Chapter 13 #4
Grumpy let out a shaky breath, feeling the wave of peacefulness fall over him at those words. He’d never get tired of hearing them. “I love you, too.”
* * *
They ended up getting a hotel just outside of Austin.
Between Maddie’s need for frequent pee stops and Grumpy’s requirement to get out and walk every couple of hours, no one was anticipating the drive back to Pennsylvania to be a quick one.
Everyone but Jackson took a nap upon arriving, and then they ordered room service to start planning the route back.
As soon as it was announced to the club that Maddie would be returning with Grumpy and Kelly, Keys immediately took over her phone.
He added everyone’s numbers as well as all the apps he’d created for the club, including the club’s bet tracking system.
The ol’ ladies already added her into their group chat, though technically Maddie was a club kid.
Demo also announced that he would have a cut waiting for her upon their arrival.
While no decisions on type of house were made yet, Grumpy did officially claim the last plot on the Square with the intent to build in the spring.
Ruth was more excited about great-grandbabies than she was disappointed about needing to sell her home.
It might be rough, moving twice so soon, but they’d make it work.
The important part was that they would all be together as a family.
Grumpy’s jaw was beyond sore upon waking from his nap.
He ended up spending the evening after dinner lying supine on the couch with his head in Kelly’s lap as she made a dozen little braids in his hair while she chatted with Maddie.
Kelly made it clear to Maddie that she would never try to replace her mother, and offered her hand in friendship before stepping into any maternal role.
This seemed to make Maddie relax and more accepting of Kelly’s place in her life.
By the time they left the next morning, it was nearing eleven.
Grumpy was moving slowly, and as much as he wanted to sit in the back with Maddie, he needed the support and extra room of the captain’s chair in the front.
Hopefully his body would be in a better mood that afternoon where he could sit with Maddie for a bit.
Almost immediately after they got on the road, there was a warning about their original route.
A water leak had caused a sinkhole near the highway.
The road was still open, but traffic would be a nightmare with cars being redirected.
Instead of getting on I-30 when they got to Dallas, they would be taking a more northern route through Oklahoma.
But they were on their way. Jackson had gone out the afternoon before to buy a tarp to wrap the crib box in and then strap it more securely to the roof rack.
Which was good, because distant thunder chased them as they neared the Texas/Oklahoma border.
Both Maddie and Kelly had commented on the humidity at their last stop, but Grumpy honestly couldn’t feel the difference.
Hopefully any rainstorm would be over by the time they reached their hotel room that night.
Kelly and Maddie chatted endlessly, lulling Grumpy in and out of sleep all afternoon. He heard familiar tales, like how Pumpkin had gotten his road name, to new ones, like when Maddie had won her high school’s spelling bee but lost at the regional level when she misspelled “chrysanthemum”.
Grumpy wasn’t even sure he could pronounce that, let alone spell it.
Kelly talked about Grumpy, too. About his garage and how she could tell the time in her work schedule by his precise meal schedule and what day of the week it was based on what pie he ordered for dessert.
Maddie laughed, and told Kelly about some of the activities Grumpy used to do with her when she was a kid.
By the time dusk approached, they were on a long stretch of highway about two hours from their hotel and the rain had started to lightly fall. Grumpy was more concerned about the gusts of wind that seemed to come out of nowhere. Light was fading fast as dark storm clouds moved from the southwest.
Grumpy’s back started to itch, but it was higher this time. More towards his neck than lower back where it usually was. Thunder rumbled as he stared out the window into the passenger mirror.
He just registered the greenish-yellow tint in the sky when suddenly there was a brief torrential downpour. Like someone had dumped a bucket of water on them, it was over as quick as it fell.
Kelly yelped in surprise, gripping the steering wheel tighter. “What the hell was that?”
Grumpy was already leaning forward to get a better look at the sky, giving him a peripheral view of Kelly.
“Dad?” Maddie said from the backseat, her voice full of worry.
Fuck. His instincts were slow, having not lived this far south in a decade. But Maddie had lived in Texas her entire life, and if she was sensing what Grumpy was, then they were in trouble.
“Pull over now,” Grumpy instructed, his voice leaving no room for argument. He was already dialing Jackson as Kelly hit the shoulder. The prospect answered on the first ring. “Ditch your bike. Get in here now.” Not wasting time hanging up, he told Kelly. “Back seat. Go.”
She hastily unbuckled her seat belt. No sooner than she was in the back and Jackson was in the driver’s seat with his too long legs squeezed under the steering wheel did hail start to fall. Like golf balls hitting the cage, it sounded as if someone had opened fire on them.
“What is this?” Kelly asked again, but Grumpy shouted over her. “Go!” He was already passing pillows into the back to his girls. “Protect your heads!”
Jackson gunned the SUV, leaving his bike behind without hesitation. He picked up speed, fast. Not caring about limits or laws. “I wasn’t sure, but the weather app still shows nothing,” the prospect hastily said.
“I trust any Texan over a suited-up weather man,” Grumpy growled. “Maddie knew before I did.”
“Knew what? What’s happening?” Kelly shouted over the hailstorm.
Then, just like the downpour, the hail stopped. Outside the SUV, an eerie stillness filled the air. Like the world had frozen. No wind, no trees swaying, no birds. The only thing that moved was the wall cloud in the mirrors behind them, coming towards them almost irrationally fast.
A roar like the hounds of hell had been released filled the air as a massive funnel cloud formed and chased them down.