9.

Z OEY

I sat down on the edge of the raised garden bed and took a long drink of my water before I held my hair back from my forehead and poured the last of the bottle on my face.

“Damn, that feels good,” I muttered before I crushed the empty bottle and tossed it at the large trash can we’d filled with soil bags.

“How is your leg?” Janis asked from behind me. I turned around to answer her and laughed when I saw that she had a bottle of water stuck down her shirt, held between her breasts by her bra and one in the waistband of her shorts at each hip.

“Does that help?” I asked.

“Actually, it does, but I have an even better idea.”

“What’s that?” I asked as she walked to the end of the row. I smiled when I realized what she was about to do and then struggled to stand up so I could join her.

By the time I got there, she had the hose turned on and was holding it above her head. As the water streamed over her face and soaked her shirt, she said, “Now that feels good.”

I walked around so that my back was pressed up against hers and sighed when the cold water soaked my hair and the back of my shirt. “Oh, hell yeah.”

“We’re not right,” Janis said with a laugh. “Standing out here in the middle of a damn field having a wet T-shirt contest.”

“I’d win. My breasts are fantastic.”

“When was the last time anybody saw them but you?” Janis asked.

“It’s been a while,” I admitted. When Janis scoffed, I said, “As if you have any room to talk.”

“Men irritate me.”

“ Everyone irritates you.”

“True. I’ve noticed that you’ve gotten a little testier since you quit the force.”

“I didn’t quit. I was forced out.”

“You never answered my question about your leg. It seems like your limp is getting better. Are you still in pain?”

“Not as much as I was, but it’s not completely gone. It might never be.”

“Can’t they fix you?”

“I’ve been asking if anyone could fix you for years, but unfortunately, neither of us are viable candidates for surgery.”

“What the hell do I need surgery for?”

“Your attitude,” I teased. Without thinking, I tipped my head back to let the water hit my face and felt the world start to spin. When I started falling to the side, Janis spun around and caught me before I could hit the ground. Once I was settled on the grass, I tried to blink the dizziness away and was finally able to see Janis on her hands and knees beside me with her face less than a foot away from mine. “Are you gonna kiss me or what?”

“I still can’t get over the eye thing. That’s so fucked up.”

“It happened earlier too,” I admitted before I rolled to my side. I waited for the next round of dizziness to subside, this one not nearly as bad as the one before, and then slowly pushed myself up to sit. “Garvey did that swoony dip thing and . . .”

“He did what?”

“We were kissing, and he . . .”

“You were what? ” Janis yelled.

“Practicing our manners and letting everyone finish their sentences instead of rudely interrupting them,” I said snarkily.

Janis ignored me and asked, “Did he kiss you, or did you kiss him?”

“Well, he started it, but I didn’t exactly put up a fight.”

“Jeez, Zozo,” Janis said as she flopped onto her back. “Just when I think you didn’t actually get your brains scrambled, you prove me wrong.”

“It was just a kiss.”

“What led up to it? Did he just mug down on you immediately or . . .”

“He said that he understood that my family and friends probably hated him . . .”

“Which we do not.”

“Speak for yourself. Zane becomes apoplectic at the mention of Garvey’s name. My dad isn’t much better, and my mom gets that look.”

“Ugh. I’ve had that looked aimed at me once or twice.”

“Anyway, he said that he wants to prove to me that he’s a different man and I can trust him. Then he kissed me.”

“You are handling this very well. So calm and controlled. It’s a little scary.”

“As scary as Marley damn near running him over and then hugging him until his face turned blue?”

“Almost.”

“How else am I supposed to act?” I asked.

“Well, I understand why you don’t hold the car accident over his head . . .”

“Don’t get me wrong. I believe he was guilty of a crime and should have been punished for it, but I’m not going to get on my high horse because I’ve driven after a few drinks before and so has everyone else, whether they are willing to admit it or not.”

“Exactly.”

“And yes, he was underrage and shouldn’t have been drinking, but none of us should have either.”

“Are you trying to convince me or practicing your speech for when you have to tell your parents that Garvey’s back and you’re going to start dating him.”

“I didn’t say that I was going to start dating him!”

Janis burst out laughing and said, “You didn’t say it, but that doesn’t mean I’m stupid and can’t see the signs in front of my face.”

“We’re both stupid, wasting water and letting it run all over while we sit here in swampy grass, wallowing around like . . . Ouch!”

“What?” Janis asked as she turned to look at me. Her eyes got wide at the same time I felt another sting. I instantly knew what was happening when she brushed something off her face.

She screamed at the same time I did, and we scrambled to stand up as we frantically brushed ants off our skin. I felt a sting on my stomach and came to the sudden realization that they weren’t just on the skin I could see but beneath my clothes. I ripped my shirt off and tossed it aside at the same time Janis pushed her shorts down to her ankles and then tripped trying to step out of them.

When I pushed my own shorts down, I caught sight of at least nine freaking million ants floating around in the water from the hose. I finally had the presence of mind to move away from the spot where we’d been sitting on the grass instead of just jumping up and down as I brushed the ants off my skin. I grabbed Janis’ flailing arm and dragged her with me as I ran toward the golf cart I’d parked nearby. As we ran, we were still screaming and slapping at the ants in our own comedic version of everyone’s worst nightmare.

By the time we got to the cart, we were both out of breath, wearing only our underwear and shoes and socks, and so fucking freaked out that it was almost impossible to believe that either of us would ever be able to calm down again. As I drove to the office so we could shower and find some more clothes, I looked over at Janis and found that she was in much worse shape than me.

She had red spots all over, but especially across her chest. However, the most concerning thing was the sound of her breathing. It was rapidly sawing in and out with a whistling noise I could hear over the electric motor of the golf cart.

“Jan? Are you okay?”

“Hard . . . to . .. breathe.”

“Fuck!” I yelled, just as I caught sight of Garvey and his brother, both of them laughing their asses off at the shit show they’d just watched.

Corey was the first to realize something was wrong, but I confirmed it when I yelled, “10-52 Forrester! 10-52!”

Corey jumped into action immediately, talking into the mic on his shoulder to alert dispatch that we needed an ambulance at his location and then giving them a description of Janis and what was going on.

I had barely come to a complete stop before Garvey pulled Janis out of the cart and laid her on the ground so he could check her over while Corey spoke to dispatch. I was hurrying around the cart when I saw him lean forward and give her a rescue breath. His fingers were on her wrist, checking her pulse to make sure her heart was still beating, but since she was having such a hard time pulling in each breath, he was pushing them through for her.

I watched her chest rise and fall with each of Garvey’s breaths and ordered Corey to hold her legs elevated while I ran into the office to get the first aid kit. I could hear sirens in the distance when I made it back outside, cursing myself for putting the kit in the file room at the back of the office, and saw that Garvey was still breathing for Janis but hadn’t needed to start compressions yet.

I turned the dial on the EpiPen I’d bought for just such an emergency and slammed it into Janis’ thigh. Garvey stayed bent over close to her face, but instead of his mouth on hers, he had his head turned so that he could feel her breath on his ear as Corey used his mic to report that we’d dispensed the first round of medication and ask for dispatch to start a timer for the second.

Not happy with her breathing yet, Garvey leaned back down and gave Janis another breath.

The ambulance pulled into the parking area, and by the time they stopped, Corey had already picked Janis’ limp body up from the ground and was standing at the back of the ambulance with her in his arms. I felt Garvey grab my arm right before he thrust a T-shirt into my line of vision, and without thinking, I pulled it over my head and then climbed into the ambulance behind Corey.

The paramedic was already working on Janis by the time Corey stepped down out of the ambulance, and I barely had time to yell at them to lock everything up and call Janis’ family before the doors slammed shut and we were on our way.

◆◆◆

GARVEY

Luckily, my clothes were still in my saddlebags, and as I pulled on a clean shirt, my brother shut the office door behind him and then jogged down the steps.

“Are you back on duty now?” I asked.

“No. Today is my day off.”

“You just cruise around dressed like Roscoe P. Coltrane for fun?”

“I make this look good,” Corey boasted before he said, “I work nights. My shift ended at eight this morning, and I have the next four days off.”

“I want to go to the hospital to check on the girls, but I’m not sure I’ll be welcome there.”

“I don’t blame you. But then again, the brother I knew back in the day wasn’t afraid of shit, so I don’t quite understand why you’re so hesitant to jump back into life here.”

“Because everybody fucking hates me.”

“I guess some things don’t ever change.”

“What do you mean?”

“You always were the dumb one,” Corey teased. “Sucks to be you, man. I get it. I’m smarter, better looking, funnier . . .”

“And full of shit,” I muttered as I threw my leg over my bike.

“What happens now, Gar?” Corey asked.

“Right now, I’m just living day to day. I need to find a meeting and a place to stay while avoiding getting beaten to death by any number of men and women who could and would do it in a heartbeat.”

“I mean between us. Are you here for good, or are you going to disappear again?”

“I’m here for good even if that pisses off the majority of the population. Zoey already gave me a job, although I’m not sure if I'm gonna get a paycheck or if I’m a volunteer.”

Corey burst out laughing before he asked, “And what’s going to happen with you and Zoey?”

“Well, I fully intend on proving to her that the man I’ve become is nothing like the boy she knew and then sweeping her off her feet, putting a ring on her finger, and making lots and lots of babies who look like her and act nothing like me.”

“Well, for a minute, I thought you’d turned into a complete pussy because you were scared to face everyone, but now I realize you’re just an idiot with brass balls because Zoey Duke is a wild one and her family hates you more than diarrhea.” It was my turn to laugh, but Corey wasn’t done. “I’m serious. Zane Duke can barely look at me because I remind him of you. If I were you, I’d change that policy you’ve got of letting people swing on you as some sort of self-punishment because when he gets his hands on you, he won’t stop unless you make him.”

“I get where he’s coming from.”

“So do I, but I’m serious. I’ll help you out as much as I can, but Zane and his crew are certifiably insane, so I’d watch my back.”

“You will?”

“I will what?”

“You’ll help me?”

“I am definitely the smart one,” Corey muttered. “I’m still so fucking mad at you for cutting us off that I can’t even put it into words, but I’m more happy to see you and get to know you again, so that part is going to win out. As for having your back, I always have and always will.”

“Thanks. What do you mean about his crew? Did he join the Knights?”

“Yeah, but that’s not what I’m talking about. He started a repo business with Jonas Dean, and that is not for the faint of heart. They get shot at so often that they’ve got their own code on the police band. There’s a whole crew of men who do that shit for a living, and I don’t think I’d want to go up against any of them.”

“Great. He’s got an entire team who’ll want to kill me.”

“Maybe, maybe not. I’m not sure what side of the fence they’ll all end up on because most of them aren’t exactly living on the right side of the law most of the time. But they’re loyal to Zane, that’s for sure.”

“Okay. I’ll keep my eyes open and be prepared. If anything happens, I’ve got some life insurance money, so use that to pay off Mom and Dad’s house, okay?”

Corey chuckled and said, “I don’t think he’ll kill you. He’ll probably just beat you so bad that you wish you were dead.”

“As long as Zoey’s the one nursing my wounds, it will be worth it.”

“We’ll see.” Corey slapped my shoulder and said, “You’ve got my number, and you know where I live. I want to hear from you often to make up for all the years I didn’t. Get me?”

“I do.”

“I’m going to go home and change and then go to the hospital to check on Janis.”

“I’m going to see if I can find a meeting first, and then I’ll probably see you there, either as a visitor or as a patient if I happen to run into Zane.”

“You know, you caused a whole lot of fucking drama before you left, and it looks like there might be just as much now that you’re back.”

“God, I hope not.”

“Me too.”

Corey got into his patrol car and drove away, and I sat on my bike and used my phone to find an NA or even an AA meeting and kept that information for later and called my sponsor instead. Talking with him helped calm me and keep me grounded. By the time we got off the phone, I felt a lot better, but I still went to the meeting that I’d found. .

By the time my meeting was finished, I felt steadier and thought I might be able to survive whatever this evening had to throw at me, which seemed like tempting fate because I’d already had more than enough excitement for one day. However, I’d have to risk it because all I wanted to do was see Zoey again and continue the conversation we were having when my brother arrived.

The ride to the hospital didn’t take long, and I had just parked my bike amid the cars and trucks when a group of motorcycles drove into the lot and parked at the outer edge. I wasn’t surprised to find that I easily recognized every one of the women riders, although it had been years since I had seen any of them. I recognized a few of my cousins and groaned because we had shared history, good and bad, and had made many memories together over the years of my visits to Rojo and then my time living here.

If I had to describe the group as a whole, I’d say they were loyal, impetuous, possibly dangerous, and more than a little unstable. That description came from what I knew years ago, but I couldn’t imagine that any of them had changed much other than to become more beautiful and possibly a little more crazy.

I’d gotten a lot of entertainment from the stories Martha told me about the Queens, beginning with how their MC was formed and all the work they put in to make everyone understand that their club wasn’t just a passing phase but a lifestyle that each of them had chosen with pride.

I had been daydreaming for so long that before I had a chance to dart away, which any sane man would when confronted with not just one or two of them, but the entire pack, they were close enough to see me and had confused me with my brother.

I thought it was probably much safer to let them believe I was Corey, at least for now, because I needed to be on my toes and relatively healthy when I faced the Duke family.

“When did you get that bike?” my cousin Lark asked as she walked closer. “I like that paint job. The tank is gorgeous. What color is that?”

“Did your cousin paint it, or did Asa?” Evi Conner asked.

“That tire on the back is sexy,” Dahlia, another one of my cousins, said as she squatted down close to the back of the bike to look at the numbers on the side of it. “I wonder what it would take to get that size on my bike. Did you have to change the swing arm?”

“Yeah, and that’s a custom fender,” I said without turning to look directly at any of the women. I knew that if I turned to face them, they’d recognize me from the scar in my eyebrow. “When I found out how much work it would take to get it on there, I almost regretted my decision to buy it.”

“I bet,” Dahlia said as she stood up and brushed her hands off. “Are you coming or going?”

“I just got here.”

“Zoey and Janis are both in the emergency room because . . .” Dahlia’s voice trailed off, and she shivered as if she was cold, which didn’t make sense since it was still relatively hot outside.

“Don’t say it, or you’ll get hives again,” Lark warned.

Dahlia shuddered and then shook her head before she said, “Nope! Take my mind off it! Quick!”

“How did you get that scuff? Aren’t those new boots?” Vivi Conner asked.

Apparently, that tactic worked because Dahlia looked down at her feet and groaned before she hopped on one foot and held the other one up so she could look at the scuff her friend had pointed out.

Loud pipes sounded in the distance, and the women turned to look at the parking lot entrance. With them facing away from me, I looked in that direction, too, and groaned when I saw my brother riding toward us. He was on the same bike that he’d had forever - one that our cousin Daughtry had helped him build at the same time I built mine . . . the one I pieced out to sell for drug money.

Even though it creeped me out when all of the women turned as one to stare at me in shock, I didn’t look away. Instead, I said, “It’s a pleasure to see you again, ladies.”

All of them spoke at once, but it was easy to pick out my cousins’ voices.

Lark yelled loud enough to make me flinch when she said, “You fucker!”

Dahlia was almost as loud when she screamed, “What the fuck?”

And, not to be outdone, my cousin, Rain’s, “Oh, hell no!” was the loudest of them all.

“I guess you haven’t made it inside yet,” Corey said as he got off his motorcycle that he had parked a few spots over. He walked over and put one arm over Rain’s shoulders and the other over Lark’s before he said, “How did this reconnection go?”

“I don’t know yet. They didn’t realize it was me they were talking to until you drove up.”

“Why the hell didn’t you say anything?” Lark asked.

“Reconnecting with everybody and giving them my apologies and explanations is kind of like taking medicine - it’s best in smaller doses so you don’t overdose and end up dead.”

“Luckily, that was one thing you never did,” Lark muttered.

“Would you have even said anything if he hadn’t driven up?” Dahlia asked.

“It wouldn’t have lasted much longer,” I said as I pointed to the scar on my face. “I do have a tell, you know.”

“Does Zozo know you’re here?” Rain asked.

“I talked to her earlier before Corey and Marley came out, and I was there when they took Janis in the ambulance. How is she doing, anyway?”

“She’s fine, but she has a new allergy to add to her list. They’re keeping her and Zozo for a little while for observations,” Evi explained.

“He’s not telling you the whole story,” Corey tattled.

“Imagine that,” Lark drawled.

“He gave Janis mouth-to-mouth until the ambulance arrived.”

Rain looked at Corey and asked, “He did?”

Lark looked just as surprised when she asked me, “You did?”

I nodded before I said, “Bear drilled first aid and CPR into our brains every summer before he let us go camping, and it stuck because I never even doubted what I needed to do.”

“He saved Janis’ life,” Corey boasted.

“You could have done the same thing I did and had the same outcome. Zo could have too.”

“We didn’t have to because you jumped right in.”

“Hmm,” Lark said, her head tilted as she studied my face for a few long seconds. “Are you gonna fuck up again, Forrester?”

“No, Forrester , I’m going to do everything in my power not to.”

“Then I reserve the right to beat the ever-loving shit out of you if that ever happens,” Lark said before she stepped away from Corey and got toe to toe with me. Finally, she smiled at me, and I knew it was a real one, not one of the fake “I’m plotting your death but luring you in gently while I do it” smiles that I’d seen a million times before. When she threw her arms around my waist and hugged me, I knew for sure the smile wasn’t fake because of the emotion in her voice when she said, “Welcome home!” wasn’t fake at all.