Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 81787 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81787 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
It was a damn good mural. Belladonna even looked real in it. As if it were a photo taken.
“Sarah chose what she wanted me to draw. I had been thinking unicorns and rainbows,” she replied, her face flushed now.
I hadn’t known Sarah had asked for that specific scene. I had assumed it was Oakley’s way of making sure she stayed in Sarah’s thoughts. Despite whoever had made the decision on the painting, it was amazing. Just like all of Oakley’s paintings were. She was talented, and her work should be hanging in art galleries. Not on stationery in an Etsy store. Not my fucking business though.
“You can hate me. Just don’t take it out on Sarah. I’ll always leave as soon as you arrive. Just like last time. You don’t have to see me. Interact with me. Heck, we don’t even need to speak to each other. But we have one thing in common. We both love Sarah and would do anything to make her happy. I would take a bullet for her, Wilder. You know that. I doubt Ms. Maynard could say the same.”
Dammit. She was right. I hated it as much as I hated her, but she was right. Who better to stay with Sarah than someone who not only made her happy, but also loved her as fiercely as I did? Giving in to this when Oakley had barged into my home didn’t sit well with me. I was Sarah’s parent. I decided who stayed with her. No one told me how to take care of my kid. But then, allowing Oakley to stay would get Sarah talking to me again and end her sulking.
“I don’t leave until five tonight,” I informed her.
There was no fucking way I was letting her stay in this house with me all day. I had work to do, and I was already struggling with the sex dream I’d had of her last night. I wanted her out of my sight. At least for now.
Oakley shrugged. “That’s fine. I need to go buy some baking supplies, get some decorations for this house because it’s just sad, and it’s time to start thinking about Christmas. Then, I can pick her up from school and surprise her.”
I was sure Barry would love that. He’d asked me if he could have her number last week. The look I had given him shut him up. He should be thanking me from saving him from her. Not that he had a chance. Oakley was in a league well above the one Barry Powell dwelled in.
“Thanksgiving isn’t until next week,” I pointed out.
Oakley rolled her eyes. “Yeah, well, this place needs some holiday cheer early. Besides, watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is better with Christmas decorations up.”
“We will be at my mom’s on Thanksgiving Day,” I pointed out, and she’d have her fucking tree up. I didn’t say that though.
Oakley turned her face to look away from me. “Of course you will,” she replied, her voice tight.
What was her issue with my mom? She’d never met her. Thank fuck because my mom would love her.
“Can I leave my bag here, or do I need to take it to the car and bring it in when I come back with Sarah after school?” she asked, swinging her gaze back to mine.
I looked down at the thing. “Take it to the guest bedroom across from Sarah’s. That’s where she will want you.”
Oakley nodded. “Thanks. Will do. Now, go back to working, and I will be gone and out of your hair. It’ll be like I was never here.”
If it were only that damn easy.
Ten Years Ago
It was raining when I pulled up to get Oakley. I’d gotten here early, not wanting her to stand in the rain, waiting on me. The past month of getting her after cheer practice had been the best one of my life.
Wells wasn’t speaking to me. She’d broken up with him. He cried like a damn baby. It was dramatic as fuck for someone who had been cheating on her for months. He claimed the other girls meant nothing. Oakley just wouldn’t have sex with him, and he needed it. He had been trying to give her time and not pressure her. So, he had fucked other girls. In his head, that twisted shit made sense. To Oakley, it hadn’t. Thankfully.
When he had found out I was getting her after practice and he’d seen us getting ice cream one afternoon, he hadn’t taken it well. He got out of his Mustang and started cursing me, and then he made the mistake of getting in my face. My reaction could have been better, but I hadn’t hurt him. There was that at least. I’d just warned him. Thoroughly. To back the fuck down. He did. Now, he acted as if we were both invisible, and I didn’t care. It seemed that she didn’t either.