“He’s good to her, man,” General says near my ear. Should have known he was the one to hold me back.
I look the other way and see Mad Max is the other. I nod to my guy, and he releases me from his hold.
“Maybe you should go cool off,” Casper says.
I look at him and feel like I just got punched again. “You taking my patch?” I ask outright, needing to know if this is where the club and I end. If this was the final straw for him and everyone else here.
“No. But we don’t do this shit with another brother. You know that. Take a walk, Law. Calm down.”
Diana grabs my hand and, like the anchor she’s become, settles me as we walk around the club to my bike. Silently, we both get on and drive away. For good? I don’t know.
But I need time to figure my shit out. And away from the club.
Chapter 19 - Diana
Irub my temple to try and keep the headache from growing. “Did you restock room 4?” I ask Ashley as she sinks into the chair beside me while I stand and check off what needs doing between patients. There are few breaks as a nurse. If you aren’t actively assisting someone, you’re prepping the area for someone new to come in. Maybe in bigger hospitals someone does that, but not here. Here we do about four jobs at a time. It’s exhausting, but it makes the day go by fast as well. Which is probably why we all have overtime hours without realizing it.
“Yeah, and room 6. I also gave room 3 her meds and checked the vitals on room 5.” Ashley yawns wide on the last word, and I follow suit.
“Oh, late night?” Ashley asks with way too much enthusiasm for a morning shift of restocking rooms.
“Please. Your yawns are contagious.”
“Ugh, I’m so tired all the time these days. I go home and sleep only to wake up and feel like I need more sleep. I’ve been more tempted than ever to call out sick just to sleep the day away, but I keep reminding myself that it could be worse. And I’d rather get those days off than just sleep. Besides, I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”
I hum at her ranting, used to it after working beside her for the past two years. We’ve gotten as close as people who only see each other at the office can get, so she knows most things about me and I about her. We might not have arelationship outside of work, but if we weren’t so exhausted all the time or actually wanted to spend time with someone from here, we might actually do it.
If one of us quits or transfers, I’d like to think we’d remain friends. But probably not. Most people connect when they share the same job, anger, and stressors. Once one is removed from it, it’s hard to stay connected. I guess those who do are true friends.
“At least tell me you’re getting some.”
I snort. “You’re the one who’s married.”
“You’d think that would get me a free pass, but not with Barry’s schedule lately. He seems to be at the firehouse most times I get off work.” She’s pouting, and not the fake kind she usually gives when she wants someone else to change out a pee bag or something.
“The babymoon worked out for you two?” I know Barry said it was good, but I wanted more out of her. What I saw between them the last time still weighs heavily on my mind. This is as close as I’ve gotten to bringing it up. She hasn’t offered me much at all.
She shrugs, glances at me, and then away. “It was okay. We spent time together, but mostly we just argued.”
“About what?”
“Nothing and everything. I didn’t pack something he wanted to have. I took too long getting ready. I ate too many cookies and not enough salad.”
I raise my eyebrows at the last one. “Just how many cookies are we talking?” Barry can be many things, but I don’t see him being controlling on the food topic, especially since she’s pregnant. Hell, when he found out he was going to bea dad, he sent a cupcake sheet to her at the hospital, saying something about needing to eat all the sweets to make sure his little beans would be as sweet as her.
She purses her lips out and moves them side to side before wincing with her eyes closed. “The entire bag in one sitting.”
“Ashley,” I call out in shocked surprise and can hardly hold back my laughter.
Her eyes flash open and she leans forward a bit. “I know, I know. But I just couldn’t stop. They were sooo good. Since then, I’ve put myself on a strict one-cookie-a-day limit.”
“Surprised Barry let you have any after that.” I huff and go back to the checklist in front of me.
“What can I say? Babies have cravings, and I’m not going to deny them. But I’m trying to limit them. Well, now I am.” She leans back, puts her hands behind her head, and props her feet up. It’s the only chair on this floor with a lever broken enough to lean back more than the others. Usually Nurse Vicky gets it, but she doesn’t start work for another two hours.
“So I eat, I sleep, and I work,” she continues. “That’s all I do. Tell me you’re doing something fun. Orsomeonefun. You still seeing that biker friend of yours—what was his name? Lawyer or something?”
“Law. It’s a club name. And yeah, we’re still together.”
