Covered In Paint: Book Five of the Art Of Love Series

by Donna McDonald

  “Mom…I might have cancer. There might not be enough time to get even with him.”

  Jessica lowered the camera. “Or you might not have cancer…let’s go with that thought and plot his demise.”

  “But don’t you see. That’s the whole point,” Brooke said. “How can I tell Drake I love him right now? I’m…my life is crazy mixed up.”

  Jessica raised the camera to her eye. “I know it is. Drop your undies again, honey.”

  Sighing, Brooke lowered her panties. Then changing her mind, she dropped them to the floor and stepped out of them. Drake had drawn words on the backs of her thighs as well as her butt. Most of the terms that covered her body were just positive thoughts—what some would call validations. Whatever term she used on his handiwork, it was the most ridiculous, loving, wonderful thing she could think of anyone ever doing for her.

  But romantic gestures aside, she also knew why the chicken-shit man had snuck away in the night. His late night exodus gave wham, bam, thank you ma’am a whole new meaning after giving her a triple orgasm…the cowardly bastard.

  Of course, Drake had missed her screeching harpy initial reaction and the dance of shock in front of the mirror when she saw how covered she was. She would never be able to sleep peacefully with him again for worry about what he might do to her while she was unconscious. No, he wasn’t completely in the clear, no matter how charmed she was by his artistic gift to her.

  “Well, that’s certainly a mean look,” Jessica said, snapping away. She didn’t want to miss any angle. It must have taken Drake hours to do all that work.

  “I was just thinking about what happened before Drake started his art project on me last night.”

  “Really? That was a terrible frown and glare. Was it that bad?” Jessica asked.

  Brooke snorted at her mother’s nosy questions. “It was the best possible thing a man could ever do to a woman to take her mind off her problems.”

  “Excellent. I knew he had great potential. I hope like hell you decide to marry him one day. Drake’s so unpredictable, and yet also very soothing. It is a wonderful combination.”

  “Which is exactly my problem,” Brooke said.

  “I thought the five permanent markers worth of art adorning you might be the thing you were worried most about this morning.”

  Brooke snorted. “Are you kidding? Imagine what the doctors and nurses are going to say when they see this. I’m sure their shock will be worth the price of a ticket. Nobody is going to see my ass though. And if you tell my stupid stepbrothers…or their father…what is written there, I swear I will never speak to you again.”

  “I won’t…now turn around,” Jessica ordered, snapping pictures of the front when her daughter obeyed. “I love all the symbolism he used. Though the words are very nice too. His art is very well-balanced all around you.”

  Brooke fisted a hand on her now naked hip. “I look like a freaking page from one of Shane’s graphic novels. All that’s missing are dialog bubbles around the words.”

  Jessica laughed as she lowered the camera. “That’s very creative, darling. Want me to add one to see if you like it?”

  “Mom…get real. I’m scheduled for surgery in a couple hours. I need to get dressed.”

  “You’re right. Maybe we should wait and see how you feel about adding the dialogue bubbles later…when everything is over. I’m sure Shane would be happy to help if you want.”

  Rolling her eyes at the thought of her massive stepbrother carefully drawing on her, Brooke grabbed her discarded underwear and pulled them back on while her mother laughed. “If I didn’t know better, this morning I’d think Drake’s name was Larson instead of Barrymore.”

  Jessica checked the pictures and then stowed the camera away. “I guess I should have warned you. The Larson je ne sais quoi is extremely contagious, especially with other males.”

  “Now you tell me,” Brooke complained, pulling a t-shirt on over her naked breasts.

  There was no need for a bra today.

  ***

  Because there were so many of them, the outpatient nurses moved the entire Larson clan to a waiting room down the hall. Drake rubbed a hand over his face as he stared at the sheer number of them. The only one not there was Princess Sara, who was currently with her other aunt.

  Everyone was busy, but no one was talking. It was the quietest he’d ever seen the Larson clan, even in a public place.

  He watched in fascination as Will’s ex-wife and her husband came in. A meticulously dressed Ellen Cannon went straight to hug Jessica. The two women stood holding each other while Will rolled his eyes and walked away from them. Drake shook his head, also having trouble with it. No wonder Brooke was such an unusual person. With a mother like Jessica Daniels, being typical had probably never been an option.

  He glanced around and finally noticed Brandon sitting next to Chelsea, who alternately patted his arm and ignored him. Brandon sighed occasionally and spoke to her, but never budged from the girl’s side no matter what her brothers said to him.

  Drake rubbed his chin and wondered what that was all about. Maybe he needed to ask Brandon what was going on before Shane ended up hammering his heroic son into the ground like a nail.

  When the doctor came in, Drake stood. But every eye had turned in the doctor’s direction.

  “Wow…big family,” she said. “Who am I reporting to?”

  Jessica moved quickly and grabbed his arm as she plowed forward through the crowd. “I’m her mother and this is her…”

  “Future husband…” Drake finished. What was one more lie? Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jessica nodding like a bobble-head doll.

  The doctor’s gaze moved between them. “Okay. Well, the surgery went well as we expected. The lump was just as small as it was when she found it and came to see me. The lack of growth is a good sign, but we won’t know anything more until it’s been tested. You can’t really tell by visual appearance. One test will be done locally. The rest is being sent to the Mayo Clinic. We should have both sets of test results in about two weeks.”

  “How is she?” Drake asked.

  “Doing well,” the doctor said smiling. “We were able to do the surgery without removing any of her…artwork. It was the last thing she asked for before she went under.”

  Drake laughed and rubbed a hand over his face. “When can we see her?”

  “She’ll be waking up shortly. Only one person can go in though. Post-op is full today.”

  Drake turned to Jessica. “Tell her…tell her I love her.”

  Jessica smiled. “Tell her yourself…go on. I’ll be fine. If I go, I’ll just have to answer questions about you. This way I can go sit in Will’s lap and cry out my relief that the surgery is over.”

  Drake was so elated, he laughed and hugged Jessica tightly. “I’m truly in love with your daughter.”

  “Yes…I knew that when I saw her ass this morning.”

  Drake pulled away, his face flushing. “I didn’t know she was going to show the world.”

  Jessica smiled. “I’m her mother. Brooke tells me everything. I even know what you two did last night. Oh look at you…you’re blushing. I’m kidding, Drake. You know how tight-lipped Brooke is. She didn’t say a word about last night, but now I’m curious.”

  Drake rubbed his forehead. “Now I know where Brooke gets those mercurial mood shifts from.”

  Jessica waved a finger under his nose. “I was joking about what she told me, but I did see her ass. I have pictures and proof. Don’t make me show them to the rest of the world, Drake.”

  They both turned to look at the doctor, a little surprised she was still there.

  “Sorry if we’re annoying…we’re just…being family,” Drake offered as an explanation.

  “If I pretend to be offended, will you tell me what’s on Brooke’s ass? I could get the nurses to check for me, but asking seems more fun,” the doctor said, smiling at the man’s guilty look.

  He started walking away from
the crowd behind him. “I’ll tell you once we’re out of earshot. I don’t want her stepfather or stepbrothers to hear.”

  The doctor glanced back. “You mean Will Larson? He was my son’s principal. Very good man.”

  “Yes, he is,” Drake said. “And very protective of his step-daughter. I’d like to live long enough to get an answer from her instead of them.”

  ***

  Jessica heard the doctor laughing as Drake bent and whispered in her ear. The woman clapped and nearly skipped beside him. She shook her head and sighed, hoping her daughter made the right decision.

  “That was very kind of you,” Ellen said, slipping her arm around Jessica’s waist.

  Jessica nodded. “She’s in love with him…and he’s in love with her. He’s nearly my age, but he’s missed a lot of life. She’ll help him live it, I suppose.”

  Ellen nodded. “They don’t know anything yet do they?”

  “The lump was small and didn’t show any growth. They said it would be two weeks before the test results were back.

  Ellen hugged. “So we’ll take the small lump as a good sign and run with that.”

  Jessica nodded. “You know I think I’ve aged about a decade in just a couple of weeks.”

  “You’re holding up a lot better than I would be,” Ellen whispered. “It’s just one more reason I admire you.”

  Jessica hugged the smaller woman back and turned around to go find her husband. They’d tell the crowd together.

  Then the waiting would begin again.

  ***

  Brooke moaned and tried to roll over, but her right side hurt. She lifted her arm and saw the IV running down to her wrist. Reality rolled back in waves until her mind realized what was going on. She turned her head and saw another head down by her thigh. She put out a hand and touch the silky strands. It had the head popping up.

  “Hey…you’re here,” she said.

  Drake nodded and rose from the chair. He leaned over the bedrail and kissed her cheek. “Welcome back. You’ve been out a long time. I sent your mother home to crash.”

  “Good. I’m fine. Just really, really sleepy. Can I have some water?”

  Drake nodded and lifted a glass from the table. He held the straw to her lips. When she finished drinking, Brooke moved her hands and put them over her breasts. One hurt, but that was okay.

  “Yay. They’re both still here.”

  Drake didn’t want to laugh, but he couldn’t help it. “Yes, they are. Now stop playing with them before I get turned on. I don’t want to end up as notorious as your stepbrothers. Did Michael actually get thrown out of this hospital?”

  Brooke laughed. “Yes…over his wife. He’s incorrigible…sort of like you.”

  “Me?” Drake said, surprised at how she saw him.

  Broke snorted weakly. “Yes. Don’t pretend innocence with me. I have the ass tattoo that proves what you’re really like.”

  Drake laughed and sat down to hold her hand. “Didn’t you like my marriage proposal?”

  Brooke held up her left hand, middle finger extended. “No wait, that’s not right.”

  She bent that one down and held up her ring finger as he laughed. She hadn’t meant to be funny. It was hard to make her fingers work. She was sluggish.

  “Do you see a ring on this finger?” she asked finally, trying to be huffy.

  Drake sighed and pulled a box out of his pocket. He flipped it open and shoved it close to her.

  “Oh. Those are very nice.”

  Laughing, he sat the box on her stomach and lifted the solitaire from it’s velvet home. He took her left hand and slid the ring onto her ring finger.

  “Happy now?” he asked, his thumb caressing the hand he held.

  Brooke wiggled her hand free from his grip and held it an inch from her nose. “It’s beautiful. What if I die?”

  “I’ll pull it off you and give it to our daughter,” Drake said without missing a beat.

  “Daughter? What daughter?”

  “The one we’re going to have as soon as you want to…after you answer the question I wrote on your ass last night.”

  Brooke lowered her hand. “You’ve done this before. It didn’t work out well for you.”

  Drake shrugged. “Well, I didn’t have the Larsons in my life then. I’m sure I won’t be alone, no matter what happens…not that anything is going to. The doctor said the lump was just as small as when you came to see her.”

  “Doesn’t mean it isn’t cancer.”

  “Doesn’t mean it is either,” Drake argued.

  Brooke held up her hand and admired her ring. “You shouldn’t give a ring to an inebriated woman.”

  “Why not? You slept with me when I was lost in a cognac haze. This makes us even…sort of.”

  “Yes…but we didn’t have sex then. And you won’t be able to drink any more cognac if we have a daughter, Dr. Barrymore.”

  Drake smiled and took her hand again. “I will be a good husband and the best father I can be. That’s all the guarantee I can give you, Dr. Daniels.”

  Brooke nodded against the pillow. “Okay. My answer is yes. Tell my mother. She’s going to gloat, but I’ll just have to deal with it.”

  “I love you, Brooke. Please live a long time. I want you in my life.”

  “I love you too. And I’ll try my best. Did they mess up your art when they operated?”

  “No honey…it’s all still there.”

  “Good. I want you to draw some dialogue bubbles around some of it later. I’ll look like one of Shane’s graphic novels. Then we’ll take some more pictures before it wears off. Hey…I’m performance art. Tell my mother. She’ll be so proud I thought of it.”

  Drake snickered. “Well not exactly…but okay…we’ll call it performance art.” He didn’t let go when she drifted off again. He took the ring box still holding the wedding band and slipped it back inside his pocket.

  The doctor came in and smiled to see him holding Brooke’s hand.

  “What did she say when she woke up?”

  Drake held up their joined hands with the ring now adorning her finger.

  The doctor laughed. “She’s not going to have any idea how that got there later.”

  Drake nodded. “Yes…I know. But it’s staying there, one way or the other.”

  “You’re a very determined man.”

  Drake looked back at the woman in the bed. “I am about some things…some people. I am about her.”

  The doctor smiled. “When she wakes up again, we’ll try to keep her that way so you two can go home. Make sure she takes it easy for a couple days.”

  Drake nodded. “Thank you.”

  “I’ll call the moment I have both sets of results.”

  Drake nodded again, his sigh echoing after the doctor walked away.

  Chapter 18

  She lifted Brooke Daniel’s chart from the door before opening it. There was no worried woman inside. She walked until she found her nurse. “Is Ms. Daniels in the restroom?”

  “No. I’m sorry, Dr. Mason. I was waiting on you, but got busy. Dr. Daniels and her family are in the conference room. They wouldn’t fit anywhere else.”

  Dr. Mason smiled. “How many of them are here?”

  “Half of them are leaning against the walls. I didn’t count. She insisted they all be present to hear what you had to say.”

  Dr. Mason nodded. “Was she covered in art?”

  “Beg your pardon?”

  She laughed and patted her nurse on the arm. “Nothing. I was joking. They’re a strange bunch…all artists.”

  Making her way back down the hall, she opened the conference door and peered in. At least fifteen sets of eyes turned on her. Brooke sat in a chair holding hands with the man in the chair next to her. The family picture made her smile. She didn’t see it nearly often enough.

  “Hello all. Brooke…I have your results. I was very pleased to learn that the lump was a fibroadenoma which are worrisome but benign. You do not have cancer.”
/>   Loud applause and cheers filled the conference room which was suddenly buzzing with excitement. Dr. Mason smiled and politely waited for the first round of relief to pass.

  Not wanting the world to witness her meltdown, Brooke dove into Drake’s lap and buried her face in his shoulder. He nodded and thanked the doctor as he squeezed her tightly. Brooke couldn’t speak at all. Until this moment, she hadn’t even known how scared she was.

  “Brooke…can you look at me? I have a little bit more to share,” Dr. Mason said.

  Brooke turned and wiped her eyes with her hands. A small pack of tissues traveled down the table as the room grew quiet again. She pulled one out and wiped her eyes.

  “Okay. I’m listening now. Sorry.”

  “Perfectly understandable,” Dr. Mason declared. “Fibroadenomas are not cancerous, but people with a history of benign lumps of that sort have a slightly higher risk factor for getting breast cancer. Self-checks and mammograms need to be part of your regular care and all lumps should be addressed quickly. Some women find they clear up after they’ve had one or two children. You might want to consider having your family before you’re thirty-five and then getting a tubal so you can stay off birth control. I’m a personal advocate of women getting off all forms of hormones whenever it’s feasible.”

  Brooke nodded. “Okay. Thank you.”

  “My pleasure to bring good news. I’m sorry you had to wait so long for it.”

  ***

  As the doctor left the conference room, everyone filed out behind her. Chelsea was almost to the door when she looked back and saw Brandon still leaning against the wall. Letting everyone leave, she walked back and stood in front of him.

  “It’s okay. You can cry if you want to. No one will pull your man card for it while I’m around.” She crossed her arms. “I grew up with brothers. I’m tougher than I look.”

  Brandon snorted, blinking his burning eyes. “I thought we were going to go through it all again…that it would be like it was with my mother.”

  Chelsea unfolded her arms and stepped into him to hug. “I know. I’m glad it’s not happening. Everyone is glad. Maybe they’ll get married now. Stepparents aren’t so bad if you get a good one. Brooke seems nice.”