Anyplace But Here (Oklahoma Lovers Series Book 5) by Callie Hutton Read Free Book Online Page B

“Thank you so much. This means a great deal to me.”
    He drew his knees up and rested his wrists there. Looking out toward the pond he said, “Did you leave your drawing materials at home in Louisiana when you came to Guthrie?”
    She immediately went on alert. “Yes. I didn’t have much room in my suitcase so I didn’t bring them with me.”
    He plucked a piece of grass and brought it into his mouth, chewing on the end. “I understand. Travelling with a heavy suitcase can be a problem.”
    She flushed, knowing he didn’t believe her. Of course not, how much does a sketch pad and a few pencils weigh? She’d been so focused that day in just running, she’d left everything behind that she couldn’t fit in her reticule. Which meant she’d escaped with nothing more than the clothes on her back, the letter from The Harvey House, and her money.
    Hunter continued to chew on the blade of grass. He really didn’t want to make Emily uncomfortable, and he loved buying her the sketch pad and pencils, seeing her eyes light up that way. If only she would confide in him.
    He pulled the grass from his mouth and waved at the pad. “I’d love to see you draw something.”
    “I don’t know. I’ve never drawn in front of anyone, except my parents.”
    “Do they encourage your artwork?”
    Emily shook her head. “They died over three years ago.” She seemed to pull herself back from the brink of something unhappy when she forced a smile and looked at him. “They loved my drawings. Once Mama recovered, she hung them all over the house. Even the ones she missed from when I was very young.”
    “Recovered? Was she ill?”
    She looked taken aback as if she hadn’t meant to say that.
    “Um, she suffered from melancholy for a few years.”
    “And your father?”
    “Papa loved my artwork, too. He would boast about my talent to all his friends. It was quite embarrassing actually.” The warmth and animation on her face when she spoke of her father was the first genuine emotion Hunter had seen from her. No clues there. Both parents dead. Another blank wall.
    Emily, what are you hiding from me?
    “I promise I won’t insist on hanging your drawings all over the walls at Jesse’s house if you allow me to watch you work.” He shifted over toward her, and handed her the pad. “Go on. Enjoy yourself.”
    She took a deep breath and opened the pad. “All right. But it’s been a long time.”
    Talent didn’t even begin to describe the way the pencil skimmed over her pad, creating a picture of the view right there in front of them. On the paper, the pond glistened and he could almost feel the slight breeze rippling the leaves in the drawing. Although he hadn’t seen one since they’d arrived, she sketched in a bunny rabbit, his eyes wide as he stared in their direction from the page.
    “Honey, you are amazing. That’s wonderful.” Hunter rose to his knees, and resting his hands on her shoulders, gazed down at her sketch pad. “I’ve always admired people who could create beautiful things from nothing more than their imagination.”
    She turned to him, her eyes bright with excitement. “Do you really think it’s good?”
    “Of course I do. Didn’t you just say your mama and papa loved your drawings?”
    “Yes, they did, but I thought perhaps they only said that because I was their daughter. That’s what . . .”
    “What?”
    She clamped her mouth closed as if afraid she would say more than she should. A little bit of a clue there. Someone after her parents had disparaged her art work.
    Hunter removed the pad from her hands and drew her into his arms. “I think you are a talented artist. And anyone who’s told you otherwise didn’t know what they were talking about.” His fingers played with the tendrils that had escaped her bun and danced around her face in the slight breeze. The flush on her cheeks told him her thoughts were going in the same direction as his. Slowly, he lowered his head and took her lips in a