Page 7 of Grizzly's Pride
He shouldn’t be overthinking this. Grizzly snatched a white sleeveless dress and returned to Piper. He found her in the living room, examining the photos there. Grizzly had a room at the Ruthless Reapers clubhouse, and he seldom invited any of his brothers back here to his personal den. This place held important memories for him and yet he brought this stranger here. Why?
Grizzly cleared his throat and held out the now-rumpled dress. “Would this work?”
Piper took and held the dress out. She nodded. “It will, thank you.” Piper didn’t run back to the bathroom right away. She paused, looking from the dress to one of the framed photographs on the wall. “Does this dress belong to her?”
Grizzly knew what picture she was referring to. In that photograph, Grizzly was bent over his motorcycle, too concerned with repairs to notice Ariana approaching him.
She held Drew in her arms. Sorrow that Grizzly thought he’d buried rose without warning. He let out a growl without realizing it.
Back in those days, Grizzly had been more concerned about the club than his own family. It only took losing them to realize he’d screw up his priorities.
Piper took a step back, nearly tripping over an old baseball on the floor. Grizzly held her arm, to steady her. She pulled away from him quickly.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked,” she whispered, sounding frightened again.
“Ariana,” he said as she turned her back. She looked at him again.
“Who is she? A girlfriend?” Piper asked.
“Ariana used to be my old lady,” Grizzly said in a hoarse voice. She looked confused, so he explained again. “My wife. The two-year-old boy in her arms is Drew, our son. They both died in a car accident five years ago.”
Piper’s eyes widened at the revelation. “I’m so sorry for your loss, Grizzly,” she whispered. Her words seemed genuine, heart-felt even. Why would she sympathize with the man who basically threatened her to come with him?
Piper darted back into the bathroom. By the time she came out, the pizza had arrived, and Grizzly set the food out in the living room. Eating at the dining table that was meant to seat four always depressed him and made him lonely, so he always ate in the living room.
“Pizza looks good,” Piper said, settling on the armchair next to the sofa, which he occupied. Grizzly watched her take a big slice. She ate it in a few bites. Piper seemed ravenous. Then again, she’d been on the run with Mervin.
“Want a beer?” Grizzly asked. “I’m getting one for myself.”
“Sure, that sounds great,” she said.
Grizzly grabbed two beers from the fridge. They were bottles, not cans, he remembered. Where did he leave his opener? To his surprise, Piper placed the bottle cap on the edge of the coffee table. Holding the neck, she used her other hand to slam down the bottle. The cap fell right off. She did the same with the second bottle and held it out to him.
“Aren’t you full of surprises,” he said, accepting the beer.
“I worked as a bartender at night,” she said, taking a sip.
“You mentioned you worked multiple jobs to support yourself and your dad. What was your other job?” he asked, curious.
“So, the questions begin. I was wondering when we’d get to that,” Piper said.
She set her beer down and grabbed another slice of pizza. Grizzly sure liked a woman with an appetite, although Piper was skinny as a twig. It wouldn’t surprise him if she didn’t have the time to worry about her personal health when she was concerned about her scummy father all the time. If she was his woman, Grizzly would take good care of her. Hell, Piper wouldn’t lack for anything.
Wait. Following that line of thought was dangerous. When Ariana and Drew died, Grizzly fell apart. He never thought he could give his heart to another woman again. Then again, as King often told him, Ariana wouldn’t want him to live out the rest of his life alone.
Could Piper be the woman he’d been waiting for? Grizzly didn’t believe in lust at first sight. Then again, King, Brick, Razor, and Gunner found their women that way. Their relationships were still going strong.
“I waitressed during the day,” she said.“That question was easy.”
“I don’t want you to feel like this is an interrogation,” Grizzly said. “While you were juggling two jobs, what was your dad doing?”
“I don’t know. Mervin always dismissed me as simple and unimportant, so he never shared his plans with me,” Piper said bitterly. “I mean, I knew whatever he was doing wasn’t legal, but I didn’t think he was stupid enough to betray your group.”
The more she talked, Grizzly realized Piper truly didn’t know any valuable information about her father. Grizzly doubted Mervin kept her in the dark to protect her.
No, Mervin probably kept everything to himself because he was the sort of rat who prioritized his own survival. Still, Mervin took Piper along with him when he went on a run. Maybe some part of that scumbag did care about his own blood, or maybe he knew the MC would try to use Piper against him. They talked into the night. Finally, he noticed Piper yawning. She had even dozed off once or twice while he asked her a question.
“All right, that’s all I need to know for now. You should get some rest. It’s been a long day,” Grizzly told her.
