Holding Her Hand (Reed Brothers Book 15) (8 page)

He starts to tell the story of a very hungry caterpillar who hatched from a cocoon. He shows the struggle to hatch with his hands and makes a tiny
little worm with his finger, and then has it crawl up and down his own arm. He has to impart how very hungry the caterpillar is, so he holds his belly and shakes it, sinking his cheeks in by sucking on them. The kids are mesmerized as he goes through the story. He’s making it come alive. Mick reads and turns pages for the kids, but none of them are actually looking at the book. They’re raptly watching
Ryan, and I can see why.

Ryan is really good at this. When he gets to the part of the book where the caterpillar eats oranges, he pretends to shoot himself in the eye with a spray of juice. The kids giggle and laugh all the way to the end of the story. When it’s over, there’s an audible sigh of sadness. Then the clapping starts.

Ryan gets up and takes a bow. Then he takes another. And another.
And he’s so over the top that it’s hilarious. Mick makes a big show of making him stop by hooking him with an imaginary cane and pulling him back. The crew of signers and storytellers wave to the kids, and they scream back their thanks.

Ryan comes to get me and pulls me up off the floor by taking my hand. “
That was amazing
,” I tell him.

“
You liked it
?” he asks me, his face turned to the side
like he’s shy. He wasn’t shy a minute ago.

“
Are you kidding? Loved it.
It was fantastic
.”

Mick pats him on the shoulder to get his attention. “
You killed it
,” he says.

“
I know, right
?” Ryan responds. “
What can I say? I
’
m awesome
.”

“
And so humble
,” Mick replies. “
Might be hard for you to top that next week
.”

Ryan pats his chest. “
No worries. I
’
m doing a story about Elmo and a coconut tree.
You
’
ll see
.”

“
Do you ever use props
?” I ask.

Ryan looks offended. “
Two hands. No props
.”

“
Oh, I see
.” I take a step back, but then he grins and I know he’s not offended.

“
We
’
re going to lunch
,” Mick says. “
You going
?” he asks Ryan.

Ryan looks at me and scrunches his face up. “
You go ahead. I
’
ll see you at Mom
’
s on Sunday
.”

Mick looks at me. “
Are you sure
?” He jerks a thumb toward the group.
“
They wouldn
’
t mind if Lark went
.”

“
Too much trouble
,” Ryan says. “
You go. See you later
.” He turns back to me. “
What?
” he asks.

I point to myself. “
I
’
m too much trouble
?”

He waves his hands like he’s clearing the air in front of us. “
Not you. Them
.”

“
But you would have gone with them if I wasn
’
t here
.”

He shrugs. “
Probably
.”

“You should go.”

“I don
’
t want to go.”

“Really, you should go
with your friends.”

“I
’
d rather hang out with you.”

My heart warms at his statement, but there’s a tiny little thing I can’t even identify gnawing at me. “
We could catch up with them
.”

“
Deaf chat
,” he says. “
It will bore you
.”

“
How do you know what will bore me
?”

He shrugs. “
Because you
’
re not deaf
.”

“
Neither is Mick
.”

“
But Mick
’
s first language is ASL. He learned ASL before he learned
to speak. He fits in
.”

“
Oh
.” But my heart is suddenly heavy. “
You think I won
’
t fit in
.”

He stares at me but doesn’t say anything.

“
Thank you for bringing me to watch the storytelling. I appreciate it
.” I pretend to look down at a watch I’m not wearing. “
Well,
I have to go
.”

“
No lunch
?” he says.

I shake my head. “
Not today. But thank you
.”

He tilts his head and watches me for a second. “
What
’
s wrong
?”

“
Nothing
.” I glance around like I’m in a hurry. “
I have to go
.” But, honestly, I have nowhere I need to be. No one to meet. And no group of his friends who would want to hang out with me. Ever.

“
Hey
,” he says, looking at my purse. “
Did you bring my cap?
”

“
No
.” But I wish I had. Because it’s pretty clear that this isn’t going in the direction I’d hoped, despite that kiss that nearly
scorched my toes last night. “
But I
’
ll be sure and get it back to you soon. Okay
?”

“
Okay
.” He leans over and kisses my cheek, but I dodge him.

His brow furrows. “
I
’
ll see you later
,” I say. “
Thanks again for inviting me to the storytelling.
”

I wave at him as I start off toward home. My security guard is close behind me, but I still feel more alone than ever.

Ryan

I’ve just settled in to work when Peck, Sam’s wife, comes into the tattoo shop. I wave at her, because she has always been really nice to me, and she glowers at me. Sam’s not here right now, so I assume she’s here to see Friday or one of the other Reed brothers.

She surprises the hell out of me when she walks straight to me, digs in her purse, pulls out my baseball cap, and shoves it
against my chest. I rock back on my heels as I hold it to my chest. Damn, she’s strong. And angry. And I can’t figure out what the hell I’ve done.

“
There
’
s your stupid cap
,” she signs.

I jerk it onto my head and pull the brim down. “
Why do you have my cap?
” I ask.

“
Lark asked me to bring it to you. I tried to talk her into flushing it in the toilet, but she
’
s too nice for that. So, there
’
s
your stupid cap. Enjoy it
.” She turns her back on me.

I reach for her elbow and try to spin her around so I can keep talking to her, but she glares at me over her shoulder, staring at my hand until I remove it and hold it up in surrender. She goes to talk to Friday.

I pull my phone out of my pocket and text Lark.

Me:
You sent my cap back?

Lark McCapSnatcher:
You said you wanted it back
.

I can’t figure out what to say, so I say nothing. If she doesn’t have my cap, she won’t send me any more cute hostage pictures of it.

Me:
I was waiting to see where you took it next.

Lark McCapSnatcher:
Maybe you could give it to someone who will fit in with your group and then that person can send you cute photos of it
.

Oh, no. That wasn’t what I expected at all.

Me:
I hurt your feelings
.

She doesn’t reply for a minute, and then I get one word.

Lark McCapSnatcher:
Yes.

Me:
I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to
.

Lark McCapSnatcher:
I understand. I’m not deaf. I don’t fit in with your group. I’m sorry I overstepped my bounds and tried to infiltrate the inner sanctum. I’ll go back to standing in my corner now
.

Crap. I fucked that all up. Friday is now glowering at me from across the room
just like Peck. She flips me off when I look at her too long.

“
What the fuck did you do
?” Paul Reed asks me.

I jam my phone into my pocket. “
I messed up
.”

“
Well, that much is obvious
.” He grins at me. “
You have testicles. It
’
s bound to happen
.” He narrows his eyes. “
Was it bad
?”

I nod. “
Apparently
.” I point to the brim of my cap. “
She sent my cap back
.”

He looks lost. “
I have no idea what
that
’
s code for
.”

“
It means she
’
s done with me, I think
.”

Paul purses his lips. “
I never picked you as someone who would roll over because a girl is pissed at you
.”

I stand a little straighter. “
I
’
m not
.” And she’s not pissed. She’s hurt, and that’s a lot worse.

“
Then what are you going to do about it
?”

I look around, and I know I don’t have another appointment today. I was just sitting here
waiting to take walk-ins. “
Do you care if I take off
?”

He leans against the counter and crosses his arms. “
Where are you going
?”

“
I think I need to apologize
.”

“
Always a good start
.” He nods. He turns and yells at Peck. “
Hey, Peck
!” At least I assume he’s yelling because she flinches and the veins in his neck stand out.

She turns around slowly, and if looks could kill, I would be a dead lump
on the floor. “
What
?”

“
Do you know where Lark is
?” he asks her.

She punches her fists into her hips. “
Who wants to know
?”

“
Oh, come on
,” he cajoles. “
Help the poor bastard out
.”

“
Why should I
?”

“
Because I made a fucking mistake and I need to go apologize
!” I interject. “
Now, either you can tell me where she is or I can go look for her, and if I have to go look for her, it
’
s going to take
even longer for me to apologize properly, which means her feelings will be hurt even longer, which means she
’
s suffering needlessly
.” And so am I, but I keep that part to myself.

It pains me like a motherfucker knowing I hurt her feelings.

Friday pumps her fist beside Peck, like she’s cheering for me. Peck glares at her.

“
What
?” Friday says sheepishly. “
He
’
s groveling. That means he sees the
error of his ways. Tell him where she is
.”

“
She
’
s at her apartment. But if you go see her, she
’
ll probably throw something at you. Or slam the door in your face. Or punch you in the nuts. So I wouldn
’
t advise a visit
.”

I grab for my gonads and wince.

Then I pull my phone out.

Me:
Can I come and see you?

Lark McCapSnatcher:
Why?

Me:
Because my cap misses you already
.

Lark McCapSnatcher:
I’m busy
.

Me:
What are you doing?

Lark McCapSnatcher:
Washing my hair
.