Chapter 26 - New Love #2
As I got back to work, after lunch, the men pulled out some chairs and stools from around the bay to watch me work from a safe distance.
I didn’t blame them. The coveralls were far heavier a material than my paint suit and they had been sweltering in them.
What was good for drying primer quickly was not the greatest temperature to have to wear thick layers in.
A few times, I noticed that the crowd outside my bay had grown. Just about the time I was ready to throw in the towel for the day, I glanced up to see that Crutch, Tilly, Sammy, and Ryan had all joined in with Knuckles and Grunt. Brady had disappeared at some point, though.
“Didn’t realize I would have an audience this big while I worked,” I said as I took the respirator off and started to peel down the paint suit. “Where’s Hawk?”
“With his mom,” Crutch answered.
“Okay, Nell, I can see that I was wrong earlier,” Grunt admitted.
I took a few steps toward them and then turned around to assess the work I’d done.
There were still finer details that I would make to it, but the base of the car was all violent reds and oranges.
It appeared to be on fire, and looked like something driven straight out of the pits of hell.
That would be further added to when I put on the hubcaps later that fitted with three dimensional flames to make the fire effect pop.
The paint cooled to a deep purple that faded to black at the top.
The top was nowhere near done, though. When I finished, it would look as though the hood of the car had lifted through the clouds and touched heaven.
As soon as my client had asked for the seven deadly sins as his theme, I saw the final version of this paint job in my mind’s eye and it was the goal I’d been working toward all along.
I smiled and then turned back to Grunt and the others.
“You ain’t seen nothing yet. This is child’s play compared to what it will look like in a couple days when it’s done.”
“Jesus,” Knuckles huffed as he stood and stretched his body out. “Can’t wait to see it finished, Nell.” He continued to stretch after sitting still for such a long stretch. “You need help with cleanup?”
“I won’t turn it down.”
“Good. That means I can take a closer look.”
“I’ll help, too,” Grunt offered. I rolled my eyes at him. He had been waffling all day about whether I ruined my own piece of art or if it was finally getting better.
Crutch’s eyes kept trailing me as we worked to clean up and get everything closed down and secured for the night.
When we finally had everything locked up, he tipped his head for me to follow him.
We wandered off away from everyone else as they all got packed up.
My crutches were splattered in paint. It was a bit difficult trying to work with them close enough in case I needed the assist and I didn’t think to protect them.
I was an artist anyway, so splattered paint was a look I could rock without batting an eye.
“Are you going to tell me what went down at the prison or why I haven’t heard from Baffle all day?” I asked.
He smiled at me and then pulled me in for a hug. “My boys are together. They had to drive out to Santa Fe this morning. They left just after you did.”
“Santa Fe?” I asked, knowing that was where the Penitentiary was. “It’s bad, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, honey. They found Sticky dead this morning. Last I heard, it was unclear if it was foul play or by his own hand. Baffle had to go claim the man’s belongings, not that he had much.
His personal effects that were on him at the time he got picked up were available.
Not sure if anything in his cell will be released because I don’t know the details of where he died.
” Crutch choked up and it was only then that I remembered he and Sticky had been close friends at one time.
He used to be the president and Sticky was VP back in the day.
They were the previous generation’s Bigfoot and Baffle.
I wrapped my arms around his waist and hugged him hard.
“I’m so sorry about your friend.”
“Thanks,” he muttered and then kissed the top of my head. “It’s been tough not knowing how to handle the situation. He was a club brother, one of my closest friends, and I could never rectify that man with the one who would kill the woman he loved with all his heart.”
“When everything isn’t so fresh, you should sit down with Rick and have him tell you what happened. Between what Angel’s mom let slip around her and what they learned from Sticky during their visit, I think maybe he has the full picture now, whether he wanted it or not.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
“When was the last time you saw him?” I asked.
“It was a few months ago. Sticky asked me not to come see him anymore. I still put funds on his canteen account, but the bastard removed me from his approved visitor’s list.”
That was sad and made me wonder if his death hadn’t been something that was in the works for awhile.
I contemplated that while keeping my arms awkwardly wrapped around Crutch - thanks to my own crutches that dangled from my hands.
I figured he needed the hug as much as I did.
I just let go of Crutch when I noticed my husband’s Harley ride past us.
He didn’t stop or slow at the sight of all of us.
Instead, he pushed on straight for the travel trailer his sister lived in.
After he got there, Brady made his way out and slowly walked over to lean on Angel’s truck.
He didn’t leave, which meant he felt like she would still need someone there after her brother delivered whatever news he brought with him.
Bigfoot rolled up as well but parked his motorcycle over near where everyone else was gathered, so Crutch and I disentangled my paint-splattered walking aids and slowly made our way back over there.
Before long, everyone except Knuckles took off to head back to the clubhouse.
He stayed because I refused to go until Rick came back out of Angel’s place.
I was worried about both of them. I couldn’t leave in case my husband, sister-in-law, or the combination of the two needed me to be there.
I waited by the shop instead of heading over there because I also didn’t want to intrude on their sibling time together, especially when I knew that they would both be grieving in their own way.
About an hour later, Brady walked back inside as my husband came out and hopped on his motorcycle.
He almost passed right by us until he glanced to the side at the last minute.
As soon as he realized I was still hanging around despite the sun having set already, he pulled in and tipped his chin up at Knuckles.
“Thanks for waiting with her, brother.”
“You got her now?” Was all Knuckles asked. When he received another tip of Baffles chin, he climbed in the UTV and took off.
“There goes my ride,” I said as my lip poked out.
Rick glanced from me to the pillion seat on his Harley and back toward me again. “Does that make me chopped fucking liver?”
I shifted so that all my weight was balanced on my good leg and then thrust my crutches out toward my husband. “Well, I have accessories right now that need to come with me. Getting on and off that thing doesn’t look like it will be very easy with my giant leg attachment.”
Rick chuckled as he threw the kickstand down and hopped off his bike.
“Come here,” he demanded. I hobbled over as he pulled some rope out of one of his saddle bags.
He had me lean into his body as he tied my crutches to the back of his Harley and then he picked me up and placed me on the pillion seat.
Once I was secure, he carefully moved in front of me and slid his leg over, kicked the stand up, and cranked the engine.
“Alright, sweetheart. Need your arms wrapped tight around me ’til we get to the clubhouse.”
I slid in close and did just that. The bottom would drop out soon enough because Rick had to be affected by his father’s passing, so for now, I’d hold on tight and later, I’d do it all over again if he decided to fall apart in front of me.
After we got back to the clubhouse, it felt somewhat unreal how low-key the vibe was inside.
The music was barely a whisper and voices in the common area matched the somber tone.
Rick led the way back to where our bedroom was.
We bypassed everyone and they all watched us go without saying a word.
Likewise, neither of us acknowledged anyone as we passed.
Once we were behind closed doors, he turned, locked it, and pulled my crutches from my arms to lean them against the wall.
My husband then pulled my tank top off, slipped the bra from my body, and methodically continued to strip me until the only thing touching my skin was the stupid, bulky cast on my leg.
Then he walked me to the bed and helped me sit on the edge before he worked his own clothes off his body.
All of this was done in complete silence.
I didn’t know what to say and he didn’t seem to want to talk, so I let him run the show and take from me what he needed.
When he stood in front of me just as nude as the day he was born, he reached down and tipped my chin up until our eyes met.
“I love you, Nell. Knew you were the one from the first moment we met. I saw the way you weren’t afraid to fight back.
Saw that determination in your eyes. When you let me walk you back to your room, I knew you felt it, too.
Even if you didn’t realize what it was then.
” He swiped at a tear that dripped from my eyes.
“Don’t want to waste another minute of our lives living separate because we can’t get our shit together and communicate.
That’s the stuff that ruined my parents.
It’s why neither of them are here anymore. I don’t want that for us.”
“Okay,” I whispered, knowing what he said was true even without the horrible fate of his parents haunting the dark shadows of my husband’s memories.
“If there’s ever a time when you don’t love me anymore, I will let you go.” I gasped at the ease with which he said that to me. “Hear me out, sweetheart. I will still fight for us, but I will let you go before we destroy one another.”
“Then I’ll do the same,” I agreed.
Rick shook his head. “Never going to be an issue for me, sweetheart. You’re my one and only.
” He picked up my hand and laid it against his chest where I could feel the heat of his skin and the beat of his heart.
“I love you. You are mine from here until they bury my ass six feet under. If it’s possible, you’ll still be mine long after, too. ”
Another tear fell from my eyes as I reached around with my free hand and pulled at his hip to move him closer. “You are mine for just as long, Rick. Don’t ever doubt that. I love you. I’m in love with you. That’s never going to change.”
It was as if my confirmation was all my husband needed. He bent at his knees and scooped me in his arms to slide me further into the middle of the bed, then he crawled in behind me. “Just need to hold you like this for a bit. Need to feel your skin on mine and your heart beating.”
“Whatever you need,” I agreed.
“He killed himself, Nell. At first, I thought it was my fault for taking Angel there and confronting him with how was set up by Gianna. How my mom died because he believed his mistress’s lies and not the woman he supposedly loved. I blamed myself.”
“You don’t now?” I asked in a whisper-quiet voice.
“I think he’d been planning his end for quite a while.” When I nodded, he turned my face so he could look down in my eyes. “You believe that?” I gave another nod. “Why?”
“When I talked to Crutch earlier, around the time you pulled in to go see Angel, he mentioned that Sticky told him not to come back a few months ago and removed him from the approved visitor’s list.” I took a breath and gave him the rest. “I’m fairly certain Crutch thought the same, that Sticky was planning on his exit from this world. ”
Rick nodded and then leaned in and kissed me. “That’s what I love about you. One of the things,” he corrected. “You’ve never sugarcoated the things everyone else would gloss over. Never even knew Crutch still went to visit my dad. We didn’t talk about it.”
“I don’t think he meant to keep it a secret from you,” I quickly interjected on Crutch’s behalf because the man had been a solid, standup kind of guy since I first showed up at the club with my new husband.
“No, I know that. I think he was trying to spare me, but if I had known, I might have caved and gone to see my dad sooner. Maybe he would have told me about my sister if I’d ever shown up.”
“You can’t change the past, Love.”
He smiled down at me as the endearment settled in. “I like that.”
“Then I’ll use it more.”
“Thank you for finally coming back home, sweetheart.”
“My heart never left here.” I reached over and tapped his chest where is heart was. “I’m so sorry about your dad and the horrible turn your parent’s story took. You have your sister now. You have the truth. You have me. Always, Rick. Don’t ever forget that.
“Never, sweetheart. Couldn’t possibly forget anything about you.”