A Fresh Start (7 page)

“Come on,” Gloria coaxed, her hand running down his arm.

The tingling sensation from her nails shot up his neck. He pulled his arm from her, stretching his neck to get rid of the weird prickle. “I’m working.”

“On a Saturday?”

He entered his house and closed the door behind him.

Striding past his living room, he opened the door to his basement.

There were only minimal furniture in his house, like every other house he’d flipped. The only thing he’d brought over with him was his tools and clothes.

Jogging down to his basement, he grabbed a couple of things and dumped them into an empty box.
 

When he went back outside, Gloria had disappeared.

In less than half an hour, he was standing in front of Paige’s door again.

He knocked on the door and waited.

“Did you leave something behind?”

Spinning around, he was surprise to find Paige standing behind him. “Thought you were painting your house?”

“Yeah, I went over to wash this.” She waved the dark blue water bottle in her hand while her eyes moved to the box he was holding. “What’s that?”

“Brushes, tray, and a paint sprayer.”

“Paint sprayer?”

Justin reached into the box and pulled it out.

“Oh, that. The painters used that for the exterior walls. We can use that inside?” She stepped up and opened the door.

“It’s great for the white color base. If you want patterns after the base, then you can’t use this.”

“Thanks for dropping them over. I’ve already got brushes, though.” Her hands stretching out to take the box from him.

He twisted his torso, shifting the box out of her reach. “I’m not dropping them over. I’m here to help you paint.”

Her hands froze. “You’re going to spend your Saturday helping me paint?”

“What’s wrong with that?”

She ran her hand through her hair. “What’s wrong with that? You’re not getting paid, and now you’re volunteering to help me paint on a Saturday. It feels like I’m taking advantage of you or something.”

Justin laughed at her reasoning. “Don’t be silly. I have nothing on. This is better than lazing on my couch for the rest of the day.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m here, aren’t I?”

She nodded, her lips curling into a smile. “Thanks.” Cocking her head toward the stairs, she said, “You go ahead, I’ll fill this.”

He had just set the box down when Paige entered the room.
 

“Here you go.”

He turned and saw her handing him the bottle she was holding.

“Yours. I bought it for you. With all the dust and all from the house, I thought it’s better than a cup.”

Thoughtful.
“Thanks.” He set it down beside the box and pulled out the paint sprayer. “Want to give it a try?”

“Yes.” Her eyes widened. “It looked fun when the painters were using it.”

He grinned at the sparkle in her eyes.
 

“You drove to Pine Bluffs? I don’t think you can bring all your tools up the plane.”

“Yeah. I get to enjoy the scenery anyway.” Filling up the container, he handed it to her and taught her how to use it. “Be careful to keep the nozzle away from you. It works on pressure so if it sprays directly onto your skin, we’ll need to go to the emergency room.”

“Whoa, okay.” She aimed the nozzle at the wall and gave the sprayer a squeeze. She jumped at the first jet, then blinked furiously.

“It got into your eyes?”

One of her hands held the nozzle while the other held the container of paint, so she couldn’t do anything but blink.

“It’s okay.” He stepped toward her and tipped her chin. Gently, he used his thumb and wiped away the few tiny dots of paint at the corner of her eyes and rubbed it off on his T-shirt. “Better?”

“Yeah,” she answered. “Much better.”

He went to his box and grabbed the plastic spectacles. “Here,” he said. “It’s new, no one wore it before.” He slot the spectacles in place and couldn’t help laughing.

“What?”

“They look humongous on you.” He reached into the box again. This time, he pulled out a mask and slipped it over her head, putting it in place over her mouth and nose. “Have fun.”

“Is this really necessary? It’s like I’m working on some radioactive substances.”

“It actually came with a white overalls, but that has been used and thrown.”

“Too bad for me, then.”

He couldn’t see her lips, but he could see the creases around her eyes.

“Here goes.”

“I thought you never painted before,” he said. “How do you know you need to cover the cracks?”

“Google and youtube are my best friends.”

He laughed and picked up the plaster, helping her cover the cracks on the other walls.

“This is so much easier,” she said, setting down the sprayer and pulling down the mask.

She took in a deep breath and sighed.

“Can’t breathe?”

“It’s all right, just a little warm.”

A few quick raps on her front door made her gasp.

“You’re jumpy.”

She gave him a small smile. “Probably just Mr. Seymour. I’ll see what he needs.”

While she was still removing the mask, Justin went down the stairs and opened the door.

“Hi, Justin. We’re here to spring you.”

Even after a decade, Gloria hadn’t changed her choice of friends. Gloria stood side by side with Magdalene, who was wearing an equally tight dress.

“Who is it?” Paige asked as she hurried down. She peered from behind, then turned to him, confused. “Your friends?”

“You’re the new girl making Justin work on a Saturday?”

“I didn’t—”

“I volunteered,” he cut in.

“It’s Saturday, join us for dinner. I’m sure new-girl here won’t mind.”

“Her name is Paige. I’m sure she doesn’t, but I’ve no interest in joining either of you for dinner.” He closed the door and gently nudged Paige up the stairs.

“Who are they?”

“Ex-schoolmates.”

“Why are you so mean to them?”

“I don’t like pretentious people.”

She halted halfway up the stairs. “Justin, you really don’t have to do this. You can join them if you want.”

“Why would I join them? I don’t even like them.”

She pursed her lips, but nodded and continued walking. “Why do you think they’re pretentious?”

“Aren’t you offended by how rude they were to you?”

She shrugged. “No.” She sat cross-legged on the floor and stared at him, seemingly waiting for an answer to her question.

He sat down beside her and drank a squirt of water. “The people in this town, not all, but most of them avoided me like a plague.”

“Why?” she asked, her brows drawing closer.

She was bound to hear about it from someone sooner or later, might as well be him. “My mom was an alcoholic. She would do anything to get money for her alcohol, including sleeping with half the town.”

Her eyes widened, pushing her brows up along with them. She quickly wiped off her surprise and her jaw dropped slightly as she seemed to consider what her next words should be. “I’m sorry, that must’ve been rough.”

“I had the Seymours.”

She nodded slowly. “Then why are they so eager to have dinner with you now?”

“Money?”

Since he started getting more money, he realized more women began throwing themselves at him. At first, they would be willing to do anything for him. Then, the demands would start coming in.

A bag they really wanted to have. A dress so they could go out to dinner. The pair of diamond earrings they saw at the mall.

“You’re rich?”

“Why do you sound so skeptical?” He couldn’t help feeling frustrated at her reaction.

“I’m sorry,” she quickly said. “I’m not looking down on you. But if you’re rich, why are you working with me on the house?”

“I was actually in Cheyenne to look at some properties, thought I’d drop by to see the Seymours and Travis. I didn’t think I’ll end up helping you with the house.”

“So it’s by chance that you ended up here.”

He nodded.

She reached over for her water bottle. “Do you think I’m pretentious? Was that why you didn’t want to tell me what you do?”

“No. I just—”

“It’s okay. It’s not like I told you everything about myself.”

“I already know that you don’t have an alcoholic mom. Tell me something else.”

Her eyes flickered to the side and she appeared to be thinking of something to tell him. “I’m adopted, but I don’t think I could’ve found a better family.”

Justin broke into a smile. He wasn’t expecting Paige to tell him anything. “What do you do for a living?”

“I used to teach accounting at a community college. I started teaching the night classes while I worked as an auditor during the day. I enjoyed teaching so much I quit my day job and taught full time.”

Teacher.
It suited her.

“Do you have a job now?”

“No. I’m hoping to get a job at Pine Bluffs High School.”

“Don’t you need a license or something?”

“Yeah, I’ve all the necessary credentials, and I passed the exam. They’re not looking for a teacher, though.”

“You’re unwilling to drive further?”

“I’d prefer to stay in town,” she answered. “And you? To do what you do, you probably move around a lot.”

“Yeah.”

“Don’t you miss home?”

He had never felt at home anywhere. He loved the Seymours, he loved how they took care of him while his mother was only concerned with getting another drink. But he never felt he belonged anywhere. “Not really,’ he said. “Why Pine? I’m sure there are bigger towns with better opportunities. You’ve taught in a college, you were an auditor. I’m sure you can do better than teaching in high school.”

“It’s a small town. Everyone knows everyone.”

“And you like that?”

“I can tell that you don’t.”

“I prefer the city lifestyle. Everyone minding their own business. Nobody cares who you are and what you do as long as you don’t disturb them.”

She shook her head with a grin. “Then what are you doing here?”

“Using you as an excuse to skip dinner with people I don’t like?”

She laughed and shrugged. Her genuine laughter made him grin.
 

“Well then, get to work mister, or I’m kicking you out to the pretentious ex-schoolmates.”

The sun streamed into the window, through the curtains, and onto Paige’s face. She turned her face into the pillow, hoping to get more sleep. She kneaded her face against the soft, comfortable sheets; the way old sheets always were.

She didn’t want to get up. Her arms, back, and neck were aching.

But no matter which way she turned, the light always found a way to her eyes.
 

Grudgingly, she opened her eyes and stretched. She raised her arms over her head and arched her back, trying to get rid of the soreness plaguing her.

There was still so much to be done.

She had thought that painting the house would be fun, but just the one wall alone in the morning made her regret her decision.
 

Thank God for the paint sprayer that Justin brought over. It made painting so much faster and easier. Holding the paint sprayer and looking up at the ceiling was tiring, but definitely way better than using her rollers and brush.

Then there was the prepping of the other room. There was no escape from that.
 

She had to wipe the walls, wash it, and do all those preparations before she could start painting.

Thank God for Justin.

With his help, they had cleared both rooms and the tiny walkway outside the rooms. While she spray-painted the rooms, he had gone on ahead to clean the walls by the stairs.

Without him, she would probably still be painting her bedroom today.

Turning on her back, she moved her arm over her eyes and tried to block out some of the light streaming into the room.
 

She groaned when she heard the knock on her door and, with great effort, sat herself up on the bed.

“Paige?”

It took her a moment to react. She didn’t want to get off the bed, but it was rude to pretend she was still sleeping.
 

Swinging her legs from the bed, she plodded over to open the door.

“Good morning, dear. Do you want to go church with us?”

No,
her aching muscles cried. Besides, she was sure God wouldn’t care much for her missing attendance.

“Wash up and get changed.”

Paige blinked. Mrs. Seymour had asked politely enough, but clearly an answer wasn’t required of her.

“I’ve already brewed the coffee, I’ll get started with breakfast,” Mrs. Seymour continued, then went down the stairs before Paige could say anything.
 

Paige closed the door and leaned back against it, gazing at the bed. She wanted so much to crawl back into it.
 

She didn’t like meeting new people. For a long time now, she had learned to keep to herself and stay away from people she didn’t know or people she wasn’t well acquainted with.
One point for bed.

But she did move out here for a fresh start.
One point for church.

She yawned again.
Bed wins.

She dragged her feet back to bed. On the way back, she grabbed her cell phone from the desk and set a ten minute alarm.
 

Just ten minutes.

She didn’t know how it was possible, but she fell asleep and jumped when the alarm rang. Moaning quietly into her pillow, her arm reached over to the nightstand to shut off the alarm.

Ten more seconds,
she told herself.

No!
The responsible her shouted.
She wouldn’t be able to get off the bed if she lingered there for another second. She pushed herself off the bed and headed straight into the bathroom to wash her face.
 

She didn’t dare to glance back at her bed; she wasn’t sure she could resist its temptation.

The warm shower did make her feel better, but the soreness in her muscles were still screaming for the bed even as she dressed.

She went down the stairs, smiling when she saw Justin in quite a few of the photos on the wall.