“Our old ladies aren’t holding grudges. Maybe they’re less petty than us guys. We’ve struggled, but we’re looking to the future, and the future is two fucking chapters, stronger than ever,” Reacher said, his strong voice drowning out any murmuring.
Torch lifted a hand, and Reacher nodded to him.
“If I can get over beingliterallystabbed in the back, you can all get over your petty whining, and look at the man before you. He had to face all of us to try and redeem himself, and he’s taken a lot of hits. Hell, I stabbed him right back. That’s how we do it. We fucking avenge shit, and we move on. If I can, if they can, and their fucking old ladies can… you all need to suck it up and realise you’re part of something amazing. We make mistakes, everyone does. You know what though? Phoenix gives you a chance for redemption. That’s why we’re the best fucking club. Now are we done here?”
The silence that followed his words spoke volumes. Anything could happen in the next few moments, and I couldn’t deny that I’d be responsible for how badly it went.
V
Iwas thinking aboutRocket and the club the whole time I was at work, and I really hated having to man a reception and only see occasional patients, but that was the reality of being a vet staffer now, instead of owning my own practice. I was waiting on money to come from the sale of the house, and bitch face buying me out, but once that came, could I make a real start here?
A woman came in with a small dachshund that reminded me of Nixie, and that put Rocket right back at the front of my mind, as I booked her in and watched as the practice owner, and main vet took her next patient in. I missed having that control formyself. I missed spending time with each patient and getting to know them. Nixie was the only other animal than my own cat that I’d seen regularly in the weeks I’d been in town, and I felt very attached to her. Well, if I choose to be honest with myself, I’m attached to both her and the burly biker who rescued her.
I kept checking my phone to see if there were any updates from Rocket about the whole Micro situation, wondering if their lives were all falling apart right now. If it all imploded, would he be homeless? He lived there. It was his whole life, and like me, he’d already had to move and leave everything behind once. He was rebuilding right now, just like I was.
I lifted my head as the door dinged again and Caroline bounced into the waiting area, catching my eye as she made her way to me.
“Uh… you forget your imaginary pet, C.”
She giggled, casting her eyes around the empty waiting room.
“Sorry to disturb you at such a busy time, V.”
Touché.
“What’s up? Bored without Harley there to uh… interact with you?”
She ignored my smirk and wrung her hands together, anxiety suddenly filling her face and posture, and making a lie of her bouncy entrance to the premises.
“Damn, sorry, C. Are you okay?”
She took a slow breath, her eyes darting around the large empty space like it was pressing in on her. Jesus, was she having an anxiety attack because of the empty room?
“Come here,” I said, dragging a chair behind the reception desk and guiding her to it, with her back to the rest of the space.
“Take a deep breath, cuz, you’re okay, I promise.”
She released a ragged gasp and rested her trembling hands over her face.
“Shhh it’s okay, just breathe.”
She was grumbling something under her breath, and I lost a little of patience with her hiding, when she should just say it out loud to me. I wouldn’t judge her for this, and she knew that.
“Dammit, C.” I grabbed one of her hands and instead of panicking, she squeezed my fingers.
“I’m so angry at myself,” she said softly, lowering the other hand, and gently tugging her fingers from mine.
“Why?”
“Because I’ve been doing so much better, but I…” she took another slower breath, and nodded, “yeah, it’s what I was worried about. I’ve put my dependence on Harley, because he makes me feel safe and… and now… with him at the clubhouse, and me on my own, I’m already feeling like I can’t cope again.” Damn. It made sense, but I really wished it didn’t.
I sat down again, facing her and keeping her eyes away from the empty room. Clearly it had triggered something, but whether it was the emptiness of the space, or the potential for many people, I had no idea.
“You coped just fine, babe. Think about it. You made it here just-”
“I dropped my helmet on the road.”
I closed my mouth again, wondering what the significance of that was. Come to think of it, she wasn’t carrying it when she came in.
