27. Chapter 27
Glenda
I stayed busy most of the day. That was the beauty of the clubhouse.
So much to do. It was easy to keep yourself occupied and not think.
Lots of rooms stayed vacant, some only got used occasionally, but some were rooms of the guys that lived on site.
A few of the guys had assigned rooms that they used here, but had homes somewhere else.
There were always other ladies around to chat with, but for whatever reason, I felt an immediate pull to Linny when we met. Maybe because she didn’t know me before. I had a clean slate with her. Having her at the clubhouse to do chores with was great.
They’d been staying at the clubhouse ever since we got attacked. I wasn’t sure if Bama was still worried about being ambushed again or if Linny didn’t want to go back because of Ollie.
She hadn’t known him as long as me, but you didn’t have to know him long at all to love him.
He’d been a long-time member of RBMC but he patched in here when they set up shop.
He had been assigned to Linny’s protection detail for when Bama wasn’t around.
When we decided to swing by the house that day, he followed us.
I’d not had a recollection of him being shot until my last nightmare. It was horrific and sad. He died for us. I had to keep fighting for him just as much as me. I didn’t want him to have died in vain.
“Momma, Daddy said you need to come eat,” Sofie said as she found us folding the last of the laundry for the day.
“Thank you, sweet girl. We’ll be there soon,” Linny told her.
Sofie grabbed my hand. “I’ll save a seat for you.”
“You better,” I said as I squeezed her hand.
Sofie smiled then ran out of the laundry room.
“No running!” Linny called out. “That girl.”
I giggled. “She sure seems chipper.”
Linny moved her pile to the cart we’d use in the morning to replace towels and change sheets where needed. “She thinks it’s a long vacation. She never stayed in a hotel before, so she’s living it up. Sucks the pool is closed. but that water was cold.”
I gathered my piles and moved them. “Yeah, the air stays warm because of the humidity. When it’s overcast all the time and the sun goes down earlier, all the water gets cold fast.”
“It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity,” she said with a laugh.
“Have you been to the desert? Dry heat is so different.”
“No. Before last year, I hadn’t been out of Georgia.”
“Well, Nevada is hot as fuck, but it doesn’t feel as bad as down here, I can tell you that.”
Linny waved me to the door and I turned the light off as we walked out. “You went overseas, too, right? Were you in the desert there?”
“It was pretty much desert. And same thing. Even hotter there than Nevada, though. But I’ll take the dry heat over high humidity any day.”
I started to head toward the old buffet side of the first floor, but she pointed to the bar. “This way.”
“Oh.” I stared at the closed, ornate, doors. “I thought we were eating with Sofie.”
“We are. She loves it over here.”
Sucking in a deep breath, I said, “I wonder if Hammer’s in there.
” I managed to steer clear of him all day.
Leigh said everything was handled, but that only meant I wasn’t kicked out.
I had no idea if he hated me, wanted to flog me, or if I had to pay a fine.
If the patched members did something, that was the punishment: fine and flog.
Linny grabbed my hand. “Hey, Bama is here. Rogers is here, too. You’re not going anywhere, so may as well get this over with. You’ll see him sooner or later.”
“Yeah. You’re right. God, I hate this. I’ve become such a pussy.”
“Hey, you’re not a pussy,” Linny said. “You’re going through a bunch of shit. And between us, Hammer can be kinda scary.”
“He can be a fucking dick. But I mean, I’m over here nervous about seeing him. I have been through some shit. And I’ve always come out. I was in the fucking military. I shouldn’t be intimidated by him.”
“If it makes you feel any better, I knew when I first met you that if I got stuck in a dark alley, you’re the one I’d wanna be with.”
Giggling, I said, “I appreciate the vote of confidence, but I still think Bama would be a safer bet than me. Plus… well, never mind.”
“It’s not your fault what happened to us. We were outnumbered and ambushed. You made sure I ran, you made me go ahead of you, and you fought hard.”
“You’re my best friend.”
She shook our arms. “And you’re mine. So c’mon. I got your back.”
I nodded, so she turned and opened the door.
She was right. I didn’t plan to leave Leigh, which meant I’d be around.
I’d be faced with Hammer sooner or later, so I should do it now and get it over with.
That was why I was going back to therapy, right?
I had to stop running from things, stop pushing everything to the back of my mind.
We walked in and a few heads turned. Sofie waved both of her arms from the bar.
Looking around, I didn’t see Hammer.
“See, he’s not even here right now,” Linny said as we kept heading to the bar.
Bama slipped from his stool and kissed her then patted my shoulder. “How’s your first official day back?”
“Not bad. Pretty busy,” I said, taking my seat by Sofie.
“So good to have you back,” Pinkie said from across the bar. “You want a beer?”
“Yeah, that sounds great.”
Sofie turned. “They made me chickie nuggies and fries.”
“Ohh, sounds good.”
Pinkie passed me a cold bottle. “You want some? We had burgers or chicken sandwiches for the big people but I can start some more nuggets for you.”
I waved her off. “No, I’m good with whatever you got. I’m starving.”
“I gotchu girl. Be right back.”
“I knew you didn’t eat today,” Bama said as he sipped his beer.
Linny took a swig of hers. “I was too excited to have Glenda back. I was busy chatting.”
Pinkie came back and put a plate down in front of Sofie, then me, Linny, and Bama. She grabbed ketchup from under the bar and handed it to Sofie, but there were mayo and mustard packs on our plates.
I pushed a fry in my mouth. “Yep, I’m starving. These are so good.”
“Pinkie, make sure these two eat during the day,” Bama said as he squirted mayo on his burger.
I put some mayo on my chicken sandwich and my phone buzzed.
Smiling when I saw it was Leigh, I answered and asked, “Hey, where you at?”
“Hey baby. I gotta make a stop. It’s gonna be a bit. And I need to run by the house to check on Bruce. You okay?”
“Yeah. I’ll just be here with the girls.”
He sighed. “I’m sorry. But I’ll be there as soon as I can. Promise.”
“Okay. I’ll see you when you get here.”
“Hey, I love you. I’ll see you soon.”
I almost said it back, but stopped myself. “Okay, see ya then. Bye.”
“Was that Leigh?” Linny asked between bites.
“Yeah. He’s held up.”
Bama wiped his face with a napkin. “Did he say where he’s at?”
“No, why?”
He shrugged, then kept eating. Fucking club secrets. Linny forced a smile, then told Sofie to use her napkin instead of her arm.
Even though something was up, Leigh didn’t sound in trouble, so I tried to enjoy my meal with friends. Pinkie sat at the bar, eating her own food between getting drinks for the guys that came over.
The vibes were light and the music was loud enough to enjoy, but not so loud we couldn’t talk. Sofie told me all about her day and asked me a million questions about Bruce.
I had almost finished my sandwich and got a few words in edgewise to Sofie when the phone buzzed. I looked, and it was Leigh again.
“Hey, that was fast,” I said.
“No, I’m not done yet. Couldn’t explain much before but I’m at the clinic. Manny was attacked. I’m just helping Sam. Hopefully not much longer.”
“Oh no. Is he okay?” I didn’t know Manny too well, but I knew he was the one who got me from the clinic to Leigh’s house. At first, I was mad as hell. Now, I just hoped he was going to be alright. Plus, he was just doing what he was told.
“I don’t know. Sam’s doing his thing but they’re running some tests. I just came out to move the truck real quick.”
“I’m glad you’re helping him. You don’t have to keep checking on me.” I understood there would be times I was in the dark, and he’d already checked in. It was nice, though, and very different from what I was used to.
“I wanted to. I hoped to be there by now.”
Fighting a grin, I said, “Well, I’ll be here waiting when you can. I’m really fine.”
“Well, I’m not. I want to be in bed with you.”
“Fair,” I told him. “But we’ll be there eventually. You still gonna have to go out?”
“Probably. Speaking of, I need to check in with Hammer. I’ll text you when I get out of here”
“Okay. I’ll see you soon. Bye.” I put the phone back on the bar and grabbed the last bit of chicken sandwich. “Leigh again. He’s at the clinic.”
Bama knocked his beer back then stood up. He kissed Linny’s head then said, “I need to go find Hammer.”
“Okay.” She nodded. “Just try to see me before you leave.”
He kissed Sofie’s head as he passed her and Sofie grinned, kicking her feet. “Bye, Daddy.”
My heart squeezed as I watched Sofie staring at Bama as he headed to the back. Leaning to Linny, I whispered, “That’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen.”
“It really is. No man is ever gonna be good enough for her because he treats her like a little princess.” Linny was still smiling, popping a fry in her mouth.
She wiped her hands on her napkin, then washed the fry down with a sip of beer.
“So, do you think you and Leigh… down the road of course… you know?”
My brows shot up. “I honestly don’t know. I just recently stopped pretending I didn’t want to be with him, so there’s that.”
“At least you’ve caught up to the rest of us,” she said.
“Leigh’s really nice. Are you going to get a vest with his name on it like Mommy’s?” Sofie asked.
I choked on my beer and Pinkie turned away, fighting a laugh. Grabbing my napkin, I dabbed my face and the bar. “I’m not sure, sweet girl.”
“I think you should. And then you can have a baby. I want Mommy and Daddy to have a baby, but they keep telling me maybe,” Sofie said as she rolled her eyes.