AllFreeNovel
Share Us
That had me throwing my head back and laughing; the glitter of mischief in her eyes only making the situation more amusing. “You know Sioux Crandal?”
Mrs. Bisby’s smile turned down into a frown and her face creased with concern. “Of course. I’ve been praying for her.” She shook her head and I swear I saw tears forming in her eyes. “I was so worried about her when I heard what happened.”
Thinking about that day had my throat closing up and it was difficult to swallow past the lump in my throat. Almost losing her was almost too much for me. Even though I watched the man who shot her die, he didn’t experience nearly enough pain to quell the vengeful fire inside of me.
As she studied my reaction to her words, Mrs. Bisby’s face smoothed out into something serene before she reached over and patted my hand. “I’m glad she has someone who cares about her as much as you clearly do.” Her words soothed something inside of me, something feral that wanted to break free and rain havoc down on the remainder of the Riding Rebels. Not nearly enough blood had been shed for my liking over the entire situation. “Now, how can I help you with Ms. Crandal?”
Even though I hated the fact that Sioux didn’t have my last name yet, I knew playing the long game was the only way and I let that go. “Sioux is a strong, independent woman who is determined to come back to work, but I think it’s too soon. I just want her to be safe and to make sure she doesn’t push herself too hard. Would you mind keeping an eye on her for me?”
“Of course,” the older woman agreed without hesitation. As I slid my card from Devil’s Construction over the counter, she held my gaze which reassured me even more than her ready agreement.
“My cell phone number is written on the back. Please give me a call if she’s pushing herself too much or if she needs anything.” I sighed, the weight of the fear for my woman settling on my shoulders. While it wasn’t a burden, not by a fucking long shot, it was heavy. “She won’t ask for help, and I can’t be at her side while she’s teaching.”
Mrs. Brisby giggled, fucking giggled, before covering her mouth. “I think you would be quite the distraction,” she glanced down at the card before looking up at me with one arched eyebrow, “Apostle.”
“I appreciate your help, Mrs. Brisby,” I read her name off the placard on the reception desk. “If you could keep this between us, I would be forever grateful.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t want to bring her anger down on you when you’re just trying to be the man she needs,” she assured me while waving her hand dismissively as if the thought of letting Sioux in our arrangement never crossed her mind. The smile she gave me was reassurance wrapped up in care and understanding. “I’m sure everything will be fine, but I’ll keep an eye on Sioux and call you if I need to.”
I believed her promise which took a tiny bit of weight off my shoulders. I stood tall, knowing that at least my woman had someone at her back while she was at work. I gave Mrs. Brisby a chin lift in thanks and then left the office.
Over the last few months, she’s called me a few times to let me know that she was worried about Sioux and how hard she was pushing herself. It wasn’t difficult for me to come up with a reason to go and visit her at school. Today’s food wasn’t the first I’ve taken her over the last few months.
And she always seems surprised when I show up with something for her.
There were times I didn’t even hide my need to see her, to check on her, behind the ruse of food. I would just pop in and tell her flat out I needed to check on her and make sure she was doing okay. If she looked too frazzled or tired, I would tell her that she had to sit down and relax, if only for a few minutes.
When she wouldn’t try and fight me on it, I knew she was really feeling a strain. It was difficult not to take her over my knee in those moments as a reminder that she needed to take better care of herself. But I knew she wasn’t ready for me to do that.
Now that her recovery is almost over and she’s pretty much back to her old self, I just need a sign from her. I’ve been giving myself blue balls and gotten really fucking well acquainted with my hand over the last few months while replaying the night we spent together.
No other woman will do other than my firefly and I’m more than willing to wait for her to be ready for me.
“Thanks for letting me in, Mrs. Bisby,” I tell her, a warmth in my voice that not many people get to hear, but this woman has been a fucking angel since the moment I met her. I don’t think I could ever put into words how grateful I am to her.
There’s a sparkle in her eye and a teasing in her voice as she asks, “I take it Ms. Crandall liked her lunch?”
“I don’t know how my woman thinks she’ll survive on fruit and yogurt alone.” I shake my head in disbelief knowing that would never be enough to sustain me while I’m on a job site…or any other day really.
“Well, women are funny creatures,” Mrs. Bisby has a sing-song quality to her voice, and I can only nod solemnly.
Don’t I fucking know how true that is. I’ve been at Sioux’s side for months and yet she refuses to admit that we’re anything more than friends, and that’s being generous with how she would categorize us. I think she’d rather look at me as an annoying roommate or even a nurse. I’ve allowed it, but my control on taking what I want and what we both need is wearing thin.
“She’s almost done with physical therapy and will be considered recovered by her doctor after her next visit,” I keep my voice low, not wanting to spread all of Sioux’s business while needing this sweet woman, who has had my back, to know what is going on.
Mrs. Bisby looks conflicted, her words measured, “That’s good. She’s been working hard for months.”
“She has,” I agree.
She leans forward, her voice taking on a conspiratorial quality she’s perfected during our clandestine little meetings in the front office, “Does this mean you won’t be coming by as often?”
“And miss out on seeing you and my woman?” I scowl slightly, my voice firm, “Never.”
“Phew,” she collapses back into her chair slightly, “good. You had me worried there for a moment.”
“I wouldn’t do you dirty like that,” I tease her, and she giggles in response. I nod toward her partially eaten lunch, the one I brought her to sweeten the pot considering I knew she was going to let me walk down to my woman’s classroom. “I’ll get out of the way here. Enjoy the rest of your lunch.”
Her eyes go soft as she looks at me and there’s so much warmth there it makes my heart squeeze. I might have left my hometown almost the moment I turned 18 because the small town I grew up in wasn’t nearly big enough for me, but that doesn’t mean my family wasn’t important to me. I needed to get out of the town, but leaving my family behind wasn’t easy.
