Page 71 of Beneath Pearly Irish Skies
His father swung into the saddle and took the reins, turning the horse and taking off. Kade watched them trot off. Yes, the stallion would do for Legend, and he imagined a whole new generation of horses here at the Donovan Farm. But he wouldn’t play a part in that. He knew what he wanted. Once he helped his father with Legend, he would be free to start on his new project. Making a home for him, Megan, and Ollie.
He went inside the cottage. Megan was sitting on the bed, dressed, when he arrived in his bedroom. Her hair wasn’t mussed anymore.
“I almost died of embarrassment,” she said, her eyes wide. “First your father and then your mother.”
Crossing to her, he sat beside her and touched her cheek. He hated for their time together to end like this, but she was needed elsewhere. “Megan, love. We need to go to the arts center. Something’s happened. I’ll tell you on the way.”
He explained in the car, and she fisted her hands in her lap, tension clearly twining around her. When they arrived and went inside, they were met by a sea of water on the floor. The sprinklers had soaked every inch of the building, but it was the sight in the kiln room on the second floor that broke his heart.
Megan cried out and rushed closer. The door to the kiln gaped wide open and her barely fired pots were covered in white powder from a fire extinguisher.
“My pots! They sprayedmy pots. Oh, no! Everything is ruined!”
“They thought the fire had to be inside the kiln,” Angie said, appearing in the doorway. “There was some smoke.”
“The kiln is new,” Megan said, anguish lacing her voice. “It always smokes a little. I checked the fire alarms.”
“The fire alarm didn’t go off,” Angie said as Carrick stepped into the room behind her, his somber gaze meeting Kade’s. “The sprinklers did. The heat from the kiln—”
“Oh, God!” Megan cupped her cheeks, tears filling her eyes. “I screwed up. I didn’t realize—Angie, I’m so sorry. Are any of your things destroyed?”
“Oil and water don’t mix, remember?” Angie made a show of smiling. “Some of the canvases are soaked through, and some of the acrylic paintings and charcoal sketches took a beating. But nothing is ruined as badly as your work. Megan, I feel terrible. I wasn’t here, or I would have insisted they wait for you.”
“But you weren’t,” Carrick said, “and our firefighters didn’t know what they were dealing with. They cut the power to your kiln and then opened the door looking for a fire. One told me the pots were all molten red so they sprayed them as a precaution. They’d never seen anything like that before. They’re sorry, if that helps.”
Kade didn’t imagine it would. She’d worked so hard to find her center again and she’d finally locked into it. Her joy over her new art had been a tangible, glorious thing, lighting up her eyes, her face, her smile.
All of that was gone now, much like her pots.
“My soul pot was in there,” she moaned, hugging her stomach.
He’d feared that. “You’ll make another, love, although I know it’s no comfort.”
“We’ve canceled classes for the next couple days,” Angie said. “Bets is arranging to have every fan in the greater area brought in to help dry things. She’s also arranging a cleanup crew.”
Kade started to roll up his sleeves. They would play their own role in the cleanup, like Angie and Carrick already had.
“I’m so stupid.” Megan stared without blinking at the destruction. “Why did I think I could do this? Barry always supervised the kiln. I helped, but I—”
“Megan.” Kade took her arms. She had a wild look in her eyes, the kind caused by deep and galvanizing pain. This was the sort of hurt that made a person or a horse want to bolt.
He waited to see what she would do. Sometimes he knew it was better to let the person—or animal—bolt. Right now, she couldn’t see anything but what was wrong.
“I don’t know what to do.” She pressed her hand to her mouth, her grief spilling over. “I need to help you clean up, but school’s almost over. I have to get Ollie.”
“Jamie will mind him,” Carrick said, taking Angie’s hand. “We’re all going to step outside and take a breath. This looks bad, but it’s not the end of the world. We need to remember that.”
She nodded, tears leaking down her face. “Right. Not the end of the world. Excuse me a moment. I need to—”
She ran out of the room. Kade rubbed the back of his neck. Only a short while ago, everything had been perfect. They’d made love for the first time, sealing their relationship in a new and beautiful way. Then his father had thanked him for helping him find Legend’s match. He’d even hugged him.
And now, here Kade stood, surrounded by Megan’s heartbreak and ruined artwork.
Well, there was nothing for it. He would have to help her heal and start over.
