Chapter 9
CHAPTER
NINE
Mongrel
“So, how was it today?” Doc asks as I walk into the common room of the clubhouse.
“How was what?” I parry, smirking at him.
“Your proctology exam, asshole. What do you think I’m asking about?” he retorts.
“Aren’t you supposed to be at the clinic?
” At his glare, I finally relent a bit and say, “It was weird. Today she did what she called passive therapy, moving my arm around and taking measurements, that kind of shit. Told me to keep doing those exercises Dr. Albertson gave me and said we’d ease into harder stuff. ”
“Good, good. Any pain?” he questions.
“It’s a bit sore from her manipulations, but manageable, Doc,” I reply. “Is Gretchen in the kitchen?”
“She is, why?” he asks as I start walking in that direction with him hot on my heels.
“Because I met this little kid today, he’s about seven or eight, and he’s a huge superhero fan. Likes Iron Man the best, and I was wondering if she would be able to create a cake pop that looked like Iron Man. Plus, I wanna buy some from her to take in for the staff.”
“Okay, spill, Mongrel, what does she look like?” Gretchen asks, having heard part of what I said.
“Who?” I question as I head to the fridge and grab a bottle of water. Thankfully, Doc breaks the seal for me because it’s nearly impossible to do one handed.
“Your therapist,” Gretchen growls, causing me to laugh. “See? That right there says something.”
“I’m laughing, that’s all,” I protest.
“Mmhm, you haven’t done much of that lately,” she replies. “Now, I can try to experiment to see if I can create Iron Man’s mask, if you want me to. Tell me about this little boy.”
“His name is JB and I don’t know why he’s getting physical therapy, but I think he’s a foster kid. I recognized the woman who was there with him before we were both called back,” I say. “He told me that if I worked hard, I might get surprises like he does from our therapist.”
Doc chuckles while Gretchen snickers. “Surprises, huh? So, what’s she like?”
“It doesn’t matter because she doesn’t date her patients,” I glumly reply. “Although I did ask if I could be switched to another therapist!”
Doc starts humming the tune to Another One Bites The Dust which has Gretchen laughing hysterically. “Oh, this is gonna be good. When’s your next appointment?”
“Two days from now,” I reply. “Thanks, Connie,” I say when she sets a plate with a huge roast beef and cheese sandwich in front of me.
“You’re welcome, Mongrel.”
“Doc, how long am I gonna feel so damn tired?” I ask a few minutes later when I catch myself yawning again.
“Brother, you had major surgery two weeks ago, give yourself a break,” he chides.
“I know your arm wasn’t cut open like they used to do it, but your body still has to heal.
Therapy days will take a lot out of you and while you say you’re not in much pain, I would strongly suggest that you take a painkiller if you’re going to lie down for a bit.
She may have done passive therapy on you, but the last thing you wanna do is wake up to muscle spasms in your shoulder and arm. ”
“She said something similar,” I muse.
“Then pay attention,” he says, smirking at me.
“Fine, fine. Whatever.”
“Go and rest, Mongrel, I’ll start playing around with the cake pops and see what I can come up with, okay?” Gretchen asks.
“Thanks, Gretchen.”
I wasn’t lying when I told Doc how frustrating it was to me that I felt like I should be stronger. I barely made it to my room, hit the bathroom to change into something more comfortable, before I was stretching out on my bed and allowing sleep to claim me.
Waking up, my first thought was of my therapist.
Addy. Definitely a petite little thing, with curves in all the right places.
Despite her diminutive stature, I could see she was toned, especially when she went over and changed the weights that JB was using before returning to my side.
“She definitely looks good coming or going,” I murmur as I slowly sit up and grab the tumbler of water that’s on my nightstand.
I still have a bit of residual soreness but it’s a healing kind of pain, not like it felt immediately after surgery.
A shudder courses through me when I remember that nightmare. Thanks to the adverse reaction I had, I now have a whole class of narcotics that I can never take again. Not that I anticipate frequent surgeries, of course, but I’m a biker and while our chapter is mostly legitimate, shit happens.
Once I’ve quenched my thirst, I get up and meander around my room, tidying and gathering my laundry.
I may not be able to carry the basket like I could in the past, but I can drag it down the hall and stairs so I can wash my clothes.
Stripping the bed and remaking it takes a little bit longer than usual, and I find I’m sweating my ass off by the time I’m done, so I decide to take a shower.
I still can’t lift my arm too high, but Addy mentioned today that I should listen to my body.
Since I have no plans to go anywhere else today, I opt for sweatpants, some socks, and my cut.
Soon, I’ll be able to pull a shirt over my head again.
Who knew that something so simple would fill me with excitement?
Taking another look around my room, I’m happy with how it looks so I head downstairs, dragging my laundry basket behind me. Halfway down the stairs, I hear Abyss yell, “Dammit, Mongrel, fucking ask for help!” before the basket is snatched out of my grasp.
“I had it, Abyss,” I reply.
“And there’s a clubhouse full of people who are ready and willing to lend a hand, brother,” he retorts.
“Just used to doing things for myself is all,” I mumble.
“You don’t have to any longer, Mongrel,” he says as we head to the laundry room.
It’s massive and that’s the absolute best way to describe the room—there are four commercial sized washers and dryers, as well as a table for folding. Since I’m not one who worries about sorting my clothes, it all goes into one washing machine, before I add the detergent and press start.
I’m sitting at one of the tables in the common room when Monkey walks in with a strange look on his face. “Mongrel?”
“Yeah, what’s up?” I ask.
“There are two guys at the gate asking for you,” he replies. “Didn’t confirm that you were or weren’t here, just said I’d check.”
“They wearing suits?” I question. I wouldn’t put it past that man’s attorneys to seek me out personally.
The answer will remain the same, however.
I won’t ‘step up’ and ‘take over’ for him so that the rest of the so-called family who couldn’t be bothered with me and my siblings don’t lose their golden goose.
“Uh, no, actually. Both in jeans, and if I didn’t know better, I’d swear that one of them was your twin or something,” he says.
Could it be… Jonah ?
“I’ll come out,” I state, standing to my feet. Do I care that I only have socks on? Not at all, especially since Rio made sure that we have a decent walkway from the clubhouse to the gate.
“Not going by yourself,” BamBam interjects. I look over my shoulder to see him, Doc, and Abyss standing there, intent looks on their faces.
I shrug because these men are my family now and have been for years, even when I was just a ranch hand. “I think it might be my brother,” I admit.
“Then what the hell are we waiting for?” Doc questions. At my raised brow, he shrugs. “Brother, it’s no secret that you’ve been trying to find him for years now.”
Taking a deep breath, I move toward the doors so I can walk to the gate, my brothers alongside me as the two figures stand there waiting. “Holy shit, he could be your twin,” Abyss mutters.
“Jonah? Uncle Leroy?” I call out. “How… how did you find me?”
“How about we let them come in out of this heat, Mongrel,” Doc says. “Isn’t good for you either.”
As soon as the gate is open, I’m in my younger brother’s arms, with Uncle Leroy patting us both on our backs. I’m not ashamed to admit that my tears were flowing heavily by the time we turned back toward the clubhouse.
Sitting at the table I was at previously, I can’t stop looking at my brother and uncle. So many questions are flying through my head and the best I’m able to get out is, “How?”
Jonah looks around at my brothers sitting around me, their expressions blank and I worry about what he might say. “Seems you found another family, Cam,” he finally says. “I’ve been scared to death for years that something happened to you.”
“What about the girls? Do y’all know where they’re at?” I ask, even though he hasn’t answered the first question.
“No, but let me tell you what’s happened since that day they took us away.
I kept running away and going back to Uncle Leroy’s house until the case worker finally decided that it would be better to allow him to take guardianship over me than for me to end up on the streets,” Jonah confesses.
“We didn’t know where you went, but about six months ago, we were at a rodeo further north and someone mentioned the Triple R and how it was run by a biker club whose members usually started out working the ranch.
Someone said Shep wasn’t competing this year which meant that maybe someone else would get a chance at the prize buckle. ”
Uncle Leroy picks up the tale then as Jonah seems to be overcome with emotion.
“It was a longshot, but we looked up the Triple R and saw pictures of various events that some of y’all have competed in over the years.
One of them was of you, Cam, as you were accepting first prize.
We’d have been here sooner, but on the way home, we were caught in a bad storm and have spent all this time recovering from the injuries we sustained. ”
My heart drops in my chest knowing I could’ve lost both of them and I would’ve never known. Looking closer, I can see a scar across Jonah’s forehead, and Uncle Leroy has what looks like burn marks on his neck. “What happened?”
“The bridge we were on got hit with a flash flood and knocked my truck off the road and down an embankment,” Uncle Leroy states.
“The tree kept us from being swept away, thank fuck, but with both of us banged up from being tossed around, when the fire started due to the impact, it took us a few to get our shit together to get out to safety.”
“Glad y’all survived,” Doc says. “There were quite a few fatalities if memory serves.”
Uncle Leroy looks at him and nods. “We were definitely hurt pretty badly, but as I told JoJo many times, we were still alive, and that meant something.”
“I almost went to that one,” I murmur, looking around at my club brothers. “But we had some club business to attend to, so I ended up pulling. Did you at least see the barrel racers? Because Issy, Rio’s ol’ lady, runs them and there’s no one better.”
“Yeah, Stargazer is a beautiful horse,” Uncle Leroy replies. “She also did a demonstration with Starlight, who she said was retired from barrel racing. But I swear, that horse woulda placed behind her daughter if she had competed!”
Rio chuckles while nodding. “Yeah, she lets Starlight run the barrels to keep her exercised, and her times are better than most on the circuit right now.”
“So, do y’all live close?” I ask, wanting to know everything. “Did you go to college like you always wanted?”
“We’re not far out of Dallas, actually, but with nothing to keep us there, we’re willing to relocate,” Uncle Leroy replies.
“Yeah, got my degree in computer science and cybersecurity,” Jonah adds. “What about you?”
I’m not willing to share the hell I’ve endured, but I convey, “Yeah, I’ve got a degree in accounting.”
“Don’t downplay it, brother, you’re the club treasurer,” Rio states.
“So, what happened that you’ve got your arm in a sling?” Uncle Leroy asks.
“Some asshole clipped my back tire and sent me flying,” I reply. “Ended up tearing my rotator cuff and a few weeks ago, had surgery to repair it. Just started physical therapy today.”
“Okay, okay, boys, how about we come into the kitchen so Maria and I can feed everyone?” Constance asks, breaking into our discussion.
Rio winks at her then says, “When one of the three boss ladies talk, we listen.”