Page 58 of Grumpy

“I will burn that bed before I let you get in it,” Grumpy growled that night when Kelly made to crawl into the other queen.

She turned, looking startled. She’d already removed her mint green robe over her nightgown. “I figured you needed your rest tonight.”

“And you think I’m going to get it with you all the way over there?” he inquired. His pillow army was already in place around him, which meant he had to lift his head up to be able to still see.

Kelly pulled back the covers and climbed in beside him. “What’s going on, Grumpy? You’re not exactly a Chatty Cathy, but you’ve always been able to talk to me.”

He settled down onto his pillow, even though it meant he couldn’t see her anymore. She reached for his hand. He’d never considered handholding to be all that important in his past relationships, but he found he loved when Kelly reached for his. Maybe because hugging and other typical forms of intimacy were out for them for the time being. Even when his body was healed, Grumpy hoped she never stopped.

“You were right this morning. I’m not the same man she knew. I’m not talking about my scars and the explosion. But me. I don’t smile anymore. The man Maddie knew doesn’t exist anymore.”

“She’s going to have to learn to love the new you, just as you will her.” He felt Kelly shift on the bed. “Maybe it would help if you called. It feels later for us because we crossed the time zone, but it’s really not that late. Do you want me to ask Keys for her number?”

Grumpy had been debating on this all day, back and forth on the spontaneity of his decision to just show up at Maddie’s dorm. She’d come to Mount Grove for a reason. Was it just because she’d heard about him being involved in the explosion? While it had been national news, it hadn’t been that big of national news.

What had his mother said to her? Kelly had said Mads left the hospital crying. He needed to set the record straight of what happened between Tanya and Grumpy ten years ago, too. Did his little Mads believe he’d cheated on her mother and then abandoned them? What had Tanya told her? The restraining order had kept Grumpy from being able to defend himself to her, and legally, he had no claim on Maddie to fight in court.

Maybe it was old-school of him. But he didn’t want their first conversation in a decade to be over the phone. Too many things could be misinterpreted, especially via text message. He needed to see her, and more importantly, he needed her to see him, to see the truth of what had happened on his face and in his body language, rather than just hearing the tale over the phone.

“No,” he vocalized after a beat of silence. “In the morning, he can track her to tell us where she is. I’ll figure out what to say to her once I see her again.”

Kelly’s grip on his hand tightened. “Okay. So I’ve been thinking about our wedding.”

Grumpy almost raised an eyebrow. He knew the change of subject was deliberate, her way of trying to get his mind off tomorrow, and he loved her all the more for it. If nothing else, wedding planning would certainly put him to sleep. “Oh yeah?”

“Yeah, and I’m thinking late spring. I like the idea of an outdoor wedding. We’d have to have a rain alternative. My mom is going to want us to have a Jewish ceremony. Personally, I’m religious but not as religious as her. I think I can compromise the church wedding with having a rabbi present to officiate. Spring would also mean you’re that much more healed. Depending on dates, we’re talking eleven months to a year from the explosion anyway. Which also makes me wonder what to tell people. I mean, you asked me out on a date then, but technically we didn’t start dating until, like, four days ago. So have we been together all this time or are we calling this a whirlwind romance?”

Grumpy honestly didn’t give a fuck. Why did it matter anyway? But he knew Kelly cared about that sort of thing, even when he thought the need to define it ridiculous. “Whatever you want it to be,” he mumbled.

“I’ll think about it. I don’t want to lie, but it also seems like more of a complicated answer than it should be. Then again,” she giggled, “I’d like to see some of those old biddies’ faces when they hear I’m getting married to a man I’ve only been seeing for four days.”

Grumpy snorted into his pillow, enjoying her mischievous delight.

“I like the idea of spring, too, because it’s Goldilocks temperature, you know. Not too hot, not too cold. The men could wear dress shirts under their cuts and the ladies don’t have to worry about flannel pantyhose. Plus, I don’t know how much longer I’ll have this cleavage before my boobs drop, so I’d like to show it off while I’ve got it. I know the club’s had other weddings at the clubhouse, but I’m thinking maybe a barn venue. I know there’s a few out towards Johnstown…”

Grumpy breathed easier, drifting off to the sound of Kelly’s planning while wondering if his daughter would be attending the wedding.

* * *

The address Keys tracked Maddie to as they entered Austin was the same one she’d been at when they’d left the hotel earlier that morning. Unlike the other days, neither Kelly nor Grumpy had the inclination to lounge in bed, and they were on the road earlier than they’d anticipated. Grumpy was still debating on whether or not to forgive Jackson for delaying them, but as Kelly pointed out, why would the prospect think they’d diverge from their plans which would prevent him from going for his normal morning run?

Her sensible logic did not change the fact that they’d had to wait almost twenty minutes for Jackson to return, get showered and dressed, and then pack up the SUV. That was twenty minutes more that Grumpy could be spending with his daughter.

The GPS had them only a few miles away. Kelly was driving one handed, her other firmly in Grumpy’s grip.

“I don’t think I have ever been this nervous,” he confessed as Kelly slowed at a red light.

“Whatever happens, you tried,” Kelly said gently.

Grumpy didn’t point out that Maddie had been a legal adult for almost four years now. He’d had four years to try and hadn’t. She’d been the one to try first, not him.

The house they pulled into was modest with a small, covered porch and an attached garage. Two vehicles were already parked in the driveway. Grumpy knew from Keys that this wasn’t Maddie’s legal address, which was a PO box next to her college. This home was being rented by Colton Briggs, who also owned the radio station that Maddie had worked at since her mom had passed in February, and Erik Reed, also a college student at the University of Texas.

Grumpy had not considered the fact that his little Mad Pie might be dating. The thought made him want to punch through a brick wall.

Kelly parked on the road so she didn’t block anyone in. Jackson pulled up behind the SUV. Grumpy’s attention was solely on the house, the irrational fear that it and its inhabitants would disappear if he dared to blink or look away.

Jackson got Kelly’s door and then walked her around to Grumpy’s. Together, they got him untangled from his mountain of pillows. Though the drive had only been three hours, he was still extremely stiff. They’d only stopped briefly for gas once, and Grumpy hadn’t wanted to take the time to walk around.