Page 85 of Patching Over

Someday,I think to myself as I finally start eating.

CHAPTER

EIGHT

Rory

Staring down at my cast-free arm, I wrinkle my nose when I catch a whiff of the dry, flaky skin, causing the doctor in front of me to chuckle. “Not the first time I’ve seen that expression, young lady,” Dr. Patel teases as he puts the small saw thing he used on the counter. “Now, my techs are cleaning up Miss Sassy for you, is there anything else I can help you with?”

“I don’t think so,” I reply, grinning at him. True to his word, Dr. Terry had another friend who was able to see me and Sassy off the grid so to speak and after weeks of wearing and dealing with a cast, I am a free woman once again.

Sort of.

The voicemails from Patrick haven’t stopped and each one has gotten more and more vitriolic in nature. I don’t answer the calls, of course, but definitely keep the voicemails and forward them to my lawyer who is currently working on paperwork to oust that abusing asshole from my property. My only prayer is it’s accomplished before he does any major damage.

“Terry said you weren’t sure where you were headed next,” Dr. Patel cautiously says. “But I’d like to be added to the list of people you call if you need assistance.”

Tears spring to my eyes; Grampy’s lifelong friendship with Dr. Zack has yielded me several more people who will now keep an eye out for me and Sassy. “I can do that,” I slowly reply. “I wish I could just go back home, but I’ll never knowingly put my girl in a position to be hurt again. As my grandparents used to say, the house and contents are just stuff. People are more important, but since they’re now both gone, all I have is their stuff, you know?”

He nods, then says, “I understand Dr. Zack and his staff have been checking on your property.”

“They have, but they are only seeing the outside. I suspect based on the voicemails I’ve gotten, that the inside is a lost cause at this point.”

Which makes my heart hurt because my grams and I would scour the local thrift shops to find unique items when I was in my ‘horse’ phase. Knowing that it’s likely all of it is gone hurts my heart a bit, but then I square my shoulders because the most important thing is Sassy and I are safe and healthy once again.

“Well, hopefully, the situation will get resolved soon,” he states. “Now, let’s go get your girl so you can get back on the road.”

I grin while hopping off the table and follow him to the back where Sassy is waiting, looking like a pampered diva.

“Dammit, I can’t believe I forgot,” I mutter, staring at the steaming radiator. It was the one thing we hadn’t fixed before he passed. He’d put a temporary patch on the hole and told meto get the radiator replaced within the next hundred or so miles. Instead, the day I left, terrified and hurt, I failed to remember that and have driven well over that in my attempt to stay ahead of Patrick and his threats.

I leave the hood up and head back inside the RV where I’m thankful I have a portable generator which is keeping the air flowing for both Sassy and me. As I start the search for a tow company that can get me pulled into a shop, I hear the unmistakable sound of motorcycles roaring by. “That would be fun, huh, Sass?” I ask, my attention so focused on the search results that I don’t realize anyone has stopped until I hear a rapping on my driver’s window, causing me to shriek.

Turning, I come face to face with the most beautiful set of dark brown eyes staring at me with concern in them. I roll down the window slightly and smile, although I’m sure it looks a little maniacal seeing as he just scared the ever-loving hell out of me.

“Um, hey,” I manage to stammer.

“Saw your hood up, everything alright?” he asks, his deep, melodious voice setting off a chain reaction in my body.

I can feel myself blushing as awareness courses through me. I’ve never seen this man before in my life, yet he calls to me somehow.

Stop being fanciful, Rory. He could be a serial killer or something. Don’t let those good looks lull you into a false sense of security.Mentally shaking my head at my thoughts, I decide to tell him what’s happening.

“I was supposed to replace my radiator before I took this for any long trips,” I admit. “Unfortunately, I had to leave my home rather unexpectedly and totally forgot. The temporary patch my grandfather put on it until I could get it swapped out decided today was the day to disintegrate or something. Trying to find someone who’ll tow me into town so I can get it fixed.”

He turns his head and I see two other bikers standing closer to the front of my RV, peering under the hood. “Scythe, Kracken, is this something y’all can do on the side of the road?”

I don’t know which guy is which, but hear a deep voice reply, “Shouldn’t be too hard. How far is the town?”

“Well, we’re not far from the Dallas chapter, actually,” the guy by my window says. “Pretty sure they could get what we needed out here, then help us fix it for the lady.”

He looks at me and nods. “I’ll make the call, see what I can find out.”

A meow has me glancing to my passenger seat where I see Sassy standing up, her head poking out of her carrier as she looks around with apparent fascination at the men currently standing off to the side near her. “Yeah, they’re pretty to look at, aren’t they, Sassy girl?” I ask, my gaze never straying far from the man who is currently on his phone.

Within an hour, I’m in a tow truck with Sassy settled back in her carrier at my feet. We’re heading to the clubhouse, or so the taller one, Banshee, told me when he came back to my window. Apparently, it ‘wasn’t safe’ for them to try and swap out my radiator while on the side of the highway, so we were headed there where he and his brothers were going to take care of that for me.

“You don’t talk much, do you?” the man driving asks.

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