Chapter 15
CHAPTER
FIFTEEN
Prophet
I head into the clubhouse, Cami in my arms, and spot Rebel in the common room at one of the tables. “Hey, pres, you got a few minutes?” I ask as I walk toward him.
“Yeah,” he answers, nodding his head. “What's up, Prophet? Is she feeling better?”
“Finally, thank goodness. That was a helluva trip, that’s for sure,” I reply, pulling out a chair and sitting down.
“Where’s Phoebe?” he questions.
“She had to go in and get a blood draw done. They want to check to make sure the infection is gone before they remove her PICC line,” I tell him. “But that’s not why I wanted to talk to you.”
He sits back and looks at me, then I watch as a slow smile crosses his face. “It’s like that, huh?” he queries.
“Like what?” I question, playing dumb.
“Brother, I know you’ve just been marking time for a while now. Yes, you’ve got the tattoo shop, and you’re planning to open up the martial arts studio, but now that you’ve got Phoebe and Cami, your priorities have changed.”
I sit back, shocked that he hit the nail on the head.
I guess that’s why he’s the president, because the restlessness I was feeling has all but dissipated.
I have no clue what’s going to happen in the future beyond the fact that I plan to make Phoebe my wife and support her in whatever she wants to accomplish.
“They have, but that doesn’t mean the club’s not still a priority, Rebel.”
“I know it is, Prophet. The club is ingrained in your DNA like it is all of ours. Right now, though, you’re adjusting to your new normal is all,” he excuses.
“But I saw something when we were all up in the mountains and I think you’d be doing yourself and Phoebe a disservice if you didn’t go after what you want. ”
“Are you a fucking psychic or something?” I ask. “Hell, I don’t even know what I want yet!”
“Yes, you do. You’ve known for a while now.
Don’t kid yourself, Prophet. Phoebe’s good at what she does,” he replies.
“As in, really good. I know from what she told Holly that the main reason she stopped taking contract assignments was because of Cami. We now have two RVs that the club owns, brother. So, I think she should take those jobs, and you should go with her. We can hold the fort down.”
“Rebel, I’m your enforcer, I can’t just hit the road for weeks and even months at a time,” I dispute.
“Why not? All of our businesses are doing well, and it’s not like y’all would be gone forever,” he retorts.
I sigh and say, “She’s pursuing another degree to become a nurse practitioner.”
“And?”
“Well, I mean, I guess that would make her more valuable to Thelma’s company in the long run, but she’s got a job at the hospital,” I reply.
“Didn’t you say she has been loaned out in the past?” he asks.
“Yeah,” I slowly say. “So, what you’re saying is, they’ll probably have no problem with her doing it again.”
“Exactly. Plus, Cami’s young enough that traveling with her might not always be easy, but you don’t have to worry about school or anything like that,” he points out. “Now would be the best time to travel since once she starts school, unless you plan to homeschool her, you’ll be somewhat tied down.”
“What about the club?” I ask.
“What about it? Hell, if there’s another situation like what y’all were just in, we’ll just pack up and come help. No big deal.”
I sigh because all of this has been rolling through my head for weeks now. At the end of the day, I don’t care where I lay my head as long as Phoebe’s is next to mine. “I’ve got responsibilities here.”
“You’ve got a good crew at the shop, you only take clients you want to work on, and in this day and age with the internet and most things being done online, most everything can be done that way with the exception of actually laying ink, Prophet.
It’s something to think about, don’t you think? ” he asks.
“Yeah, and I’ll talk to Phoebe as well to see what she wants to do. One of the reasons I came by is I need to see if a few of the brothers can help me get my shit moved to her house, Cami’s too, of course.”
“Whatever you need, brother. We’ve got your back.”
With the women entertaining Cami, it doesn’t take long to pack up my stuff and break down Cami’s bedroom setup and soon, we’re heading to Phoebe’s to put it all together once again.
As we pull in, I see that Phoebe’s finally back from her appointment and wonder how she made out.
I get Cami out of her carseat and walk toward the house, eager to put my gaze and lips on my woman.
“Are you putting Cami’s stuff in the room she was in before?” Rebel asks.
“Yeah, brother,” I reply.
“Then we’ll get started moving it all inside,” he says as I breach the door that Phoebe is standing in.
I lean down and kiss her before I move us to the side. “They’re putting her stuff back in her room,” I say to her unasked question. “How did it go at the hospital?”
Once we’re sitting down, I put Cami between us and listen to my daughter babble while Phoebe talks to her as though she understands everything being said.
She finally looks at me and replies, “Should have the results tomorrow, but there are no indicators that I’ve got an infection, so I’ll probably lose the PICC line in the next day or so. ” I chuckle when she adds, “Whoo hoo!”
“Then all you’ll have is Wanda for a little while longer,” I say.
“Yeah, I’m kind of tired of it and it’s going to keep me from working for a few more months,” she grumbles.
“Just gives you time to get your ducks in a row is all,” I tease. “Get yourself enrolled in your degree program so you can hit the ground running once you’re ready to do the clinical part. Do you know which specialty you’ll choose?”
“Probably general family medicine,” she replies. “It makes the most sense considering the departments I work in at the hospital.”
“Would it help you if you were out on a contract assignment for Thelma?” I ask.
“It would give her someone else she could utilize who was able to write prescriptions as well as actually diagnose the patient’s problem,” she says.
The door opening again has me looking up to see Holly and Marnie walk through, their arms ladened down with bags. “We’ve got clothes!” Holly squeals. “I went through some totes I had of the girls’ things out at my grandparents’ house and decided it was time to pass them on.”
“We already washed them,” Marnie adds. “They just need to be put away.”
I chuckle because the sheer number of bags they’re carrying means that my daughter will be covered for quite some time. “The guys might be done putting the furniture together again, so feel free to head to her room,” I tell the pair.
Once they’re out of sight, I grin at Phoebe. “We’ve got one helluva family, don’t we?” I ask.
“Yeah, we do,” she replies. “Guess I need to rustle up some grub to feed all these hungry people.”
I shake my head. “No, I’ll order takeout, sweetheart. Let’s go help our family.”
Esther and Paul ended up showing up with Holly and Rebel’s crew, as well as Becca, so dinner was a bit eclectic.
Pizza, wings, Chinese, breadsticks, plus one of those giant cookie cakes to celebrate the fact that we were all home once again.
As I help Phoebe get the kitchen cleaned up, I announce, “Rebel and I were talking earlier today.”
“Oh, yeah? Everything’s okay, isn’t it?” she asks.
“He has an idea for our future,” I tell her, “and I kind of like the idea but want to see what you think.”
“Hit me with it, hotshot,” she teases as she wipes down the last counter.
Cami’s been asleep for about an hour so once I put the last few things in the fridge, I check the house and make sure it’s secure for the night. I’m still amazed that outside of a few odds and ends, we’re completely moved into Phoebe’s house. Now it’s time to make it into our home.
“So, he was paying attention while they were with us in the mountains, and he feels that being a travel nurse is your calling, Phoebe.” When she starts to protest, I put up my hand to stop her and add, “I agree with him. I know you enjoy what you do at the hospital, sweetheart, but at the same time, you’re hampered by the politics and shit that are part of being in that environment.
Seeing you having to take charge while out in the field, making assessments based on your experience, and how you kept calm, cool, and collected even when you got hurt showed me that you need to be challenged.
If you took a longer leave of absence from the hospital, once you’re cleared to go back, that is, you could explore the travel nurse thing again while you work on getting your degree and certifications.
Cami and I can come with you since she’s so young, and then once we start having kids or she gets old enough to start school, we can re-evaluate. ”
“But what about your shop? The new place you’re trying to start up? The club?” she asks, peppering me with questions.
“The businesses practically run themselves these days. As far as clients, I mostly pick and choose who I want to work on, especially since finding out about Cami. My perspective has shifted, sweetheart. Everything I was doing before you walked into the clubhouse that day was marking time, and Rebel recognized that fact. The new business can be overseen by some of my friends who were in the circuit with me. Fuck knows I may still be in good shape, but I can’t go back to fighting and sparring regularly.
My body already aches most days thanks to all the injuries I sustained over the years. ”
“And the club?” she probes. “They’ve been your family for a long time now, Eli, and no matter how exciting the thought is to me of getting to go back to being a travel nurse, I won’t let you sacrifice your own happiness for mine.”
“The club will always be here for me, for us,” I promise.
“Here’s what I see happening, at least in the immediate future.
You’re going to buckle down and get your master’s degree so you can get into a nurse practitioner program.
Since you’re on leave until your arm fully heals, you’ll be able to focus without your attention being split between school, work, and everything else.
When you’re released to work again, take a leave of absence and start working with Thelma’s company.
If it’s a situation like you had in the mountains, we’ll take the RV.
Hell, we can still take the RV and hook up a travel trailer to haul my bike and your car so you can drive back and forth to your assignment.
I’ve got enough friends who own tattoo shops so I can take my guns and be available to them while you’re busy helping patients. ”
“What about Cami?” she asks.
“She’d be with us, of course, and I’m sure I won’t have any problems finding someone to watch her if I have clients and you’re working.”
“And Kevin?” she questions as the kitten in question climbs up my pants leg and then jumps into my arms.
“He’d go too,” I promise. “We’ll get him microchipped, of course, but if we harness train him now, it’ll be second nature by the time all of this happens.”
“You have it all figured out, don’t you?” she asks, following me down the hall to our room. I briefly stop to peek in on Cami and grin when I see she’s curled up like a turtle.
“Not totally, but honestly, we’ve both had to adjust our lives to suit other people. It’s time we got to do what makes us happy, don’t you think?” I question.
“I mean, it sounds good in theory, and once Cami is old enough to start school, we can rethink the plan,” she muses as she walks over to her dresser and pulls out a nightgown.
Personally, I’d be fine if she slept naked, but for whatever reason, my woman can be a bit shy. Plus, until that PICC line comes out? If she was nude in bed with me, I couldn’t swear that nothing would happen, especially if I was sound asleep.
“Well, it’s something to think about,” I reply, as I strip down to my boxer briefs and slide into bed, Kevin jumping down to sprawl along the bottom. “Plus, you and Ella could work together again, because I don’t think she’s ever going to want to settle in one place.”
“And you’re sure Rebel would be okay with you being gone from the club for extended periods of time?” she asks as she snuggles close.
I chuckle then say, “Yeah, sweetheart. And if there are times I need to stay home, so be it. I’ll have the other women to help with Cami if I need them. Hopefully that wouldn’t happen all that often, though, because I don’t like the idea of being separated from you.”
“Not too crazy about that either. But one thing you need to understand is that I don’t have to take assignment after assignment, Eli. I can take breaks in between them, which means we’d be able to come home to see our family.”
“Good point. Now, give me a kiss, woman, so we can get some sleep.”