AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Oakleigh chuckles, continuing to roll the tool up and down the wall. “You know, if you want you can pitch in.”
“Shit, sorry. What do you need me to do?” I ask.
She motions with her head, “Grab the other paint roller and keep doing the same thing I am. Go all the way up and down, but leave about an inch of space. We’ll tape off the trim later and then get the spots we missed.”
I do as she says and for the next two hours, Oakleigh and I continue painting.
The whole place reeks with the scent of fresh paint, but damn does it look better.
We get two coats on the wall and finally put our paint rollers in a five gallon bucket of water.
Looking down, I arch a brow. “Is there any rhyme or reason for that?”
She laughs, “Yeah, so we can use the rollers again. Keeping them in the water will help us clean them out.”
Scanning around the room, I give her some credit. “It’s not done yet, but man that’s one hell of an improvement.”
A smile tugs at her lips, “I think the color will liven it up in here. That green was god-awful.”
"It sure was," I reply, walking over to her side. "Thank you for doing this. Amara and I appreciate it.”
"It was no problem at all. I’m discovering I love painting, whether it’s on a canvas or a wall,” she smirks and I pull her against me.
My heart swells when we touch and all of my thoughts fade away.
I wonder if I do this for her, too.
We make a damn good team, and the more time that passes, the more I see it.
The truth is, I want her to be mine.
There’s so much going on in her head that I don’t want to throw something else on her, especially when she’s doing so well.
I understand addiction, and I know better than anyone that when you get too overwhelmed, you crave your drug of choice more than anything else.
I rub my hand along her side, “I’m happy you found something you enjoy so much.”
"Me too,” Oakleigh comments.
“I’m glad you did because we both know you can’t cook.” I quip.
Oakleigh jabs me in the side with her elbow. “Whoa there buddy, I’m not the worst cook alive you know.”
I nod, “Yeah, you’re not the worst. You’re also not the greatest.”
She presses her lips in a firm line and shakes her head in amusement. “I’ll handle the painting, decorating, and cleaning around here. Someone else can be on kitchen duty.”
The way she says it makes me think she wants to stay here . . . but I’m not going to ask her about it right now.
I pull her against my chest and hold her close, her head against my chest.
"Razor, you know," she starts off, tightening her grip around my waist. "I might not be wearing your patch or anything, but I need you to know how much I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately, and if you didn’t convince me to tag along, who knows where I’d be right now.”
The sad truth is we both know where she’d be—dead.
No one in Los Angeles knew about her addiction except for me.
Licking my lips, I speak from the heart. "Oakleigh, you sure as fuck don’t need me to claim you to know you belong here. You’re a Reapers Reject by blood, and we take care of our own.”
