Page 62 of Truck

He chuckles and takes the boy's hand. “He got away from me. I’m pleased you are okay. Anything we can do?”

Grady appears at that moment and stands next to me with a huge smile on his face. “I lost my bet with Truck. I said you’d fall after fifteen minutes, he said four minutes.”

“No! You did not take bets...” I turn to look at the man when he chuckles at Grady’s comment and my reply.

“Seems you are the bet of the week,” he laughs again at his own reply. “If you are okay we’ll move along.”

“I’m fine, but thanks for checking.” I watch him skate away with the boy and turn to Grady. Pointing at him, I give the best scowl I can conjure up, which earns me a smirk. “I’ll get you for that, Grady.”

“Yeah, yeah, come on, Rory, get skating. You’re hopeless.” Not waiting for me to reply Grady glides away from me, backward I might add, before flipping himself smoothly and skating away.

“Goddamn skating, I’m not suggesting this again. Maybe horse-riding next time!”

Before we leave the rink I’ve taken more spills than a beginner, and I’m sure my ass is going to be purple when I check it out later. I keep my awe at Grady’s skating to myself, but I’m going to speak to Truck about Grady’s skill.

“Did you see that fuzzy thing around you before you had that last fall?” Grady asks.

“What fuzzy thing?” I have no idea what he is talking about.

Grady frowns as he continues. “There was like a blur near you, but before I could get closer to look, it disappeared. It was weird.”

Now, the hair on my arms and neck stands on end, and I can’t help but think about Truck, the other men at the clubhouse, and Cilla, all talking about their brothers. Who are dead I might add. I am going to speak to Cilla as I’ve thought to do before, but now I’m going to make sure I actually do it.

Stopping at the diner on the way home from skating, we take a seat, and Jill who is here now makes sure we have lunch served quickly. Shelby comes over to the table and takes a seat next to me. She listens while Grady fills her in on our ice skating and how bad I was at it. My excuse was and is that I have not been skating in years, so it’s not my fault I was like Bambi on ice.

“Are we still organizing a fundraiser for Jill?” Shelby asks, changing the subject when Grady goes to the restroom.

“No. Jill has all her finances sorted out now. Her mother had some things paid for and organized. But you know she made Jill pay freaking rent for the home her kids were staying in, just so she could put that money away for Grady as a college fund. That was okay for Grady, but she made her daughter suffer for the sake of her son. I’m pleased I didn’t know her, Shelby, because I’m sure I would have opened my big mouth and told her some home truths.”

Shelby nods. “I agree. I have seen Jill struggle, and she has been a mother and sister to Grady. She loves him dearly, and it’s obvious to anyone who watches. Having you as a sister and helping her with Grady has given her the time to be herself, take a breath of air and relax for a moment.”

We both stop speaking about Jill when Grady returns, with a piece of chocolate cake on a large plate. I look at Shelby who smiles. “Well, looks like you got yourself a double helping of that cake, Grady.”

“Sure did. It’s good, and I was hungry.” Both Shelby and I laugh at the way he gobbles down the cake and wears chocolate around his mouth.

Shelby gets back to work, and I tell her I’ll see her later when my shift starts. Next on our daily agenda is a trip to the clubhouse. I have to speak to Coin who sent me a text asking to look at the dumpster business finances.

Walking into the common room, I’m met by Cilla singing to Ayla who is fighting sleep by the look of it. I walk over and tickle Ayla who giggles at me. “Can I hold her, Cilla?”

“You can. She’s being a tough cookie and not wanting her early afternoon nap. I think it’s...” stopping mid-sentence I give her a questioning look. “I’m sorry, Rory. Truck told me not to speak to you about my ability to see and speak to ghosts. But I can’t stop it happening, and you have someone following you around.”

I take a seat while placing Ayla on my shoulder where she can see everything that is going on in the common room. Which isn’t a lot, as everyone is mostly at work. “I have been meaning to speak with you, Cilla, and admit that it spooks me a little. But, seeing how everyone isn’t worried or panicking about it I am chilling out with it now.”

“Nobody is here to hurt you. Bono, Tank, and Pyro are brothers to the MC brotherhood. They are great men, and all three died well before they should have. Not wanting to move on they are hanging around and sometimes making a menace of themselves. They have helped in many ways I might add. It seems Ayla has the ability to see them too, because Rory, she keeps saying their names so I’m sure they are playing games with the club brothers. Finger is getting more frustrated that she has said three names now, yet still hasn’t said dada.”

I can’t help but giggle at the thought of Finger getting frustrated because I’m sure any father would want their child to say their name first. But how do you even start to compete with ghosts? “I can see why he’d be frustrated,” I quickly state because I’m sure she wanted a reaction.

“The man I had here was your husband. He is moving on and wants you to do the same. He told me that Truck is your one and you need to go into that relationship open-minded, and with all the love you can muster. He wants to see what comes next, Rory, and I told him to move along because you don’t need him hanging around you.”

A tear tracks down my cheek, and Ayla who must notice pushes a finger into my cheek to stop it. She frowns at me and when I give her a watery smile, she gives me a smile in return. She is not anywhere near sleepy, and I look at Cilla. “I am okay with Terrence moving on, Cilla. I just don’t want to see stuff from these ghosts. You know they visited me at the house. I didn’t panic as I thought I would.”

“Yeah, they want you to accept they are around and not be frightened of them. Tank has been following you around like a lost puppy. He said your skating is abysmal and you need to up your game,” Cilla laughs when she sees the shock on my face.

“Was he following me around at the rink? Grady said I had a fuzzy around me,” I ask thinking that maybe that is what he was seeing.

“Yeah, he was, but he’ll leave you alone now you are okay with them.” Before Cilla can say more, she looks over my shoulder, and as I turn to see what’s going on Finger walks toward us.

“Hi, Finger,” I quickly say, but he reaches out and takes Ayla from me.