Chapter 8

Declan had the walls done, both coats and was finishing up the trim around the windows when Gavin said, "I think this is it. What do you think?"

He'd been watching his brother paint the mural of Super Sadie all day, so he knew what to expect, but seeing it completed was nothing short of amazing. The portrait was no caricature. It was so realistic, he could almost hear Sadie's laugh. Super Sadie wore purple and her yellow cape fluttered behind her. Her hair flowed with it. The mural was alive with movement. "Dude. I guess you really are talented."

"Shut up, fucker. Is this what you're looking for?"

He clapped his brother on the shoulder. "She's gonna love it."

"Hey, guys," Renee called from the hall. "Dinner will be here in about ten minutes."

Declan peeked out the door. "Sounds good. Send Sadie in."

Renee crossed her arms again. "Does that mean I can finally see what you've been doing in there?"

"It's a surprise for Sadie."

Renee rolled her eyes. "Sadie, Declan has something to show you."

Sadie zoomed around the corner and hopped up and down in front of the door. "Is it done?"

"Yep." Declan eased the door open a little more to let Sadie in.

"Seriously?" Renee said.

"Give us two minutes."

Sadie walked into the room and inspected the walls, nodding her head in approval, as if she were appraising the space. Her curls bounced with each movement. Then she turned to where Gavin stood in front of the mural. He stepped aside. Her jaw dropped, and her eyes opened so wide they practically filled her face. Then she squealed in such a high pitch that both Declan and Gavin cringed. Of course, the sound also summoned her mother.

Renee burst through the door, and Sadie ran at her, jumping into her arms. "Look, Mommy! It's me!"

She pointed at the wall and Renee stepped closer, her eyes matching her daughter's. Sadie slipped down her body and moved right in front of the picture. Striking the same pose as Super Sadie, with legs wide and fists on her hips, she said, "See?"

"I see, baby." Renee looked at Declan with tears in her eyes. "This is amazing." She turned to Gavin. "I can't afford to pay you for this, and it's way more than helping your brother paint a wall. This is stuff you get commissioned for."

Gavin waved her off. "I don't do these kinds of commissions. And as for payment," he added, pointing at Sadie who was ogling the bigger version of herself, "that right there covers it."

"Thank you." Renee wrapped her arms around his brother.

Declan felt a stab of jealousy, which made zero sense. "Hey, it was my idea, and he gets the hug?"

She pulled away and smiled at him. "He did the work. But you can have a hug, too, if it'll make you feel better."

Declan spread his arms comically wide, but Renee was all straight-faced. As he wrapped her in his arms, the scent of her shampoo curled into him, making him want to inhale deeper.

She whispered, "I can never repay you for what you're doing here. You are making her feel like the most important little girl in the world."

"In my life, she is." He rubbed her back because she sounded like she might start crying. He couldn't remember if he and Renee had ever hugged before. They must've, for as long as they'd known each other. But this didn't feel like he was hugging his best friend's sister. It was...different.

The doorbell rang and Renee jolted from his arms. "That's dinner. Go wash up so we can eat."

She dodged making eye contact as she turned to Sadie. "You can admire yourself later. Go wash your hands."

After they left, Declan moved through the room, gathering the supplies to clean them up.

Gavin cleared his throat. "I thought you said nothing was going on between you two."

"It's not."

"Then what was that?" he said, circling his arm where Declan and Renee had hugged.

"She was thanking me for doing the work."

Gavin responded with a raised eyebrow.

"Look, I don't have the whole story, but I think she's had a shitty time of it since her divorce. Graham was always a tool, but it seems worse. He was supposed to have Sadie all weekend, but she's back already. That should tell you something."

"That you've been cockblocked by a kindergartener?"

"I told you, Renee and I are friends. We've known each other forever."

"Looks to me like things are changing in these close quarters."

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"If you say so." They gathered the brushes and rollers and packed up Gavin's stuff.

The whole time, Declan considered his brother's words. He'd been living with Renee for only a couple weeks. They talked and joked, but their relationship had always been that way. Maybe he needed to go out and have some fun away from the house. Have a few drinks, hook up with a woman for the night. It would set him straight and he wouldn't have any different thoughts about Renee.

"You want to go out tonight?"

"Haven't you spent enough time with me today?"

"I'm thinking about going out for a few drinks, having some fun."

They carried the brushes to the kitchen sink to clean up. Renee and Sadie were already at the dining room table.

"You can toss those in the sink. I can wash them after dinner," Renee said.

"It's okay. I got this." He ran the water and looked at Gavin. "You in?"

"Why not? It's been a while since we hung out."

"Cool. Go eat. This isn't a two-man job." While he scrubbed brushes and rollers, he thought about where they could go. Somewhere with cheap booze and fun women. That's exactly what he needed.

Late Sunday morning, Renee was doing her best not to be totally bitchy, but she was failing miserably. After a long ass night of sharing her bed with Sadie who rolled and kicked and slept sideways, Renee was exhausted. At least the paint smell was clear and Sadie could move back into her own room tonight.

Declan went out last night and never came back. That shouldn't have irritated her, but it did. She wasn't even sure why. She didn't expect him to work weekends, and he had in order to get Sadie's room done. But since he hadn't come home—back—this wasn't his home, she was trying to return Sadie's room to order. Because she was so tired, the furniture felt even heavier than normal.

Just before lunch, as she started to drag the dresser to its new home on the wall adjacent to Super Sadie, she heard the front door open and Sadie greet Declan.

"Hey, Sadie, my lady. How's it going?"

Sadie said something suspiciously quiet, which meant she didn't want Renee to hear. Renee inhaled deeply and closed her eyes for a brief moment. Then she continued to shift the dresser.

"Hey," Declan said from the doorway. "I told you I'd move this back."

He hurried over and bear-hugged the dresser to move it.

"I didn't know when you were coming back. You obviously found someplace else to spend the night." She hated the bitchy sound of her words. She huffed. "Sorry. I'm just tired. I have to get this back in order because having Sadie in my bed for another night might kill me."

"That sweet little thing?"

"She kicks. A lot."

"You could've moved to my room."

"I figured you'd be in your room at some point." Still sounding bitchy, Renee. Maybe she should take a nap.

Her tone didn't bother Declan, though. He smiled over his shoulder and said, "I don't mind sharing. And I would never kick you."

"Thanks for the offer, but I'm trying to be more discerning with who I share my bed with."

"Ouch, Rennie. Why do you insist on hurting me?"

He was so overdramatic that she couldn't help but laugh.

"Go take a nap. I'll finish this up."

"It's fine. If we work together, it'll go faster. I'm not trying to eat up your whole weekend. I really appreciate you getting this done as fast as you did. It's not your fault Graham is a shitty father who would rather do anything than hang out with his kid."

"So he just dumped her off?"

"Yep."

"What if you weren't home? You could've pretended, right?"

"I suppose. But then he'd call and offer to meet up with me." She shook her head. "Every time he does it, he plays it off like Sadie is so unhappy at his house and she begs to come home. He knows I won't refuse her."

"Maybe you should."

They each grabbed a side of the bed and slid it back into place.

"It would just cause a fight and I'm done with that shit with him. I can't muster up any more fucks to give. I wanted to have a baby—which he was quick to point out throughout our marriage—so I don't care if she's here. I hate the uncertainty. I can't make plans or dates because he's so unpredictable." She straightened the blankets and fluffed the pillows as she talked.

"If you have plans for tonight, I'm here. I can babysit."

She smiled. "Thanks for the offer, but something tells me that having you babysit on a school night might not be a wise choice. You're a rule breaker."

"I can follow rules."

She barked out a laugh. "I'm not saying you're a bad guy because you're not. And I totally trust you with my daughter. But fun is more important to you than anything, and I imagine that I'd come home and Sadie would be hopped up on caffeine and sugar at midnight watching a horror movie."

Her example was specific because that was exactly what happened when they were kids. She was supposed to keep an eye on Declan and Tyler. They weren't as young as Sadie but no one trusted them to be left alone. They pretended to be asleep, and when she went to her room, they broke out snacks and movies. They stayed up all night and she got yelled at.

He didn't miss a beat and knew exactly what she was referring to. "I told you that was Tyler's idea. But it was a good time. We didn't care how much trouble we got into. It was worth it."

He gave her the grin that she was sure had gotten far too many people into trouble with him. "Sometimes, breaking the rules is worth it."

"And some of us can't afford to do that, no matter how fun it might seem."

"You can't be serious all the time either."

"I'm not." Was she? She and Sadie had fun. Maybe it was controlled, scheduled fun but still fun.

"Whatever you say, babe."

"Don't call me babe."

"It's just a term. Like dude. Didn't mean anything by it. Plus, it wasn't Rennie."

"Ugh." Maybe she should go take a nap. Her irritation was growing by the minute and he didn't deserve to be on the receiving end of her wrath. It was Graham who caused Sadie to be in her bed last night not Declan. "I think you're right. I'm going to lay down."

"I'll hang with Sadie."

"You don't have to. I'll have her put in a movie and sit on the couch with me." The tension in her shoulders eased. "I'm sorry. I'm being bitchy and you don't deserve it. Life is just...a lot right now."

"It's all good."

"Did you and Gavin have a good time last night?"

"Sure. Until the boyfriend of the woman Gavin was hitting on showed up. They were ready to brawl, so I had to drag my brother from the bar. We went back to his place and finished a bottle of whiskey."

"Oh." She'd assumed he picked up a woman. "Doesn't sound like a whole lot of fun."

"It was good to hang out with Gavin. We talked a lot about family stuff. You know, my dad and all. But yeah, not the wild party you were probably imagining." As he talked, he folded the last couple of tarps and laid them in the corner.

"You do have a reputation."

"Says who? Tyler?"

"Where else would I get my information?"

He stopped what he was doing with the tarps and crossed his arms. "A year ago, sure. But like you said, life right now is a lot. Part of the reason I'm here is because I need to figure things out."

Again, she felt like shit for the way she'd been thinking about him and the assumptions she kept making. "Take all the time you need. We're not going anywhere."

She headed toward the door. "Besides, this house needs a lot of work."

She heard his laughter all the way down the hall. "Sadie, pick out a movie. I'm gonna lay down for a bit."

"Yay." Sadie curled up behind Renee's legs on the couch and Renee closed her eyes. She needed to find better balance and relying on Declan for too much wasn't a smart move, no matter how good he was.