If I Didn't Know Better (The Callaways #9)(32)

"Christina Wykoff. She works at an attorney's office, Hamilton and Sloan. Do you know her?"

"No, I don't. I wonder why she had such a strong negative reaction to her painting being shown."

"I assume she's embarrassed by it. She looked like a woman who is very put together. What I found really odd was that she just went into the studio without ringing my front doorbell or asking for permission. I know this is a friendly town, but she knows Carly passed away, and she knew I was in the house, so why not introduce herself to me?"

"Maybe if she stayed at the studio, she just always went straight back there, and she didn't think about going to the house."

"That makes sense."

"You might want to rethink the exhibition, Mia. Kent wasn't happy about his painting being shown, either."

"I don't really understand why either one of them is upset about it. Most artists love to have their work displayed."

"I don't know about Christina, but it sounds like Kent created his art while he was going through a bad period in his life. Maybe that's why he doesn't want to show it; he doesn't want the reminder. Christina might feel the same way."

She nodded. "It's something to think about."

His phone vibrated, and he pulled it out of his pocket. It was a text from his longtime friend Craig Barton.

"Where are you? I'm ringing your bell."

"Next door," he texted back.

"Coming over."

He got to his feet. "A friend of mine is at my house." He'd barely finished speaking when Barton's loud voice rang through the air.

"Jeremy, where are you?" Barton called.

"Back here," he said, walking toward the gate.

It burst open a moment later, and Craig walked into the yard.

Craig Barton was a big man: tall, broad, and stocky, with legs like tree trunks and muscled arms that any body builder would be proud of. The massiveness of his body was intimidating, but it was offset by Barton's friendly grin and outgoing personality.

They shook hands, and then Barton pulled him into a short, rough hug and let go.

"Damn, it's good to see you, Jeremy."

"You, too."

"You look better than when I saw you in the hospital a few months ago."

"A lot has changed since then."

"So I hear." Barton looked past him. "Is that your kid?"

He nodded. "Come and meet Ashlyn." He walked Craig over to the table. "Ashlyn, this is one of my best friends, Craig Barton."

"Hi Ashlyn," Craig said.

Ashlyn jumped out of her chair and ran down the path and into the studio.

"I haven't sent a female running that fast in a long time," Barton said.

"She's shy," Jeremy said, downplaying Ashlyn's problems.

Barton turned his attention to Mia. "At least I didn't send you running."

Mia got up to shake his hand. "I'm Mia Callaway. It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise."

Jeremy saw the glint of appreciation in Barton's eyes, and he didn't like it. He'd seen Barton make a lot of moves on a lot of women, and it had never bothered him—until now.

Mia was his. Well, maybe not his, but definitely not Barton's.

"So this is where you're spending your time," Craig said with a knowing grin. "Can't say I blame you. The scenery is beautiful."

"The house has a magnificent view," Mia said.

"I wasn't just talking about the view," Barton drawled.

Mia grinned. "Good line."

He laughed. "Apparently not that good."

"We're having breakfast," Jeremy interrupted, giving his friend a pointed look to behave, not that that would matter. Barton had never met a rule he didn't want to break. "There are extra pancakes if you want some."

"Blueberry," Mia added. "Fresh from a local farm."

"That sounds good, but I just ate at Dina's with Kent, so I'll have to pass."

"What are you doing in town?" Jeremy asked.

"It's my mother's birthday this weekend, big party on Saturday night. I figured I might as well come and check up on you at the same time. Kent and I are getting together tonight at Murray's with some of the guys from his department. A little pool, a lot of beer—you in?"

"I don't know. I have Ashlyn."

"You can't find a babysitter for an hour or two?"

He hesitated. There was a big part of him that wanted to spend a few hours way he used to. "I'm not sure. I'll have to call her and see if she's available."

"Do that. We have some things to talk about, Jeremy," Barton said more seriously. "Like your future."

"We're not going to solve that over pool and beer."

"Maybe not, but we can start the conversation."

"I'll see what I can do."

Barton looked back at Mia. "So, you're the crazy art lady's niece?"

"Barton," Jeremy said quickly. "She just lost her aunt. Don't call her crazy."

"Sorry, I meant it in a nice way. Your aunt was a lot of fun. Carly was a real sweetheart to Kent when he was going through a bad time a few years back. I stopped by here a couple of times when Kent was using the studio. She would bring us lemonade and tell us stories about her travels. Kent and I thought we'd seen the world, but Carly had been a lot of places we'd never been, and certainly places more beautiful than the ones we were sent to."