Free Everything You Need by Evelyn Lyes

“Kalen says that he has a sharp mind and an almost wicked sense for business.”
    “Yes, like his father.” She stopped before the painting and shoved the sheet away. She froze and stared at the canvas for long moments before she turned to him. “Who is she?”
    Ann wasn’t just Kalen’s grandmother, she was also Kate’s. It wasn’t surprising that she could distinguish the small differences between the girls even though Kate had been gone for ten years. “A friend.”
    “Is that why you have locked yourself up here?”
    “Who did you talk to? Claudia or Ally?”
    “Both. They don’t only keep me informed about new finds for the gallery, but also about how you are.”
    “The same way I keep you informed about Kalen,” Ashton said. “You’re using us well.”
    She leaned closer to painting, studying it. “It’s very vibrant, so full of life.” She glanced at him. “So different from your usual fare.”
    He shrugged.
    “It would look good on the west wall of my reception.”
    Which in Ann’s dictionary meant ‘wrap it up.’ “It’s not for sale.”
    She pursed her mouth and straightened. “Will that apply to all of the paintings of the girl?”
    “Yes.”
    “Is that wise?”
    He crossed his arms. “Probably not.”
    “Does Kalen know?”
    “About her?”
    She nodded.
    “No. And I have no intention of telling him.”
    “I see.” She walked to the armchair beside the sofa, patting his shoulder on her way.
    “What? Is that all?” With the way she liked to involve herself in the lives of people she loved, he had at least expected a small lecture, along the lines of the one Mary had given him.
    “Yes.” She lowered herself into the armchair and smoothed her black pencil skirt over her knees.
    “I feel so unloved.”
    She chuckled and stretched out her hands. “Come here.”
    He obeyed her and bent down so that her fingers could frame his face.
    She pulled him closer and pressed a kiss on his forehead, then released him. “There. Better?”
    He smiled.
    “I would have reprimanded you, but I know you well enough to be aware that whatever I said to you would have fallen on deaf ears.”
    “That’s true.”
    “See.” She chuckled again, her eyes going to the canvas. Her smile faded. “What is she like?”
    “Different.”
    A rapping sound against the door before it opened and a blond in a dark suit walked inside. With his tall build and wide shoulders he looked more like a bodyguard than a businessman. He greeted Ashton with a nod of his head and a wide grin.
    “There you are,” Ann said. “Just in time.”
    “For what?”
    “For making us coffee.”
    He lifted an eyebrow, a smile still embellishing his face. “But, Granny , don’t you employ people for that?”
    “Don’t call me Granny.”
    He grinned. “Where’s the kitchen?”
    “I’ll do it.” Ashton went to the kitchen.
    With a hand on Ashton’s shoulder, Ian stopped him. “That’s okay. I know Granny only requested I do it because I make such awesome coffee.”
    “The pot is in the cabinet to the left of the sink, the coffee is in the cabinet to the left of the stove, and the cups are in the cabinet above the sink,” Ashton told him before he went back to the sofa and sat down. “Why did you bring him with you, anyway?”
    “So you two could organize the bachelor party for Kalen.”
    “But they haven’t had an engagement party yet.” Which was a must, if you were a grandson of Ann Cromwell.
    “That’s what I said,” Ian yelled from the kitchen.
    “Does Kalen know you are trying to get us to do this?” Ashton asked.
    “Of course he doesn’t,” Ian answered instead of Ann.
    “Stop eavesdropping,” Ann said before she focused on Ashton. “A friend of mine is having a little gathering two weeks from now, on Friday evening, and she asked me if I could invite you. She’s such an admirer of your work. She has already bought three of your sculptures and five of your paintings.”
    “What