“That’s awesome,” said a guy who looked to be in his late teens, with long dark hair that hung over his eyes as he admired the mural.
“Thank you.” Reese smiled at them. The other guy wore his hair cropped short. Each of the two girls with them had long hair, one blond, one brunette, both wearing cutoffs and sweaters.
Reese remembered how fun it had been to be so young and carefree. Then again, she was extremely pleased to realize that it was turning out to be even more fun—and much sexier—to be older and wiser and to have an even deeper connection.
“Did you paint this whole mural?” the slim blond girl asked.
“Yes, but it’s not finished,” Reese explained.
The short-haired guy studied the cottage she’d painted. “We’re art students at the Rhode Island School of Design. I don’t suppose you’d let us help?”
“We’re visiting my aunt, Kathleen Torrence,” the blonde with the high-tops said.
“I know your aunt. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Reese Nicholson.”
“I’m Stephanie, and this is Cory”—she pointed to the short-haired boy—“and Michael and Elise.”
How could Reese say no to such a group of eager faces?
“Well, it is a community project. Why not?” Actually, now that she thought about it, she really loved the idea of truly making this a community project and bringing their creativity to the mural. In fact, she decided not to show them the drawing. “What would you like to paint?”
“I’d love to paint a guy with a surfboard down here at the edge of the water.” Michael pointed to the far left of the mural.
“Can I paint a little boy playing with a ball over here?” Elise pointed to the grassy knoll between the cottages.
“Absolutely. Both of those ideas sound great.”
“Can Cory and I paint one of those planes pulling a banner?” Stephanie asked. “We could have the banner read ‘Welcome to Rockwell Island.’”
“I couldn’t have thought up a more perfect idea.”
As Reese handed them each brushes, Cory asked, “Do you mind if I play music? I like to listen while I paint. Classical’s my jam, if that’s okay with you.” When she told him it sounded great, he pulled speakers out of a backpack that Michael had set on the grass and connected them to his cell phone. Classical music filled the air around them.
“That’s an interesting choice for a guy your age,” Reese said as she picked up her brush and began painting again.
“His father’s a violinist,” Elise explained.
The kids energized the air around them. They laughed and joked and talked about how cool the island was. Every so often, Cory leaned down and kissed Elise, and every single time, she sighed with pleasure as if she couldn’t get enough of their kisses.
Isn’t it lovely, Reese thought, that at twenty-nine, I’m still doing that with Trent?
Stephanie swung her hips to the music even though there wasn’t a real dance beat. And when she caught Michael looking, she just laughed and rolled her eyes before turning her focus back to the mural.
A short while later, when Stephanie sat down beside her, Reese told the girl, “You’re really talented. Have you thought about what you’re going to do once you graduate?”
“I’ve spent each of the last few summers working to save money, and over my school breaks I also work full-time, so the first thing I’m going to do is backpack through Europe for a summer to see everything I can.” Stephanie’s big green eyes were wide with excitement and anticipation. “After that, I’m moving to Boston, where my parents live, and I’m hoping to find a job in graphic design.”
“Wow. You really have it all planned out.” When Reese had been her age, while she’d had lots of hopes and dreams, she’d had no concrete plans for achieving them until Trent had planted the seed of opening her own gallery.
“You kind of have to these days. There are so many college grads now without jobs. I’m planning to send out a bunch of applications a few weeks before I return from Europe. That way I can start interviewing right away. I had a paid internship last summer at a big firm that offered me a part-time job while I’m at school, but I want to focus on my grades.”
Just then Trent came around the corner, and Reese didn’t even try to control her urge to leap up into his arms. They’d taken so many wonderful steps toward building their new relationship that she was feeling more confident about it every day.
He kissed her dizzy in front of the teenagers before finally drawing back to ask, “Did you do some recruiting?”
It took her a few long seconds to get her synapses to fire properly again so that she could tell him, “They’re art students. Aren’t they doing a wonderful job?”
“Amazing. You’ve made this a real community project, Reese.” Trent smiled at the teens and offered his hand in greeting to the teenagers.