“Of course.”
“Grandson,” Grandpa Casper greeted, meeting us when we’d made it about halfway down the long bar. “Teddy, good to see you again, sweetheart.”
“Hey,” Teddy replied.
“Sorry we didn’t get more time to visit on Saturday,” he said. “There’s always so much goin’ on, and Farrah was on my ass tellin’ me not to overwhelm ya.”
Teddy laughed lightly. “I appreciate it. I’m not sure I remember anyone’s names, I met so many people.”
“It’ll get easier,” he assured her. “Come on. The boys are waitin’ on us.”
“The boys?” Teddy mouthed at me.
I just shook my head. We were about five seconds from the doorway, and she’d see for herself. Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I set it in the basket on the end of the bar.
“Your phone in your bag?” I asked her.
“Yeah, why?”
“Leave it out on the bar, baby.”
“You can leave the whole bag,” Casper advised. “No one will touch it.”
“Um…okay,” she murmured, pulling it off her shoulder.
As soon as she’d set it on the bar, Casper led us into the room. Sitting around the table were my dad, Uncle Leo, Grandpa Dragon, and Grease. Their conversation came to an end as they turned to look at us.
“Jesus, you look like your mother,” Grandpa Dragon said with a smile. “Didn’t notice it when you had your hair down Saturday, but I’m sure as hell seein’ it now.”
Teddy smiled and reached back to touch the braid at the base of her neck. “Yeah, that’s what Grease said.”
“’Cause it’s true,” Grease chuckled. “Come in and take a seat, Teddy.”
I pressed my hand against the base of Teddy’s spine to get her moving, rubbing my thumb back and forth to reassure her as she picked a chair. As soon as she sat down, I stood behind her.
“Like that, is it?” Grandpa Dragon asked, his eyes laser sharp on mine.
“Did you expect it to be any other way?” I replied.
He held my gaze for a long moment. His lips twitched as he gave me a small nod, then he looked to Teddy.
“You settlin’ in all right?” he asked her, leaning forward to rest his forearms on the table. “Kids good?”
“Yeah,” she murmured, glancing questioningly up at me. “Thank you for everything you did.” She glanced over at Grease. “I know my dad asked you to look out for me—”
“Called in a marker,” Dragon corrected.
“What?”
“We owed him.”
“Oh,” she muttered. “Right. Well, thank you.”
I wasn’t sure what Teddy and I were. We’d blurred the lines the minute she’d stripped out of that ratty tank top two nights before. Roommates at the very least and friends if I was feeling confident. But even if all of that was ignored, I’d still been tasked with giving her and her kids cover—making sure they were safe and protected—and I wasn’t happy with the way my grandfather was speaking to her. There wasn’t anything outwardly antagonistic, but his tone was riding the line of dismissive, like he was putting her in her place.
Which made no fucking sense because she hadn’t done anything wrong.
“I understand you’re a diesel mechanic,” he continued.
