Reacher

J ames wasn't thrilled about babysitting Yonkers' mother for the night. In fact, it was the last thing he wanted to do on a Friday night. The only good thing about being in New York in September was that the city seemed to come to life with the cooler weather.

knocked on Gloria's front door and she pulled it open for him. She was at the end of her cancer treatment and looking better with each passing day. He had actually grown fond of Yonkers' mother, and she seemed to have a sweet spot for him too.

"You know that you don't have to knock, James," she insisted. Gloria was one of the only people that he let call him by his real name. To everyone in his club, he was just . He'd only been with the Royal Bastards' Yonkers chapter for less than a year now, but it was really beginning to feel like home to him. He had the trust of their club's Prez, Hurricane, and that meant a lot to him, even if he didn't let on.

"I know, but it would feel weird to just walk into your house," he admitted. "Besides, I like seeing your smiling face greet me at the door. It makes my whole day better," he said.

"Liar," Gloria said, "but I appreciate the effort. Yonkers called to tell me that you two were switching nights and that you're going to be babysitting me this evening." Yonkers had called him earlier that morning to ask him to take Friday night for him so that he could take Wren to the city to see a show that she'd been bugging him about. He had scored two free tickets, and couldn't tell the guy no—and he especially couldn't tell sweet Wren no. She was the nicest person on the planet and deserved to have a night on the town, even if it cost him his Friday night plans.

shrugged, "It's not a big deal," he lied again. It was a huge deal and one that he knew would come back to bite him in the ass later. He had finally gotten the name of a guy who could help him find work in the city and he wanted to meet tonight for drinks. He had been living off the money that his dad had left him since he rolled into New York. His bank account was beginning to look pretty pathetic with all the money going out and none coming in, but he knew that he was in the right place as soon as he met Hurricane.

He had usually been a wanderer, moving around from state to state after his dad passed. He wasn't sure where he wanted to settle down, but he was sure that he'd know it once he saw it. The night that he rolled into town and stopped on the side of the road with a flat tire, was probably the luckiest night of his life. His tire blew just outside of the Royal Bastard's clubhouse and when he saw that, he knew that the universe was giving him a sign. He quickly ran in and found Hurricane and a few other guys hanging out and after he explained his situation to them, they all helped him out—changing the tire, offering him a place to crash for the night, and even getting him some dinner. He wasn't sure how he'd ever be able to repay any of the guys, but since he decided to stick around, he had been trying his best to do so.

When Yonkers told him about his mom being sick, asked him how he could help. It was just how the Royal Bastards worked and there would be no way that he wouldn't help out one of the guy's families. Gloria had become that to him too—family. She was like the mom that he never knew and taking care of her was an honor.

"I think that you're lying to me again, James, but I'll let it slide if you tell me why," she said. She walked into the family room, and he followed behind her. There was no way that she'd let him off the hook for telling her and changing the topic never worked out for him—Gloria was too quick for those kinds of tricks.

"Sit," she ordered, patting the sofa cushion next to her, "and spill it."

"There's nothing really to spill," mumbled sinking onto the couch next to her.

"Okay, then why the long face every time I bring up my son switching nights with you?" she asked.

"I'm not upset about switching nights with Yonkers. Wren deserves a night on the town," he said.

"She does, I just wish that they'd let me babysit my granddaughter for them. They think that she's a burden, but she's not at all," Gloria insisted.

"Wren and Yonkers just worry that she'll be too much for you to handle until you're better," he said, trying to make her feel a little bit better. "Plus, Hurricane, Tina, and Chasity were very happy to take her for the night, as I'm very happy to be here with you for the night."

"Okay, now you're just pissing me off, James ," she said. "What is going on with you tonight and why do I keep getting the feeling that you're not being truthful with me?"

"I'm being truthful, Gloria, I'm just leaving some of the bits and pieces out of the story," he admitted.

"Well, then, let's have them," she insisted. Gloria stared him down, waiting for him to spill his guts and he sighed, knowing that resistance was futile.

"Fine, I was supposed to meet with a guy about a job tonight," he admitted.

"Is it that job that you told me about down at the docks?" she asked. As a biochemist, he was trained to handle dangerous chemicals, and working down at the docks would be perfect for him.

"It is," he admitted. "I would have been the manager of chemical removal at three warehouses down there and the guy that I was supposed to have drinks with tonight would have possibly been able to get me in to interview."

"And you gave up that chance to babysit me?" she asked.

"I can reschedule," he insisted.

"Have you canceled yet?" Gloria asked.

"Um, no, but I was going to call him in a few minutes," said. He didn't want to just text the guy, and their meeting wasn't for another two hours, so calling would be the polite way to go for canceling.

"No, you won't be canceling your meeting. I can call my new at-home care nurse to come sit with me for a few hours while you go and network. This job is too important to you, James. Besides, you would make an old lady feel horrible if you gave up this opportunity just to sit around with me."

"Not a chance," insisted. "You haven't even met your new at-home nurse. How do you know that she'll just come over?" he asked.

"I don't but I can find out," Gloria said, pulling her cell phone from her pocket. was about to protest when she held up her finger, signaling for him to give her a minute. "Hello, I'm trying to reach Brandi," she said. waited her out while she told Brandi the whole story, including a few facts about him that he wasn't sure the new nurse should know. Gloria was a bit biased, but she seemed to take great pleasure in telling Brandi how handsome he was. And when she got to the part about him being a scientist, he rolled his eyes at her, garnering him a smile.

When she finally ended the call, she looked over at and simply said, "It's done." As though she was acting out a scene from the Godfather movie or something.

"You didn't have to do that," he said, "especially the part about you telling your new nurse that I'm handsome."

She giggled, "Well, you are handsome, James. Brandi will be here in twenty minutes," she said. "And I want to hear all about your meeting tomorrow when you stop by to see me."

"How do you know that I'll be back tomorrow?" he asked.

She smiled at him and shrugged. "Just a hunch," she breathed.