Chapter 8
Riley
I played nice today. I put my headphones in for my morning routine, especially because I couldn’t sleep at all last night.
I was up until three, painting. I wouldn’t dare wake him up, even if on accident, so I stayed as quiet as a mouse as I put some color on canvas.
It ended up just being an abstract mess, nothing of what I was expecting, but beautiful, nonetheless.
I was itching to move; the walls feel restrictive, so here I am, a little past four, ready to go for a longer run.
I figure if I can just clear my head, maybe I can sleep later.
Take a nap. A power nap.
I open the front door quietly, sneaking out like a thief in the night, but I jolt again from the sight across from my cabin. There’s Dom, coffee in hand, scowl painted on his face.
“Good morning!” I wave to no reply. Go figure. Sure, we don’t have to be friends, but we’re neighbors, and I refuse to be a crappy one just because of his attitude. I stretch, bending over and pulling my foot up. I didn’t yesterday, and I felt stiff, my calves sore. Overall not a good time.
He doesn’t mutter a word, and I won’t give him the satisfaction of saying anything else. I said hello. That’s enough.
“Do you ever sleep?” he asks.
“He’s alive!” I joke, my eyes dancing in a smile. “Yes, I do sleep. I slept plenty last night. Didn’t you? I didn’t play music this time.”
“No, you just had the brightest light I’ve ever seen shining directly through my window over my bed.”
Oh, for fuck’s sake. “You sleep up there?”
He nods.
“Well, I didn’t know. Get curtains or something.”
“Sleeping so little can’t be healthy.”
“You sure worry entirely too much about someone you just met and who you have been very rude to.”
“About that.”
I raise my hand, stopping him. “No need to say anything. I get it. I came in like a tornado, and you had to help contain it. I get it. It won’t happen again.
Trust me. I’ll figure out my shit on my own.
Now,” I click the button on my watch, setting it to record my run, “if you’ll excuse me. I’m going for a long run. See ya!”
He ruined my sleep with his grouchiness, then my mood this morning with his attitude. I don’t understand why he’s getting under my skin this much. It’s not often I let people ruin my mood, and he has done it several times now, annoying me to no end.
The run helped, and so did the everything shower I took right after.
Now, I’m ready to tackle the rest of this shed.
I open the double doors, turn the lights on, and see exactly why I didn’t finish yesterday.
The damn shelf I can’t reach. I was going to ask Dom for help, but you know what?
I don’t need it. I don’t need his help, or anyone’s for that matter.
I can do hard things. Yes, I can.
I march my way right into the utilities shed beside this one and search for something to help.
Bingo!
There’s a tall ladder, taller than what I need, but it’ll have to do. “Why is it so heavy?” I pull and pull until we’ve made it outside unscathed. We: me and the ladder, besties now. Now, I must drag it to the shed I’m cleaning. “This one is going to be a motherfucker.”
“Who?” Why is this man always showing up at the most inconvenient times?
“Dominic, hello. What are you doing here?” I turn to face him and find him with an almost smile on his face. Would it kill him to smile once?
“I came to grab some tools from the shed.”
“What a coinkydink! I also needed a tool from the shed. See?”
“A ladder is not a tool.”
“Same, same.” I shrug. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to take it with me. I hope it wasn’t the ladder you needed. If so, you’re going to have to wait.”
“And how are you proposing to take that ladder over to the shed?”
“Woooow, that’s the most amount of words I’ve heard you say in a row. Sounds like someone’s learning.” I wrap my arms around the ladder. “Look, I can do it.” I drag the ladder with me.
“You’re gonna get hurt,” he says.
“Why do you care?” I ask with a grunt. Damn it, this is heavy and obnoxious.
“Do you want help?” he asks. I don’t want to play Miss Independent. I do need help. But not from him. Not after he mistreated me.
“Nope.” I’m basically huffing and puffing. I stop; there’s not much I can do without breathing, and the damn shed is so far away.
Damn it.
In a few long strides, he stands next to me and takes the ladder out of my hands. “You are so annoyingly tall. That’s the only reason I’m letting you help.”
He carries the ladder toward the shed without breaking a sweat. “You know, I’ve never heard that complaint before.”
“What complaint?”
“About being tall. Usually, it's a good thing, but you said annoyingly, so I guess for you, it’s not.”
Well, yeah, duh, because it’s so damn annoying I can’t just climb him like a tree to make him smile or something.
“It’s probably because women are too distracted by all that salt and pepper-ness you have going on.”
“What?” he asks, stepping through the shed doors and opening the ladder right in the middle. He looks around, searching for where I need it, but it’s clear as day. The only shelf I haven't cleaned yet. He sets the ladder there and looks down at me. “What is salt and pepper-ness?”
I motion towards his face. “Your hair color. Black and gray.”
“Is it distracting?”
I shrug. “For most people, maybe. But I’m immune.”
“Is that why you keep staring at me?” He offers me a tiny smirk, almost imperceptible, but I can tell. Okay, Dom, I see you letting your guard down. Maybe this is what we need. A little bit of playful banter for him to stop acting like a forever grump.
“I said immune, not blind.” I wink at him. “Are you, um, gonna get those things down for me too?”
He shakes his head. “No, my job here is done.”
“Oh, come on. What if I fall?”
“You won’t.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I’ll be right here, holding this ladder.” He taps it, planting his feet firmly on the floor.
“Then why can’t you just do it?”
“Because you’re capable, Riley.” His words hit me right in the chest. How does he even know I needed to hear those words today? Actually, always.
Capable is not an adjective that’s traditionally placed next to my name. And I like it.
He taps the ladder again. “Go ahead, one step at a time. Both hands on the ladder at all times. You can pass me whatever you’re pulling down.”
I do as he says and start climbing. “If I fall from here, I’m blaming it on you.”
“If you fall, it’s because you’re not following directions, like right now. Stop looking at me and keep your hands on the ladder.”
“Yes, sir.” He grunts, and I have to suppress a giggle. Oh, Dom, if you’re going to get all riled up every time I say sir, we’re going to have so much fun. I reach the shelf and start gathering things. None of these will break, so I drop them, and they fall with a loud thud.
“That was not in the plan,” he says.
“Fuck the plan, Dominic. Sometimes, you have to devi— ah!” I slip, three steps down, my hands barely able to hold on, but strong ones hold me in place. By my ass. Oop!
“Sorry!” I yelp. He keeps his hands on my ass, digging his fingertips into my hips and helping me down until my feet are on the floor. I know without even looking at him that he’s wearing his impatient face. At least, that’s what I think it is.
“Don’t scold me. It’s your fault.” I turn to face him, but with the ladder behind me and him helping me down, there’s barely any space between us.
I can still feel his hand on my hip, a phantom touch.
His breath mixes with mine; mint, tobacco and something sweet, a juxtaposition of flavors, just like he is.
He shakes his head. “You didn’t follow directions.”
I shrug. “You caught me either way. Thanks. This is day three of you saving me now.”
“Let’s hope it’s the last time.” He doesn’t move, even with how stiff his body is. Everything about him says he’s uncomfortable, but he won’t move.
So, I don’t either. I take my time noticing the little things about him now that I’m this close. I’ve never been more intrigued by a person before. I practically count his white eyelashes and see that his eyes barely have any brown in them. They’re so dark, like a starless night. Wow.
He clears his throat, snapping us—well, me, really—from this comment. “I have to get back.”
“Oh yes, sorry.” I tuck a loose strand behind my ear and lower my gaze. Riley, get a damn grip.
“No need. Can you promise me you won’t get on top of the ladder again?”
“Can’t promise, but I’ll be careful next time.”
He nods. “Okay. I can come back at the end of the day to help you put those back up. Is that enough time?”
“Should be. Thanks.”
He tips his hat and walks out, leaving me breathless and not because of the almost falling. Him being that close sparked all my senses back to life, and I liked it. A lot.
The rest of the day goes by in a flash—not because I’m busy organizing that shelf, but because I did everything else I could and found myself getting lost in boxes and boxes of keepsakes and mementos my parents saved. I can’t believe these all have been sitting here, collecting dust.
I eventually had to drive the Jeep to pick them up and take them to my cabin. I want to take my time going through all of them. There are more than pictures here—there are crafts, letters, and who knows what else.
Me:
I finished. You have another task for me?
Lilly:
Already?
Me:
Yup. I told you I could do it.
Lilly:
I’m in bed already. Can we meet in the morning after second breakfast?
Me:
Yup. See ya!
I look up from my phone to find Dom getting out of his truck.
“Howdy!” I shout.
“Ready?”
“Actually, I just took the boxes to my cabin. I was coming to see if I could take the ladder back to the shed, but you beat me to it.”
“I can do that.”
He emerges effortlessly carrying the ladder, his large frame gliding across the ground in long, smooth strides. Moments later, he steps back out, casually dusting his hands on his worn jeans.
That man is a work of art, and the urge to take a picture and paint him is strong.
“Thanks again.” I hop off the back of my Henry.
“I thought you said running kept you alive and all,” he says, looking at all my Jeep’s shiny orange glory.
“It does, but I also know my limits.”
“I guess this is it then.”
“That’s all. Thank you. How can I repay you for all your kindness?”
“You already did. Dinner last night, remember? Which was already too much. I don’t need you to pay. I’m just doing my job.”
“Sure, but there’s more to it. You went out of your way multiple times for me, and my mini pot pie you didn’t even eat is not enough. So, what can I do? Paint your walls? Clean your cabin? Feed the horses?”
He chuckles. “Stay away from the horses. I wouldn’t want you getting hurt.”
Hurt? Not physically, that’s for sure. Horses—barrel racing, to be exact—were my whole life. Emotionally destroyed by memories hitting me harder than a mad bull? For sure. “If only you knew.”
He eyes me in question, but I don’t say more. That’s all he needs for now. “No, for real, what can I do?”
“How about you let me sleep more than three hours tonight. Deal?”
“No lights, no music, got it.”
“You should take it into consideration too and go to sleep at a decent time instead of doing whatever you were doing until almost midnight last night.”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” I wiggle my eyebrows as he pinches the bridge of his nose. “Fiiiiine. I’ll sleep too.”
I jump into my Jeep, sliding my hand out and shouting, “See you soon, Dominic!”