A Masterpiece Of Our Love (The Masterpiece Trilogy Book 1) (30 page)

"One more to show you." She gestured at hers, as the heat rushed to her cheeks.

Before he looked at it, Hunter kissed her cheek. She touched the spot as it still tingled while he studied her painting.

"Absolutely stunning. I have my own interpretations, but I want to know yours." He pulled her into his arms. "The colors are amazing!"

"You asked for my take on love. When I first started thinking about it, I had a whole different idea. As the past few days unfolded, it changed. I- I kind of see that as us, starting fresh from a storm of events that changed everything. That's why it's lightly raining and we're standing under an umbrella. That represents us breaking free of the storm. I picked the shore of the ocean because the waves always find a way back. Just like we do. We bounce back from one thing after another and always find each other." The stuttering started. Dang, she was so nervous!

"Angel, I-" Hunter moved his lips but hardly any words came out. "Well hell, woman, you've rendered me speechless."

"Do you like it?"

"Like it? I love it. It's a perfect masterpiece." He kissed along her jaw. "A masterpiece of our love. We need to go buy a frame for this one, too. It'll go right up next to the first one you gave me on the island."

A masterpiece of our love. Becca played the words in her head. She'd never thought of a name, but Hunter's fit perfectly.

"Speaking of masterpieces, I have a question. I meant to ask you the other day." He was still so close that when he talked, his breaths tingled against her skin. "What would you say to donating one of your paintings to the fundraiser to auction off?"

He wanted to auction one of her paintings? Did he really think more than one person would want to bid on it?

"I know that look. My guess is you're wondering who would want to bid on it. Am I right?"

Her jaw dropped.

Hunter laughed. "Damn, I'm good."

"How do you do that?"

"I know you." He ran his fingers through her hair. "You'd be surprised. You don't have to do it, but I'm telling you, I know people who have begged me to let them buy one of your pieces. I'm not the only one interested in your talent. You'll see," he said knowingly.

She let out a laugh as butterflies swarmed in the pit of her belly. It couldn't hurt. If that was what Hunter wanted, then she'd go for it. Maybe she would be surprised. "Okay. I'll do it. But which one?"

"We'll decide that together, if you want. I love all of your work, but there are certain ones I won't part with for various reasons."

"You turned people down before, so why are you okay with this now?" Well that was not a smart thing to ask. What did it matter?

Hunter grinned. "I figure, since I have an in with the artist, maybe if I let one go she'll give me a new one to replace it. That, and I really want you to see that I'm not the only one who adores your work."

Becca quirked a brow, hiding her smile. "An in with the artist, huh? Do you seduce to get your way?"

He gasped in mock horror. "I would never do such a thing. There's only one woman I want to seduce and she's standing right here in front of me, in my arms. I don't have to even resort to seducing her to get my way."

"Oh, is that so?" She giggled, reaching behind him and grabbing his butt.

"It's very so. All I have to do is lean close, whisper in her ear and tell her how much I love her." His lips grazed her ear, hot breaths tickling. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Becca whispered back, holding him close. "So, what would getting your way entail?" She sent him a saucy grin.

Hunter waggled his eyebrows. "Oh, where to start, where to start ... Oh, I know! How about you go with me to pick up Sienna tomorrow and we have a little barbecue and swimming? Todd called earlier and asked if we'd be interested."

"I'd like that. Sounds fun."

"See? No seducing and I still got my way."

Becca socked him lightly on his upper arm. "You're crazy."

"Crazy about you," he shot back, not missing a beat.

*****

Hunter tried to put the dreams and troubles out of his mind so that he could spend a nice day with Becca. Tried being the key word. His mind wouldn't quit. They went and had a nice lunch, picked up a few frames and walked hand in hand around the mall. Simple and nice. Calm. Days like this were rare, but he enjoyed it. When was the last time he'd ever just walked around a mall? Just what he wanted. So why couldn't he get his mind to stop going other places for a while?

It was going to drive him nuts until he figured it out, and who knew if that would ever happen? Damn it!

"You're awfully quiet. Feeling okay?" Becca asked, pulling him out of his thoughts.

Feeling okay? Yes and no. He felt a mix of things. But he didn't know where to start to tell her. "Just a bit tired." He finally found a simple and true answer. Tired, no doubt. The nightmares kept him from sleeping well. He had to admit, with Becca in his bed he was sleeping a little better. If the constant waking up from nightmares wasn't as frequent, he'd be fine. He wanted them to stop. For twenty years the damn crash consumed most of his life and for once, he wanted to let it all go and be normal. He wanted to live a life with the woman he loved and not have everyone look at him as if he were going crazy.

The way he felt lately, he couldn't blame anyone for looking at him that way. Still, he longed for that sense of normalcy.

"I wish I knew what to do to help you sleep more."

"It's better with you here. When I do sleep, I'm more content knowing you're next to me." He kissed her cheek. "I worry how you sleep through my yelling and moving so much."

"No need to be so worried. I sleep just fine. The only time I wake up is when I hear you yelling."

"I wish they'd go away. The dreams, I mean."

"So do I. Have you thought about talking to someone about them?"

"I talk to you."

"Not what I meant. I mean- Well, someone who might be able to help you through it."

He tensed. "You think I'm crazy, too? Is that it?" Oh hell, where did that come from? Becca wouldn't turn on him like that. They stopped by the passenger side of the car and she whirled around to face him.

"I never said that! I just- I don't know, Hunter. You're going through a lot, there's been so much happening in the past few years. I just thought-" She shook her head and sighed. "Nevermind." Her tone was quiet, filled with hurt.

Damn it, he'd snapped at her for no reason. What did he have to go and mess up a perfectly good day for by being an ass? He quickly set the bags down on the cracked pavement. "Hey. Look at me." He raised his hands to her cheeks and rubbed then gently with his thumbs. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you. Just the thought of having to rehash all this with someone- I don't know. I don't like the idea, but you're probably right. For once, I want to be the man without such a past. I don't always want it to affect me like this, and yet it does. Twenty years is a long time. I won't forget my family's memory, but sometimes, I want to forget the pain. I know if I keep going down this road without facing it, somehow it'll only get worse before it gets better."

Becca looked him square in the eye. "I get that, you know I do. That's why I suggested it. I never meant for it to be anything else. I told you the first time and I'll tell you again. I don't think you're crazy, but I do think you're stressed. You came to the island to get a break, but you're still just as tense as when you first got there. You're tired, irritable and it scares me, especially because while I can understand your feelings, listen to you talk, and hold you when you need comfort, there's not much else I can do for you."

"That's a lot you're doing!" Hunter protested.

She shook her head. "From where I'm standing, it's not. Or at least, it doesn't feel like it. I want to do more. I want to take your nightmares away. I know I can't, though. I'm powerless in that regard."

Hunter leaned forward and kissed her lips. "I love you. Again, I'm sorry for snapping. I don't know if I want to go down that route by talking to someone because I don't think it'll help, but I promise to give it some thought. What I want most of all is to have all these unanswered questions solved and for you, Sienna and I to be together. A family."

Becca smiled. "One of those I can help you with. I want to be with you more than anything. We'll take it all a day at a time."

A car honked nearby. Becca and Hunter turned to see a red Chevy truck, the driver waving at them to move with a cross look on his face.

"Oops. Guess we'd better get out of his way and get out of here. You have your camera? I know a nice open area nearby. We can see about testing out your new toy with the upcoming sunset." Hunter picked up the bags, then unlocked the door for her. She climbed in and pulled the door closed. Hunter carefully placed the bags with the frames in the back behind him before he plunked himself down in the seat and started the engine.

"I love the idea!" Becca buckled her seatbelt, sending him another excited grin. "I've been reading through the guide that came with the camera and there's so many neat features I can't wait to mess around with."

Whew. So he'd smoothed things over this time. This could not keep happening though. Why did he have to keep snapping and getting defensive, specially with her? He took Becca's words to heart. He needed to do something about the constant nightmares, but what? Was talking to someone about them really the answer? He'd noticed he'd been much more on edge the past few weeks, and it only seemed to get worse. If he was going to make things work with Becca and have Sienna at home with him, he needed to do something.

They drove in silence to the open field.

The clouds were in perfect position on the horizon tonight for a bright and colorful sunset. Becca looked like a pro already, standing in different locations as she snapped photo after photo. As the day's last rays of colorful light faded away, she finally stopped, put the cap back over the lens and packed her camera away in it's bag. She made her way to him with a smile.

"We picked a good night for a sunset, didn't we?"

"Sure did. I think I'm going to have a lot of fun with this camera. I still can't believe you went and bought me one!"

He shrugged, playing coy. "As long as you're enjoying it."

"I am, very much." An airplane from the nearby small airport took off, startling Becca. She watched it go higher up in the sky. "I had no idea we were so close to an airport. Is your plane here at this one?"

"It is."

"Is your plane the one you use when you work?"

"No. Mine is real small. It carries less than ten passengers. I use one of the company's planes. Mine is more recreational."

She glanced over in the direction the plane took off from, then faced him. "Can we go see yours?"

Well, that was unexpected. "Are you sure?" he blurted. Yeah, nice answer, idiot. But she'd thrown him for a loop.

"I don't want to fly in it, not right away. You did mention you'd take me on it, let me sit and get used to even being around one. We're not far from yours, so I figure why not?" Her voice trembled slightly, but she sounded fairly certain.

He was glad she didn't want to fly right now. The idea of taking a spur of the moment flight didn't appeal to him at all. Letting her get comfortable with the plane, he could do. That would be easy. He brushed her hair back before kissing her forehead. "Okay. Let's go."

"Hey, Hunter! It's been a while!" A short, plump man wearing a security uniform waved ecstatically at them as he led Becca to his plane. "Taking a night spin?"

"No sir, not tonight. I'm just showing my girlfriend the plane this evening." He had his arm around her and at the word girlfriend, he gave her right shoulder an affectionate squeeze. "Arthur, I'd like you to meet Becca."

"I've heard so much about you, Becca." Arthur held his hand out, his smile warm and friendly. "Hunter speaks so highly of you, but he's never brought you around. I was wondering if you were imaginary."

She laughed and held out her hand to shake his. "I can assure you I'm very real."

"Good. I'd hate to think he's paying you so we all would finally believe that such a woman existed." He let out a hearty laugh that made his belly shake. "Just giving Hunter a hard time. We all enjoy a little picking around here. He's no exception. Wait till I tell Dan that I met the infamous Becca."

"I had a feeling you two were taking bets," Hunter chuckled. "How much does he owe you?"

The man's cheeks turned a little red, his grin widening. "You're good, man. He owes me fifty bucks. But, I'll have to take a picture of you two in case you don't bring her by again. He'll want concrete proof." His tone was hopeful.

Hunter shook his head, still smiling. "The things I do for you crazy old-timers. You have nothing better to do than take bets on my life, huh? What do you say, Bec?"

"I won't be the reason he doesn't earn that fifty dollars. They want a picture? We'll give them a photo to remember." She smiled over at Arther, who already had his phone out. She winked and turned to Hunter, cupping his face and leaning in for a kiss. She closed her eyes as the flash of the camera lit up and her lips met Hunter's.

"Ha, love it!" Arthur pumped a fist in the air. "I'll take that fifty and take my wife out for the night. She'll enjoy it. Seriously, it's wonderful to meet you, Becca. We might pick a lot, but Hunter here is a good man and it's nice to see him happy. Always had a feeling one day you two would end up together."

Becca smiled. Just how much did Hunter talk about her? Apparently a lot! "It's great to meet you, too."

"Now, if you're done making me a just slightly embarrassed, I'm going to take Becca to see the plane." Hunter fist bumped Arthur.

"Go on, have fun. Don't be a stranger." Arthur waved them on. Hunter grasped Becca's hand and led her away.

"Embarrassed, hmm?" Becca teased. Then she laughed. "Funny how they're taking bets about me being real or not. Do I want to know what you say about me?"

"Hey! Only the best." Hunter feigned hurt. "See what I mean though? Everyone around me knew I was in love with you. It took me a lot longer to realize it." They stopped in front of a small plane.