Page 28 of Scorched King

She looked down at the clothes I was wearing and her eyebrows climbed to her hairline. “You’re going out?” she asked.

I bit my tongue to hold back my sarcasm—I didn’t know this lady from Adam, and I didn’t appreciate being judged. “I have a friend coming by to take me out for errands. Do you think you could come back this afternoon?” I might be three sheets to the wind by then, but I’d deal with that when the time came.

“Unfortunately not. My schedule is really tight right now and I didn’t realize getting hired as an independent contractor with a motorcycle gang would keep me so busy.”

“Motorcycle club,” I corrected her sharply, not bothering to hide my irritation at her mistake.

“Whaat?” She looked confused.

“They aren’t a gang. They are a club.”

“Is there a difference?” she asked. I thought she was trying to be a smart ass, but when I really looked at the question in her eyes, I realized she really didn’t know.

“Yes, there is a difference. First off, interchanging the word club for gang is both offensive and disrespectful. It’s also a negative connotation that implies that they are nothing more than a loose group of criminally inclined people who happen to ride motorcycles and not the legitimate tax paying legal business entity that they really are. Just because they wear leather, have tattoos and buck against society’s rules they believe overreach doesn’t mean they deserve the disdain of the word gang.”

Jeanne the doctor lady stood stock still and stared at me for a moment before a genuine smile spread across her face. “Well, that’s the best damn explanation I’ve ever heard of a motorcycle club before. They should hire you for PR.”

“For real,” Meg who’d just popped around the corner blurted out. “But first, get your pretty asses out of the doorway so I can come in. That prospect standing guard out there is staring at me like a grizzly bear ready to pounce.”

I laughed trying to imagine the looks Tiny was giving her. Calling him a grizzly bear was the most apt nickname I’d heard for him thus far. Tiny was ridiculous considering he was anything but.

“Well, for heaven’s sake then, get your butt in here before Tiny takes a bite out of your juicy ass.” I laughed as I stood back and Meg rushed the door and threw herself at me.

“I am so happy to see you, chica. Thank God you’re back.” I inhaled her sweet, familiar perfume as I hugged her back. She had no idea how badly I needed to see her right now.

“Well, go on in. I’m not quite ready yet.”

“What about me?” the doctor lady asked. “If you can’t see me right now, I should call JD and get us rescheduled. He was pretty adamant that you needed my help sooner rather than later. You did just get out of the rehab center, right? How are you feeling? Are you keeping up with the doctor’s instructions for home care?”

I sighed. If she called JD and told him I couldn’t see her right now because I was going out, it would be him who would be throwing a bitch fit. And I wouldn’t put it past him marching his big, strong body down here from the clubhouse and supervising this medical visit. All options I had no interest in.

“You’re a doctor?” Meg asked.

“I’m a medic. But I’m also qualified as a home nurse, so I’m able to take on Ms.Brown’s case.”

“Cool. Well, it sounds like you two have some work to do. Which is totally fine, because I have some to do too.” She held up her big soft sided cooler that I knew to be full of everything she’dneed for bottomless margaritas. “It sounds like we drink first and our errands can wait.”

I shook my head as Meg made her way over to the kitchen and I opened the door wider. “Well, I guess you might as well come in. Now that she’s got margaritas on the brain nothing is going to deter her.”

“She does know it’s only nine in the morning, right?” Jeanne said as she picked up her bags and entered the cabin.

I shrugged. “If you were to ask, she would simply tell you that it’s five o’clock somewhere.”

Jeanne laughed. “Okay fair enough. Where would you like to do this? I’d like to start with a full examination so I can compare my progress notes against where you were when you left the rehab facility.”

“My room is in here.” I led her in. “You have my records from rehab?”

She shook her head. “Mr.Intel did offer to get them for me, but I gathered he would be breaking a few laws his way so instead I brought a release form for you to sign so I could obtain them legally. I may not be a part of this legal, tax paying motorcycle club, but I do belong to a club of sorts that controls my license and unlike this club, I do have to follow all the rules, not just the ones I think apply to me.”

I stared at her for about two point four seconds before I lost control and started laughing. I could see that Jeanne and I were going to get along just fine. The only women that ever lasted out here were the ones who could stand up for themselves without being a bitch about it. You couldn’t let these guys walk all over you, but you also had to have some flair about it.

Jeanne was going to fit right in.

By the time I recovered, and had the tears wiped from my eyes, Jeanne was holding out a clipboard and a pen for me with a giant smile on her face. “And before you ask. No, this information will not get shared with the club. When it comes to medical treatment and patients of mine, my rules are the ones they will follow.” She may have said it with a smile and a twinkle in her eye, but I could see that she meant every word.

Yep, she was going to be a lot of fun.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

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