Page 65 of Guarding Glenda

Before I could even sit, though, a woman said, “Glenda, hi.”

“Dr. Stanley, this is Leigh,” Glenda said, so I extended my hand, sizing up the woman. She was probably mid-thirties, give or take a few years, with dusty blonde hair, brown eyes, a casual demeanor with a gentle smile, but business casual attire.

“Nice to meet you,” she said. “We can go ahead and get started. Joy of being the first appointment of the day.”

“I’ll be in the truck. Good to meet you, doc.” I locked eyes with Glenda and said, “Take care of her.”

Glenda’s dimples deepened and her cheeks went pink. As I reluctantly parted ways, I couldn’t help but grin at myself. The only time I’d seen her blush before was with me. I knew deep down she loved Reggie, but I didn’t think it was like what we had.

She hadn’t said it yet, that she loved me–but she was with me. I didn’t need her to say it, but I’d damn sure tell her all the time.

Before I even made it back to the truck, my phone vibrated in my pocket.

“Hey, doc,” I answered when I saw it was Sam.

“Hey, tests are clear. Still, wrap that thing up.”

“Thanks for the update. You hear from Manny?”

“Nope. Didn’t try him. The clinic’s been busy as shit and one of my NPs is out on maternity leave. Can’t be chasing people who I don’t pay or don’t pay me.”

Pulling my biscuit from the bag, I said, “I hear ya. I’ll message him.”

“Alright. How’s Glenda doing?”

Chewing and swallowing, I told him, “Good. Seeing Dr. Stanley now.”

“Good to hear. Let me know if you need anything, but I gotta go. I’m already running behind today.”

We ended the call, I texted Manny to see if he was awake, I finished my breakfast, then drank down the rest of the now lukewarm coffee.

Even though I hated to leave her, it would do me some good to get my hands dirty and see other walls for a while. I tried to argue with her about needing to do something to stay busy, but having been sitting around the house for a couple of weeks was making me antsy.

I also was looking forward to my ride with some brothers later. Besides some wind therapy, I was looking forward to finding these assholes and getting rid of them. The fucking Bloody Scorpions always had their hand in some bullshit. Always trying to move in on established shit. Always causing problems.

We’d worked too hard to establish business in the area for these dumb fucks to move in. Problem was, they weren’t a real club like us. Finding them wasn’t always easy because they moved around a lot and had no real leadership. Sure, they threw around titles sometimes, but they’re nothing more than a gang out to wreak havoc and steal, not an organized operation.

Until we got ears on the ground, we couldn’t be sure these idiots were even affiliated directly with the ones that had been working with Linny’s piggie ex. That shit went down over in Pensacola. Hammer said this was north of us. Not too far from where shit went down with Reggie, from my understanding. But it wasn’t likely the same group was back so close.

After making a few calls, I noticed the time and headed back inside.

“How did it go?” I asked as she walked out of the room.

Her hand flew to her chest. “Goddammit, Leigh. You scared the shit out of me.”

My lips quirked as I stepped closer. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

She smiled, pulling the door behind her. “I didn’t mean like that. It’s a figure of speech. I’m okay.”

I kissed her forehead, then grabbed her hand, leading her outside. “Let’s go. Gotta get you to the clubhouse so I can head to the shop.”

We climbed in and hit the road. Once I drove for several minutes I finally said, “You never did say how it went.”

“You know, therapy is private.”

I glanced over and she was smirking.

“It was okay. Today was mostly small talk, getting to know me. She got some broad basics and I explained my episodes. Next week we will start to really dive in, I suppose.”