Lone Star Family Values

Chapter 36

For Family

"Hey Bails, you ready for dinner?" Carlos called through the open back door into the yard of the house they were still currently sharing with Owen and Mateo.

            They were nearing the final stages of finalizing at rental across town and the family of three was more than ready to have their own space again.

"Yeah, I'll be in in a minute. I'm almost done." Bailey called back.

"Okay." Carlos replied.

            He could only see the top of her head over the large canvas that she had been working on for the past week since being home from LA. And, much like most of her other projects, nobody was allowed to see the piece until she was done. Mateo had tried to sneak a peek at the unfinished painting and he'd ended up with a palate of paint on his head. He'd had a very colorful head of hair for a few days until he could get the color out.

            TK came up beside his boyfriend and leaned against the counter.

"Hey babe." TK greeted.

            Carlos looked to TK and smiled before his eyes fell back to where he was slicing the carrots for the salad.

"Hey Tiger." Carlos replied. TK leaned forward so that he could see around Carlos' body and out into the backyard. "Is she still working on that painting out there?"

            Carlos chuckled.

"Yes she is," He said. "I almost ended up with a palate on my uniform when I went out there to let her know I was home. She had her headphones in so I had to speak up and it scared her half to death."

            TK laughed.

"She gets so into her work it's pretty easy to scare her." He said.

            Carlos shrugged.

"Yeah." He said with a laugh.

            The couple was cut off when they heard the screen door slide open on its track. Bailey walked in wiping her hands on her paint rag.

"Is it done?" Carlos asked.

            Bailey took a breath and nodded.

"Pretty much, I'll let it dry overnight and then seal it tomorrow morning. It should be completely dry by tomorrow night." She said.

            TK furrowed his brow. Living with Bailey and having her talk about her work as often as she did meant that he and Carlos and several of the 126 had picked up on certain terminology used in the art world.

"You don't usually seal your paintings do you?" He asked.

            Bailey shook her head.

"No," She said. "Not normally. I sealed my museum piece and the piece that I gave you for your anniversary but I don't always. I really only seal it when I know that the piece won't be taken down and cleaned or if I know that it's going to be hanging in a place of with high air particulate."

            Carlos nodded slowly.

"Is this a commission then?" He asked.

"Nope," Bailey said simply. "I'm going to go wash up for dinner."

            Carlos opened his mouth to ask another question but Bailey had already made it to the stairs to head up to the bathroom. Carlos looked to TK with just as much confusion on his face as TK did.

"Not a commission but she knows about the air particulate count?" Carlos asked.

            TK shook his head.

"I don't know, I really don't. We'll be scratching our heads for hours if we try to figure it out. We might as well just wait until she tells us." He said.

            Carlos nodded but he was still curious as he glanced out toward the back patio again where the large canvas was still sitting on the easel.

"She is certainly good at keeping things a secret." He said to himself with a chuckle.

✵✵✵

            The next evening the 126 had gathered at Owen's house for their monthly team and family bonding dinner. After an excellent meal prepared by Owen and a dessert that Grace had brought the group was sat in the living room charring quietly amongst themselves.

"Yo what's with the huge canvas on the porch?" Judd finally asked as they were settling into the couches and chairs.

"That's Bailey's new piece." TK said, taking a drink from his water.

            Judd raised his brows in surprise.

"Seriously? That thing's huge." He said.

            Bailey chuckled from her spot beside Carlos.

"It's a 40 inch by 60 inch canvas." She said.

            Marjan chuckled.

"Judd's right Bails, that's huge." She said.

            Bailey nodded, admitting that the size was quite large.

"It's finally done though if you guys want to see it." She said.

            Carlos sat up a bit straighter.

"We can?" He asked.

            Bailey laughed.

"Yeah, I'll go get it." She said pushing herself up from the couch.

            It took a moment of shifting and the 126 sat waiting in the living room as Bailey carried the large canvas inside.

"So, I've been working on this for about a week but it's been months of sketching and idea boards. So, I hope y'all like it." She said, turning around with the canvas and leaning it up against the fireplace.

            The air seemed to leave the room as everybody took in the intricacy of the painting. The swirling colors that so pointedly shaped the front half of a fire engine and the bold numbers marking the truck as one of the 126 that emblazoned the side door.

"Oh my god, Bailey, it's amazing." Owen breathed.

            Bailey beamed with pride as she took in the amazed looks of the crew.

"So you like it?" She asked.

            A mix of agreement came from the house members and Bailey's smile widened.

"I'm glad," Bailey said. "Because it's for you guys."

            Everybody froze.

"Well, it's for the firehouse," Bailey clarified. "The wall above the truck port always seemed so empty so I figured that it'd be cool to have something there and the canvas is big enough that it should fill the space nicely."

"Bailey are you serious?" Owen asked.

            Bailey smiled.

"Of course I am. This is for family." She said.