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Chloe
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“CHLOE, ARE YOU okay?” Jessica asked softly. She’d caught me crying in one of the supply room at St. Peter’s Hospital in Jensen. I was a new nurse in the Children’s Cancer Unit and had just watched one of our patients die in his father’s arms. Theo, a twelve-year-old boy with Leukemia, had been such a sweet kid and I’d grown attached to him in the last few weeks. Watching him die had been so heartbreaking that I’d almost walked out of the hospital.
Embarrassed she’d caught me crying, I cleared my throat and forced a smile to my face. “I’m okay. It was just so hard seeing Theo go,” I replied, dabbing at the tears under my eyelashes with a tissue. “I thought I was going to handle it, but...” I smiled bitterly. “I guess not.”
“You handled it perfectly,” Jessica replied, touching my shoulder. “You were there for Theo when he needed you the most. When his family needed you the most. As far as this goes,” she smiled sadly at my wet face, “it’s okay to cry. You’re a warm and caring person. If you weren’t affected by something like this, we wouldn’t want you here.”
“How do you do it?” I asked. I knew she’d been working there for the last year and the woman not only always had a smile on her face, but she was so good with the children. Of course, she was a mother herself and that probably helped. “How do you deal with it when you lose someone you start caring about?”
“It’s hard, but these kids are worth every bit the suffering and the tears. Whether they walk out of here or not, I do what I can to try and make their stay as comfortable as possible. Yes, I go home and cry all the time, but when one of them goes into remission or becomes cancer-free, it’s the best feeling in the world to watch happen,” she said, smiling.
I let out a ragged sigh. “I thought I knew what I was getting myself into. I just don’t know if I’m as strong as you are at dealing with this.”
Jessica’s eyes bored into mine. “You’re stronger than you realize. You did the best you could and made Theo’s stay here better than it would have been if you weren’t around. You’re great with the kids, Chloe. You really are.”
I smiled in gratitude. “Thank you.”
“You don’t need to thank me,” she replied. “I’m only pointing out what you can’t see at the moment.”
The truth was, I knew I was good with people and truly enjoyed working with them. It was why I’d gone into nursing. Losing them, especially children, was something I knew would happen, but hadn’t been prepared for.
“You know what you need? A party. Something to take your mind off this for a while. Your shift is over now, right?”
“Yes,” I replied, staring at her in surprise. “A party?”
Jessica nodded. “It’s actually a fundraiser, but you don’t have to feel obligated to give anything. My stepbrother’s club is sponsoring it, and knowing them, they’ll raise more than enough money. I just want to stop in for one drink and I thought you might want to go with me. It might take your mind off of things for a while.”
I had to admit, a drink sounded good and I was all for fundraisers. “Sure. I’d like that.”
“Great. I’ll pick you up at your place. Text me your address.”
“Sure. Uh, so is this fundraiser formal or informal?” I asked, wondering how I should dress.
Jessica chuckled. “Informal. Very informal.”
AN HOUR LATER, I stepped out of the shower and slipped into a pair of black jeans and a green fuzzy sweater. I quickly dried my blonde hair, pulled it up into a bun, and then took it back down. I hadn’t gone out for a long time and it was time to relax and enjoy myself. Even if it was for just one drink, I really needed to unwind in every possible way.
“Wow, look at you,” my roommate Kai said when I walked into the living room. He eyed me up and down and nodded in approval. “Don’t tell me... you finally have a date?”
“Finally? Thanks a lot,” I said dryly and then told him about the fundraiser.
“Ah. Well, I guess it’s better than just sitting around here and watching reruns of Game of Thrones over-and-over, as usual.”
“I wouldn’t talk. You’re the same way with Shameless,” I bristled. “So, don’t even.”
“Bitch, please. This isn’t about me. It’s about you,” he said with a smirk. “I’m worried about your ass. You seriously need to get out more. If you’re not careful, you’ll end up being like Old Cat Lady, Mrs. Jergens.”
Kai and I were currently renting a house from her, one that used to be her sister’s. After the woman died, Mrs. Jergens had decided to rent out the place and the two of us had been living there for the last two years. The woman owned about six cats, if not more, and constantly smelled like ammonia. It was horrible.
“I’m a dog person. It’s not going to happen,” I replied, as my Chihuahua, Georgie, started barking at me.
“Looks like he knows you’re going out and not too happy about it,” Kai said, slipping his jacket on.
I picked up Georgie and scratched the top of his head. He was definitely an insecure dog. I’d gotten him from an animal shelter the year before, when he’d been a frightened little puppy. I wasn’t sure what had happened to him, but Georgie didn’t like many people. He barely tolerated Kai. But, he loved me and hardly left my side when I was home.
“He’ll be okay,” I said, nuzzling him as I watched Kai check out his reflection in the mirror by the doorway. “Going out?”
He reached over and grabbed his car keys from the console. “Yeah. I’m going to a basketball game.”
“Who’s dragging you to that?” I asked, knowing he hated every sport but tennis, and only because he played it.
It took him a few seconds to reply. “Trey.”
My eyes widened in shock. “What? After everything that happened between you?”
Kai had recently learned that Trey was married to a woman, who apparently had no idea that her husband was bisexual, let alone cheating. Finding out that his boyfriend had an entirely separate life had left him shattered and heartbroken. For weeks, he’d been down-in-the-dumps about it. I couldn’t believe he was taking him back.
Kai shoved his hands into his pockets and took a few seconds before answering, almost like he was afraid to tell me. Probably because he knew how I’d react. “He’s leaving his wife. He actually told her about us on Christmas.”
“Really?” I said dryly.
I disliked Trey even more now, especially because he dropped the bomb on his wife during the holidays. Not only that, I didn’t trust him or even feel comfortable around the guy. When he’d stopped over one night looking for Kai, he actually admitted that he’d had a dream about having a threesome with me and Kai. Then, if that wasn’t awkward enough, he hinted that he found me fascinating and beautiful. I’d told Kai about it, who’d laughed it off, claiming that Trey was a harmless flirt and had been only trying to warm up to me. I didn’t buy that for a minute. The guy was an over-sexed prick who didn’t deserve his wife, let alone Kai.
“Yeah, really.”
“So, Trey moved out?”
“No. He’s going to, though,” Kai replied. “I’m glad we’re talking about this because he might need a place to stay for few days until he can figure things out.”
My jaw dropped. The thought of him staying here made my stomach churn. “Here?”
“I know it’s an inconvenience, but he has no other place to go.”
“What about a motel?” I asked a little harshly, but couldn’t help it. It wasn’t my fault the guy was in the position he was in.
“He’s not working right now. But, he has a job lined up.”
Trey sold medical supplies, which is how he’d met Kai, who was a pharmacist. “What happened to his other job?”
“I don’t know. Some disagreement between him and his boss. Anyway, he just needs a temporary place to crash. Obviously, he’ll stay in my room with me. You’ll hardly ever see him. Especially, with your hours.”
I hated the idea, but Kai was my dearest friend and had been since we’d met in college. I wanted him to be happy and he’d been there for me when I’d needed him. I definitely owed him. I didn’t like Trey, but was willing to put up with him for a little while if that’s what Kai wanted.
“Fine, but just a few days. This place isn’t big enough for three people,” I replied.
The house was a two-bedroom rambler with an unfinished basement, built in the eighties. Thankfully, there were two bathrooms, one in my room and one next to the living room, which Kai had claimed. Other than that, there wasn’t a lot of privacy or room to move. This never bothered me or Kai, because we clicked so well. But, adding another to the mix, especially someone I didn’t care for, was going to suck heavily.
“You’re the best,” Kai said, giving me a hug. “I’ll let him know you’re down with it.”
More like resigned, I thought. I just hoped that the ’few’ days wouldn’t turn into anything more permanent, otherwise... best friends or not, my ass was out of there.
––––––––
“YOU LOOK GREAT,” Jessica said when she picked me up, ten minutes later. “I’ve never seen you with your hair down. It’s pretty.”
“Thanks,” I replied, touching it absently.
“I suppose I should probably warn you, my husband’s club brothers are great guys but, they can be a little abrasive.”
“Wait a second, when you say ‘club’... you mean like the Lion’s Club, right?” I asked, thinking back to our earlier conversation.
Jessica laughed. “The Lion’s Club? No, honey. Tank is the president of the Gold Vipers. I thought you knew?”
I groaned inwardly. Yes, I’d heard of the Gold Vipers. Hell, everyone in Jensen knew about the notorious biker club. They’d been in the news a few times, although it had been awhile. From what I’d gathered, there’d been a string of murders linked to the club, although there’d never been any convictions.
“No, I didn’t.”
“This isn’t going to be a problem, is it?” she asked, glancing over at me.
I forced a smile to my face. “No. Did you say your stepbrother is the president of the club?”
“Yes, and I know what you’re thinking, but there’s nothing to be worried about. The guys in the club are not the criminals everyone thinks they are, and they’ll be very respectful toward you. Especially because you’re with me.”
“Okay,” I replied, wishing I’d paid more attention to our earlier conversation. I could have feigned other plans or said I had a headache, at the very least. But now it would just be rude to bow out. And cowardly.
“Seriously,” she said, after a few seconds of awkward silence between us. “You have nothing to worry about.”
“I believe you.”
“You know, I totally get your reaction,” she said with a little smile. “In fact, I freaked out when I learned my mother had started dating Tank’s father. I thought she’d flipped her lid, but Slammer was a good guy and treated her like a queen. I really miss him.”
“Slammer?”
“That was his road name. Nickname, you know?”
“Yeah.” I noticed she kept saying “was.” “What happened to him?”
Jessica’s smile faded. “He was murdered.”
I was shocked and yet, the news reports were coming back to me. “That’s horrible. I’m so sorry for your loss. It must have been a terrible time for your mother and everyone else in his life.”
She nodded. “Yeah. It was. My mom still misses the hell out of him.”
“I can only imagine. Did they ever find out who did it?”
“Unfortunately, no. They figured it was probably retaliation from another club,” she said softly. “Anyway, that was five years ago. Since then, they’ve made amends with some of their enemies and things have been peaceful.”
“That’s good,” I replied.
“Yeah. Anyway, you’ll like the guys. They all look like tough bad-asses, but in reality, they’re like big teddy bears. And like I said, as long as they know you’re with me, they’ll be respectful.”
“Okay.”
Her face became serious. “Um, but just to be on the safe side, we should probably use the bathroom together—and don’t look any of them in the eyes. They really don’t like that.”
My eyes grew round. “Really?”
Jessica threw her head back and laughed. “Relax. I’m only kidding.”
Relaxing, I shook my head and smiled. “That was cruel.”
“Sorry. Couldn’t help myself.”
Amused, I stared out the window as we headed toward the clubhouse. Although she was teasing, I’d heard about biker clubs and how many of the guys had caveman mentalities. I decided that after one or two drinks, I’d feign a headache and call a cab if needed.