Page 31 of Gypsy's Lady
Questions
Gypsy, Four months later
The vibration of the phone on the workbench made Gypsy look up, squinting into the overhead lights illuminating the six mechanic bays in the shop. He dipped the parts in his hand back into the tub of degreaser and sloshed them around before dropping them to the bottom. Once on his feet, he edged the upturned bucket he’d been seatedon out of the way with the edge of one boot and reached for a rag already streaked with grease and grime. Leaning close, he just missed seeing the ID on the screen before the call went tovoice mail, but before he’d finished cleaning the oily sludge from hishands,it lit upagain,Mason’s information showing.
He’d been working in the shop on his two weekdays off from the bar, getting his biketuned up and set for riding season. While he hadn’t swung back into full-time plus some, as he’d been working before he went to Australia, he still needed to spend at least part of most days at the bar. Scheduling help, placing orders, monitoring shift changes, and doing the payroll and other office work ate up hours out of each day.
Getting the bike prepared and ready to go was a promise tohimself that things would even out, and life would find a new normal.
Not that life with Kelsey was a hardship. No, quite the opposite. She was so amenable it would have been hard to have any problems with her. And that was part of the challenge. She’d become quick to agree with him on anything, and he was afraid that meant she was turning back in on herself. After that first off-hours visit,he’d found bringing her to the bar was easy, because she mostly stayed in the office with him. Curled into the couch or chair with the tablet he’d bought her, Kelsey would balance it on her folded legs, reading or watching videos. If their schedules lined up, she’d Skype with Nary, their laughter making him smile even as he kept his head bent over the paperwork to give them the semblance of privacy.
Gypsy and Kelsey hadn’t been home long before Slate’s woman, Ruby, came to the bar with the express desire to meet Kelsey. Ruby was so easygoing and sweet, she’d charmed Kelsey easily, drawing her away from Gypsy by fits and starts, aiming towards the bar so they could sit at a table and talk. Kelsey had stopped in the doorway and looked at him over her shoulder, her and Ruby’s clasped hands stretchedbetween the women.
“Is-is it okay, Gypsy?” The tiny smile on her face trembled,andhe knew it was taking all her courage to trust Ruby, even with his assurances about her safety.
“Yeah, darlin’. You and Ruby are gonna be good friends. I can already see it. Remember Nary’s posse? I predict you’ll gather your girls starting with thisone,because she’s kinda a keeper.” Something he hadn’t sharedwith Kelsey was Ruby’s background, how she’d been kidnapped and held aprisonerin an act ofrevenge against the club. He hadn’t talked about how broken she’d been. “I’ve had my fill of girly talk in here for now. Just don’t get Ruby drunk, or I won’t hear the end of it from Slate.”
Kelsey’s eyes widened in shockandshe shook her head, hair flying all around her shoulders. “I would never.” Nostutterthere,and that made him smile. “Gypsy, I promise.”
“I’ll hold you to that, little one.” She dipped her chin towards her throat when he called her that, and he smiled more broadly. “Other than that, darlin’, you do what makes you happy. Okay?”
Soft, sweet, and quiet, her voice curled around him. “Okay.”
A moment later the two women were out of sight, but he could still hear Ruby’s outragedwords, “I wouldn’t get drunk in the middle of the day. Unless it was a Friday or Saturday.” A pause, then she continued, her voice farther away now, “Or a Monday. I hate those. I have two sets of twins and let me tell you…”
He had called and talked to Slate that day at the bar. Thanked him for choosing such a good woman, and had grinned at the loud laughter handed back to him along with Slate’swords,“It’s a good thing when we find the one, ain’t it?”
Gypsy picked up the phone and keyed the screen to accept the call. “Boss. Whatcha need?”
“I like that about you, you know? Doesn’t matter what you might be doing, I know from the moment you answer the call, you’re ready to do whatever’s needed. Can’t train that, man. Can’t buy it, either. That’s abone-deeployalty.”
Gypsy shook hishead, not certain why Mason had started the call out this way. He held hisquestionsbecause he knew it would all come out in the end. “You know I would, boss.”
“I do. Where are you at, brother?” There was a loud noise in the shop just then, the sound of a pneumatic wrench working overtime at a bolt. “At the shop?”
“Yeah, just wrenchin’ on my bike.”
“Kelsey with you?” At the unexpectedquestion,Gypsy cut his eyes to the side where Kelsey sat in a faded cloth armchair Red had dragged out of the office. He’d placed it in Gypsy’s bay without a word, patting him on the shoulder as the man had walked past. As usual, she had her tablet in hand, eyes locked on him. Unless she was on a call with Nary, Gypsy could be guaranteed her gaze nearly every time he would look up. “This impacts her,too.”
“Yeah, she’s here.” Her gaze sharpened, and he watched as she straightened, feet slipping to the floor as her shoulders pushedbackwards. Moving to the edge of the seat, she looked as if she were bracing for a blow and he wondered what was going through her head. “What’s up, Mason?” No reason to keep who was on the phonea secret, and he could see she appreciated knowing who was askingabout her by the tiny lift of her cheeks. She’d met and liked Willa, and by extension Mason.
“You wanna come to me, ormecome to you?” Prickles of unease traced up his spineandGypsy mimicked Kelsey’s posture. Mason pushing a face-to-face was unusual,and when paired with the phone call, meant something bigger than normal was in the works.
“Let me ask her.” Kelsey might be more comfortablein the apartment where she could retreat to their bedroom if things got dicey, but he thought it would be good for her to see Willa in her home, with kids and her old man. “Kels, Mason wants to have a chat with both of us. You up for a trip to his and Willa’s house?”
Whatever smile had been lurking on the edges of her expression fled at his words, her cheeks adopting a pasty color as blood racedfrom them. Gypsy waited patiently, watching as her eyelids dipped and her throat worked. Without looking back up athim,she nodded, each movement jerky as if she had to force the muscles to do her will.
That won’t do. “Kels, if you aren’t ready, you gotta tell me, darlin’.” He couldn’t haveher thinkingshe had to do everything he or one of the Rebels told her to do, and this was a larger offshootof the other fears he’d been carrying about her behavior. She’d eaten dinner at the bar with Ruby and some of the other old ladies a few nights ago. It hadn’t been her idea, and she hadn’t been comfortable at first, but she’d done it because Ruby had asked. Sure, Kelsey eventually had a great time, forging the beginning of a friendship with the other women, but the beginning had beena forcedcompliance. “Say the wordandwe’ll figure something else out.”
“I-I…” She stopped and shook her head, lips pressed tightly together. “I am not afraid.”
“I know you aren’t afraid, little one. Not with me there. You trust me, and I know that. But, baby, not being afraid and being comfortable are very different things.” He tipped his head to the side and watched her fight against her natural inclinationto be agreeable, glad to see her stubbornness rewarded when she brought her eyes up, staring at him as she unfolded and climbed to her feet.
“I-I can’t know until I try.” She unfolded, standing tall as she clenched her fists and thrust them down straight at her sides. “I want to try, Gypsy. I do.”
He nodded, held her gaze for a moment, and let her see his pride in her achievement. Lifting thephone, he said, “Mason, we’d be happy to hit your place. What time you want us there?”
“You’re doing a good thing with her, brother. Don’t stop. It’ll be hard, and get harder, but for fuck’s sake, do not stop. She’ll be worth it all in the end, I know it.” Mason took a breath, blowing it out slowly. “Seven o’clock, we’ll do dinner.” Away from thephone,he shouted, “Wills, we got company comingfor supper. Gypsy and Kelsey, Jase and DeeDee, Slate and Ruby, maybe a couple more.”
