AllFreeNovel
Share Us
1
Rider
I knew that Katherine would be invited to the wedding since she had finally called Fang last week to tell him she was back in town. We all knew Katherine since she was a part of the club through her brother. I had never seen her as anything other than my best friend’s baby sister until a little over a year ago.
Katherine had come home for spring break to spend time with her brother and to do some interviewing at the hospital for her internship. The day before she arrived, Fang was sent out on a mission. It was my turn to be off rotation, so I was hanging around when she arrived. I found out she was at his place through Gator who thought someone should know she was around. I remember when I pulled up in front of his place and knocked on the door, I had not seen her in two years and barely saw her then. I still remembered her the way she was as a teenager, awkward and sweet. Katherine opened the door and my eyes roamed over her short frame. She was only five feet four inches, so I was almost a foot taller than her. She was a bit on the thinner side than I normally liked but I figured she was studying too hard and not taking care of herself. Her hair was twisted up in some kind of messy bun. It was brown with some blonde highlights through it. Her blue eyes sparkling at me as I tried to collect myself. She laughed and invited me in. We spent her whole break hanging out and when she went back to school we called and wrote each other. Now here we are at our friend’s wedding, and she is sitting beside me at the wedding feast driving me crazy while her brother, my best friend Fang gives me side eye from across the table. I wanted to tell him about us, but Katie insisted she needed more time and that she wanted to talk to him first. I really hated that idea, I felt like it was something we should do together. I was about to ask her for a dance when her pager went off. It was on vibrate but she was not allowed to ever turn it off. She looked down and frowned.
“I’m sorry, I have to cut out early. I have to run home change and get to the hospital. There was some kind of multicar crash on the highway, and they need all the hands they can get.” Katherine stood up and glanced at me then left. I watched her leave then turned around to realize that Fang was watching me. Fuck! Well, at least she was out of the line of fire for now. I had told her if he asked me flat out that I would not lie to him. We were brothers in arms and had to be able to trust each other in the field. Lies would kill that trust. So far this was just omission. Thing is, I knew he didn’t want her mixed up with any bikers. I guess I can understand that, but it doesn’t change how we feel. It also doesn’t change the fact that Katie is a grown woman who can make her own choices. I didn’t set out to get involved with his sister. I was just trying to lookout for her. I can’t help that we were drawn to each other like magnets. We get each other. I had finished with dinner, so I got up to throw away my plate and go congratulate Fury and Lillian again. I slipped over to where they were sitting with Lillian in his lap and little Emma close by.
“Hey guys, I’m about to head out for a while, I wanted to tell you how happy I am for you both.” I said as I clapped him on the back and kissed Lillian on the cheek. Fury growled at me which just made Lillian giggle and made me laugh. He knew I would never hit on his girl; he was just possessive like that. “See ya’ll later.”
“You better move fast; Fang is getting up and don’t think I didn’t notice how Katherine was looking at you and vice versa.” Fury smirked as I made a hasty exit. I really didn’t want to have this conversation today but if it was going to happen it needed to be outside away from the group.
I headed out to where my bike was parked. I had decided since it was such a beautiful day to get her out and go for a ride after the wedding. I could have hopped on and took off, but I wasn’t a coward. Fang was my best friend, and he had a right to his feelings. I wanted to give Katie a heads up, but I didn’t want her to be distracted at work. Fang walked out a few minutes later and headed over to me. He didn’t look mad, at least not yet. I sighed and crossed my arms over my chest sitting on my bike sideways. Just wanted him to know I wasn’t trying to run off.
“Hey man, what’s up?” I asked him to see where his mind was. He ran his hand over his beard and looked at me for a minute like he was trying to decide what he wanted to say.
“What’s going on between you and my sister?” he asked me as he looked me in the eye. “Don’t deny it, I’m not blind. I could see the way the two of you are around each other. That comes from knowing someone really well and having a relationship. I guess what I’m really asking is how long?”
“I’m not going to lie to you Fang. You’re my best friend. I know that your sister should be off limits. The thing is I have been talking to her for over a year. We started talking when she came home for a visit last year when you were out in the field. I was just trying to keep her company and look out for her.” I said calmly gauging his reaction. “Nothing happened last year other than us talking a lot and exchanging numbers. I had not seen her in person again until she moved home about a month ago.”
“And since then?” he asked, narrowing his eyes. I shook my head. That was none of his business and I was going to have to make that clear.
“Fang, you are my best friend. I won’t discuss our personal business with you though. Whatever happens between Katie and I physically, is not open for discussion. Let me ask you a question. Have you seen me with any female over the last year?” I looked him in the eye as I asked the question. He looked at me for a minute and shook his head. “Exactly.”
“Damnit, I know you’re a good guy. It’s not that. I just worry about her being associated with the club.” Fang said frustrated.
“See that’s what you aren’t getting. She’s already associated with us. She’s your sister.” I reminded him. “The main reason she decided to get a place in town is because it is closer to work and because she didn’t want to be explaining her every move to you. Just don’t go approaching her at work about this. She can’t be distracted like that. I’ll talk to her tonight and let her know that you figured it out.”
“Fine, I’ll give her a chance to talk to me first. Just know, if you hurt her, I’ll gut you, brother or not.” Fang said as he got on his bike and left.
2
Katherine
I had extra scrubs and shoes in my locker at the hospital, so I drove straight there. Doc had left the wedding about thirty minutes before me. I think he already had a shift scheduled in the ER today. Doc knew about my relationship with Rider. He had told me I needed to come clean but that it wasn’t his business so he wouldn’t be ratting me out. I saw the look Fang gave us earlier and I knew he was going to approach Rider as soon as I left. After changing into my scrubs and sneakers, I pulled my hair up in a messy bun and headed to the ER to see what was needed. Being a surgical intern meant that I practically lived at the hospital. Thankfully I managed to eat before I got paged so at least I would not be hungry.
I pushed through the double doors and saw chaos. Doc glanced up and saw me waving me over. There were four interns that started with me this year. I noticed that all of them were here. It was a mad house.
“We don’t normally get quite this crazy often. I need you to help with sutures on the kid in the bed next to us. I’m going to have to take his mother to the operating room to stop the bleeding in her stomach. Can you try to help keep him calm?” Doc asked, looking at me. I nodded and grabbed a suture kit along with a small stuffie that I kept handy to distract little ones. The boy was only about three, so he was watching his mom, trying to reach for her. I looked around and wondered where the father was.
“He didn’t make it. I have to save his mother. I’ll check back with you after I’m done.” Doc said as he pushed the gurney toward the elevator. I turned back to the kid, and he was frantically looking around him.
“Can you tell me your name?” I asked him as I sat on the edge of the bed. I had some antiseptic to clean the wound before I started to suture. I wanted to try to keep him calm while I did it. I had a numbing agent set aside to inject but I wanted to get his name first. The little boy blinked his eyes up at me for a minute.
“I’s Adam. Where’s he taking my mommy?” he whimpered.
“Adam, Dr. Harper is taking your mommy to fix her boo boos, they are bigger than yours, so he needs a special light and some help. My name is Dr. Kat. I know she would want me to take care of you while they are fixing her up. I have a little friend here; his name is Sox. Can you hold him while I fix you up?” I asked him in a soothing voice. The little boy nodded at me. When I got the numbing shot ready, I kept it hidden. “I’m going to give you some special medicine that will make it not hurt while I sew up your boo boo. Can you squeeze Sox really tight and close your eyes for me?” He held the stuffed cat with both hands really tight and his eyes squeezed shut. I administered the shot and disposed of the needle before he could see it. I went back to cleaning his wound and then started to do the sutures.
“Adam, keep your eyes closed. Can you count to ten?” I asked him. I knew by the time he finished I would be done.
“Yes ma’am. I’s can counts to twenty. My mommy teached me.” he said proudly. He still had his eyes shut.
“Ok, I want you to start counting for me and when you finish, I will be all done.” I told him as I kept working. I listened to him count and I finished his stitches and then bandaged the wound so he wouldn’t pick at it. I looked at the chart and noted he didn’t have any allergies, so I gave him a small sedative to help him relax and sleep while his mom was in surgery. As he started to reach fifteen, he nodded off. I looked around and saw that everything was under control for now, so I stayed with him. I was on for a sixteen-hour shift, so it was going to be a long one. I was too new to get to do anything but watch even if I got to scrub in on a surgery. Kelly, my new friend and fellow intern finished with her patients and was about to discharge one of them.
“Hey Kat, what do you have here?” Kelly asked as she looked at the sleeping child. “This doesn’t look surgical.”
“His father was killed in the accident and his mother is in the operating room, they are trying to find the source of her internal bleeding so they can stop it. Doc asked me to do his sutures and keep him calm.” I said in a whisper. “I don’t mind, it’s an easy start to a long shift.”
