Page 29 of Grissom
Persia smiled from the sink where she was rinsing the bag of red and golden delicious apples she’d found in Grissom’s well-stocked pantry.
“I’m impressed with this guy,” Judy declared, as she lopped off the root end of a celery bunch. “If I’d sent Maverick to the store to get something for dinner, he’d come back with a ten-pound slab of bacon and half a beef. But Grissom’s kitchen is stocked full of healthy things. Did you see his pantry? The man has a bin of Yukon potatoes in there, and, get this, yams. Real yams. Not canned.”
Tuesday instantly rose to Grissom’s defense, “Of course. He’s a dad. Grissom takes especially good care of his boys, that’s all.” She wanted to add,‘So what?’But figured that might come off snarky, and she didn’t want to offend Grissom’s friends.
Now slicing the carrots she’d lined up on the countertop into finger-sized sticks, China went on about how Judy had first met Harley at Mark and Libby’s wedding. How she’d met Maverick when he’d shown up, out of the blue, one day in Wyoming, and saved her and her horse.
She reminded Tuesday of an over-confident girl from her soccer playing days, that one from an opposing team. Jenny was as much a tomboy as Tuesday had once been, and she’d loved their games together. Jenny was all about the sport, the rivalry, and the competition, which meant they were evenly matched. Other teenage girls had pictures of movie stars or boy-bands taped up on their bedroom walls. Tuesday had eight-by-twelve glossies of Lionel Messi of Barcelona. Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid, and Manuel Neuer of Bayern Munich. Real men. Famous soccer players who played and worked hard. Not pretty boys. She’d never been attracted to a guy’s looks as much as his strength, skill, and that elusive something that Shane, Heston, and Alex had. That Grissom had in spades. That innate male quality that told the world to ‘shove it’ with just a glance. That told weaker men and women to step up, man up, and amount to something. Tuesday could almost hear Grissom’s favorite F-bombs interspersed in that description.
“Yup, that cowboy just showed up out of nowhere and started digging Star and me out of that landslide,” China mumbled around the thin slice of carrot she was taste-testing. “We had torrential rain that spring and the hillsides were saturated. You know Star, the handsome gelding you thought was going to devour Luke this morning? Maverick’s quite taken with you, girlfriend.”
Tuesday jolted out of her head and back into the kitchen. A definite glimmer of mischief sparkled in China’s deep blue eyes, but Tuesday didn’t rise to the challenge. “Star’s a very handsome, umm, kid. Tanner sure likes him.”
“Yeah, well, Tanner likes all my kids, and they like Grissom’s boys. Those three are regulars. They ride a couple times each week. You should join them.”
“Mmmm,” was all Tuesday would say on that subject. Horseback riding with Grissom and his boys on a regular basis meant staying, and staying meant putting down roots, at the least, renting an apartment. That wasn’t happening. Her feelings for Grissom didn’t equate to a future with him and his sons, and it’d be presumptuous to think they did. It’d be better if she left before this “thing” between them turned sour or—worse.
Liking a man, any man, would make him a target for the relentless tragedy stalking her, and she knew better than to hold onto anyone too tightly or for too long. Grissom had just found his lost boys; he needed them more than he needed her. She’d get through dinner, but that was it. She loved Tanner and Luke enough to let them go. Love hurt, but sometimes, it killed. She refused to take the chance.
Jolting out of the depressing plans for her future, Tuesday found herself in the middle of Judy telling how Harley’d been in a massive accident outside DC a few years ago. How his Jeep had gotten totaled, and he’d suffered a serious head injury. How he’d returned to the apartment they’d shared while she was at workand taken his weapons and enough ammunition to start a small war. Once she’d gotten home and couldn’t raise him on his cell phone, she’d gone to her least favorite TEAM member for help—the Boss, as his employees still called Alex Stewart—whom she’d intensely disliked at the time.
“Why didn’t you like Alex?” Tuesday asked. “I’ve met him. He’s harmless. In fact, he was quite the gentleman when I visited him and Kelsey.” Since the other women had taken over the vegetable and fruit trays, she was carefully spreading thin layers of cream cheese over ham slices. Who didn’t like ham roll-ups?
“He was so darned bossy then, and he thought he knew better than everyone else, including me. Besides—”
“Harley kind of had a thing for Alex’s wife back then,” China cut in nonchalantly, as if she’d just mentioned a change in the weather instead of what sounded like Judy’s husband’s infidelity. “Not like he’d ever acted on it. Harley would never, but you have to understand that before Judy met him, he’d been dealing with an extreme case of PTSD, made worse by him self-medicating with some hardcore drugs and—”
“Who’s telling this story?” Judy bit out, the knife in her hand now pointed at China. “Me or you?”
China tipped her head back and laughed. “You are, Miss Touchy Pants,” she said, aiming a dripping wet carrot at Tuesday in return. “Before you get any more involved with Grissom, you need to understand that every single one of us TEAM wives are as bad-assed as our husbands.”
Tuesday set China straight. “I’m not involved with Grissom.”
“We have to be bad-assed,” Persia interjected quietly, slicing each peeled and cored apple into petite wedges. “We can’t help it. We’re attracted to strong men, to alphas. Not to mention we’ve all been through some bad shit ourselves, and some of us just turned out a little meaner because of it.”
China hip-checked Judy. “And kinder. At least, I’m kinder. Not sure about the rest of you.”
“Did you happen to see any caramel dip in the refrigerator?” Persia asked China.
“Sure. Two tubs. You want both?”
“Yes, please. I’ve got enough apples for two trays.”
“Here you go.”
“Thanks.”
“Sheesh!” Judy hissed, “Do you ladies mind if I finish telling my story?”
Both China and Persia laughed. It was easy to see that, despite their rowdy version of sisterly comradery, these women cared for each other. Judy hadn’t sounded angry as much as flustered with the persistent interruptions. She started again with, “Anyway—”
“Anyway, that was only misplaced affection on Harley’s part,” China cut in with a mischievous sparkle in her eyes, “for the woman whose life he saved. It happens between doctors and patients all the time.”
“Or nurses and patients,” quiet Persia added.
“Wait.” Tuesday cocked her head to make sure she’d heard right. “Harley saved Kelsey’s life? When?” This she had to hear.
“And here we go again,” Judy grumbled, aiming an exaggerated huff at the ceiling. “Yes, my husband had a thing for Kelsey. Yes, he saved her life before Alex finally married her. Alex and Kelsey were in the Pacific Northwest when everything went bad. He was in critical shape that night, so he sent Harley to find her. To save her. Her worthless ex kidnapped her after that worthless scum and his White Supremist buddies nearly beat Alex to death. When Harley finally located Kelsey, the first thing he did was snipe that asshole ex of hers and the jerks with him. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not like they weren’t armed to theteeth. They were, but Harley took them out before they knew what was happening.
