It'd been a great end to the first week of us being a couple.
In week two of the so-called ‘dating’ to get to know each other, I waited for Emery to start stepping back. Instead, he stepped up in showing me the man behind the rough exterior. The side of him I got to see and no one else.
Like him taking the time in the middle of his day to ride into town and drop off lunch because I’d mention the day before that I had a full schedule and wouldn’t be able to even go out and grab something.
Or the day he picked up my car and took it into the garage to have the oil change that I’d put off for months. Where not only did my car get the oil change it needed, it was tuned, cleaned, the gas tank was full, and it sported four new tires.
When I asked, “Why?”
He replied, “Because it’s my job to make sure you’re safe.”
As the end of week two came to a close, it was the understanding he’d shown when I was called away from the intimate dinner he’d planned and cooked.
Into week three, we had the schedule of whose place we stayed at down pat. My apprehension about spending so much time together dissolved. I found as each day passed, we grew closer. I wasn’t sure if I could sleep alone again if we split.
It was too early to say the words to each other, and I liked that we didn’t feel the need to blurt something out that had just begun to blossom.
I’d never been in love and wondered if I’d actually know when it happened.
I unlocked my door and hurried into my place. When I’d seen the last patient of the day, I’d closed the office an hour early. I stopped by the grocery store and picked up the ingredients for dinner. Nothing special—fried chicken, mash potatoes, and vegetables.
After changing clothes, I headed to the kitchen to get everything started. During the week, our evenings were filled with cooking, eating, and if I was lucky, I’d last through the news. Then we’d go to bed and repeat it the next day. Emery not once had complained in over a month together about his drive to town at night and then back to Black Hawk in the morning to work at the shop.
I’d noticed that morning as I got dressed after he’d left that there were signs of him throughout my home. A t-shirt in my bedroom. A pair of jeans hanging in the closet. Even an extra pair of boots sat on the closet floor. The bathroom counter held some of his personal items, and his shampoo bottle sat next to mine in the shower. The next time I went to his house, I planned to see if it showed signs of my presence. We’d become a part of each other’s lives easily.
With a check on the time, I set the table. Emery would be on his way. Then, I walked back to the stove, flipped the chicken, and turned off the burner under the pot of cooked potatoes. All normal things.
My cell phone rang so I reached for it and swiped the screen and held it to my ear, then said hello. One phone call. Fifteen minutes in time. And the realization at just how unfair life could be struck.
After I disconnected the call with my brother, Dirk, I turned the burn off to the half-cooked chicken, then sat in one of the chairs at my table and placed my face in my hands and cried. When Emery walked in, that’s how he found me. He lifted me from the chair, then sat down with me cradled in his arms.
“What’s wrong, cariño?” he asked.
“Life is unpredictable and unfair. As a doctor, I know because I’ve witnessed it. But somehow, I’ve always been unable to separate myself when it pertains to me.”
“Mac, I don’t understand. What are you talking about?”
“Dirk called.”
“Your brother that’s in the Army?”
“Yes. He called to tell me he was injured in Afghanistan,” I said, then lifted my head and looked at Emery. “He lost part of his leg. He was airlifted out to the U.S. Combat Hospital on the Forward Operational Base. They stabilized him there, then sent him to Landstuhl, Germany. He’s currently in Maryland at Walter Reed. I told him I would refer my patients to another doctor and fly to be with him. He told me no. That he didn’t want me uprooting my life to babysit him.”
“I’m sorry, Mac. I’m surprised someone didn’t call you when he was first injured.”
“Dirk told them not to. Damn it, Emery, why would he do that? Why doesn’t he want me there? He’s going to have an adjustment period. He’ll need help. I’m his sister for Christ’s sake. I yelled at him, and we argued. My brother is in the hospital and I fight with him over the phone.” I rubbed my eyes. They stung from crying.
“He needs time, Mac. And you can’t take him not wanting you there personally. Dirk’s going to have to work through a lot of things. You told me he was in for the long haul with the Army. His injury ended that. You may not have thought of it, but I guarantee he has. As far as not wanting you there. He’s your big brother, Mac. He doesn’t want you to see him at his weakness moment. He also knows you are building a practice and knows you’d give it up for him and he doesn’t want to be the cause of that. He called you, cariño, so he isn’t trying to shut you out.”
I knew there was truth in what Emery said, but it stung Dirk hadn’t wanted me there.
After a few minutes of quiet and absorbing Emery’s warmth, I said, “Dinner’s probably ruined.”
“Bet we can salvage it together. What do you say?”
“Okay. We can always order pizza if it turns out nasty,” I said as I slid off Emery’s lap. He stood, then kissed my forehead.
“You going to be okay?”
“Yeah, I just had to have my freak out time.”
“You can freak out anytime you have the need. I’ll always be there to help you through it.”
I stared at Emery long enough that he said my name as a question, “Mac?”
“Have you ever heard the saying that a tragedy can bring people together?”
“Yes.”
“I wondered if I’d know when it happened.” Emery frowned at my words, I knew he didn’t understand what was going through my head.
“Know what?”
“When I fell in love. I love you, Emery Cortez.”
His lips curled into a smile. “Ah, cariño, I love you.”
After a long kiss and the sound of my stomach growling with hunger having the moment broken. We went to work on finishing the cooking of dinner.
Life was unpredictable and unfair, but I hadn’t realized until I glanced at Emery sitting across me at the table while we ate the rescued dinner.
Life was short. I wasn’t going to waste any more of mine worrying if I would be enough for him. I would worry about Dirk, but I’d accept his decision. I was going to grab what life was offering and he sat in front of me. I planned to hold on tighter.
Besides, I always been smart and I knew together we would be stronger than we would be apart.
Chapter Thirteen
Coast
We pulled up to Kiyaya’s place. I’d driven my truck with a trailer attached to haul the windows and roofing supplies we were going to need to do the work on Kiyaya’s house. I got out of the driver’s side, then moved to the passenger door on my side to help Mac out.
“Does everyone have to own these monster trucks?” Mac said as I grabbed her waist and lifted her out.
It wasn’t as hard I thought to get Mac to agree to come with me. She rescheduled appointments for the few days we’d be here, and Dr. Sampson would handle any births or emergencies in her absence.
After the phone call from her brother, she’d had problems sleeping a few nights. I’d even caught her crying in the bathroom a couple of times. She might have accepted Dirk’s choice, but it hadn’t kept the hurt his decision caused her. Then she’d worried for days that announcing she loved me after having a freak out as she called it would make me question if she really meant it. I told her if it bothered her that much, she could keep telling me over and over until it sank in. Though, I knew she loved me because it showed in her eyes every time she looked at me. When she cried, I convinced her she needed a few days away and asked her to come with me. And it had been the rig
ht decision. The further away from Shades Valley we’d gotten, I saw her relax more and more.
“I’m surprised we didn’t get pulled over for not having Mac in a booster seat,” Flirt said from the other side of the truck. Both doors were still open, and Mac looked through and flipped him off.
“Mac, you can sit up front on the way home, and I’ll sit in the back with Flirt. I don’t think I can handle the two of you bickering at each other on the way home,” my dad said as he walked around the front of the truck.
I chuckled and looked at Mac. “Don’t listen to either of them. They’re just testy because of being in the cage.”
“The trip was only a few hours. How can they be bitchy?”
“An hour is too many. And hell, why did the res put a stop to any alcohol?” my dad griped.
“We hoped it would keep bikers from coming through here, but here you are,” Kiyaya said as he stepped out onto the porch.
“Jesus, man, when did you get so old,” my dad said as he walked toward Kiyaya.
“Eh, have you looked in the mirror lately,” Kiyaya said, then shook hands with my dad.
As Mac, Flirt, and I walked toward the house, I started introductions, “Kiyaya, this is Flirt. I know you heard me mention him.”
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Young,” Flirt said and stuck out his hand, and Kiyaya grasped it.
“Eh, you can call me Kiyaya. Mister makes me feel old.”
Mac giggled beside me, and I knew she was nervous about meeting my great grandfather.
“Kiyaya, this is Mackenzie. My áyat, woman. Mackenzie, my great grandfather, Kiyaya Young.”
Kiyaya looked at Mac and tilted his head to the side.
I looked down at Mac and wondered what he saw. Her auburn hair was pulled up in a ponytail, and she had no make-up on, which showed the paleness of her skin and the few freckles she had across the bridge of her nose. And her blues eyes were focused on Kiyaya.
“Back in my great grandfather’s time, the Yakima would have stolen you,” Kiyaya said.
“And if the Yakima warriors and braves looked like your great grandson, I’m not sure I would have put up a fight,” Mac answered without hesitating.
Kiyaya chuckled, then looked at me. “You better take this one as an ásham, wife, áswan, boy.”
“Plan to, Kiyaya,” I answered, and Kiyaya nodded.
Flirt and I unhitched the trailer while Kiyaya took Mac and my dad inside. We’d start work the next day on the house.
After we ate dinner with Kiyaya, we’d sat and talked for a bit before my dad and Flirt left for the motel outside the res where they would be staying. Mac and I would be staying at Kiyaya’s. It’d be a tight fit for her and me in the bed, but I wouldn’t ever complain about getting to hold her close.
When Kiyaya pulled out the checkers and asked Mac to play, she smiled and sat across from him. I watched as they played and wondered if Mac was a sore loser. Instead, at the end of the game, she’d won. At Kiyaya’s grunt and the look on his face from losing, I laughed. Kiyaya stood and went to bed.
The next day we’d started on the roof. With Kiyaya’s house being on the small side, it only had taken eight hours to strip the old material off and put the new on. When I worked laying the last two sheets of shingles, Flirt climbed down the ladder, and then my dad followed him. I finished and was on my way across the roof when two things happened, Mac screamed, and I watched the top of ladder slide to the side, then out of view. When I reached where I could see over the edge, my dad laid flat on his back on the ground with Mac running toward him.
Flirt grabbed the ladder and leaned back against the house, and I hurried down and to my dad’s side. His eyes were closed, and Mac knelt over him as she reached her hand toward his neck.
“I don’t think I’m in need of your services, sweetheart. I can promise no baby is on the way,” my dad said as he opened his eyes and looked up at Mac. “I’m pretty sure that I only knocked the wind out of me.”
“Well, I’m still going to check you out, and you won’t even have to put your legs up.”
“Christ, old man. You scared ten years off me,” I said, and he chuckled.
“Ten years ain’t even close to the years you boys took off me and the other dads with some of your antics. Now, how about helping me up. Got a feeling I’m going to be a little sore later.”
“Not until I make sure you didn’t break anything or injure your back,” Mac said and didn’t give my dad a chance to argue. She started at his neck and worked her way down.
“What happened?” Kiyaya asked as he walked out of the house carrying two glasses. “I go inside and you decide to jump off the roof.”
“Hell, I would have been more prepared if I had. I was three-quarters of the way down and lost my footing. Went off balance, and the damn ladder shifted.”
“You’re not helping tomorrow. Me and Coast can get the windows done by ourselves,” Flirt spoke for the first time, and I knew the brother had been as scared as me.
“Any part of your back hurt? Tingling in your legs?” Mac asked, and my dad shook his head no. She asked him a few more questions, then looked up at me. “Help him sit up. I don’t think he broke anything,” Mac said, and Flirt and I took a side and using our hands behind his shoulders, lifted him to a sitting position.
Mac asked about dizziness and nausea. She felt down his spine. “Alright. Let’s see how he does on his feet.”
Flirt and I each grabbed under an arm and lifted until my dad stood.
“You were lucky, Cruz. And as much as it pains me, I’m going to agree with Flirt. You are benched from helping.”
“You can sit with us.” Kiyaya waved between him and Mac. “And supervise from the porch, Emilo,” Kiyaya said and chuckled when I groaned.
“Damn, we are done,” I said after I finished testing the last window we installed. It opened and closed with ease.
“Good thing we got these in this week. Temps are supposed to drop next week. Kiyaya won’t have to burn as much wood either come winter,” Flirt said and stood back and looked at the front of the house.
“The new roof will help, too,” I said and turned when I heard the truck turning in.
“At least we didn’t have to work and listen to that trio. It was a good idea telling them they should go to the casino. Perfect timing on our part.”
“Thanks, brother, I thought so.” I patted Flirt’s shoulder. “I appreciate the help.” Then I set the tool case on the porch. I’d pack it away in the truck later before Flirt and my dad left for the motel.
“Anytime, you know that. We heading back in the morning?” Flirt asked as Kiyaya, Mac, and my dad started to get out of the truck.
“Yeah, we can head out as soon we hitch the trailer after you and my dad get here in the morning.”
“Sounds good.”
I looked at Mac as she walked toward me. The smile on her face was huge.
“I won two hundred and fifty dollars,” Mac said when she reached me.
“That’s great, cariño. Did you win at poker, blackjack, or slots?”
“Oh, she hit on the slots alright. A penny slot machine,” my dad griped.
“Don’t get all snippy because you played poker and lost.”
“Because you kept coming by and asking how I was doing.”
“Well, if me coming by made you lose, why didn’t you win when I left?”
Kiyaya walked by me and Flirt. “I’m going to lay down. Those two makes this old Indian’s ears feel like they are bleeding.” He opened the door and closed it behind him.
“Was the chase to lock her down, worth it?” Flirt asked as my dad and Mac continued to jab at each other.
“Every minute of it. Going to sound sappy but being with her is better than I imagined it would be.”
I watched and listened, finding humor with my dad and Mac going back and forth. Mac gave as good as she got. And from the crinkling of the skin at the corner of my dad’s eyes, I knew he was enjoying their verbal duel.
“Are we sure this truck is going to make it back?” Mac asked as we started back toward the house.
Flirt and my dad had taken off to the motel. Flirt wanted to clean up, and instead of coming back to have dinner at Kiyaya’s, he and my dad said they’d grab something to eat closer to the motel.
While Kiyaya napped, I cleaned up, and then Mac and I drove to the grocery. I wanted to restock a few things for Kiyaya before we left tomorrow.
“It will be fine. I checked stuff out and changed the oil when I was here eight weeks ago.”
“What is he even doing with the truck? He mentioned on the car ride over to the casino that he doesn’t drive.”
“Yeah, Suni takes him when she has to go.”
“Then why not get rid of the truck?”
“Because he likes having it in case something would happen that he needs a vehicle for,” I said as we came to a stoplight. I looked to my right and noticed the building that sat on the corner had a sign on it that read ICWA.
I turned and pulled into the parking lot. “It won’t take long. I want to check on two boys I met the last time I was here. This is where the caseworker is that was with them.”
“Oh, this is like the reservation’s own social services,” Mac said, and I nodded.
“Yes, they are involved when children from the res go into the system. The boys were placed in different homes while they wait for one family to open with two spots available. Mrs. Stone, the caseworker, said they would do their best to put them together. I wanted to check if that happened, “I said and got out, then walked around to help Mac out.
“Why did they go into the system in the first place?” Mac asked as we walked into the building.
“Their mom died from an overdose. No dads around or any other family.”
“That’s sad.”
Coast (Black Hawk MC Book 6) Page 12