“Is this a real offer?” she asked. “You’re not just playing around with me, right?”
Her voice held fragile hope under the suspicion she was trying to mask. This woman didn’t trust easily for good reason.
“It’s real,” I assured her. “We need a bartender and you need a job. It’s as simple as that. You’d get paid the same as anyone else.”
She stared at me another second, trying to decide if I was lying to her. I didn’t rush her because part of taking back control of her life was making decisions for herself.
A shadow fell across the table. We looked up to see Celt standing there. His expression looked a bit conspiratorial. I hoped that meant he was here to help me support her. If I was being honest, I’d always looked up to Celt. Even though he was a bit hot headed, he was the club officer I saw eye to eye with most often.
“I had a chin wag with Ace,” he said, his accent curling around the words. “He and Cassandra are on their way to have a look at yer lassie.”
Winter stiffened immediately, her eyes jumping from me to him and back again.
Celt added, “I thought it best to have yer girl looked over. She’s been through feckin’ hell and back the last few days.”
I leaned forward slightly and touched her hand to keep her from panicking. “Cassandra is Ace’s old lady. She’s also a doctor who runs a women’s clinic here in Griffinsford. We just want to make sure you’re alright after Viper had his hand on you.”
Relief flooded her face.
“I don’t want any men in the room,” she said tightly.
“They won’t be,” I assured her. “Ace is her husband, not her nurse.”
Winter nodded slowly. “I guess it can’t hurt to be seen by a doctor.”
Celt told me, “I also spoke with Storm. If she wants the bar job, it’s hers. He said Rosie can stay for a few days and train her.”
Chapter 5
Winter
Isaw the doctor come through the front door with a man wearing a Slayers’ cut. He was almost a foot taller than she was. She had one arm curled around him and smiled up at him like he hung the moon. It was a cute couple’s pose that made me envious. She’d found love with her hot biker. She was smartly dressed in a pantsuit, and her sleek blonde hair was pulled into a tight French bun on the back of her head. She stood out from every other woman in the room, me included.
She didn’t seem to belong in a place like this, but she moved around with casual ease, smiling and happy. She looked younger than I’d imagined a doctor would be.
The man beside her carried two large medical duffle bags, one in each hand. He was not only tall and broad, but his arms were also thickly muscled, like Fuse’s. This biker’s head was shaved down to the skin around the bottom of his head, and the top was pulled back into a long ponytail that hung down the back of his head. He wasn’t exactly smiley, but I could tell he was happy with his lot in life. They moved towards the back of the clubhouse and disappeared through a door behind the bar.
I realized Fuse was watching me watch them.
“That’s Dr. Cassandra Harper,” he said quietly.
“And she’s a real doctor?” I asked, keeping my voice low and respectful.
He nodded once. “Yeah. If you’re finished eating, we should head back and see her. She’s a busy woman. We shouldn’t make her wait.”
I looked down at my plate and felt heat creep into my face. I’d nearly cleared my plate.
“I’m broke. Will she let me pay later?” I asked, staring worriedly at the back door they went through.
Fuse shook his head. “No need to worry about money. Cass doesn’t charge brothers or old ladies.”
I quickly realized that I wasn’t either of those things. I didn’t belong in whatever category earned kindness in this place. I didn’t point that out. It was safer to keep my thoughts to myself. Being with Viper those few days had taught me that much.
When he pushed the door in the back open, he explained, “The chapel. She sets up here when she sees someone.”
Dr. Harper bent over one of the duffle bags, pulling supplies out and arranging them neatly on a small table. The biker with the ponytail stood nearby, proudly watching her. He murmured something I couldn’t understand and she laughed. Some women lived a charmed life. I wish I did. but that apparently wasn’t my lot in life.
“That’s Ace,” Fuse stated unnecessarily, because who else would he be?
