Page 94 of The Love Ambush
I give her a thumbs up, and she grins.
Holly is seated at the desk, attention on the screen in front of her, but she looks up when the three of us make our way across the gallery toward her. I scan the walls, but don’t see Gentry’s painting up yet.
“Hello again,” Holly says. “Levi, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Gentry not with you tonight?”
“No. These are her sisters. I’m hoping we can see her painting before we fly out tomorrow.”
Holly smiles. “I haven’t had a chance to get it framed yet. It’s still in the back.” She gets up. “Come on, I’ll take you.”
“Gentry has a painting here?” Sophie asks. “How? She didn’t bring it on the plane.”
“She painted it here,” I say. “When I took you hiking.”
“But she doesn’t paint anymore,” Emily says.
“I just don’t think she has time for it anymore,” I say.
“Here it is,” Holly says, flicking on the light in the back room. “Take as long as you want with it.”
Gentry’s painting is still on the easel where she left it. Seeing it in person is so much better than seeing it in a photograph. The beauty and skill is amazing, but there’s also so much feeling coming from it. I’m not an art expert or anything, but I can say that her painting makes me feel something.
Next to me, Sophie and Emily have gone still and silent, barely breathing.
Holly leaves without another word, and the three of us just stare in wonder for several long moments.
“Wow,” I say.
“She’s really good,” Emily says. “She’s amazing.”
“She quitthisfor us?” Sophie says, her voice low. “She could have just sent us to live with our aunt.”
“She didn’t want to do that,” I say. “She loves you and wants the best for you.”
Emily steps closer to the painting. “That little hedgehog is so cute. And the alligator looks so real. It’s like I can touch it and feel its rough skin.”
Sophie steps up next to her sister. “I guess one good thing about Dad moving back in is that Gentry can start painting again. Maybe she’ll even go back to school for art.”
“I told you it’s good Dad’s moving in,” Emily says, but she sniffles and swipes at her eyes. “I’ve been so mean to Gentry.”
Sophie puts an arm around her sister’s shoulders. “That’s because she’s our sister. We can be nicer when she stays out of our business.”
“And she’d stay out of our business if she went back to art school.” Emily sounds much more cheerful. “We need to do whatever it takes to get her back to school.”
Not exactly the moment I was hoping for, but close enough.
“We should probably get back to the farm,” I say. “We’ve got an early flight tomorrow.”
The girls follow me out, and we say goodbye to Holly. I want to buy Gentry’s painting, but it’ll mean more to her if someone from off the street buys it. It’s the only way she’ll see her art as having the potential for income.
The farmhouse is quiet and dark when we get back. The sun set a couple of hours ago, but it’s way too early for Gentry to besleeping. Maybe she’s with Josephine in the back of the house where we can’t see the light.
“Thanks for the ride,” Sophie says, hopping out and hurrying inside.
“Yeah, thanks, Levi,” Emily says as she follows her sister.
