Page 37 of Weatherman

Not ready at all.

CHAPTER 17

Weatherman hadto turn away as the soft wig slipped over his mom’s hairless scalp.

The leftovers were still on the table—a simple meal of baked ziti and cheese with garlic bread and salad. Pearl had crammed fistfuls of the stuff in her messy mouth and smeared sauce all over her face. No one minded. In fact, his mom had watched the little girl with complete fascination and remarked on how smart she was. A smile stayed on her face for the entire meal.

He sat on the couch with the freshly cleaned toddler and played with her as Opal worked with his mom. It took a few days for the woman to bounce back from the bout of flu, but luckily Pearl didn’t catch it. Opal hadn’t remembered anything from the few fever dream hours, or at least she hadn’t asked about it. He was curious about the name Camo but decided not to bring it up unless she did.

“There we are,” Opal said as she adjusted the snug netting. “How does that feel?”

“It’s a lot more comfortable than I thought it would be. It’s like I’m wearing a really nice stocking cap.” Natalie shifted to sit straighter in her recliner, currently in its upright position. It was awkward, but Opal worked around the cumbersome chair.

He bit his lip to keep it still.

“Let me style it around your face a little.” Opal’s voice held a tender note to it that burned into his memory. “You can do this yourself on the form I brought you before you put it on. With a little care, you’ll get about a year out of it before you’ll want a new one.”

God willing, Mom will be here in a year,he thought as he swiveled back to see Opal lift part of the wig in a fat curling iron. Her face was soft, and his breath caught.

He turned away to keep the knot in his throat from getting any bigger. Betsey wanted to come and see the results, but then she got the call that Katrina was now in labor and went to the hospital to welcome the next Dragon Runners addition. Weatherman sent out a few prayers for a successful and safe delivery, as well as a thanks that Opal was okay enough to be here.

“Your little girl is cute as a button. Two years old, right?” Natalie asked with shining eyes.

“Yes, and thank you. It’s hard to keep up with her now.”

“Did your husband move with you?”

Opal’s hand jumped. “Um… he died.”

That had Weatherman’s attention. He hadn’t really thought about Opal’s past much, as many other problems occupied his mind. Because of her young age, he’d assumed she was either divorced or had Pearl out of wedlock. Burying a husband and then moving across the country to a new place? That took a lot of guts. Was that the reason she had the panic attack at the Lair? The mystery behind those blue eyes was deep and made him even more curious about her.

“I remember when Bryce started crawlin’. Seems it weren’t too long before he was walkin’ and runnin’. I read to him every night.” Natalie reached up to touch the ends of her new hair as she reminisced.

“I read to Pearl too. It’ll be interesting to hear what accent she learns.” Opal flicked the iron off the hair piece and picked up another section.

“You said before that you’re from Minnesota. Gets real cold there, don’t it?”

Another flick. “Winter can be pretty bad some years, but I guess we’re used to it. This will be my first winter anywhere else.”

“You got people up there?”

“Just the friend I told you about already, Mama J.”

Natalie gave a short laugh. “Yeah, the one with the six children. Lord ha’ mercy, that’s a lot of work.”

Opal laughed as she picked up a brush. “I can’t even keep up with one some days. Janice is her name, but everyone up there calls her Mama J. I’m so grateful that she took me and Pearl in when she did. It was a rough time in my life. I don’t think I could have handled it without her.”

Weatherman digested that information and filed it away. Was that when she’d lost her husband? Pearl’s father, he assumed. No family? Pregnant and alone? He leaned closer for more. Pearl blew a wet raspberry and pulled open the pocket of his shirt to peer inside.

“Sounds like you had quite the life. So, what do you think of our little town?” Natalie sat still as Opal moved around and brushed out the wig.

“It’s a lot at times. The accent is different, and there are some words I don’t quite understand, but I’m learning.” The plastic bristles glided through the locks, and Opal smoothed her hand over them. “I’ve never had a lot of people around me like this before. I had some friends in Minnesota, but nothing like it is here. I used to… hang out with a motorcycle club up there that was very different from this one.”

Another piece of the puzzle fit in place, and Weatherman acknowledged it with a small nod. It made sense. She’d had a bad experience with bikers that left her scarred. One bad enough to relocate to a strange town in a state vastly different from the life she once had. Not every club resembled the Dragon Runners MC. At one time, they were heavily into illegal businesses, but Brick had reinvented the club into what it was today. There were still some questionable activities, but for the most part, they stayed on the right side of the law. Anything else was kept under wraps by Brick alone.

His instincts ramped up. What did Opal go through?

“There we go. How’s this?” Opal held up a hand mirror.

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