Page 60 of Grumpy

Erik swallowed hard, his eyes flicking between Maddie and Grumpy. “Yeah,” he said breathlessly. “Um, who are these people?”

Maddie pointed to Grumpy. “This is my dad, Jesse Bell. I, uh,” her eyes darted behind Grumpy and then to Kelly. Both women stood roughly the same height, around five-five. “I don’t know who everyone else is.”

“My name’s Kelly. Do you remember seeing me at the hospital when you came up to visit?”

The expression on Maddie’s young face said the memory was not a pleasant one. “Yes, but we never got the chance to be introduced.” She snuffled guiltily, “And now I’m crying on your shoulder.”

Kelly hugged her tighter. “Don’t worry about it.”

Maddie fell into the hug for another second and then turned her full attention onto Grumpy. Her blue eyes started watering again. “Dad… I…”

Though Grumpy was a man of few words, he’d never been short of them. The last time he’d seen her, she’d been twelve. Now he stood before his adult daughter who’d grown into a strikingly beautiful woman, and he had no idea what to say. Instead, he wordlessly opened his arms to her.

Maddie ran to him, bolting across the distance with little grace, and threw herself into his arms.

Grumpy almost tumbled down.

“Gentle!” Kelly cautioned.

“Harder,” Grumpy countered, not caring about the pain in the slightest.

He buried his face in Maddie’s hair. She smelled of citrus and bubble gum, and it was like the past ten years faded away. The last time he’d seen her, he’d been dropping her off to school before heading into work at the base. She hadn’t been home when he’d gotten there, anticipating dinner with his girls and instead was accused of adultery. He couldn’t even remember the last thing he’d said to Maddie that day. Probably something mundane, like “have a good day” or “make good choices”.

He should have told her he loved her. He should have told her that he would be there for her no matter what.

An unknown amount of time passed. Grumpy heard a door close, someone—he assumed Erik—said he’d be going now, and there was the typical traffic outside. Eventually, though, his legs and back started to give out.

Kelly must have noticed too, because she approached them. “Why don’t we get you seated on the couch?”

Maddie finally lifted her head, though she didn’t let go of Grumpy. “No, I can’t stay here. Colton might come back, and⁠—”

“It’ll be the last thing he does if he comes near you again,” Grumpy warned, not giving a damn how dark his voice had turned.

Maddie’s blue eyes widened as she stared up at him. Finally, she said, “This still isn’t my house. I don’t belong here anymore anyway. Plus, I’m pretty sure I just got fired.”

Which made Mr. Broken Arm Colton Briggs, Maddie’s boss and, he assumed, boyfriend. Ex-boyfriend, if Grumpy had any say in the matter.

“I need to get my things and then we can go. I just…” She glanced down. “I’m not sure how much I can bring now, but I really don’t want to come back.”

Jackson stepped into Grumpy’s line of sight. “Grab anything you need and I’ll take care of it, ma’am.”

Maddie blinked in surprise, either at the offer or the title. Or both. “Um, thanks. I…” She stepped back, releasing Grumpy from her hold. “This is just so surreal and surprising. I still can’t believe you’re here,” she said up to Grumpy. “And that you forgave me.”

Grumpy had no idea what it was she thought he had to forgive her for, but he also knew that was a topic for another time. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here sooner. Now, what do you need help with pack…ing…?”

His voice trailed off as Maddie stepped further back from him. With his vision struggles and nerve damage, not to mention the compression wraps concealing her body shape to his touch, Grumpy saw what the others likely had already seen and known.

His Maddie had a very prominent baby bump. His daughter was pregnant. He wasn’t just a father. He was about to become a grandfather.

CHAPTER 12

Maddie had been concerned about Colton calling the police, but a quick call to Keys solved that issue. As Kelly helped Maddie pack, using a suitcase, trash bags, and even a couple shoeboxes to grab everything, Grumpy had Keys on speakerphone. They all listened on as every 911 call Colton tried to make from the backyard was sent to a penguin research station in Antarctica. Since he didn’t have his car keys, he tried to hire an Uber to drive him to the local police station—but his app would only come up with an error message that Colton’s “chosen destination” of the Danakil Depression visitor center in Ethiopia was impossible. When Colton tried to set his destination to the nearest hospital, the app would autocorrect to a hospital in Norilsk, Russia.

Kelly watched Maddie’s confusion, but also her amusement. Listening to Colton’s frustration certainly made packing go faster. It also spoke volumes about the differences in the generations, and how reliant Colton was on his phone. Walking to the nearest police station that was just over a mile away didn’t even seem to have occurred to Colton. He’d rather try to make a live video about his plight on social media—which got automatically flagged as being against community guidelines and caused his account to be permanently removed—than do the more reasonable, and some might argue logical, action of going to a neighbor’s house to receive help.

Kelly had a million questions for Maddie, but she knew now was not the time or the place. From the glances Maddie kept sending Grumpy, no doubt she also had several she was biting her tongue against asking.

The shirt Maddie wore was loose over her belly, but Kelly estimated she was seven or so months along. She had a distinct pregnant woman’s waddle, and constantly was touching her back as if it ached or pained her. Kelly had never been pregnant, so she couldn’t speak from experience, but she could certainly sympathize. They were able to put Grumpy to work folding clothing while Maddie took care of bathroom essentials and instructed Kelly on what kitchen appliances were hers.