Page 7 of Bearly Hanging On

The bear didn’t want to go. His paws planted hard inside me, making clear his intention, so I was forced to haul him away. Later, I promised.

“We are going around to Harper’s place tonight,” Tor said as we walked outside after paying for the supplies. “Even if I have to drag Dog Boy with us by the tail.”

“No need,” I said, finally allowing myself to grin like an idiot. “This? It’s fate. There’s only one woman in the world for us and that’s Harper. We just need Mack and then her to realise that.”

Easier said than done.

Chapter 3

Harper

“Hey, Nanna.”

After a power nap and a whole lotta coffee, later that day I walked in through the door of my grandmother’s assisted living unit, only to find she had a full house. She and her fellow octogenarian partners in crime were sitting around her dining room, guarding their playing cards like they were in Vegas and in a high roller room. I pressed a kiss to Nanna’s cheek, and while she leaned into it, her eyes remained narrowed as she eyed the other women.

“Hey, honey. Pull up a seat. You always help turn my luck around.”

“Harper’s not gonna be able to help you.” Gladys was an older lady with a too-tight perm dyed a strange shade of faded purple. Her cards were fanned out on the table. “Read ‘em and weep, girls!”

Apparently her hand was excellent as the other women all groaned, tossing their cards into the centre then pushing piles of coins Gladys’ way.

“Hey, those better be tokens.” I pointed to the pile. “We talked about you ladies gambling away your pension cheques.”

“Hush, you,” Nanna said, grabbing the pile of cards and shuffling them expertly, despite her swollen knuckles. “So what’s happening with you, kid? Got a man yet?”

“Not right now,” I said, getting up and collecting all of the teacups. The kettle was turned on and I started brewing a fresh pot of tea. “Men are pigs.”

“Don’t I know it.” Sally was another one of Nanna’s friends and she had the gravelly voice of a habitual smoker. Sometimes I caught her loitering at the back of the facility, sneaking a cigarette her daughter smuggled in for her. “Lemme tell you about my ex husband.”

“Which one?” Nanna dealt the cards swiftly and the women all picked theirs up, keeping their faces perfectly smooth as they checked their hands. “One, two, or three?”

“One—” Sally started to say.

“Drained your bank accounts,” Gladys said. “Two slept with your sister. Three…?” She looked at Nanna.

“Liked guys and nearly gave Sal VD,” Nanna replied. “But not all men are arseholes.” She fanned her cards out, glancing at them, then studying the others. “Are you on those dating apps? Kindle, is it?”

“That’s the book app.”

Sally tossed a card into the central pile and then nodded at Nanna, who dealt her another one.

“Do you mean Tinder?” I had tea bags in the cups and then poured the hot water in once it boiled. Some slices of lemon, a bowl of sugar cubes, and a small pitcher of milk was brought over to the table. The ladies smiled up at me as I set it down. “I think I prefer Kindle. The guys in books are a whole lot better than in real life.”

“What happened this time?”

Nanna paused, her entire attention on me, because no one got anything past Agnes Quinn. The cards began to sag forward and the other two ladies leaned forward, ready to take a peek. I reached over and tilted them back towards my grandmother.

“Guy was married,” I said.

“Harper!”

“I didn’t know. He said he was single, then that his sister was at his place and that’s why we couldn’t…” I trailed off, realising that confessing to having sex on the first date probably wasn’t appropriate in this context. “Then I worked out he was married. When he said he was in an open marriage, I jumped in my car and took off, blocking him on everything.” I shot my grandmother a meaningful look. “You know I wasn’t raised to be a cheater.”

“Just as well.” She stirred her teaspoon through her drink a little too vigorously, the metal colliding with the porcelain. “You’re a good girl.” Her head shook from side to side. “Not like your mother. You just need a man to look after you.”

“Pretty sure I do an adequate job of that myself.”

I leaned over and wrapped my arm around her shoulders, trying to ignore how thin and frail she now felt.

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