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I place it on the table. “Are you okay, Mum?” I ask.
I feel Grizz’s presence behind me. It was too much to hope he’d stay in the hall. Nate’s eyes look past me to the man-mountain now filling the doorway. “Yes, love, I’m fine,” she answers, her eyes also fixed behind me.
“I topped up the gas key,” I tell her, producing her key and sticking it in the gas meter, “so you can put the heat on.”
“Aren’t you going to introduce us?” asks Nate, glaring at me.
“Mum, eat something,” I say as I stuff the gas key back in my pocket. There’s no point in me leaving it here, she’ll only lose it.
Nate stands, blocking my path, and I sense the way Grizz suddenly stiffens, his eyes fixed on my brother’s back. I give my head a slight shake, wanting to avoid any trouble. “I’m Grizz,” he announces, dragging Nate’s attention back to him. He moves forwards, holding out his hand. Nate takes it, and they shake.
“What are you doing hanging round my sister?”
“Just passing through,” says Grizz.
“You’re a Chaos Demons biker,” says Nate, glancing at the patch on Grizz’s kutte. “Why are you sniffing around Lu?” Nate throws a protective arm around my shoulders, and I automatically flinch. Grizz doesn’t miss it and his eyes narrow.
“Like I said, passing through.”
“Her bedroom?” he pushes.
“Jesus, Nate, he’s one of my bosses from Zen. Relax,” I snap, shrugging him away. “He came to see me about some extra shifts and saw me struggling with the pushchair.”
Nate gives a slight nod. “Don’t do too many extras. When will you fit my lads in?”
I head for the door. “Okay,” I mutter.
We get outside, and Grizz is staring at me as I press for the lift several times. “His lads?” he asks.
“It’s a side hustle.”
He pinches the bridge of his nose. “Of course.”
We walk to the church in silence. I’m so lost in my thoughts, I don’t have the words to make him see it’s not my choice. But I can’t have Nate bringing his friends around on a regular basis. Not with Ivy in the flat.
We enter the church and it’s bustling with people. The vicar spots me and rushes over, embracing me and turning to Grizz to shake his hand. “This is my friend, Grizz,” I explain as I offload bread into his arms.
“You’re very lucky to have such a wonderful friend in Luna,” the vicar tells him. “She’s been sent from Heaven especially to help us.”
I laugh, rolling my eyes. “He’s being dramatic,” I tell Grizz.
“She never lets us down. We rely on her breadmaking skills,” he continues, and we follow him to the row of tables where large pots of food are presented. He places the breads and dips at the end, and people immediately line up to get some. “See,” says the vicar, laughing, “I think half these people come especially for Luna’s bread.”
He wanders off to help serve, and I begin to stack dirty dishes into a bucket. “What about Ivy?” asks Grizz, glancing into her pushchair.
“She’s fine. She’ll sleep.”
He follows me to the kitchen, carrying another two buckets of dishes. “So, you come here every day?” he asks, watching as I roll up my sleeves.
“Every Wednesday,” I tell him, turning on the hot tap. “I wish we could do it every day, though, cos this area needs it. But everything is voluntary, even down to the food. We rely on people cooking and donating.”
He stares out the hatch to the room of families all enjoying a hot meal. “I used to come to a place like this when I was a kid,” he mutters. “Not with my family. On my own.”
“They’re essential,” I say, not wanting to push him in case he doesn’t want to give me details. “They’ve helped me so much.”
He turns back to me. “How long has your mum been like that?”
I shrug, dunking some plates into the soapy water. “A long time. Worse since my dad left.”
