Hello Kathy Wheat,
Free theme must update automatically. Please check the version of theme you are using and the version on WordPress. If the version you are using is lower than that of WordPress, it must provide the notification of the updates. You can click on update now and the update will be held.
If you can’t do this, please check the installed plugin, some plugin may causing the updates. So, kindly check and remove the unused plugin if you have.
Thank you