Flirting with Disaster by Sherryl Woods

me.”
    â€œBut eventually he realized that your talent was greater than his own,” Maggie guessed.
    Ellie seemed startled by her assessment. “I don’t know. Maybe.”
    â€œOh, Ellie, I’m so sorry,” Maggie said, reaching for her hand. “Don’t let Brian or anyone else ruin this gift of yours for you. Let’s take a look at what you have here. You trust my judgment, don’t you? You know I’d never lie to you about anything this important?”
    â€œOf course I trust you, but I don’t think I can look right now. You go ahead,” Ellie said. “I don’t know how much damage he did this time.”
    Maggie moved into the huge open space that comprised the studio portion of the apartment, then winced at the destruction. Brian had obviously been at it long before she arrived and heard that crash. What she’d heard had apparently been a jar of turpentine that had been thrown at a huge still life of sunflowers. The style was reminiscent of Van Gogh, but Ellie had a unique vision that brought a touch of lightness and whimsy to the work. Of course, now the paint ran in distorted streaks, so it was impossible to get the full effect.
    Another canvas had been slashed, another splattered with paint. One had a giant X painted cross it in vivid red. Apparently he’d been indiscriminate in his rampage, choosing whichever works were most convenient, not those of any particular theme. Still lifes had been damaged, as well as street scenes.
    Maggie’s fury rose. Seeing such incredible paintings destroyed in a jealous rage made her almost physically ill. What a terrible waste!
    â€œHow bad is it?” Ellie called out in a voice that trembled.
    â€œHalf a dozen are destroyed,” Maggie told her, struggling to keep the outrage out of her voice. “But there are quite a few he left untouched, more than enough for a show.”
    She went back to sit next to Ellie. “I think we need to get these paintings over to the gallery where they’ll be safe,” she told her. “And then you need to get your locks changed here. I’d do it myself, but I don’t want to leave you alone while I pick up my tools and try to find a lock at this hour. Besides which, we need someone with a truck to take the paintings. I’ll call some friends. We can take care of both of those things tonight. In the morning, if you’d like, we can go to the police and get a restraining order against him.”
    Ellie shook her head. “That will only infuriate him more. Besides, I told you he’d never hurt me.”
    Maggie squeezed her hand. “But he has hurt you,” Maggie said gently. “This is meant to hurt your soul, Ellie. It’s meant to destroy your self-confidence and rob you of something that’s very important to you.”
    Ellie shook her head stubbornly. “I can’t ask for a restraining order. Changing the locks will be enough. He’ll get the message.”
    Maggie had seen the rage in the man’s eyes. She doubted his mood would mellow significantly anytime soon. Nor did she think Ellie should ever risk trusting him not to explode when she least expected it, but she bit her tongue for now. She didn’t want to add to Ellie’s distress. “If you change your mind, I’ll go with you, okay?”
    â€œThank you.”
    â€œNow, let me make that call and we’ll secure your apartment and move the paintings.”
    She pulled her cell phone from her bag and punched in Dinah and Cord’s number. Unfortunately no one answered. She debated the wisdom of calling Warren, who might also be able to counsel Ellie on dealing with Brian, but she doubted he had the tools to deal with changing a lock, and that was a top priority. Nor did he have a truck to help with moving the paintings.
    But Josh could help on both fronts, she realized. And if he’d been convinced to assist with the building of