Page 2 of Holly's Christmas Biker

Without warning, a shrill alarm comes from the machine and the room fills with medical personnel. A nurse quickly escorts the girls and I out of the room as they begin performing life-saving measures on Devin. As we settle into a chair in the waiting room, both girls now in my lap, I send up a quick prayer that he’s not suffering. We may have been at a crossroads in our relationship, but I still have eight years of good memories, although the two in my lap right now are the best of them all.

“I’m so sorry, Holly,” Samuel murmured. “But with y’all not being married, we need to sell the house in order to pay for the hospital bills.”

“It’s okay, Samuel,” I replied. “I kind of figured that’s what would happen under the circumstances.”

The sad thing about it all, was that I was prepared to be evicted from the house that the girls and I lived in with Devin after he passed away. Myra had let it slip during the funeral that I best get on with packing up my bags because she wasn’t going to allow me to live there much longer. I’m just surprised it took her six months to kick us out. So, since I was somewhat forewarned, I had been doing a massive purge, taking all of mine and the girls’ extra things and storing them in the barn on my grandparents’ farm.

“It’s not right, Holly,” he insisted as he clenched his fists at his sides in irritation. “Tried telling Myra that we’d figure out something else to pay the bills off.”

I touched his arm and replied, “That would’ve never happened, Samuel. For whatever reason, I’ve never been good enough for her son and she’s always made that more than evident. It’s okay, I promise. Pappy got a good deal on a mobile home and he and his buddies have been getting it ready for us. Me and the girls will be just fine, I promise. And just saying, you’ll always be welcome to come see them.”

Left unspoken, of course, was the fact that as far as I was concerned, Myra could burn in the pits of Hell. How dare she throw her own grandchildren out of the only home they’d ever known?

“You can count on it,” he promised, leaning in to hug me. “Take care of yourself, Holly.”

“I will, Samuel, I will.”

CHAPTER

ONE

Holly

“That woman is such a beast,” I grumble as I look over my budget for the rest of the year. “How on earth am I going to cover all of that plus make sure I can take care of Christmas for Mina and Ruby?”

“I can’t believe she’s making you pay the outstanding stuff on the house,” my grandma replies. “She’s always been a bitter woman, but now she’s even worse since Devin passed away.”

I shrug as I gaze down at the paper in front of me once again. Normally, my grandma wouldn’t know about my finances, but she popped over while I was in the middle of trying to figure out how I was going to take care of the massive bill that Myra had sent me for ‘monies owed on the property’ that I used to share with Devin. While we never had to pay rent per se since it was a family-owned home, we took care of the utilities as well as our own expenses. Now, Myra has decided it will be rented out, so I have a bill that includes repainting the whole house, replacingflooring, and a few other odds and ends. Why that legally falls on my shoulders is beyond me, but I’ll figure it out.

“I’ll just have to get something part-time, Grammy,” I finally say. “Just to get through the holidays, at least. Mina and Ruby shouldn’t have to suffer because their grandmother is a bitch.”

“We can help, me and Pappy,” she offers.

I hold up my hand while shaking my head. “No, ma’am. Y’all will keep to the tradition that you started. They get something they want, something they need, something to wear, and something to read, remember?”

She sighs then tries to argue the point. “Holly, we can go back to that next year, sweetie. The girls are hurting, missing their daddy. We can afford to spoil them a little bit.”

“Grammy, you and Pappy are already helping more than you should be,” I tell her. “Pappy bought this place for us, then had his buddies get it all set up so it was safe, and y’all wouldn’t let me give y’all a dime for it.”

“It suits us to have y’all three here,” Grammy replies.

I roll my eyes. “Grammy, the man did the landscaping, put in a small, fenced area in case I wanted to get the girls a dog, and two nice decks so I could sit outside! Plus, a covered walkway from my place to y’all’s house!”

She starts laughing because my grandfather did all that and more. I have a covered carport for my truck, which thankfully was in my name and not Devin’s, as well as a decent size storage shed. “We’ve always wanted you closer, sweetie,” she teases.

“So, if I find a part-time gig, will y’all watch the girls for me?” I ask. “Because the bar just outside of town is advertising for bartenders.”

It’s not my favorite thing to do since I don’t really drink, but I’m good at it, and I know the tips will help my finances by keeping us afloat. Thankfully, I have my own CPA business that I work at from home. I meet clients from time-to-time, of course, but that’s at their location, not in my small, mundane office.

“You don’t even have to ask,” she chides.

“Yes, I do, Grammy. I would never assume that y’all would be willing to watch the girls. Y’all have already raised your kids, plus me when my parents died,” I remind her. “Y’all deserve to enjoy yourselves, not watch two active little girls.”

“Speaking of, where are they?” she asks.

“They both woke up a little under the weather this morning,” I admit. “So, I kept them home from daycare, and they’re both napping right now.”

“What’s going on?” she questions, worry now evident in her voice.

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