Page 76 of You Found Me

“She painted something that wasn’t here?” Della watched with awe as the crowd moved through what felt like a sanctuary.

He looked around as if he’d surprised him to find it there. “She painted what she thoughtshouldbe here.”

Della processed that. Someone had taken his mother’s fantasy and turned it into reality. Someone who loved her very much. “Your dad built this for her.”

“Yes.”

“When?”

“Just after she died,” Ward said. She could hear the pain underneath the flat tone, now that she knew to listen for it.

Like the house, this place was a tribute to his dead mother.

Unlike the house, it was full of life.

An upbeat country song played in the background, but it could barely be heard over the laughter and chatter.

Two couples occupied the long bench in front of the ivy-covered wall. The open-air bar carved out of rich dark wood from the painting was right where it should have been. A twenty-something guy in a Sevens shirt laughed as he poured a beer for an older lady with short white hair. The fountain in the middle of the courtyard spilled water over multicolored balloons that floated in the basin.

A banner stretched across the fountain read “Happy 18th, Mason!”

She did the mental math between the brothers’ ages.

His dad had built this place, remarried, and had a child about a year after Ward’s mother died.

That meant his stepmother had to have been a part of all of it. “Your stepmother is okay with your dad doing this?”

“She was Mom’s closest friend. They built it together.” He shifted as he caught sight of someone. “That’s her, next to the dessert table by the back wall.”

Della caught a glimpse of a blonde woman in jeans with a white shirt that made her look a little like Martha Stewart.

She had a kind, warm smile as she offered a slice of cake to someone.

Della realized that Ward’s stepmother was hosting a party in a place crafted as a monument to her husband’s first wife, and she did it with a smile on her face. That said all kinds of things about her.

“This place is incredibly special.” Della glanced at Ward. “And your stepmother must be amazing.”

“She is.” Ward gestured toward the courtyard. “Ready to meet the family?”

Adrenaline jangled along her nerves, and her hand went involuntarily to the pendant. She took in a deep, calming breath like she did every time she walked onstage. “Ready.”

Chapter Fourteen

Ward held Della’s hand as they walked into the courtyard just to drive home the illusion that they were a couple. Her palm was warm and a little sweaty.

She was as nervous as he was, though it didn’t show on her face. He gave her a reassuring squeeze. She flashed him a grateful smile.

They weren’t really dating, but damn if it didn’t look like they were.

Lines were getting blurred.

Being home always messed with his head. The good and bad memories twisted up into a knot that took months to untangle. That was before he brought home a woman with the curiosity of a cat.

She kept asking questions he didn’t want to answer, yet he found himself doing it anyway.

Work. Focus on the work, he chided himself.

Mason’s party was a lot bigger than he’d expected. There had to be forty people in the courtyard, plus more inside the bar.