By Hook or by Wolf

Chapter Eight

One Month Later

Natasha

“Mom, this is it!” Rebecca squeals and leaps out of the car as soon as I’ve come to a complete stop.

“At least wait until the car is turned off,” I grumble, but she doesn’t. Instead, she hops out and we head to the trunk to pull out her project for the art fair. As promised, Rebecca and I took a bunch of family photos together. It was a little strange doing this without Henry, but I’ve come to realize that I can’t keep waiting for life to happen to me.

It’s happening constantly.

We carry the pictures inside, locate the table where Rebecca’s display will be, and start setting up. Her project is quite lovely. We took a series of photos of each of us, as well as quite a few photos together. Then we created decorative frames that really do look like the ones we saw just a month ago.

Ever since I gave Emily back her pictures, I haven’t been able to stop thinking her family or her very attractive, very Dominant sons. Walking into her office with the pictures had been the right thing to do, but there was no way to prepare myself for meeting those gentlemen in person. They were tall, dark, and delicious, and I’ve spent the last month fighting off fantasies of every one of them. Of all of them. It’s all been very naughty and slightly embarrassing.

I even looked them up online, which was a very, very bad idea.

The dudes are rich, handsome, and they do a lot for the community. They are super, completely, totally out of my league. I would never date someone for money and it’s a good thing because those guys are swimming in it.

The oldest brother, Lee, is in real estate. He closed more sales last year than any other real estate agent in the city. He’s known for being a strong closer, which is one of the reasons their companies do so well.

The second brother, Cody, is also serious, but he seems to be a bit more playful. He’s also in real estate, but he deals with the business side of things. He’s intellectual and considerate and he loves being around people.

The youngest brother, which is perhaps a bit of a misnomer since they’re triplets, apparently, is an art teacher. I don’t know at which school. I don’t know which grade. And I don’t know if he’s going to be here today.

I’d be lying if I said coming to my daughter’s art show presentation wasn’t completely unnerving. It’s sponsored by Claw and Sons, but I don’t know if that means there will be people from the company overseeing the show itself. Sometimes when there’s something set up like this, the sponsors don’t actually attend the show.

Part of me is terrified that I’ll run into any of the brothers today. They were all very handsome, very tall, and very dominant when I saw them before.

None of those are things I need in my life right now.

I’ve pleased myself because in the last few weeks, I’ve actually gone on a few dates. Jan still comes by to babysit for me as needed and I’ve even done some kissing. That’s right. I’ve now kissed someone just because I wanted to and not for any other reason.

Dating after losing the love of your life is super weird, but I had to start sometime, right? I’d been putting it off for a long time. I always had plenty of excuses as to why I couldn’t do it or as to why the timing was all wrong, but Emily’s strange trickery was just the boost I needed to get going.

Who knew?

I still don’t really understand why she tried to test me into seeing if I could steal from her. I probably shouldn’t have charged her for the time it took me to prepare and then break into her art gallery, but the reality is that it was a wakeup call I needed.

I’m not thieving now.

Not anymore.

Instead, I’m choosing to use my time and skills in other ventures.

I’m doing other things now.

Rebecca and I have spent the last month taking pictures, doing crafts, and working on art. We’ve painted and sculpted and I even learned how to make things out of glass. We signed up for every art class in town and every day after school, we visit a different class. We’ve been learning about how art can be used as a form of therapy and how it can be used as a healing method. Together, we’ve learned so much.

I couldn’t be more proud of my kid.

“How does it look?” She asks when the last picture is neatly in place.

“Perfect,” I tell her.

“Thanks, Mom!” She says. She looks around nervously. People are starting to arrive and soon there will be patrons and visitors walking around, taking pictures and asking questions about the different art projects that are represented at this event. Suddenly, Rebecca looks a little green.

“Are you okay?” I ask her, but she nods.