Page 18 of Grumpy

Grumpy blinked down at her. His mom had been out of the house for a few hours and he was still putting his house back to rights. How or why she decided to rearrange every cabinet in his kitchen, he’d never know. Per Grimm, his mom had missed her first flight and was now waiting in the terminal for the second. Keys must have done something with airport security because Grimm was able to wait with her even though he wasn’t getting on the plane.

In all honesty, Grumpy was not in a good mood. He was tired, itchy, and one of his compression bands just would not lay right. But the sight of Kelly in her waitress uniform carrying a box of Tally’s cooking for him made the storm cloud over his head lighten some.

The statement she made upon him opening the door, though, made him pause. For several reasons. Did Kelly just profess her love for him?

Kelly handed him the box of food like it was radioactive and charged into his house. Grumpy thankfully caught the food before closing the door and following her. He wasn’t used to moving at a snail’s speed, and it felt like it took him forever to get to his living room where Kelly was now pacing.

“And it wasn’t just him,” she continued. “I might not be the prettiest girl or have the figure I did twenty years ago, but men still find me attractive. I date! I even considered moving in with a guy once, but then he got a promotion and it didn’t work out.” She waved that off like it was a sidenote. “I don’t just sleep around, though. I have feelings! I like sex, but I don’t just hop on every man’s dick who winks at me.”

The storm cloud over Grumpy darkened. “The fuck?!”

Did someone accuse her of sleeping around? Did it have to do with the diner? He might not be in any physical condition to beat someone to a pulp, but his trigger finger worked just fine. And there were plenty of places on the body that did not mean instant death. If someone had called Kelly a slut or questioned her honor, he and Grumpy were going to have words.

Kelly rounded on him like his voice had reminded her that he was there. “Tell me about your ex-wife.”

Grumpy was beyond confused. “My wife? Why do you want to know about her?”

“Ex-wife,” Kelly emphasized. “Unless you have a current wife I don’t know about.”

“I wouldn’t have asked you out if I did,” he challenged. Crap, his mouth was getting dry again. He hoped that statement was audible enough for her to understand.

Kelly stormed past him, cobalt eyes blazing. Grumpy’s back protested, but he slowly turned and started to follow. Before he’d even crossed the threshold of the living room, she was back with a glass of water. She handed it to him.

Grumpy frowned, taking it. He did not want her serving him. It should be the other way around. But he mumbled out a thanks before sipping the tall glass.

Kelly returned to her place in the living room like she’d never left. “Well?”

Grumpy worked his way over to the couch and sat down. The tightness in his back lessened as soon as he was off his feet, but then he realized that Kelly was on his left side. Before he could shift around, she moved to take up her stance on his right side. She was there a solid second before she started moving again. Did the woman have ants in her pants or something?

Kelly returned with a folding TV table. She placed it in front of him before taking the food container from one hand and his glass of water from the other. Grumpy was about to ask if she was planning on Mama Bird feeding him too when she set the items on the table and then flopped down on the couch next to him. “Well?” she asked again.

“Well, what? I still have no idea what is going on.”

Kelly sat upright. “Tell me what happened with your ex-wife.”

Grumpy glowered at her. “It’s in the past. I don’t want to talk about it or her.” He popped open the to-go box to find four puréed pot pies. They looked like cookies with icing spikes, except this cookie was made of mashed potatoes and veggies. As fed up as he was with his new diet, he had to hand it to Tally. The woman had talent.

Kelly watched him struggle with the plastic bag around the knife and fork she’d brought for him. It took an annoyingly long time, but eventually he got it. Once he did, she spoke up again. “And normally, I would respect your privacy. The past is in the past and all that, but this time I can’t. This time I have to know, Grumpy.” Softer, she added, “Please.”

Grumpy ate an entire pie before he answered. “She thought I cheated on her. I didn’t,” he growled. “She didn’t believe me and divorced me.”

He started working on his second pot pie. It was very good, but soured by this conversation that Kelly was apparently fixated on.

“And your ex-fiancée?”

The fork froze just outside his mouth. Grumpy’s eyes narrowed, and he dropped the food back down into the to-go container. He shifted on the couch to face her without twisting his back. “What the hell did my mother say to you?”

Kelly paled. “What?”

“My mother,” he snapped. “What did she say to you?” When Kelly just continued to stare at him with those beautiful eyes of hers, Grumpy felt his hands ball up into fists. “Son of a bitch,” he murmured—to himself, not Kelly.

Resembling a deer in the headlights, Kelly stammered out, “Why would you think your mom said anything to me?”

Grumpy’s good eye twitched. “You know the great thing about being quiet and private? You know where certain things come from. For instance, I’ve never mentioned Nadine to anyone. Honestly, haven’t even thought about her in years. No one in Mount Grove would know that name. Keys might, but he’d have to dig for it, and he wouldn’t have cause to do that. Which means that the only person who could even mention that I once had a fiancée whom I didn’t marry would be my mother. Now what did she say to you?”

Grumpy drank the remainder of his water after that long speech.

Kelly’s eyes dropped to her lap. “She told me about the cheating allegations. Said she didn’t see the proof but knew your ex had it. She said she loved you, but said you were like your father. Basically insinuated that you can’t keep it in your pants. That you’d never be faithful to me.”