Page 34 of Gypsy's Lady
“Then let’s go out thereandyoucan start easing her in that direction.” Mason stoodandthe other men did, too. Gypsy trailed them out of the room, conscious of his rearmost position in the pack after what Mason had laid out.
***
Kelsey
Standing in the kitchen, Kelsey tried to stay out of the way while still offering assistance, something living in foster care had made second nature. Going into a new situation and figuringout where you landed wasn’t the easiest, but she didn’t remember it ever being so hard before.
DeeDee was the unofficial head of the group gathered tonight, and that was entirely logical. Not only was she Mason’s cousin,but she’d alsoliterally been associated with MC clubs longer than any of the other women. Ruby was her adopted daughter, and Slate’s wife. Slate’s position as president gavehis Ruby status, and Kelsey found she liked Ruby. It was easy to see the other women did, too.
With Mason’s role at the national level, andbeingthe club’s founder, his standing gave Willa an untouchable position in the group. Kelsey knew Brute hadn’t been a member as long as Gypsy, but because Bexley had been introduced before Kelsey, she knew in this setting, she was bottom of thebasket,because Bex was higher on the pecking order.If I’ve got it all sorted out, why is this so hard, then?
The grumbling tones of men’s voices became audible, signaling the end of their impromptu meeting and Kelsey finished wiping her hands dry, draping the cloth over the edge of the sink. She followed the women into the livingroomand noticed she and Gypsy shared the distinction of being last inthe queue. Kelsey angled towards the couch where they’d been seated togetherearlier,and was thrown off stride when Gypsy settled into a chair opposite instead of next to her.
The expression on his face was thunderous, brows drawn together over dark eyes, and she looked away. Gaze to her lap, she tried not to tenseup,and failed. Muscles in her shoulders cramped and she struggled to still thetrembling of her fingers where they lay on her thighs. Taking a deep breath, she paused and then listened, finding a lull in the conversation between Willa and DeeDee. “D-do you know any pa-places to get a haircut? Mine’s grown out so, it’s all over shaggy.”
Bexley beamed, her smile bright enough to light up the room. “You’re in luck, Kelsey. I do hair.” She rose from where she’d been sittingon Brute’s knee, and walked behind the couch, leaning over to tousle Kelsey’s hair. “Your hair’s gorgeous, lucky girl. What are you looking for?”
Kelsey glanced at Gypsy to see a heavy frown on his features. Quickly averting her eyes, she said, “I-I-I-I.” Eyes closed tightly for a breath, she stopped and began again. “I don’t know. I don’t need anything fancy.”
“But you’re so pretty,” Willainterjected, coming to sit next to Kelsey on the couch. “You should let Bexley do a mystery haircut.”
“I-I-I don’t know.” Unobtrusively, Kelsey rubbed her sweating palms on the legs of her jeans. “I-I-Ilike s-simple.”
“We can do simple and easy to take care of,” Bexley promised, running strands of hair between her fingers. “And still accent your beautiful face.”
She glanced at Gypsy again.Why is he so mad?His expression was even more severe than before, and she grew lightheaded as embarrassment and fear flooded her, cheeks chilled as blood fled. “I-it’s just hair.” She shrugged. Did he not want her to be friends with the women? If not, then why would he have left her with them? Why would they have had the conversation they did today in the garage? Was her behavior somehow reflectingon him? Maybe the men expected her to be better at makingfriends,and had called him out on his choice of a woman. “I-i-i-it will grow b-b-b-back.”
“Oh, goodness.” Bexley leaned down, resting her chin on Kelsey’s shoulder, the close proximity intimidating. “I don’t mean to make you feel you’ve got to do what I say, Kelsey. It’s your hair, honey. We’ll do whatever you want.”
The woman waitedpatiently as Kelsey struggled to stay engaged, her final sentence never advancing beyond more than a staccato barrage of “I-I-I-I-I—”
Kelsey saw movement from where Gypsy sat. She’d kept one eye on him, glancing at him so often she was certain everyone in the room thought she had a vicious tic that kept her head jerking back his direction.
Now, instead of the scowl that had her so off balance,Gypsy had curled the corners of his mouth up in a lazy smile and was holding a hand in her direction. Curving his fingers over his palm, he invited her to come to him. Kelsey bolted up from the couch, nearly running to stand in front of him. With a palm resting on her hip, he turned and drew her back to sit on his lap, cradling her to his chest. “So brave,” he whispered, and Kelsey trembled inhis embrace, finally safe. “So proud of you, darlin’.” She leaned into him, relaxing slowly. Within minutes, her breathing had evened out, and from the safety of his lap, she watched the other old ladies continue their party.Eventually,shere-engaged, responding to a question Bexley asked the group without a single stutter.
***
Curled around one of Gypsy’s huge, fluffy bed pillows, Kelseywaited. The sound of the shower finally stoppedanda few minutes later, the bathroom door rattled as Gypsy entered the bedroom. They’d been home for a couple of hours now, but she still felt unsettled.
I’ve got to get over myself.
She knew he couldn’t babysit her every moment of the day, and when they were at his work, she’d come to expect he’d have to be in and out of the office, taking careof the million and one details that needed his expert attention.
Tonight, though, for some reason she’d been blindsided by his willingness to leave her alone. Mason had hardly finished ordering the men out of the room beforeGypsy’dstood and walked out. She’d been frozen in disbelief as he stacked his plate on hers and whisked them away. His return a moment later had seemed a reprieve, but thenshe’d realized he was reassuring himself she’d be okay.For a moment—oh, God, for a moment—she’d thought he was going to kiss her like the other men were doing to their women, but the interest she imagined seeing in his eyes quickly flickered out and he’d beaten a retreat, the door of Mason’s office clicking solidly shut behind him, closing him off from her in a way that was more than theoretical.
Being left to the women wasn’t terrible. No one hurt her. No one insulted her. The opposite, in fact, as DeeDee and Ruby hadgoneto great lengths to try and pull Kelsey into their discussion. Ruby especially had worked a lot of information into her words, asking Kelsey a question and then following whatever response came with a tidbit from her own life. Another lady would chime in, and a storywould develop. So it wasn’t terrible, but it was definitely exhausting. It was hard to keep track of the different parts of the conversation, draining Kelsey in minutes as she tried to keep from stepping wrong with this new social group she’d found herself thrust into so abruptly.
At one point, there’d been a loud metallic click,andshe’d caught Willa and DeeDee making big eyes at each other.Whatever it was—and it clearly sounded like a lock seating into place to Kelsey—it had them spooked, and their unease had increased the pace of the topic changes, names and places whirling around the room faster than a dust devil could spin. Their accents so strange to her ear, she’d still be working to decipher the end of one story while they were halfway through the next.
When the men returnedto them, it wasn’t any better, not at first. Gypsy had looked so angry, gaze fixed on her in a way that laid his mood at her feet.Whatever I did, I must make it right, had been her only thought. She’d tried all the things that had pleased him in the past, worked her way back into the flow of words, but he’d remained unimpressed.Clearlysomething the men had said had him rethinking every decisionhe’d made where she was concerned. Things were going downhill fast,andKelsey had nearly despaired of pleasinghimwhen suddenly, it was like everything lined up again. The storm clouds partedandhe’d smiled and asked her to join him, his expression, the one she’d begun thinking ofashers, a soft affection she pretended was edged by desire.
Why would he want me?
Shoving that aside, she focusedon Gypsy’s behavior. No matter how he’d acted after the men’s meeting, he hadn’t even been angry she’d stayed on his lap, his voice softly cajoling as he prodded her upright to come home at the end of the evening.
Looking at his face as he walked across the room towards where she lay, she found he once again wore her look. “You stranglin’ that pillow, darlin’?”
Oh, but I love when he calls mehis darling.
