Free Christmas Choices by Sharon Coady Page A

hitting dial.
    His face lit up. “Ms. Rhian, it’s me Denny. I haven’t seen you. Are you okay? Can you please call me back? Are you still in Italy? Oh, I’m still working with Mr. Kellen. He let me use his phone to call you. He said mine wouldn’t reach all the way to Italy. We got the place looking pretty good now. Okay, call me. It’s Denny.” He disconnected the call and handed the phone back to Kellen. “She’ll call me back, you wait and see. Come on sir, we’d best get workin’. I told her we was doing good.”
    Kellen slapped the man on the back. “You’re a good man. You let me know where she is when you talk to her, okay?”
    “I will Mr. Kellen, don’t you worry.” He picked up the next board and laid it across the two sawhorses. “Ready for you to make this one, sir.” He hummed a tune Kellen didn’t recognize as they worked.

Chapter Nineteen
    R hian awoke eager to see the first portrait she had almost finished in Italy. Glancing at her phone, she saw a missed call and message from Kellen last night. Her heart fluttered as she clicked “play.” Disappointment hit her when she heard Denny’s voice. She listened carefully to the message and realized she missed the big man. She counted backwards and knew it was midnight in Savannah, so she would have to wait until later today to return his call.
    Pulling on her paint clothes, she slipped on her shoes and made her way to the kitchen to make coffee. She looked at her painting as the coffee brewed. Why am I painting Kellen? She slowly walked towards the canvas, staring at the pain and hurt in his eyes. Is this what I see when I look at him? The sadness on his face hurt her heart. Oh Kellen, could I be enough for you? What hurt you so badly that you have hardened your heart?
    Her phone rang and she ran to grab it. She found herself hoping it would be Kellen. She slid the lock and saw an unknown number lighting up on the cell. “Hello?”
    “Good morning, Rhian. I hope I didn’t wake you. This is Dante Barone calling.”
    “Good morning, Dante. Actually, I’m having coffee and looking at my first portrait. How are you today?” She twisted a strand of her hair between her fingers and leaned back against the counter.
    “I’m wonderful. I just wanted to check in to see if you need anything or if you would like some company? I thought I could show you around a bit, take you to dinner.”
    She took a deep breath, glanced over at the portrait of Kellen, and placed her hand over her heart. “Sure, that would be great. When?”
    “I thought I could pick you up around eleven today, if that’s all right with you?”
    “Today?” She glanced at the clock—only seven thirty. “Sure, eleven sounds perfect. I can get some painting in and be ready when you get here. What should I wear?”
    “Something comfortable and some good walking shoes, Mia Bella. I will see you soon. Ciao.”
    Rhian heard the disconnecting click of the phone. She looked forward to some time with him, but part of her felt as if she were cheating on Kellen. How stupid! Kellen is nothing to me. But she knew she had feelings for him. He was one of the reasons she had left.
    She placed paints on her pallet and began working on his portrait. Her desire to create a beautiful piece of art soon made her forget the ache in her heart for this man she created on canvas. She wanted to show a man who had been hurt so deeply he turned off his humanity and ability to love.
    When she finished for the morning, she stepped back and looked at the portrait. Tears streamed down her face as she imagined the pain inside him. I pray one day someone can find the real you, Kellen, and draw you out from the wall you have closed yourself behind. She cleaned her brushes and put everything away. As she turned from the painting, she glanced at the clock—ten fifteen.
    Panicked, she rushed to the bathroom, stripping off her clothes as she ran. She took what had to be the fastest shower in history, quickly