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“Morning, sleepy head,”Mia said, greeting me with a smile thrown over her shoulder.
I blinked as I sat down on a kitchen stool. “What time is it?”
“A little after nine. I thought for sure we’d woken you up, what with Captain barking when we came in and Scarlett crying.”
“Did you close Shelly’s last night?” I asked.
Mia flipped a pancake in the pan and shook her head, brown hair sliding off her shoulder. “No, but it was a late night, what with the second rush. Scarlett was up at the ass crack of dawn, too. I’m a train wreck.”
She set the spatula down and went to a cupboard, opened it, and pulled out a mug. She poured hot, fresh coffee into the cup and set it down in front of me.
“Thanks,” I said.
“You look like you need it.” She winked and turned back around.
I grabbed the carton of cream on the counter in front of me and poured a hefty amount into the cup. “Have you seen Waverly?” I asked.
“She’s helping Joni get some stuff out of her car.”
“Joni’s here?” I asked.
“Yeah.” Mia finished the stack of pancakes and set them down in front of me. “Eat.”
“Smells amazing,” I said. “Thanks for this.” I doused the short stack with butter and syrup and then cut a bite.
“Duke called Colt last night,” she said, reaching for a blue coffee mug and leaning against the counter, facing me. “After he brought you here.”
“Did he?” I asked, bowing my head. “So, you know…”
“That your mom took off in the RV with all your earthly belongings and now you and Waverly don’t have a place to live. Yes.”
“Blunt is your middle name, isn’t it?” I asked with a sigh.
The president’s Old Lady looked at me with understanding. “It’s not easy to ask for help. Believe me. I know. So, I’m going to do what the other Old Ladies did for me when I needed a hand. I’m going to force you to accept the help because that’s what family does.”
She pulled a set of keys out of her back jeans pocket and set them down in front of me.
“What’s this?”
“Keys to your rental,” she said. “Brooklyn and Slash were the last of the club to live there, but he bought her a house and she’s in nesting mode in their new place so the rental is empty.”
“I’ve been there,” I said. “It’s cute.”
“Waverly can have her own room. So can you,” she said gently. “It’s safe and clean, and you can stay as long as you want. But the price is better than anything you can find on the market right now.”
I raised a brow. “I don’t want you to cut me a deal on rent…”
Mia shrugged. “It’s my house and I’ll do what I want.”
“I’m paying,” I insisted.
“Of course, you are.” She smiled. “As someone else who hates charity, I get it. Believe me. Now, eat your breakfast.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” I said, relief curling in my belly. Waverly and I would have a place to sleep. A real place, too. With a roof that wasn’t literally taped together to try and keep the rain out.
That was the thing about the Blue Angels. They took care of people they thought of as family.
The front door of the clubhouse opened, and Joni waddled inside carrying two canvas bags. Waverly followed with another few bags.
