Page 21 of Harley
“We’re like sisters,” Irish said. “And I will fuckin’ make someone bled if they upset Summer.”
“Look, thanks for explaining, but it’s none of my business. Live and let live. If that’s your choice and you’re happy, great! It has nothing to do with me,” I replied, moving out of the wheelchair and onto the bed.
“Nice. We’re keeping her. If Harley doesn’t claim her, there’s Cody, Jared, and Christian,” Rosie announced.
“Don’t forget Slate,” Vivie suggested.
“Ladies, I’m not looking for a relationship,” I interrupted, holding a hand up.
“Babe, trust me. You might not be searching, but if one of Rage believes you’re their soulmate, all bets are off. You’ll be loved up and shacked up within a week,” Marsha laughed.
“I very much doubt it. I’ve had enough of men and being forced into marriage,” I said firmly, and the women stopped laughing.
Sadness crossed Marsha’s face. “Harley mentioned you’d had it rough. Would you like to talk about it?”
“No.”
“If you need a shoulder…” Summer offered.
Summer seemed sweet, and I smiled at her. Irish moved to stand behind Summer. I got the sense the woman was ready to jump in front of her should it be needed.
An uneasy feeling hit.
“How did you find me? Why are you here?” I asked finally.
“Yeah, we’ve not made a great first impression,” Rosie admitted reluctantly.
“We came because Harley mentioned you’d be alone all day. That can be tedious. We also brought you some stuff that Harley wouldn’t have thought of. A phone and a tablet, for example. Much better than sitting staring at four walls. There’s a load of magazines and some puzzle books, too,” Summer said softly.
“That’s very kind of you,” I replied.
“We’ve got snacks. Harley said you could order from room service, but I’d bet money he didn’t think of snacks and stuff,” Irish added.
“Oui, I brought chocolates. Lots of chocolates,” Vivie offered, beaming. “I own my own chocolate shop, and these are all handmade. We argued over what to bring, so I grabbed a couple of each kind.”
“Which means those three bags that Vivie dumped are full of goodies, and she wouldn’t share them.” Rosie scowled.
“Sorry, we can be a bit much. We like to help. Some of us old ladies have stories that would turn you grey. We’ve not had it easy.” Marsha slid a glance at Summer, who wilted. “But we stick together, and we’re rabidly friendly.”
Vivie nodded enthusiastically. “Merde, I don’t like people. But I like Rage and Lex.”
“Only because Lex gives you the good stuff,” Marsha said, and surprisingly, Vivie lit up like a Christmas Tree.
“Oui, Lex c’est une bombe sexuelle!” If I got that right, Vivie just called her husband a sex bomb. “Lex est magnifique!”
“I’m glad.” Irish smirked, and Vivie pouted before smiling.
“These men bring us joy. Even Ellen has smiles from Axel sexing her up,” Vivie agreed.
“Axel is a founder of Rage. He is seventy-one, and Ellen is his wife. She’s sixty-one, and they go at it like rabbits. Their children are constantly embarrassed by them,” Marsha explained.
“Like that time Wild got Lynda so drunk they stayed overnight at the cottage, and Axel and Ellen woke them up. They were having loud wall sex, and Wild nearly jumped out of the window to escape it. Lynda demanded to know why Ellen was getting the goodies and she wasn’t. Wild bitched for weeks about it.” Rosie giggled.
“Wild is Axel and Ellen’s adopted son. He’s married to Lynda, who owns her own clinic. Lynda’s a doctor who deals with burns,” Irish informed me.
“And we’ve gone off on a tangent again. The upshot is most of us present understand what it is to be alone and afraid. We didn’t want you feeling like that in the run-up to Christmas. Harley’s busy, but nobody should be lonely at this time of year. So, we came to bring you these gifts and give you some company,” Summer said.
“That’s very kind of you,” I replied.
