by M. Merin
I plate a couple of them and am nearly finished before I open my mouth again.
“Have you been to a doctor yet?” I ask, looking at Charlie.
“No, I had asked Emma…” she starts. “Sorry, she’s married to the President of their MC. She had twins last year and is due again in a couple months. Anyway, she told me that the new OB/GYN was due to start soon and shared some pre-natal vitamins with me. I have insurance through work, but I just figured I’d wait for the new doctor.”
“And, Surprise!” I finally grin at them, getting a chuckle from Jake. We talk a little more about what she’s experienced before she starts to relax again.
“Also, I was waiting for you to get up,” Charlie says. When she stands and stretches, Jake leans over to rub her lower back. “Connal was going to check your truck over first thing this morning. I thought we could ride to the Garage so you could get the estimate, then you can take my truck until yours is ready?”
“That would be really helpful, actually,” I perk up at not being stranded here. “I want to see the medical office and get the lay of the land.”
“I’ll ride home with Connal,” Charlie says turning to Jake. “I know you’ve got a ton going on.”
“No, I don’t want you on a bike,” Jake starts and I open my mouth to counter that but he the look he shoots me has me snapping my mouth shut. And honestly, I’ve butted in enough since I’ve been here.
“We’ve talked about this,” Charlie says wrapping her arms around him. “Emma, Amy, Anne, and most of the others all rode through their first trimester. If the weather’s shitty, I won’t.”
“Stubborn,” Jake caresses her check in such a way I feel like the intruder I am, so I head back to get ready to go.
*
“Ok, I know I have to mind my own business.” Everyone says I talk too much, and Charlie and I have only just turned off from their driveway when I start in. “I promise never to ask another thing, but are Connal and Jake lovers also? Absolute last question on the subject, I swear to Little Baby Jesus.”
“Everyone always wonders about that,” she replies, with a little smile on her face.
She seriously leaves me hanging with that statement! I swear I won’t say another word until she answers…
“Oh! That house is beautiful!” My head whips around. “Is that the Mayor’s house or something?”
“Nope, Mrs. Riley lives there. Her granddaughter was Riley Maddock, now Sorenson. She married Gunner, who’s in the MC with the guys,” Charlie informs me. “Either Mrs. Riley or the MC own most of the property around town.”
“Maddock? Where have I heard that name?” I ask next.
“Riley’s parents, Mrs. Riley’s daughter and son-in-law, are heavy into state politics and are majorly gunning for the MCs in the state, especially the Northern Grizzlies.”
“Well, I can imagine, if their daughter married one!” I say without thinking, getting a well-deserved snort from Charlie. “Sorry. I’m sorry. Mouth moves faster than brain,” I grimace, realizing belatedly I’m talking about Jake also.
“You must be a joy in the delivery room,” she deadpans.
“Hey, I am very professional!” I say before giggling.
“That doesn’t inspire confidence,” Charlie tries to keep a straight face but can’t help but let a laugh out.
“I was just thinking, my mentor, he always said it was like my lab coat created an alter-ego for me. From chatterbox to professional once my arms went through the sleeves,” I smile, remembering the hours we spent together at the hospital and over dinners with him and his wife. Some doctors are the stuff of soap operas, but he is one of the good ones. A committed family man, despite his hours.
With that, we’re pulling into the garage and see Connal, squatting down and talking to a man under a car. Connal’s face lights up when he sees Charlie and I can’t help but feel jealous. I’ve never had one man look at me that way, let alone two.
Chapter 5
Michaels
I finally get a Deputy lined up to follow me to Connal’s Garage and, as aggravated as I was, it was perfectly timed. Isn’t Ms. Forsythe sliding out of a truck when we pull in?
“Who’s that?” Smith asks me, as I stand in place staring at her. “Haven’t seen her before.”
“She’s out of your league,” I snap, getting a surprised look from him before I stride towards her. “Anyone here need protection?” I yell out, grabbing everyone’s attention and a smile from Charlie.
“Not a word, Royce!” Charlie calls out to the other mechanic as he starts to roll out from under a sedan.
“Officer, can we talk?” Tabitha asks.
“I’m a Sheriff,” I state, not going easy on her.
“Sheriff,” she rolls her eyes at me, trying not to smile. “Can we talk?”
I nod and follow her into the reception area, enjoying the sway of her hips and how she pauses to let me open the door for her. This woman knows her worth, alright. Just to piss her off, I start whistling Lyin’ Eyes, testing her character and music taste all at once.
She turns on me once we’re enclosed in the air conditioned space.
“I was wrong to hit you,” Tabitha says, with narrowed eyes.
“Not the best apology I ever heard,” I say after a moment, pouring myself a cup of coffee.
“I’ve yet to hear yours,” she steps towards me, rising to my bait so quickly I have to work to keep a straight face.
“When you say ‘hit’ me, do you mean with your truck or when you got physical?” I ask, trying for an innocent look.
“You’re an ass,” she takes another step forward, and the soft scent of her perfume makes me want to take her in my arms. Instead, my hands tighten around the coffee cup.
“Ahhh, but I’m the ass you sideswiped before assaulting.” I step closer, finally allowing myself to smile at her.
“I’ll pay for your truck repairs and it was wrong of me to strike you. I’ve been on the road for a week, then…well, I wasn’t prepared for what I walked into yesterday. However, you were looking at me inappropriately.”
I start whistling Lyin’ Eyes again in response.
“Knock that shit off,” she steps even closer to me. “I fucking worked my ass off to get my degrees, in the shortest amount of time I could. I worked my ass off in residency. I serve women, with or without insurance, to make sure they and their babies have the best chance. Do. Not. Patronize me because I expect any man worth a damn to make eye contact and to open doors for me.”
“Anything else I should know, before our first date?” I smirk at her.
“Are you out of your goddamn mind?” she hisses at me.
“Tabby,” Connal walks in from the garage area but his voice cuts off as soon as he sees us standing less than a foot apart, with me smiling and Tabitha nearly growling. “Oh, fuck no,” he says under his breath.
“What?!” Tabitha turns on him.
“You came for your quote, right?” he doesn’t take her tone well. She nods and he starts telling her what needs to be done. Next, he indicates that Royce is shifting most of her belongings from her mangled vehicle to Charlie’s smaller SUV. “We’ll do another load tomorrow.”
“Sheriff,” Connal turns to me, smirking. “We’ll get your truck back to you early next week. Tabby, Jake, and I appreciate you not pressing charges.”
“Haven’t decided on that yet,” I look at him, ignoring Tabitha’s expression. He starts to turn away before I call him out to him. “Tell Gunner to give me a call. Real fucking soon.”
Once Connal walks out, I turn back to face the gray eyes that have transfixed me since she wiggled out of her crashed truck. At least, after I took in the welcome sight of her curvy body.
“A date?” Bursts out of Tabitha’s mouth.
“Thanks for asking, Princess,” I say, enjoying the blush that covers her cheeks. “I’ll pick you up at seven on Friday.”
With that, I toss my cup away and head out. Tabitha’s mouth is opening and
closing but she can’t seem to find a suitable comeback.
Sliding into Smith’s cruiser, I’m more excited than I’ve been in a hell of a long time.
Tabitha
I can only stand there and watch him leave. I have no idea what just happened.
Tall, muscular, and good-looking men do not ask me out. I know I’m not ugly, it’s just that the men who take me out, have apparently only done so after finding out my family’s net worth. Other than a high school boyfriend, the one long-term relationship I had exploded after I overheard him telling his friends that the meal ticket he found was worth having sex in a dark room for the rest of his life.
The few men after him did not pass my new sniff test and I couldn’t get excited about hooking up with others at the hospital; so, I stick to my Battery-operated Boyfriend.
Men with builds like the Sheriff, they glance at my body before pretending I don’t exist. They don’t pay any attention to short, full-figured, intelligent women.
He has been checking you out, an errant thought pops into my mind. I quickly tap down on the excitement that wells up in me. I tell myself that he must know my background due to Jake.
“Tabby?” Charlie startles me as she comes in from the garage. “Are you okay?”
“Yes. Um, I want to head to the medical center, then maybe grab lunch before I go back to your house,” I tell her. “Suggestions?”
Charlie smiles and quickly writes up a list of places and directions. “Anything else?”
“I want to find a place to rent, any ideas?”
“Amy, her husband is in the MC,” Charlie starts and I stop myself from rolling my eyes. “She’s in real estate part-time. She’ll know what’s available.”
“Do you know anyone who isn’t in the MC?” I try to keep my tone neutral as she writes down Amy’s phone number.
“The Sheriff, Mrs. Riley, Margie, Rogers, and most of our customers,” she lists out before turning away. “Plus you, of course.” Charlie throws over her shoulder, making me smile as I follow in her wake. I can see Charlie and I falling into the fast friendship we established when we met during Blaine’s wedding.
After spending hours at the hospital, handling introductions and all the boring shit that comes with a new job, I finally make my way to a café in the town square. After I place my order, I get a chance to call the Ol’ Lady that Charlie told me about.
“This is Amy,” comes a bubbly voice.
“Hi, my name is Tabitha,” I respond, getting a glare from a patron at another table. “I’m Jake’s sister and Charlie gave me your number about finding a rental in town?”
I hold the phone away to look at it as she just laughs in reply.
“I’m sorry,” she says, catching her breath. “I think you just spoke more words to me than Jake has the entire time I’ve known him.”
“Trust me, I know the feeling.” I can’t help but grin at her easy manner. “So, I’ve just taken a job at the hospital and I’d like at least two bedrooms. Probably a single family home, but one where the owner will handle landscaping and repairs. I don’t know what pricing is around here or best locations, so I have to trust that to you.”
“Wait? Are you really Jake’s sister?”
“Yesss,” I draw out my response.
“Wow. Ok, um, I’m home alone with the kids right now, but I’ll look into options for you. Do you have time to meet up tomorrow?” she asks.
“That will work, I want to find something quickly though,” I say, getting silence in response. “So something that isn’t currently occupied would be best.”
“Did they not know you were coming?” Amy asks after a pause.
“They?” I fish right back.
“Jake, Charlie, and Connal,” she replies.
“Nope, Jake never checked his voicemails,” I answer, knowing she has probably guessed the revelation I faced yesterday. “Call me in the morning? I have to run.”
I disconnect the call as my food arrives and during my first bite, it slowly starts to occur to me that I may have moved to the one place on the planet where no one really cares that my brother is part of a threesome. And I don’t know what to think about that.
Chapter 6
Tabitha
Although Jake invited me for dinner at their clubhouse the night before, I stayed in. Content with a frozen pizza from the slim pickings in their kitchen. I’ve been sleeping soundly since I got here so I never heard them come in and it’s only the sound of my phone buzzing the next morning that has me moving.
“Hello?” I groan.
“Tabitha, it’s Amy,” the bubbly voice from the day before introduces herself. “I’m sorry for the short notice but my mom can only stay with the kids until one today and Wrench is tied up. I found some places you might be interested in, if we could meet up?”
“Wrench? I’m sorry, what?”
“Did I wake you?! Sorry, Tabitha, I figured since you stayed in last night…” her voice drops off and I can hear her telling someone where their shoes are.
“Um, right, a place to live,” I slowly get with the program. “Can you text me the first address and give me twenty minutes?”
“Will do, see you soon,” she responds to me but I hear her yelling about mismatched shoes before she disconnects the call.
Before I’m fully awake, I’m pulling up to a house too far from the hospital for my liking and am confronted by a brunette, slightly taller than I am, with a child on her hip.
“I’m so sorry. Marina wouldn’t let me leave without her! I hope you don’t mind too much?” Amy asks, looking worried.
“Not at all,” I assure her. I’m actually more worried about the home we’re standing in front of.
“You hate it,” she quickly assesses. “Come on, there’s one on my list that’s been on the market about five weeks because it’s so close to the hospital and fire station. No one wants to hear the sirens at night, but I heard you’re our new OB/GYN, so maybe you won’t mind?”
“Trust me, when I get a chance to sleep, nothing stops me!” I smile back at her. She quickly secures her daughter into her minivan and I follow her to the next location.
It’s perfect. Bigger than I need, with three bedrooms but well taken care of with a great backyard.
“The owner lives locally and is very hands on,” she encourages me while keeping an eye on her sweet girl.
“How many children do you have?”
“Three. Two boys and Marina. Some days I want another one, but I’m sure you heard me yelling about shoes this morning? It’s an f-ing madhouse sometimes,” she laughs, shaking her head.
“And your husband is in the MC?”
“I’m his Ol’ Lady but we never married. Wrench had a rough upbringing and doesn’t think of marriage like my folks do. We love each other, he doesn’t screw around on me, and is a great father. That’s more than most people have, I figure.”
“So, Wrench is a mechanic, also?” My next question gets her laughing.
“Sorry, NO. He once tried to hang a picture for me and we had to replace drywall. He is not handy at all. His Brothers hung that on him to give him shit, but hand my man a computer and there isn’t anything he can’t do.” The pride she has in Wrench’s talent is obvious, in both her tone of voice and sparkle in her eyes.
“Level with me, Amy,” I say, looking around the kitchen one last time. “Is this place my best option?”
“Honestly, yes. It’s on the higher side of your budget but it’s worry free and close to where you work. Plus you’re only about ten or so minutes from your brother’s home.” She smiles as her daughter comes back from exploring on her own and tugs on her skirt.
“Potty?” the little girl with light brown skin and silky, dark ringlets asks. Amy flashes me a quick smile before taking her daughter to the bathroom.
Walking back to the master bedroom again, I decide to sign the papers today. The moving truck won’t be here for another few days and that would give me time to have it painted.
“Where do I sign?” I call out to Amy, once her daughter has finished up.
“I have papers right here,” she smiles in relief. “Let me get Marina a snack and we can get those taken care of. Do you have a check with you?”
“I do. Now, do I pay you for showing me around or…”
“Nope, owner of the property pays me. Um, you mentioned wanting to have some painting done?” She confirms and I nod. “There’s a hardware store down on Main Street, they have a pretty good paint selection. I’m guessing Jake will help you with that?”
“I’ll have to ask, but I think so?”
“Ok, if he’s busy, he can always have one of the probies handle it. Mick would be the better choice if that’s the case. We don’t have any superstores here, but Charlie can give you directions to the closest one. Is there anything else?” Amy seems to have everything in order so I sign off and give her the deposit plus first month payment, written out to a company name I’ve never heard of. She locks up and hands me a spare set of keys as we head to our SUVs.
“Oh, Amy!” I call out while she’s still strapping her daughter into her seat. “Where do I send my rent check every month?”
“Sorry! I keep forgetting you’re new around here. Just drop it off at the station, beginning of each month.” She calls over her shoulder.
“Station?” I ask, not understanding.
“The Police Station, this is one of the Sheriff’s properties,” she says, starting up her truck and missing my groan.
Michaels
“Hey, Sheriff,” Smith calls out. “Saw Amy Weathers in the parking lot, she asked me to give you this.”
I take the envelope from him and open it, finding a rental agreement. Unfolding it, I can’t help but laugh.
“Amy,” I try to keep my voice even when she picks up on the first ring, “seems to me, you always run potential renters by me before getting them signed off?”
“Sorry, Sheriff,” I can hear her smile through the phone. “My daughter’s with me today and I’ve just been a little frazzled. Besides, that house has been empty a while now, so I thought it best to get it done. I left the keys with Tabitha since she wants to have a couple rooms painted before she moves in. She said her movers will be showing up in the next few days.”