Ben paused buttoning up his shirt and glanced over at his phone when it rang. He didn’t have much time to finish getting ready and head to the gallery. He didn’t want to miss the opening. He wanted to be there to support Charlotte. And maybe they’d have a chance to talk and sort things out.
He frowned when he saw it was his mother calling. He answered the phone and put it on speaker. “Mom?”
“Oh, Ben.” He could hear the panic in her voice.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s Mischief. We were walking on the beach and he saw something… I’m not sure what. But he pulled on the leash and tugged it out of my hand. I’ve been looking for him for half an hour. I can’t find him anywhere.”
“Where are you?” He hurried to finish buttoning his shirt and grabbed his shoes.
“Out by Lighthouse Point.”
“I’ll be there in five minutes.”
He tugged on his shoes and hurried out the door. She might have told him to back off and let her live her life, but when she called and said she needed his help, he would always be there for her. He glanced at the car but decided it would probably be faster to walk there and take the shortcut. He quickly jogged in the direction of the beach.
His mother waved to him when he approached. She had tears on her face that tore at his heart. “Okay, let’s find this little imp of yours. Where have you looked?”
“Everywhere. I went both up and down the beach, calling for him.”
“Well, we’ll have to look again.” He took his mother’s elbow and steered her to a patch of sea oats at the edge of the beach.
“Mischief?” His mother called out. “Where are you? Mischief?”
“Here, pup.” He peeked through the dense foliage.
They walked up the beach, then down the beach as the sun began to set.
“What if we don’t find him before dark?” His mother’s voice cracked.
His mother could not deal with another loss in her life. The silly dog just needed to be found. Who knew she’d be so completely nuts about the beast in only a few days? He pulled out his phone and looked at the time. He’d already missed the beginning of the opening, but with any luck, he’d still get there before it was all over.
They headed back to the lighthouse. As they approached, his mother broke into a run. He jogged to catch up with her. “Mom?”
“Look, don’t you see?”
He looked and sure enough, Mischief was sitting on the walkway to the beach, silhouetted against the brilliant sunset.
His mother scooped up the dog, hugging him and petting him. “Oh, Mischief. There you are. You bad dog. Why did you run away? Good dog, good dog.”
Good thing the dog didn’t know words or he’d be confused at his mom’s ramblings. “Come on, I’ll walk you two home.” No way he was going to let his mom walk home this late with the possibility the dog might break loose again.
“No, we’ll be fine. I know you have Charlotte’s opening to get to. I was going to go, too, after my walk with Mischief.”
“How about we both head over then?”
He watched while his mom set Mischief down and carefully wrapped the leash around her hand, then they headed out to the gallery. He just hoped they wouldn’t be too late. Because all this searching for Mischief and his mother being so full of joy at finding the dog? It had shown him how his mother was moving on from her past and beginning to care again. And it was time he did, too. He at least needed to tell Charlotte how he felt about her.
Charlotte paced back and forth at the gallery, waiting for the opening to begin. Josephine walked up to her and grabbed her hand. “Are you okay, dear?”
She smiled at Paul’s wife. “I am. Just a little nervous.” She laughed. “Okay, I’m really nervous.”
“You’ll be fine. You had great success at the local artist show, and Paul believes in you.”
“And I’m grateful for all the help he’s given me.” She watched as Paul walked over to the front door to unlock it. “I guess it’s time.”
“Don’t worry, dear. Everything will be fine.” Josephine squeezed her hand. “I’m going to go man the refreshments. We do like a festive atmosphere for our openings.”
She watched as Josephine walked to a table in the back of the gallery. A few people entered when Paul opened the door. Not many though…
She smiled and answered questions when a couple walked up to her. Slowly the gallery began to fill with people. Soon she lost track of time and began to relax.
“Charlotte?”
She whirled around at the sound of her father’s voice. “Dad?”
“You look surprised.”
“I am surprised. I didn’t even think you knew about the opening.” He’d never come to one of her openings. Ever.
“Eva told me about her conversation with you. How you turned down the show in Palm Springs because you were already committed to this one. That’s a sign of integrity and I admire that. I thought it was high time I came to one of your shows. It looks like quite the turnout.”
“I— it is. I mean. Wow, Dad, I’m glad you came.” She choked back the emotions coursing through her. Her father had come to her show.
“I admit that I don’t really understand your life and what you want. But I did listen. I know it’s what you want. And if it makes you happy, then it’s fine by me. I’ll try to be more supportive. And… I’m really proud of you. You do really great work.”
“Thanks, Dad.” She had to fight to keep back tears. She’d waited so many years to hear these words from anyone in her family. Somehow, she’d come to realize she didn’t need anyone else’s approval, she only needed to believe in herself. But it sure felt good to hear her father say those words. That he was proud of her.
“I’m going to stick around until the opening is over. Then I need to talk to you.”
She wasn’t sure what that was about, but before she could ask, Sara, Noah, and Lil walked up.
“Oh, Charlotte. These are wonderful. I’m so proud of you.” Lil hugged her. “I always knew you could do anything you put your mind to. Look how wonderful these paintings are.”
“Thanks, Lil.”
“Noah and I are going to mill around a bit. Can we bring you a glass of champagne?” Sara asked.
“No, I’m fine.”
She waved at Robin and Jay when they came in the gallery. Everyone she cared about had come to celebrate her big night.
Well, everyone but Ben. She scanned the crowd, looking for him, but not a sign of him anywhere. She glanced at her watch. The opening was almost over. A lot of the crowd had cleared out. Disappointment washed over her. Didn’t Ben realize how important tonight was to her? Maybe they weren’t as in sync as she’d thought they were.
Then she turned and saw Ben standing in the open doorway with his mother and her dog. He hurried up to her and gave her a hug. “I’m so sorry I’m late.”
Ruby walked up with her dog in her arms. “It’s not his fault. Mischief got loose and I couldn’t find him. Ben came to help me.”
“I see you found him.” She petted the dog’s head, and he licked her hand.
“Yes, I’m so grateful. I seem to have fallen hopelessly in love with this little guy.”
Ben kept one arm around her shoulders and leaned close. “I am sorry. I just couldn’t say no to Mom,” he whispered in her ear.
“You’re here now.” Right beside her.
“Well, I’m going to browse around and see every single painting. Mom, you want to walk around with me?”
“Do you think it’s okay I have Mischief with me?”
Paul walked up to them right then. “Of course, Mischief is welcome.” He petted the dog. “Good boy.”
She turned to greet another couple who had questions about her work.
Later, as the gallery began to clear, Ben walked back up to her. “I’m going to walk Mom home. Could I see you later? You want to come by Lady Belle?”
“That would be wonderful.”
The gallery emptied and Paul locked the door. Her father walked up to her. “You got time for that talk?”
“Josephine and I will just clear up the glasses and refreshments.” Paul smiled and walked away to give them some privacy.
“What is it?”
“After you told me about your agent, I did some investigating. Delbert Hamilton spoke with me. He knows of Reginald. Reginald brokered some art for one of the Hamilton Hotels. It appears he didn’t come through with what he promised. Del had been tracking him down.”
“Really?” She looked at her dad in surprise.
“And we found him.” He broke into a wide smile. “Let’s just say he was persuaded to give back some of your funds.
He handed her a check and her eyes widened when she looked at it. “This is my money?”
“Part of it. A lot of it is gone.”
“I made this money? This much?” She was in awe of the check.
“I think the rest of your funds are long gone, but at least this should help some. And Reginald is in trouble with the law over in Europe. I don’t think he’ll be cheating anyone else any time soon.”
“Thank you.” She stared at the check. “I don’t know what else to say.”
“Say you’ll deposit the check and keep painting this art that makes you happy.”
She gave her father a big hug, even though they weren’t a hugging family. He wrapped his strong arms around her and hugged her back. She couldn’t remember ever getting a hug from the man.
“Now, I’m staying at Charming Inn for a few days. Going to catch a round or two of golf. Besides, your mother is busy with that charity event and she’s having a ladies luncheon at the house. Better to just stay out of her way.”
“I’m so glad you came.”
“So, how about dinner tomorrow night?”
“That would be great, Dad.”
Her father walked out of the gallery and she went over to Paul and Josephine. “Can I help with the cleanup?”
“No, dear. You were the featured artist. You don’t need to help with this. Paul and I will get it all taken care of.”
Paul nodded toward the door. “It was good of your father to come.”
“It was. I was surprised to see him.”
“He talked to me a bit. Sounds like he’s very proud of you. He really seemed to enjoy your work.”
She still couldn’t get over the fact that her father had come to the opening. Maybe it was a new beginning with him. Even if she never got close to Eva, and even if her mother was always disappointed in her. Maybe, just maybe, she and her father could have some kind of relationship.
“Oh, and I spoke to the lawyer handling your contracts. He told me to tell you that the contract with Desert View Gallery wasn’t valid since Reginald signed it and he wasn’t actually representing you at the time. They’d sent the contract to Europe for him to sign, so he was long past repping you. And, long story short, you won’t be having a legal hassle with them.”
She hugged Paul. “Oh, thank you. I’ve been so worried about clearing up that legal mess.”
“Well, the mess is gone.” Paul smiled.
“You run along, dear. You must be exhausted.” Josephine smiled at her. “It was a wonderful opening.”
Paul let her out of the gallery and she stood for a few moments on the sidewalk, taking in the sweet evening air, glancing at the street lamps tossing their golden light on the walkways.
It had been quite a night.
She turned to see Ben coming around the corner and she broke into a smile. He hurried up to her and wrapped his arms around her. She leaned against him, feeling his heart beating against her cheek. She finally looked up at him. “I thought I was meeting you at the boat.”
“Couldn’t wait that long to see you.” He grinned. He took her hand in his and they headed to the marina.