Chapter 8
“I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not.”
“If we keep stopping, we’re never going to get there!”
“And if we don’t keep stopping, you’re going to be in no condition to get there!”
This was the second time they were having this argument.
Grumpy’s pain threshold was testing its limits, and they were barely two hours into their drive.
Kelly had already stopped at a gas station, even though they didn’t need gas yet.
She claimed she had to pee, but insisted he was the one who got out of the cage.
The fucking blinker was like an incessant tick as Kelly pulled off the exit. Grumpy fought to bite back a groan as the cage braked at a red light.
So far, this road trip was not going to plan.
Aside from two stops in two hours, Grumpy was the sort who was used to silence with the occasional conversation, whereas Kelly was used to constant conversation over music.
Not that she took many road trips, but she did drive her mom to doctor appointments and into town and such.
Grumpy hadn’t even heard of the artists or songs she was listening to.
At the garage, he didn’t allow for background music or headphones to be worn because it could be a safety hazard.
For many projects, they had to wear earplugs anyway to protect themselves, so what was the point of having the music going?
Some of Kelly’s songs sounded familiar, but he couldn’t say who they were by.
And what was so bad about silence? They talk, they settle back with their own thoughts. What was so wrong with that?
Kelly pulled into the first gas station, Jackson’s motorcycle right on their heels.
Rather than feigning a bathroom break, though, Kelly threw the SUV into Park and then turned to face Grumpy.
“Okay, I have a thought, and please hear me out or I might just leave you here and head down to Texas to see Maddie on my own.”
Grumpy shifted on his seat so he was facing her, too, and waited.
“I know you are trying to be gentlemanly and get my door and walk me to and from places. And I love that about you,” she added quickly.
“But for your comfort and my sanity, I think it needs to be the other way around for a bit. Just a bit,” she threw out there again, holding her hands up in surrender.
“Watching you in so much pain all to be chivalrous is killing me, Grumpy. So, here’s what I propose.
I get you into your seat. I help you situate your pillows and whatever else you need to make this drive easier on you.
Then I come around and get back in the driver’s seat.
Maybe then we’ll be able to go more than an hour before you have to stop. ”
Grumpy wanted to argue that he wasn’t the one who was making them stop, but he paused at the obvious concern and pain on her face. It sobered something inside him. He was trying to power through, trying to be so strong, but in the end, he wasn’t just hurting himself. He was hurting her, too.
And Grumpy would never do anything to hurt Kelly.
He deflated, shoulders slumping and rested his temple against the headrest. “I’m not being fair to you, am I?”
Kelly reached for his tattooed and scarred arm. “You’re not being fair to yourself. Grumpy, I am the one person in the world you don’t have to be strong with.”
But he shook his head at that statement. “I have to be the strongest for you.”
Kelly sagged a little, her expression almost defeated.
“I want to say something sappy about us being strong for each other, but I know your stupid male brain will never accept that. But I need you to hear me. Accepting my help does not make you seem weak to me. If anything, it makes you seem less dumb. So please, Grumpy, just let me help you.”
Grumpy looked away from her, his eye landing on the rundown convenience store across from the gas pumps. He hated being so helpless, but his pride wasn’t so unmovable that he would risk harming Kelly, emotionally or physically. “Get Jackson.”
She looked uncertain for a second before she reached for her phone.
Jackson hopped off his sled, removed his helmet, and was at Grumpy’s window a second later. “Yes, sir?”
Grumpy lowered the glass. “Slight change of plans. Kelly is going to help me get into the cage at each stop. You are to stand at her back as she does and then walk her around to the driver’s side. You are not to leave her until she is locked inside. Is that understood?”
Jackson nodded once. “Yes, sir.”
“If she needs to go inside and I do not, you are to escort her. She pays for nothing, she holds nothing. Do you understand me?”
Again, Jackson nodded. “Yes, sir.”
Grumpy didn’t remember which branch of the military Jackson had served in, but the man seemed young.
Twenty-six, twenty-seven. His hair was still in that awkward growing-out phase many veterans had post-service.
Many things were chaotic after leaving the military, but the length of their hair was one thing that was in their control.
Jackson’s was now around his ears and definitely did not meet regulation.
“She so much as trips or gets bumped, and I will run your bike over and you’ll have to walk the rest of the way. Is that understood?”
Like a good soldier, Jackson didn’t blink. “Yes, sir.”
Grumpy shifted himself to face Kelly again. “Satisfied?”
“Bit over the top, but if it’s the only way you’ll let me help you, then I can agree to those terms.” Her face said she was not impressed.
Grumpy didn’t care, because these rules would mean she was safe.
If he couldn’t watch her back, then Jackson sure as hell was going to.
“Now that we have that handled, do you need anything before we get back on the road?”
Grumpy rocked his hips a little. “Yeah, actually. Can you come over here?”
As Kelly unbuckled her seatbelt, Jackson raced around the front of the cage to get her door for her.
He positioned Kelly so she walked next to the vehicle and he walked on the outside, one hand guiding her at her upper back and the other on his hip.
Once the passenger door was open, Kelly stepped up on the running board to be able to reach him easier.
“What do you need?” she asked, looking around for any visible issue.
Grumpy looped his hand behind her neck and pulled her down to him, taking her mouth in a searing kiss.
He felt her lips twitch in surprise before she fell into the kiss, opening her lips to allow him entry while placing her hands on the dashboard and the back of his seat for balance.
Grumpy snaked his other arm around her waist.
They remained like that for several minutes, neither of them giving a damn that Jackson was standing in the middle of a gas station with his back turned towards the SUV as they made out like teenagers.
* * *
They ended up stopping again about an hour later at New River Gorge National Park in West Virginia. Their argument and make-out session behind them, they agreed this was a good place to sightsee and walk around. It was one of two points Keys had highlighted on his suggested itinerary for them.
The other place was Harpers Ferry, but neither was sure they were going to stop there, too.
While the gorge itself was impressive and beautiful, Grumpy was grateful there was an overlook that did not involve stairs or hills.
There was a section with eight hundred and twenty-one steps to descend deeper into the gorge for a different look, but Kelly declined when Grumpy offered to have Jackson escort her down.
“Down isn’t the issue,” she laughed. “Coming back up will be.”
Grumpy, though, did not understand the problem. He shrugged. “If it gets too much, have him carry you.”
Kelly turned, leaning one arm on the rail next to the plaque that explained that the gorge was a thousand feet deep and seventy thousand acres carved by the New River, which was one of the oldest rivers in North America.
“Really? You’d allow another man to carry me?
To put his arms around me and hold me close to him? ”
Grumpy blinked. He’d pictured an entirely different platonic scene when he’d offered Jackson as a pack mule. Without looking away from Kelly, he raised his hand and slapped Jackson upside the back of his head. The prospect had been leaning over the rail, looking down.
“Ow! What?” he straightened and turned, rubbing the back of his head.
Kelly glared at Grumpy, crossing her arms over her chest. “You’re the one who suggested he carry me and you punish him?”
“It’s a warning so he’ll never even think about putting his hands on you,” Grumpy growled. The prospect’s cheeks flushed.
Shaking her head like Grumpy had lost brain cells when he lost his eye, Kelly reached into her giant bag and pulled out the plastic tiara. “Okay, picture time!”
Grumpy was very tempted to “trip” and accidentally toss that fucking thing into the gorge below.
* * *
The sun set early now, meaning it was dark before they were ready to stop for dinner.
Kelly was used to eating really early or really late, so her stomach wasn’t a good judge of time when it came to the daily three-course meals.
Grumpy had taken a two-hour nap a couple hours after their stop at New River Gorge, which was good. She hated seeing him so uncomfortable.
When they first started out, Kelly was really regretting this trip.
There had to be other ways to contact Maddie or to get Grumpy to her.
Even if it took longer, he’d be better healed, more prepared.
But a plane just wasn’t an option for him.
While it was slower, the car ride was going to be the smoothest ride for him.
Kelly just hated seeing him in any sort of pain.