“I could eat,” Pumpkin replied, allowing her the change. Likely she was a bit embarrassed he’d pointed out her cursing. “If you don’t mind the detour, we could head to the steakhouse we were supposed to go to for Jasmine and Jumper’s rehearsal dinner.”
Frankie hesitated. “Are you sure?”
It hadn’t passed his notice that she’d taken the long way out of Mount Grove that morning. It meant they didn’t cross the bridge where Pumpkin’s bike had been hit and Scar had gone over into the river below. The club had also taken that way home when they’d come to collect him from rehab, but since that was the last run of the season, Pumpkin had excused it as their way of making the ride last a little longer.
“Frankie,” he said softly. “I don’t remember the accident. I highly doubt seeing the bridge or going to a steakhouse forty-five minutes from home is going to cause me to have a reaction.”
Frankie nodded, though she didn’t look entirely convinced. “I’m good with steak.”
They were silent for a minute and then Pumpkin asked, “If you weren’t driving, would you be texting Steel right now to see if he agrees that this is a good decision?”
The guilt on her face was answer enough.
Pumpkin leaned his head back on the cushion seat. “I’m a grown-ass man, Frankie. You know how much I appreciate you. I am so grateful for everything you did and are doing for me and SJ, but there’s a difference between being my friend and being my caretaker. And I’d prefer you to be my friend.”
Frankie’s eyes very deliberately didn’t leave the road. “Me too,” she answered. Her voice was low, a little hesitant. “I just… I know we weren’t that close before the accident. But you didn’t see yourself those first few days. It washorrifying, and I never want to see you like that again, Pumpkin.”
He reached over, easily took her hand off the wheel, and held it over the center console. “I know. Believe me, I never want to be like that again. But just because my body is sore and a little out of practice when it comes to functioning,” he jested, squeezing her hand before letting it go, “doesn’t mean my mind is.”
She nodded. “I’ll try to do better. But, could you also think about this situation from my side?”
“How so?”
“You…” Frankie hesitated. “You might not remember the accident, Pumpkin, but I do. I was still at the top of the bridge, but I saw your bike get struck. I saw you go flying.”
Pumpkin closed his eyes for a moment. “Shit…” He’d never considered the trauma of that day from Frankie’s perspective. He knew she’d gotten SJ away, protected his son, and that was really all he’d thought or known about her involvement.
“I’m sorry,” he said softly, opening his eyes again. “I didn’t think about that. We don’t have to go to the steakhouse if you’d rather go elsewhere. And we never have to go near that bridge again if you don’t want to.”
“Can’t exactly live in Mount Grove and not cross that bridge at some point,” she quipped.
“We’ll just have to leave an hour and a half earlier rather than ten minutes,” he offered.
Frankie shook her head, her lips twitching. “Not necessary, but thank you. I’ve been back there. I don’t like it, but I do it. I’m very grateful SJ is so young that he won’t remember any of this.”
Pumpkin nodded his agreement. “That makes two of us.”
“And I’m sorry if I’ve been babying you. It has nothing to do with Steel asking me to help you, either. I just… I care about you, you know. You’re like the big brother I never wanted, and I want to make sure you’re okay.”
Pumpkin chuckled. “You know, if my mom was still alive, she’d have adopted you in a heartbeat.”
Frankie’s smile was bright. “Yeah?”
Pumpkin knew from Sissy that Frankie was estranged from her parents. They kicked her transgender brother out when he came out at sixteen. Frankie had been twelve at the time, and never heard from her brother again. She never forgave her parents, either, and left as soon as she graduated high school. Even put herself through college. It was one of the reasons Sissy had brought Frankie to the VDMC when she started having problems with her boyfriend, rather than Frankie seeking out her parents’ help.
Pumpkin nodded sadly. “She would have loved being a grandma too.”
“How did she die?” she asked softly.
“Drunk driver hit the city bus she was on.” His heart ached and he had a hard time breathing for a moment. “I was overseas when I got the news.”
“I’m sorry.”
Pumpkin shrugged. “Tried to convince her to buy a car. Told her that I had money now, she didn’t need to work, but the woman was set in her ways. Took a long time to stop blaming myself. I kept thinking that if I’d pushed her harder, or if I had been there, I could have saved her. But she had the right to choose. At the end of the day, free will is a blessing and a curse.”
Frankie turned on the road that would lead them to the steakhouse. “It is that.”
Pumpkin cleared his throat and quickly wiped at his eyes. “Anyway, on to a happier topic, think I can eat that sixty-four ounce steak they have that challenge for?”
