The Artist & The Q.B.

Ch. 42

    "Where are my damn keys!" I yell, tossing a throw pilliow back against the couch when it fails to produce my lost keys.

    I'm supposed to meet Mya at Easton's house and I have no way to get there. I text Truex for the second time, asking him politely if he knows where they are. He hasn't responded. He's been busy lately it seems he has to continually keep himself moving. Why? I have no idea. I've seen his bank-statement, he's doing just fine.

I throw my hands up in surrender and text Mya to come get me. I head to the bathroom to pee before I go and roll my eyes. Truex has been placing a box of pregnancy tests in every bathroom, waiting for me to take one. Now, it seems leaving the box isn't enough of a clue that he wants me to take one. Nope, he has this one laying in the wrapper on the sink. Pushy man.

I pink up the offensive white stick and open it. I sit down on the toilet and pee on the thing. Placing the cap back on I leave it on the counter. I watch as the test changes color and read the top, "Well, I'm definitely knocked up." I smile, thinking about it. I throw the stick in the trash and wash my hands.

I run to my studio and dig through the canvases to the one that I hid for this exact moment. I take it to our bedroom and lean it against the wall. I climb on the bed and take down one of my earlier works Truex seemed partial to and carry it down the hall to store in my studio. I go back and pick up the new painting and place it in the vacant spot.

I smirk looking at it. Truex is going to love it. I hear Mya call out to me and hurry to meet her. "Hey."

"Lose your keys again?" She asks, looking amused and if I'm not mistaken, hiding something.

I narrow my eyes. "No, I'm sure your brother had something to do with it."

"Maybe, if you just agreed to drive the new car he got you, you wouldn't be in this mess." She suggests, smirking.

"I just spent a lot of money to get that thing fixed. I will run it into the ground before I start driving that fancy car he got me."

Yes, I do have another vehicle. Truex bought me a Range Rover the week before for my Birthday. Not that I don't love it, but its huge and there are so many buttons. Its way too nice for me, I'm afraid I'll scratch it or worse.

"You're so ungrateful." She shakes her head, teasingly.

I groan. "Fine!" I stomp to the kitchen and take down the keys from the key rack. "I'll follow you. You know what he's going to do with my car, right?" I ask, convinced he will take it to a scrap yard.

She laughs. "What hasn't he done with it already?" She states, looking devious.

I tilt my head to the side. "He did something to my car?"

"Of course he did. Why do you think you can't find your keys? Have you even checked to see if its still here?"

My mouth drops. "What!"

"If it makes you feel any better he donated it to a good cause." She smiles.

I glare at her as we make our way to the garage. "You're loving this."

She nods, unapologetically. "Yep."

I hop in my car and follow her to her new place with Easton. I can sense Truex isn't enthusiastic about the idea of her moving in with him, it's very different from what we expected of Mya. She refused to move in with Tate until they were married, I'm not sure what changed in her to move this fast with Easton, but she looks happy. Seriously, thats all that matters to me.

We pull up to a big two story white stucco home with a red tile roof. It's very pretty with excellent landscaping and a huge garage. Easton must be a car guy like Truex. I park and get out smiling at Mya who has such an adorable look of excitement on her face.

"I love it." I tell her, truthfully.

She beams. "Me too. Wait until you see inside." She leads me through the garage and I glance around. "My car!" I say, spotting the light blue sedan with rust coloring the paint around the wheels.

She laughs. "He only did that incase you got mad." She says, then gets more serious. "If your okay with it, I would like to give it to Ray our gardener. I was talking to him the other day and his son needs a car to drive himself to school and work. Right now Ray has to do it because his family only have one vehicle. Its a lot of gas money and miles on his work truck." She explains, earning my sympathy and she knows it.

I nod. "Alright. Happy they can use it. When did he bring it here?" I question, suspiciously.

"Three days ago. You're so dense you didn't even notice it gone. Ray will be here in an hour. I figured you could sign over the title and everything while you're here."

"What if I would've said, no?"

She scoffs. "Yeah right."

I roll my eyes. "The Marshall's are such, know it all's."

I take out my phone texting Truex that I'm calling the cops, because my car is missing...I have to mess with him, I can't help it. I show the text to Mya who laughs. He calls seconds later.

"Don't call the police. I took it." He states, quickly.

"What! I already filed the report!" I shout, smiling the whole time.

"Call them back. Its at Mya's."

I huff. "I know. I'm at her house signing over the title to her gardener in another hour."

He groans. "Thats not funny."

"Nither is taking my car." I scold.

He grunts. "I'll see you in a couple hours."

"Okay, love ya." I say, smirking.

"Love you." He states, a tad irritated.

"Bye." I end the call and smile triumphantly. "I got him so good."

She laughs ands opens the door, holding it open for me. It leads into a hallway towards what I can see is a beautiful kitchen. "Whoa, this is gorgeous. I'm going to have to teach you more recipes."

"I know! Good thing Easton can cook, it won't go completely to waste."

I help her unpack her office and set up her computer. The room is a decent size perfect for her to catch up on work from home. An hour later I sign over my car to Ray who looks shocked and truly thankful. I only wish I could've given him an even better car.

We just finish up putting books on her shelves when Truex walks in. "Almost done? I'm hungry."

"Yeah, me too." I tell him, folding up another empty box. "I think we'll head home. I can come back tomorrow." I say to Mya.

"That'd be great. Thanks for helping." She replies, shifting a few books around.

Truex and I walk to the front and I think about the surprise I have waiting for him. I can't wait to see his face, his reaction will be priceless.

"I'll follow you." I say, walking to my car and getting in.

The drive home is quick and I take his hand as we walk inside. "Come here." I tell him, smiling.

"Oh, no. What did you do?"

I laugh at the dread in his voice. "You'll just have to see." I reply, pulling him towards the bedroom.

I open the door and stand in front of the bed looking up at him. "Well, what do you think?" I ask.

He looks at me questionably and I point to above the headboard. He turns and he his eyes land on the painting, I look too, happy with how it turned out. Its of Truex, looking down holding a little baby in his big arms. Its slightly muddled and abstract, but the bare chest and arms of Truex is undeniable and the baby looking at him from his large hands is more than a symbol of whats to come.

He looks down his eyes round, his breathing harsh. "I'm pregnant." I confess.

His arms go around me and he kisses me deeply. "I love it. I love you. Thank you."