Chapter 1 #4
She pressed her fingers to her mouth and curled herself against the cool wall until she was sure she wasn’t going to cry.
She’d done enough of that in the last two days.
She needed to be steady. She needed to be here, present, functional, because there was nobody else.
Whatever was going on with the club was serious enough that several prominent members were absent from not only the hospital but also the candlelight vigil.
She hadn’t asked, but Sophia, Jasmine, Harper, and the other ol’ ladies that had been by were being closed-lipped about it.
Did they know something? Did they know who had blown up their bar?
Did they know why Grumpy was currently in surgery?
Were they going after them? The club had their own code, their own rulebook. Kelly wasn’t a part of their inner circle, but she watched, she listened. She knew enough to not question the club’s actions. They weren’t outlaws, but she also wouldn’t call them law-abiding citizens.
If they were out there now, hunting down the monster who had done this to Grumpy, to Frankie, Monica, Dru, and Scott, then Kelly was more than happy to keep her mouth shut, to not draw suspicion about the club’s absence.
She might not be a gun-wielding badass, but she could help by taking their mind off Grumpy.
She had him, so they could get the monster who’d harmed him.
While taking nekamah, personal vengeance, was forbidden to her people, Kelly considered what she believed the club was doing a pursuit of din, justice. Besides, she wasn’t feeling very forgiving right then. Not when Grumpy still had not opened his eyes.
Kelly bought a can of soda from the vending machine. She wasn’t thirsty, but for some reason, she felt awkward leaving the vending alcove without buying something.
A woman in her mid-sixties stood in the doorway, a travel bag over one shoulder.
One of the club’s prospects was behind her with two very large suitcases.
Her eyes were puffy behind her large, round glasses.
Marcus, the prospect, saw Kelly first and ushered the woman who could only be Grumpy’s mother over to her.
“You must be Kelly,” she said in a tired, but warm, voice. “I’m Margery, Jesse’s mother.”
Though she smiled, and it reached her eyes, Kelly felt the knot in her chest tighten just slightly.
Not exactly the way she planned on meeting Grumpy’s mother, but she also knew this was coming.
And Grumpy was her son. Unfortunately, that gave her more of a place in Grumpy’s care than Kelly had. But Ghost was still the primary.
That bothered Kelly. Not that she thought she had a right over Grumpy’s club president or his own mother, but she still wanted a place.
She wanted to know where she belonged in Grumpy’s life.
If she even had a place at all. Maybe being here was this stupid fantasy, and she was just being silly and childish.
Not wanting to just stand there like a fool, Kelly dropped the soda can into her purse and held out her hand to Grumpy’s mother. “It’s good to meet you.”
Margery took Kelly’s hand, squeezing it once before taking her other hand to close over the back of Kelly’s. “Thank you for taking such good care of Jesse until I could get here.”
Due to high-winds and flooding at the airport where Margery lived in Maine, she’d been unable to leave until this morning.
Even over the phone, Kelly could hear the distress the woman had been under at the helplessness of not being able to reach her son.
From what little Kelly knew of Grumpy’s home life, it was just him and his mom.
She didn’t know where his dad was, but she’d never heard him mention a father or siblings.
“Of course,” Kelly said, though she didn’t like the implication that she was only here because Margery couldn’t be.
“He’s still in surgery.” Though Ghost hadn’t been physically by the hospital since that first night, he was in regular contact with both the hospital staff and Kelly.
It hadn’t been until Kelly had been asked to sign paperwork in Ghost’s stead that she learned he’d named her his proxy in his absence.
Kelly did not like having to sign the DNR order pre-surgery, but did so because Ghost told her it was Grumpy’s wish.
“Thank you.” Margery patted her hand again. “Now, I need to go speak with a doctor. This young man,” she gestured off-handedly towards Marcus behind her, “will take you home and bring my bags to Jesse’s house. Why don’t you get some rest and come back tomorrow?”
Kelly blinked. “I’m fine. I’d like to stay—”
“Nonsense. Really, dear, if my Jesse woke up and saw you now, he’d never let me hear the end of it for allowing you to look like that.
” Again, Margery waved almost flippantly towards Marcus.
“Take her home, young man. I insist that you get a good night’s rest and some food in you.
Not sweets, though,” she added, eyeing Kelly’s belly pooch.
“Don’t worry, my dear. I have your number. I’ll call if he needs you.”
And with that, both Kelly and Marcus were dismissed as Mrs. Bell headed towards the nurse’s station.