Page 68 of Grumpy

Kelly gently tugged on the braid she’d put his hair in that morning. “Never a question of that, Mr. Bell.”

Grumpy chuckled, but as his eye flicked towards the bathroom, he sobered. “She’s so young, and she’s got a lot of decisions ahead of her.”

“She does,” Kelly agreed. “And they’re her choices to make, Grumpy. We can’t bulldoze our way into her life. We can show her unconditional support, offer advice, and be there to guide her, but we can’t make those choices for her.”

He nodded, though he couldn’t help but think how much easier it would be if he did. Then again, that was exactly what his mother had done. Was that how her web of lies had started? She’d seen Grumpy do something that she didn’t approve of or make a choice she wouldn’t, and she changed the situation to get her desired outcome? And once falling down that rabbit hole, how easy was it to get lost in it? To forget the point was to raise children to make their own decisions, even if you didn’t agree with them?

“I want to offer for her to come back to Mount Grove with us,” he informed Kelly.

“I know.” The lightness of her tone hinted that she told the truth.

He glanced down at her. “Originally I was thinking I might have to relocate here, but after hearing her story, it doesn’t sound like she has anyone or thing tying her to this place.”

Kelly patted his arm. “I know that, too.”

“Are you calling me predictable, Kell Bell?”

She grinned up at him. “To me, you are. To the rest of the world, you’re a cantankerous mystery with a stick up his ass.” Grumpy snorted out his laughter at that unpleasant description. He saw Jackson leading Maddie back towards their table, but when he made to go back, Kelly pressed, “One more lap.”

Grumpy resisted the urge to sigh. “Yes, dear.”

Kelly chuckled, leaning over to kiss his cheek. “Good boy.”

Maddie smiled up at them when they finally approached. “You two are so cute together.”

“He’s a work in progress,” Kelly joked as she slid back into the corner.

Grumpy was about to sit back down when Maddie looked over at him. From her expression, he could tell that whatever she was about to say next had been weighing heavily on her. “You don’t think less of me, do you? Because I don’t know who my babies’ father is? I know things have changed and feminism and all that, women are supposed to have the power over their own bodies without being slut shamed. And more power to them! I’m not judging. But that’s not me. At least, outside of this one instance, it wasn’t. I swear, I’d only been with one other guy before, well, you know…” Her eyes cast downward a heartbeat before she hastily raised them again to him. “And I love my babies. I’m not ashamed of them. But I hate the idea that you’re disappointed in me, Dad.”

Grumpy shifted, maneuvering around to the other bench seat. Maddie moved herself further back as he slid down, then pulled her against his chest. “Never, never, never,” he vowed, breathing in her citrus smell. “I love you, Mad Pie. You’re my little girl, always and forever. I hate that we’ve been apart this long, but I’m here for you now, and I’m not going anywhere.”

Maddie clung to him, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. “Thank you.” She pulled back, wiping at her eyes. “If I start crying again, I’m not going to stop,” she warned.

Grumpy cupped her face. “As long as they’re happy tears from here on out.”

She swallowed hard before letting out a nervous laugh. “I’ll try, but in about three months I’m going to be pushing two babies out a ten centimeter hole in my body, so…”

Grumpy winced at the image, but soldiered through it. “And I’ll be there holding your hand and encouraging you on.”

Her blue eyes widened in delight. “Really?”

“If you’ll let me.”

Maddie nodded hastily, her black hair going everywhere. “Yes. Please, Dad. I really need you right now.” There was a slight hesitation in her movements as she turned to face Kelly, too. “And I’d like to get to know you better.”

“Absolutely,” Kelly said, reaching forward to touch Maddie’s outstretched hand.

Grumpy didn’t want to switch seats, but he also couldn’t see Kelly from his current position. Not comfortably anyway. Getting up, he retook his previous seat. As Kelly released Maddie’s hand, he grabbed it, but this time, kept their linked hands on the table. “There’s actually something we’d like to talk to you about,” he told Maddie.

Her eyes danced between them, slightly nervous. “Yeah?”

“Would you consider coming back to Mount Grove with us?” Grumpy asked. “I have a house,” he started, but then remembered that he’d agreed to move into Kelly’s house with her and Ruth.

“Your house makes the most sense,” Kelly interjected. To Maddie, she explained, “My mom lives with me. She’s already very excited to meet you.”

“You think Ruth would be okay moving?” Grumpy questioned, not wanting to displace her mom to appease his daughter.

“For the chance to be there for great-grandbabies? Absolutely,” Kelly said with a wide smile on her face. “Besides, it’ll need to be temporary.”