Page 8 of Grumpy

Sophia stood in the corner with Jasmine. Though Jasmine and her husband, Jumper, did not have children, Kelly got the feeling Charlie was going to grow up with two sets of parents. She’d seen pictures of the duplex that Sophia and Pirate shared with Jasmine and Jumper. When best friends married brothers, Kelly supposed that sort of living situation was inevitable.

Spotting Kelly, Sophia waved her over. Kelly felt bad that she hadn’t worked all week. Her meager savings was going to need to pick up the slack from her lack of paycheck, but she’d make it work. She’d rather be here than anywhere else, regardless of pay. At least Sophia wasn’t forcing her back to work or giving her an ultimatum. Not that Kelly thought she would, but Kelly also didn’t want to take advantage of her boss and friend’s generosity.

“Any change?” Kelly asked as she approached. Other ol’ ladies and club kids waved greetings to her as she passed.

Sophia shook her head. “Becks is getting discharged today. A good number of us are going to head home with her. Ghost is going to leave, too. He wants to get Becks settled and be with her. None of us are arguing. The man needs to take care of himself, too. Did you hear that he collapsed after getting off the helicopter with Becks?”

Kelly’s eyes widened. “No! What happened?”

“Pure male stubbornness,” Jasmine said, with more bite than Kelly had ever heard from the vet before.

Sophia handed her son off to Jasmine, who immediately took her nephew. A second later, her face lightened and all animosity disappeared as she cooed and played with Charlie. The look Sophia gave Kelly said she knew exactly what she’d been doing when she handed her son off to her best friend. “Jumper pulled something similar when he’d been hurt,” she explained, pulling Kelly aside. “He had a stroke and nearly died because he checked himself out of the hospital early. Seems like a reoccurring theme with these men.”

Kelly frowned, remembering two or three years ago when Jumper had had a head injury. It was right around the time that Carlos and Zoe had gotten together, too. “Is Ghost going to be okay?”

She’d seen him only yesterday and he’d said nothing about being injured.

Sophia snorted. “He’ll be fine. But he’ll always put his health beneath Becks’ so not a word to him about needing anything. Lucky already has plans to steal Ghost’s phone once they get back home. With any luck, Ghost and Becks will sleep for a week and shake this one off.”

There was something in Sophia’s voice that told Kelly she was in the dark, but again, she did not ask. She was neither an ol’ lady nor the girlfriend of a club member. It wasn’t her place to inquire. But she did hope that Becks and Ghost were okay.

“What about Ranger?” Kelly asked, recalling he’d also been admitted.

Sophia was a good liar, but she had a tell. As someone who’d been playing the card game of Bullshit with her mom and Bubbe since she was in diapers, Kelly was very good at reading people. Not to mention waitressing for twenty-plus years. As Sophia licked her lip, Kelly knew she was about to be lied to. “He’s doing good, better. He’ll be back home in a few more days.”

Kelly didn’t know Ranger’s injuries or why he needed a few more days before he could go home, but from the way Sophia had answered, she guessed it wasn’t something the club wanted to talk about. So many secrets. Maybe Kelly didn’t want to be a part of Grumpy’s large family after all.

“If you see him, wish him well for me,” Kelly answered, not willing to pry any more. “I’m going to go sit with Grumpy.”

“Will do,” Sophia said softly. There was something in her dark eyes, a pain, that Kelly didn’t understand. Didn’t want to understand.

Even just on the outskirts of the club, Kelly felt like she was walking a tightrope without a net. If she kept walking forward, if she didn’t look down, she’d be safe. But if she took that leap, if she looked down, she’d fall. She could feel it. The ease of falling, not just for Grumpy but for these people. To care and treasure them like her own family. Brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews… She’d be one of them.

But she’d also be consumed by the darkness. The secrets, the lies, and the dangers of club life. Was a relationship with Grumpy worth those risks? Feeling wobbly on her feet, Kelly kept walking forward.

* * *

Four Days Later

The club was taking Ranger home. From the brief glimpse of the man that Kelly had seen, he looked terrible. Old bruises, lines under his eyes, and just worn. Kelly tried not to stare, but there was no denying his poor state. She didn’t know what had happened to him. She knew that neither Becks nor Ranger had been inside the bar at the time of the explosion, and yet both of them had been injured to the point of needing hospitalization.

Grumpy had started waking up more. He didn’t seem to recognize her during those quick minutes, but he was awake. That was all that mattered. The doctors were very encouraging, while also reminding daily that his road to recovery would not be an easy one.

Feeling bad that she’d left the diner hanging as she had, Kelly had picked up the breakfast shift that morning—where she’d discovered that Sophia and Tally were still paying her despite not having worked in nearly two weeks. Kelly was going to have some words with her bosses when she saw them again. The diner paid her well, and she appreciated their support, but she couldn’t take money for time she hadn’t worked. That wouldn’t be right.

Heading down the hall, Kelly dropped off coffee and pastries to the nurses’ station. She’d gotten to know a number of them, and did not envy any of them their jobs. She’d keep to waiting tables, where the measure of her day was not counted by how many patients died in her care. Kelly got more than an eye-full of what healthcare workers went through over the past two weeks. She hoped the coffee and pastries made their day just a little bit better.

Kelly was torn going into work that morning, but she felt better now. Grumpy wasn’t alone, and she needed to figure out a new normal of being at the hospital with him without compromising her job.

She spotted Margery in the hall, further down than Grumpy’s room. It took Kelly a moment to realize that she wasn’t alone. Grumpy’s mom stood there with a young woman, neither of them looking particularly happy. Margery was very good at putting on the sweet motherly smile when she needed to, but even with her failure to mask her animosity towards Kelly, she’d never looked at Kelly as she was looking at this young woman now.

Like Margery hated her. Like she was someone who had harmed Margery or her son.

Kelly stood frozen outside Grumpy’s room. She wasn’t sure if she should interrupt, but at the same time, the younger woman was visibly upset, openly crying as Margery sneered down at her. Was it Kelly’s place to step between them? What if this was a family member? What if this woman had harmed Grumpy? One thing that Kelly did not doubt was Margery’s love for her son. Maybe that love was a bit too tight at times, but it was undeniable.

It was the young woman’s tears that made up Kelly’s mind, though. They weren’t angry tears, but sad tears. Kelly didn’t place her as a hospital staff member, dressed in yoga pants and a tank top instead of scrubs. Regardless, Kelly wasn’t just going to stand by while Margery talked down to the crying woman.

She was maybe twenty, college-age. With black hair pulled up in a pony, she was too far away for Kelly to make out the color of her eyes or any other features. Margery was a tall, lean woman, reminding Kelly of the actress Wendie Malick. The other woman was shorter, maybe around Kelly’s own height of five-five. But that might also be how she held herself, curled in and low.