Page 30 of Guarding Glenda

“Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.”

The doctor grabbed her notebook then headed to the table with a chair and took a seat, scribbling down notes.

“C’mon,” Linny said, grabbing my hand again.

We stepped out into the hall and Leigh was there waiting. “Everything okay?” he asked, his deep voice echoing.

“Yeah. Doc was peddling her private practice,” I said as I held up the business card.

I was about to toss it when Linny snatched it from my hand. “Let’s hang onto that.”

As we got back into the truck, my mind started spinning. Right now, it seemed like my trigger was the one taking care of me.

Chapter 12

Glenda

“Can we roll the windows down?” I asked after we got back on the road.

“You don’t have to ask,” Leigh answered, and my window started going down.

“I miss my bike.” I had a purple 2016 Roadster. Some wind therapy would do me some good.

“I could use a long ride,” Leigh said from the front over the low hum of rock music and the cool air whipping around.

Linny was fighting to keep her short green hair out of her face. “It’s been a hot minute so I took a ride with Bama. I’m not sure I want my own bike.”

“Nothing wrong with riding with your man.” I turned my face toward the open window, soaking up the small bit of sun peeking through the clouds and the wind kissing my skin. “But there’s nothing like controlling the ride.”

With so much of my life out of my control, that was one thing that always grounded me. I could go as slow or as fast as I wanted, go see what I wanted to see, just float through the air and clear my mind of everything except my bike, the road, and maybe cars and trucks. I’d only been riding a few years and didn’t ride daily so I wasn’t as confident as the guys. Keeping my head on a swivel while enjoying myself was enough work for my brain that everything else quieted. And it was fantastic.

“You’re still wobbly on your feet, so I don’t think now’s a good time to ride,” Leigh said.

My jaw clenched but Linny chimed in. “Maybe we can talk to Sam soon. Just get an idea when that may be something to look forward to. I’m still not 100%, either.”

They were both right. But it didn’t annoy me any less that he said that. He’s not my man.

It also just occurred to me that Linny had gone through some shit, too. Physically and emotionally. Perfect. New spiral to go down.

Her face had still been healing but it was almost back to normal. I had been so out of it for days. I had so many things I needed to say but didn’t want to have that conversation with Leigh listening in. For the rest of the ride, I kept looking out the window, thinking about how to make it up to her.

We finally arrived back at Leigh’s, and we all went through the front again and Leigh promptly let Bruce out. He hustled toward the back door and his huge tail wagged side to side.

I grabbed some sodas from the fridge and motioned to Linny to head outside on the back deck. I wasn’t ready to be cooped up again and had to think.

“I gotta make some calls but I’ll be right in there,” Leigh said. “Pizza is on the way.”

Once he closed the door, I waited a few beats. “How are you?” I asked.

Linny shrugged. “Tired. And full. He’s worse than Bama trying to shove food at me all the time. Apparently none of the guys enjoy the heroin chic aesthetic.”

The mention of heroin made me recoil.

“You okay?” Linny asked.

“No. I’m not. But that’s not what you say to that question, is it?”

Heat filled my face as tears blurred my vision.