Raina expressing her sadness that two people who should be able to rely on each other were so at odds. That and catching a glimpse of Early’s questioning expression as they watched the conflict from afar filled him with confidence. If Early could sort their family problems enough to make it through the evening then the Flints could, too.

“I appreciate the fact that this tension between the two of you has been going on for a while,” he said, glancing between the two upset siblings. “I know that family struggles are the hardest kind to deal with because at heart, we want our family to be there for us before and above anyone else.”

“He’s never been there for us,” Nancy said, more misery than anger in her voice now.

“I was struggling and you were no help at all,” Martin fired back in return, just as upset.

“Please,” Rhys said again. “We all have more hurt in our lives and in our pasts than any of us want. It doesn’t do any good to throw that hurt around and make it worse. At some point, you just have to accept the other person for who they are and let them be. Grieve the loss of the person you wanted them to be if you have to, but let them be who they are so that you can find yourself as well.”

He fully expected the two siblings to keep their argument going. Neither of them looked like they were about to fall into each other’s arms to beg for forgiveness just because he’d said something pithy, but they both kept their mouths shut.

“Thank you,” Rhys said, checking in with each of them in turn. “Now if you’ll excuse me, you’re right, Martin. We need to get this program started.”

In fact, Rhys’s mum had already reached the dais, where his dad stood as well, along with Nick. All of them had watched the confrontation between Martin and Nancy, and they seemed like they’d been waiting for Rhys to settle things.

As soon as Rhys nodded to his mum, she nodded back, then tapped a knife someone had handed her against her wine glass to get everyone’s attention.

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much for coming to Hawthorne House this evening to attend this memorial fundraiser for my darling Raina Hawthorne-Turner and Mariel Flint,” she began.

A smattering of applause followed as conversations ended and people turned their attention to the front of the room. Rhys stepped up onto the dais to stand with his father and Nick, but as soon as he was in place, he sought out Early in the crowd. Rebecca had found her way over to them, which came as a reliefto Rhys. He didn’t want Early to ever have to feel like they were alone, even when he couldn’t be with them.

Early smiled encouragingly at him as soon as their eyes met, and Rhys couldn’t help but grin in return, even though it was a somber occasion. His heart felt so full every time he looked at Early. He didn’t know how he’d gotten so lucky as to find someone so brilliant, or how he’d managed to be such a fool by denying his draw toward his lover for so long. All he knew was that he needed Early in his life, now and probably always.

“Even though it’s been more than a year since the tragic accident that took Raina’s and Mariel’s lives, we thought it was fitting to hold this memorial fundraiser to celebrate their lives and to share with you all the ways those lives will continue to help people for years to come,” Rhys’s mum went on. “We’ve partnered with the Campaign Against Drink Driving tonight to hold this silent auction so that money can be raised to further the cause of education and awareness and to make certain tragedies like this never happen again.”

Rhys reached out to touch his mum’s back in support, since her emotions were starting to get the better of her. He suspected it wasn’t just the wine either and that the glass she held was her way of making people think one thing while she allowed herself to feel.

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