Chapter 20
RORY
Monday morning and I’ve had my run around the park. I have organized the laundry, which is never that much since it is only me these days. I checked the fridge for anything I might need while I’m taking Martin and Cora to the grocery store. Then I quickly lock up and head outside.
I give a wave and a “Good morning” to Martin and Cora who are locking up their house and heading toward me.
“It’s a pleasant morning, Rory. I saw you coming back from your run. You don’t look as frazzled as you did when you first started running,” Cora says with a huge grin on her face.
“You are right, Cora. I was not as fit as I could have been, and you know I’m not a great runner. I have improved, but I don’t particularly enjoy running but I hate going to a gym more, so it’s the better of the choices.”
Martin chuckles. “I can agree, Rory. I was never a great runner, but I didn’t mind going to the gym. Not of late, because my old bones wouldn’t cope with all that is needed in a gym these days.”
It’s not long before we are strolling around the grocery store and I’m not seeing anything that particularly takes my fancy.
I think part of my problem is the way my mind keeps wandering back to Truck and his kisses.
Terrence was a nice kisser, but Truck takes it to another level.
His kisses are consuming, and…nope, don’t compare them, it’s not fair on Terrence or myself.
Arriving back home, I help Martin take in the bags of groceries, kiss Cora on the cheek, and head to my house. I grab the bag of groceries from the trunk and lock up the car before heading indoors.
After putting everything away, I freshen up and sit at the kitchen table and create problems that Grady can solve.
I think these are in line with his learning so far.
He just has to concentrate and think on the things I’ve taught him so far.
Grady is becoming good with numbers, and I think he’d make any kind of financial career if that is what he wanted.
He’d be an excellent accountant if that was the way he wanted his career to head.
Checking the time, I see it’s nearly time to fetch Grady, so quickly freshen up, grab my purse and keys, and head out again.
I think today we’ll stop at the drive-thru and eat in the car parking area.
We have not done that before, and I like to change things up for him and for myself.
I am new to the area and I’m enjoying going to different places with Grady.
Ice skating, I think it will be fun because I’ve never done that.
I wait in line to get Grady, and I see him searching for me.
I can’t stop my smile from appearing. I am starting to love this kid and I don’t care who knows it.
I have heard his mother isn’t doing well and they expect her to pass soon.
With that in mind, I’m doing my best to divert his attention from it, and Jill told me she is grateful for all I am doing.
But I’m not doing it for thanks. I’m doing it because I can.
Jumping into the passenger seat, Grady gives me a huge smile. “Rory, you’ll never guess.”
“What won’t I guess?”
“Miss O'Grady asked me who was helping me with my math, and I told her someone better than her,” Grady giggles while telling me. “She wasn’t happy, but I looked her right in the eye, just like Jill told me to when I know I’m being truthful. She huffed and walked away.” More giggles burst from him.
“Well, she wasn’t teaching you correctly, but you be the bigger person, Grady. Don’t make her look small by being a smartass, you can make her look small by getting the best results you can. That is enough to show her she isn’t performing well.”
“She caught me before I left school and asked me again who was teaching me, and I told her my adopted sister. Then I walked away, and I did smile to myself Rory, but she was behind me so wouldn’t have seen it.”
“I wonder why she asked you? Because she didn’t seem interested in your math being the best it could be,” I didn’t mean to say that out loud, but I looked at Grady when he laughed.
“She saw me working out a sum. I didn’t do it the way she showed the class. I did it the way you showed me, and I got the right answer. A lot in the class got it wrong by doing it her way, too.”
“Oh, dear, that’s not good for the others.
You know I’m really proud of you, Grady.
You are working hard and your math is very good now.
You are at the head of the class, I would imagine, and if you don’t get an A on your next test, I’m going to want to know why,” I look at Grady and give him a wink.
“Okay, here we are. Now, what do you fancy? We are eating here instead of the diner because I’ve never been to this drive-thru so let’s get our food ordered. ”
I order a daily double, fries, and a mango pineapple refresher. Grady orders a deluxe McCrispy, fries, and a Sprite. It isn’t long before we are munching happily on our meal, and I’ve not had anything like this in a long time, and I mean over two years.
“Have you seen your mother lately, Grady?” I ask as we clean up after our meal.
Grady looks at me with a sad expression. “No. Jill goes to see Momma, but you know she was never around that much. I don’t feel as though she is my mother in many ways because Jill always was the one who did things for me. Jill did everything, like cooking, cleaning the house, and everything else.”
“Jill said your mother isn’t doing well and they don’t think she’ll survive much longer. How does that make you feel?” I ask, and I did that because Jill asked me to make sure Grady was okay with what was happening.
“Sad. I know she’s not going to ever come home.
But she never came home much, anyway. I’ll miss the fact that I had a mother, but not the actual person.
She worked a lot. She had a lot of boyfriends.
This one was always said to be the one that would get us a proper home. But I had a proper home, with Jill.”
I squeezed Grady’s hand. “I understand. When your mother passes, we’ll go to the funeral together. I’ll come and stand with you and Jill. We will do it with kindness in our hearts.”
Nodding, Grady squeezes my hand in return. “Okay.”
I’m busy serving at around 8:30 p.m. when a woman who had come into the diner in what can nearly be described as her underwear asks for a second order of chicken curry.
One of Brian’s famous dishes. Many of the diners love the curry when Brian puts it on the menu.
I think nothing of it apart from the fact that she is very thin to be ordering a second meal when she’s hardly finished the first one.
Taking the meal over, I place it onto the table in front of her and pick up the plate that is cold.
As I turn to walk away, she picks the plate up and throws the meal all over the front of me.
I’m shocked that she’s done it but I quickly rush into the staff area as the hot curry is sticking to my skin.
I rip off the t-shirt, apron and pants which are dripping with hot curry, and run the cold tap to cool my skin. I need to stop it burning, or it’ll blister and I’ll end up in emergency getting burns treated.
I can hear screaming and shouting in the dining area, but I concentrate on myself. A few minutes later Shelby rushes into the room, takes in the fact that I’m in my underwear and rushes to the cabinet where we keep clean t-shirts and aprons.
“Let me get a pair of my leggings from the office, Rory. Is it going to cause blisters? If so, I’ll get you to the hospital.
I’m going to speak to the MC about her. She’s a club woman, and she was screaming like an idiot about you taking one of the men.
Geez, they are all fucking idiots because none of them will get a relationship with a brother of the club.
I don’t think so, anyway. I’ve not known a club woman in the past become an old lady, so I’m not sure it’ll happen anytime in the future.
” Shelby hands me the leggings, t-shirt, and a tube of burn cream.
“Thanks, Shelby. I wasn’t expecting her to do that, so I wasn’t ready.
I don’t even know who she is, and if I need to I’ll go to that club and demand an explanation of why this is allowed to happen,” I snap, and when I see Shelby smirking I stop placing cream on my chest which is where most of the curry hit and frown at her.
“Can I go with you, you know, to watch you rip them all a new one?” Shelby giggles and I look at her shocked. What the hell is wrong with her?
“Okay, you can come with me, and we are closing up early, or you are leaving Brian on his own. Come on,” I don’t mess around. I grab my vehicle keys and head outside. I can hear Brian shouting that he’ll call Jayne to help as she lives the closest.
Walking into the clubhouse of the MC, I’m surprised to see Truck sitting on a bar stool with a beer in one hand. He looks startled when he sees me, placing his glass down and rushing toward me.
I hold my hand up to stop him getting too close, and snarl. “Who is in charge? I want to speak to the man in charge.”
“I’m the man in charge…”
Turning to see Tracker, of course, I’d forgotten he was, as I asked, the man in charge.
“Okay, so as the man in charge, can you tell me why one of your club women came into the diner and threw curry all over me? Then bellowed throughout the diner that I wasn’t allowed to see one of the brothers of the club, because you are all theirs and they are keeping you?”
Tracker looks at me, then Shelby who is standing behind me, tapping her foot with her arms folded across her chest. She has, however, the biggest grin on her face I’ve ever seen.
Now, the change in the man's stance is a little frightening. Truck is glaring around the room at any of the women he can see. Most of them are in underwear or what looks like underwear.
“Who?” Tracker asks.
Shelby steps forward and responds, “Flick.”
“Get Flick out here now. Are you okay?” Truck asks.
I give him a nasty look. “Is this what happens when any of you find a woman you want to go out with, date, or just have an occasional meeting with? Is this what this club is all about? I’m thinking twice about us seeing each other now, Truck.”
“Fuck that, Rory,” Truck snaps as he turns to scowl at Tracker.
Flick walks into the room behind the man who fetched her, swaying her hips, obviously thinking she’s being called for service. Yeah, I’m being bitchy and spiteful, but I have the right at this point. When she sees me and Shelby her attitude changes significantly.
“Flick, you went into the diner, caused a scene, threw food at a server, and you think that’s going to keep you here?” Tracker snarls.
Now, he’s very frightening at this point, and I can’t take my eyes off him, even though Truck is doing his best to speak to me and gain my full attention.
“Pres…” Flick attempts to speak.
“Did I tell you that you could speak? Shut your trap. You could have seriously injured Rory by throwing hot food on her.”
Flick is giving me a nasty look at this point.
Shelby, however, has lost her calm. She steps forward and I mean right into Flick who has to take a step back.
“You threw hot curry all over my staff member. She could have ended up in the emergency room with severe burns, but you don’t care do you, slut… ”
I turn away from the argument when Truck steps directly in front of me, taking my attention from everything except him. “Are you okay? Do you need to see Scalpel?”
Now, I’m calming down some I pick up little bits of what is being said behind Truck. *This is your last warning, and I mean all of you. One more thing and you are all gone*
“No, I have burn cream on that Shelby gave me,” I reply, but lean to the right so I can see what’s happening behind him.
*Pres, we didn’t do anything, Pres*
Truck takes my chin and turns my face to look at him. “I’ll deal with this, Rory. Come on, let’s get you looked at as an ‘in case’ and then I’ll take you home.”
It takes an hour for Scalpel to give me the all clear although he gave me some cooling cream to take any heat out of the areas the curry had hit me.
I was caught by Coin as I was about to leave, and he asked if he could visit me tomorrow.
After I agreed, I asked where Shelby was, and Coin told me she had left while I was being seen by Scalpel.
“What is happening with that woman?” I ask.
Coin laughs, “Oh, she’s being punished all right. She’s lost the small amount she gets each month and told she’ll have to do more than she has been doing. They are on Pres’ bad side anyway, so this hasn’t helped their case. I don’t think it will be long before they are all told to leave.”
I leave with Truck following me home on his bike. I’m astonished that this has happened tonight. How the heck these women think they can carry on as that one had I don’t know. By rights, I could have her charged with assault.
Truck stays a while mainly to make sure I’m okay before he kisses me and leaves. But I can see he’s not happy with what occurred tonight.