Page 75 of The Seal's Promise

“Gran, are youready to head to the Solstice?” Dalton called out from his grandmother’s kitchen. He was grumpy after a jam-packed day at the hospital, where he couldn’t get a single minute to talk to Brooke. He wanted to tell her he was staying but he wanted it to be the right moment, and she hadn’t responded to his text asking if he could see her tonight after the Summer Solstice. He knew she was worried about Max’s first visit with his dad, but he wanted to be there for her. After visiting his parents’ graves for the first time in fifteen years that morning, Dalton knew for sure he belonged in Sandy Point.

“Gran, we gotta go,” he called up the stairs.

It was quiet, too quiet.

He walked out of the kitchen into the sunroom-turned-art-studio and was met with dozens of beautiful paintings. Sunrises, sunsets, storms, all done in an intricate dot style of painting. He was almost shocked at how good this art was. It belonged in a gallery, not his grandmother’s damp sunroom. But where were they? He’d spoken to his grandmother or Missy every day to check on them, but had failed to stop by in the last few days because of everything going on. When he heard a yelp from outside he headed out to the garden, where he found his grandmother grabbing Missy and pulling her toward the house.

“Gran, is everything okay?” Dalton asked, taking in the scene.

“Dalton, you are just in time to help me hogtie Missy and get her art into the truck to sell at the table I reserved for this ingrate at the Summer Solstice.”

Missy had paint stains on her oversize men’s shirt and a few smudges on her face.

“Yes, Dr. Hart, you’re just in time to diagnose your grandmother for being crazy, because I have explained to her multiple times that I am not going to stand in a tent and sell my babies to tourists that won’t appreciate them,” Missy huffed.

Dalton couldn’t help but laugh. “Wow, you two really are a duo. Gran, as much as I agree that Missy could make a fortune off her paintings, it’s her decision to make about how she wants to share her masterpieces with the world.”

His grandmother folded her arms over her chest and squinted her eyes at him. “Dalton James, if I wanted your opinion, I would give it to you. Now help me wrap up this art,” she said, stomping up the porch stairs and walking past him.

Missy trudged up the stairs behind her. “You never said I’d have to deal with such a stubborn woman who would commandeer my art.”

“You know, even Picasso and Michelangelo sold their art on the streets before they made their way into palaces and museums.”

“That’s not true, is it?” she asked.

“It could be. How about a compromise: you agree to bring ten pieces to the tent and list your prices as high as you want. Then, if none of them sell, you can prove to Gran she’s wrong. But if they do sell, you can still post them on your social media feedsandyou’ll have some money in your pocket for more materials to use to make more pieces.”

Now Missy narrowed her eyes on him. “Are you sure you’re a doctor and not some con man?”

“Yes, but do we have a deal?”

“How am I supposed to deny a man who just wants to make his grandmother happy, a woman who believes so strongly in my art that she was willing to try and lock me in the bathroom and kidnap it?”

“Great, let’s wrap them up or I’ll be late for my slot in the dunk tank.”

“I guarantee there will be a long line of people trying to get you in that water, starting with me.”

Dalton laughed and followed the two stubborn women back inside the house. Twenty minutes later he was hauling every one of Missy’s completed works of art, Missy, and his grandmother into town. They parked, and his grandmother’s friends helped Missy set up her tent. They’d even had a banner made that readLocal Artiststrung up on the bright yellow tent they’d reserved for Missy. Once they were settled, Dalton made his way to the dunk booth to relieve the young deputy who’d taken the first shift in the tank.

“Oh, good, I was turning into a fried prune between the sun beating down and time I spent in the tank,” the deputy said.

“Maybe we should move the pitching line back?” Dalton asked as he removed his shirt.

“Not a bad idea. I have a feeling you’re going to raise the most money,” the deputy said before he walked away.

Once Dalton was seated on the narrow bench in the tank, the kid handling the money gave him a thumbs-up, then let the first person waiting up to the line to throw the ball at the big red bull’s-eye. The dunk tank was sat between the “Strongest Man” game, where people took turns with a sledgehammer to see if they were strong enough to propel the weight all the way up to a bell at the top, and a ring toss game. The pier and half of Main Street were closed to traffic to make space for all the tents, games, and food stations. There was a live band on one part of the boardwalk, and between the townsfolk and tourists, the event was packed.

Between dunks into the cold water, Dalton scanned the crowd, hoping to see Brooke. He knew she would be manning the first aid tent toward the end of the street and he doubted she’d come looking for him.

He’d wanted to go straight from his brother’s house the night before to her house and tell her that he was staying, but he was worried about the timing. Dalton didn’t like how Tyler was trying to punish Brooke for spending time with him, and he didn’t want to cater to Tyler’s manipulation. But he didn’t want Brooke or Max to suffer because he was being selfish either. He wanted to be with her but also protect her best chance of getting full custody of Max. But there was no way he could wait until the end of summer to tell her he was staying.

Soon he spotted Max in the crowd, and was surprised to see that he was with Tyler until he remembered Brooke said Tyler got one day a week to spend with Max until their next custody hearing. Max wasn’t smiling as he looked up at his father, who looked like he was chastising the boy. Dalton’s urge to punch Tyler in the face doubled. Tyler must have sensed eyes on him, because he looked up and smirked at Dalton then pulled Max to stand in the line for the dunk tank.

When Max spotted Dalton, his face lit up and he waved, and Dalton could see that he had chocolate smeared on his face. Dalton waved back, but then Tyler barked something at Max and his smile fell away. He watched as Max used his shirt to wipe his face and dropped whatever he had been eating on the ground. Then he started to rub at his throat and tug on Tyler’s hand, but Tyler just shrugged him off.

That was enough.

Dalton exited the tank and told the kid taking the money to swap out with him while he put on his shirt. The kid eagerly handed off the money and got in the tank. Dalton told the next couple in line to wait just a sec, and then he sprinted over to Tyler and Max.

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