Chapter Fifteen Rev
ONE MONTH LATER
I had thought initially that having Annabel living with me meant that my life would drastically change.
But once we learned the pattern of each other’s days and nights, everything fell into place.
She rose before I had to leave for work and made coffee and cooked breakfast. She even brought me a home cooked lunch to the pawn shop.
She hadn’t been exaggerating when she said she knew how to cook.
I had already gained five pounds since she had come to live with me.
Thankfully, she had put on some of the weight she’d lost as well.
While I was at work, she sometimes went over to Mama Beth’s and helped her cook dinner.
The two were growing very attached to each other.
I could tell Mama Beth was everything in a mother that Annabel had never had yet had longed for.
In turn, Mama Beth had always wanted daughters, especially those who wanted to help her in the things she loved, like cooking.
While I loved that they got along so well, I knew it was only going to cause pain in the long run for both of them when Annabel left. But I’d kept my mouth shut.
Physically, she seemed to heal almost overnight. You could attribute it to her age and her resiliency to overcome what she had been through. Breakneck would come by often to check on her. She did obey him by spending a lot of time off of her feet and resting.
It was her emotional state that worried me.
She still refused to let her parents know her location.
She did call them once she got to my house and once again she used a disposable phone.
Although I didn’t totally agree with it, I didn’t press her about it.
It did slightly alarm me when she started researching the veterinarian program at The University of Georgia.
She seemed hell-bent on never returning to Virginia, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.
She grew more and more dependent on me. After several nights on the lumpy couch, she had finally talked me into sleeping in my bed with her.
It wasn’t unchartered territory since we had spent the night in the same bed before.
But at the same time, there was an illicit feeling about it.
I felt like a teenager sneaking off to do something I shouldn’t, which was not something I had felt for a very long time.
While I didn’t want to think about Annabel in any way sexual, it was hard not to when she came to bed in pajama shorts that revealed her legs or thin tops that showed off her cleavage.
I knew better than to say anything to her about it, or I’d look like some pervert who had been getting off on her.
There was also the fact that waking up with a beautiful woman wrapped around me did nothing to stop my morning wood.
If Annabel ever noticed, she didn’t say anything.
I also hoped she didn’t notice my longer-than-normal cold showers to eradicate said morning wood.
Again, if she knew, she never said anything.
Any inappropriate thoughts easily fled my mind when she woke up, screaming and thrashing, from nightmares at least two to three times a week.
Since I was no stranger to those types of wakeup calls, I would merely reach through the sheets to bring her body closer to mine.
“It’s okay, Annabel. You’re okay,” was usually all I would have to say.
She would spend a few minutes steadying her breathing in the dark, as if she was trying to determine she was really with me in Georgia and not back in Mexico with Mendoza.
Finally, after a small eternity, she would calm down and go back to sleep.
I wondered what it would be like for her if I wasn’t in bed beside her.
Would she be able to calm down, or would she suffer a lot of sleepless nights like I had in the past?
While I was helping Annabel, it didn’t escape my mind how much I enjoyed her presence either. I wanted her to be well, and to not need me, but her presence was a comfort too. One I expected I would miss when she left.
But at the same time, I was beginning to feel like the human equivalent of a child’s safety blanket.
While I wanted to be there for her, I was still so frightened that I was impeding her healing.
That as long as I allowed her to use me, she would never be well on her own.
However, she never mentioned her therapist voicing these concerns.
With Alexandra’s help, she managed to find one she liked, and she had started twice a week appointments.
The true bright spot in her life, and if I let myself admit it in mine as well, was Poe.
Who knew a little deer could bring so much love and enjoyment to our lives?
Through Annabel’s care, he—we’d discovered we had a boy—was thriving.
I was amazed at how much knowledge she possessed to care for him.
The whole stimulating him to pee or poop with warm cotton balls blew my mind.
When I had said as much, Annabel only giggled.
“Well, his mother would do that in the wild to protect him from predators.”
My brows had furrowed. “But how…”
“With her tongue,” she replied.
“Disgusting,” I had muttered.
Poe had moved from a small crate in my bedroom to a larger crate on the back porch.
He was soon going to be big enough to use an old dog’s run we had on the property.
Annabel never had to do his feedings alone.
Willow often came to help give Poe his bottle, but the most amusing was when Deacon or Bishop would come by and gather the blanket wrapped deer into their arms like a baby to give him his bottle.
Friday night found me finishing up a feeding with Poe.
I had insisted that Annabel take it easy after she had helped Mama Beth cook a big meal for a family who had a sick relative.
When I sniffed my shirt and got a strong whiff of animal, I knew I needed to grab a quick shower before heading up to the roadhouse.
After I showered and shaved, I came out of the bedroom to find Annabel reading on the couch. At the sight of me, she lowered her ereader, and then narrowed her eyes suspiciously at me. “Going somewhere?”
“Uh, yeah, actually I am. I have to go up to the roadhouse. One of our prospects is getting patched in.
Her face took on a bewildered expression. “Patched in? What does that mean?”
I laughed. “It means he’s a full member of the club now. He doesn’t have to run around doing errands. He’s proven he’s worthy of us.”
“That all comes in the form of a patch?”
“Before he had to wear a prospect’s patch, which is like a sign saying you’re everyone’s bitch. Now he gets the real deal.”
“Sounds interesting.”
“I don’t know about that. Of course, Crazy Ace, the guy we’re patching in, could make anything interesting.”
“Oh really?”
“If you want, I can walk you over to Mama Beth’s on the way,” I suggested as I grabbed my keys.
“Do women ever go to these things?”
I turned around to stare at her in surprise. In the entire month since she had been with me, she had never once set foot inside the roadhouse. One by one, the Raiders had come down to meet her. She seemed to do well with a few of us at a time. “Um, yeah, they do.”
“Then can I come? I mean, I hate to invite myself, but I’d like to get out for a while. And I’ve never seen the roadhouse.”
I fiddled with the keys in my hand. “Are you sure you’re up to it?” While I knew my brothers would be on their best behavior around Annabel, I was more concerned about how she would react to them. Strange men in cuts could inevitably lead to a flashback of her time with the Diablos.
She rose off the couch with a determined expression. “I think I’d like to try.”
“Then I’d like to have you join me.”
Glancing down at her clothes, she asked, “Am I dressed okay?”
I laughed. “Compared to what some of the women will be wearing, you’re overdressed.”
“Should I go change into something more revealing?” she teased.
“No,” I replied a little too quickly. Annabel ducked her head, but I thought I saw the hint of a smile on her lips. “Come on. We better be going.”
When we got to the backdoor of the roadhouse, I stopped her. “What is it?” she asked.
“If at any time you don’t feel comfortable, you just let me know. Even if I’m taking part in the patching, you can come and get me. Okay?”
“Thank you, Rev,” she replied. She then proceeded to shock the hell out of me by reaching up and tenderly kissing my cheek. “You’re so good to me.”
Feeling like I had been knocked on my ass, I threw open the back door and ushered her inside.
Live music blared from the house band that played on special occasions.
The steady roar of conversation came from all around us.
At the far end of the roadhouse, the women had set up a long table full of home-cooked food.
Kim and Alexandra, along with some of the other wives, were supervising the line of hungry men.
“Hungry?” I asked Annabel.
“Not right now. But don’t let me stop you.”
I glanced from the table back to her. “Kim’s chili is fucking amazing.”
Annabel smiled. “Then let’s get you some before it’s all gone.”
Placing my hand on the small of her back, I started to lead her through the crowd. At Annabel’s sudden intake of breath, I quickly demanded, “What’s wrong?”
She motioned to where Willow was weaving her way through the crowd. “I was just surprised to see her here.”
“Since it’s a patching ceremony, wives, girlfriends, and families are invited. The first part of the night is pretty calm with the celebrating.” I grinned at her. “It’ll be around midnight when the kids are put to bed when things get really crazy.”
When she caught sight of us, Willow made a beeline to our sides. After giving us both hugs, she asked, “How’s Poe?”
“I just gave him his bottle right before we left.”
“Did you remember to poop and pee him?”