Page 57 of Grumpy

“Yet, you didn’t hesitate to travel cross country the second you realized Maddie was the woman from the hospital,” Kelly argued. “You took care of Maddie, even from a distance. I think that’s pretty incredible.”

“Do you want kids?”

Kelly swallowed hard, looking away from him. “You know, working at the diner was supposed to be temporary. I always envisioned meeting some nice man, getting swept off my feet, and becoming a stay-at-home mom. And yet, twenty years later, here I am. Still a waitress, no husband, no kids.”

“No husband yet,” he pointed out. “All you have to do is plan the wedding.”

She snorted. “Oh, is that all? Weddings aren’t exactly a simple thing to plan.”

“It only has to be as difficult as you want. Town hall and a trip to the bank to merge our accounts sounds pretty simple to me.”

Kelly stared at him, baffled. “Merge our accounts? I’m not exactly dripping in riches, Grumpy.”

“Neither am I, but I plan on having our lives as entwined as possible. Including financially. No his and her accounts. Our house, our money, our life.”

Tears built in her eyes at the declaration. “Would you mind a big wedding, though? I mean, not massive, but the club and our friends and family? My dad’s not here to walk me down the aisle, but I feel like Mom’s earned that right. And Bubbe’s always dreamed of seeing me in a white dress.”

“What about you?” he asked. “Do you want the white dress and the big wedding?”

Kelly thought about it for a second, and then nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I really do.”

He lifted their hands to his lips. “Then plan a big wedding. The ol’ ladies will be thrilled to help. I’d offer, but I truly would be no help at all.”

“You and Tanya didn’t have a big wedding?” Kelly inquired, more curious than jealous.

“We thought about it, but we were still young and money was tight. We decided to spend our money on our marriage, not our wedding. We had a courthouse ceremony and then took Maddie to Six Flags for a weekend honeymoon.”

Despite hearing about his life with another woman, Kelly smiled at the image he presented. “And you think your track record as a father is lacking,” she scolded playfully. “Not many stepdads would take their daughter with them on a family-friendly honeymoon.”

Grumpy shrugged, his eye looking away from her like he was embarrassed. “If I’m being honest, I think I want to concentrate on repairing the relationship with the daughter I have rather than worry about bringing any other children into the world right now.”

“I get it,” Kelly said, squeezing his hand. “And I agree. One hurdle at a time.” Hearing a noise from the living room area, Kelly added, “Sounds like Jackson is here with breakfast. Let’s get you up and fed.”

When Kelly made to rise, though, Grumpy pulled on their clasped hands and dragged her back down to him. He kissed her thoroughly. “I’m not sure I’ve said ‘thank you’ for coming with me.”

Kelly smiled against his lips. “Nowhere I’d rather be. Plus, I’m pretty sure I’m the only one who would or could put up with your surly ass this long.”

* * *

The anticipation of finally making it to Texas pushed both Kelly and Grumpy to want to drive through the day and forgo any more long stops. They still took breaks, allowing Grumpy to walk around and stretch. Their easy communication and banter died away the closer they got to Austin.

But despite powering through, they ended up stopping in Dallas, which was three hours north of Maddie.

Dinner was a quiet affair. Jackson seemed to sense the rising tension, and smartly kept his mouth shut rather than striking up a conversation with Kelly as he normally did during meal times. Kelly held Grumpy’s hand, though he wasn’t sure if that was for her comfort or his.

Maybe a bit of both.

They video called with Ruth before they started to get ready for bed. She’d been staying in the clubhouse since discovering the massive commercial kitchen it held. Each morning, she’d been making a spread similar to what Jenna used to do so everyone in the club had the option of a solid breakfast before starting their day.

Despite that Grumpy’s house was newer and had an extra bedroom, Ruth preferred remaining in her home. She did not mind the idea of Grumpy moving in with Kelly and Ruth, and even offered to change bedrooms with the couple so they had the master. Her time away from her home the past two days was a great mini-vacation, but Ruth missed her house and her kitchen.

Grumpy could understand. He wasn’t overly attached to his home. It was just the place where he lived. All he cared about was not being separated from Kelly again, and if that required him moving, then that was what he’d do.

Although, some of his club brothers were contemplating asking Ruth to move into the clubhouse with them as a sort of Den Mother. Apparently Ruth hadn’t just taken the club kids under hand, but the single club members too.

True to her word, Kelly helped him with his compression wraps and his shower. She had a fixation with his hair that Grumpy found he didn’t mind in the least. He doubted either of them would ever be okay with her taking his prosthetic eye out for him, as he knew Scar did for Tally. If that worked for them, then more power to them, but Grumpy didn’t think he could handle watching or feeling Kelly remove his eyeball—even if it was fake.

While their shower was intimate, neither of them crossed into passionate. The mood was too tense, the future looming over them like a guillotine blade.