“I’m also fine,” I repeated with a laugh, looking at Axel in hopes he’d rescue me.
“She’s all right, baby,” he soothed his wife.
I shot him a grateful look and reached for Mason’s diaper bag.
Axel made his way over to me, halting my progress. “Let me help you,” he rumbled in his deep voice as he reached out to take Mason and the diaper bag.
My spine stiffened. “You guys just watched Mason for hours. I can manage,” I replied quietly.
In the time that I’d lived in Hawthorne, I couldn’t possibly measure the amount of help they’d given me both emotionally and financially. On top of frequently taking care of Mason, they were paying for my lawyer.
Sophie and Axel were one piece of an overwhelmingly helpful network of support I received from the friends I’d made since moving to town. Friends who were more like family.
Axel stooped low, his intense gray eyes staring down at me. “Jill, I’ll remind you what I tell you every time you pull this shit. When I wasn’t there and Soph had Maddox on her own—youwere there. You took care of my son. You were a friend and support system for Sophie when she didn’t have anyone. Words will never convey my gratitude. You’re a part of our family whether you see that or not.”
I swallowed hard, unable to speak.
“And,” he continued forcefully, “who was there when that shit went down with the Black Riders and Sal got shot? Shit, you rebroke your arm taking care of him and everyone else.” He rumbled, his eyes on my cast. “Don’t ever think this just goes one way. Sure, we help you out. But you’ve given beyond measure to each of us.” He stood to his full height, his hand outstretched toward my bag. “Now, let me carry your goddamn bag.”
I knew better than to argue when Axel went into growly rant mode.
Sophie laughed at my expression. “It’s how he operates, you know that. You sure you don’t want to stay for dinner?” she asked again.
I shook my head. “Thanks, but I’ve got some errands to run. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
She nodded as Axel followed me out to the car with Mason and my bags in tow.
“You sure I can’t go with you tomorrow?” she called.
After twelve long weeks, I was finally due to get my cast off the next day.
I shook my head. “I’m good. Thanks.”
“Let us know if you need us. I mean it, Jill,” Axel said firmly once he’d strapped Mason in to his car seat.
“I will, thanks,” I agreed.
I drove home thinking about what Axel had said. I knew I’d been a good friend to Sophie and to the club. Being a nurse had come in handy on more than one occasion, being that the majority of my friends had husbands or boyfriends who belonged to the Knights Motorcycle Club. They kept themselves out of harm’s way for the most part, but on the occasions where they’d needed stitching up or worse, I’d been eager to help.
But Sophie was right. I was stubborn. It was important to me to stand on my own two feet, to do things on my own. After five years married to Tim, it was important to me to prove that I could.
I glanced at Mason in the rearview mirror. His big, intelligent brown eyes watched the landscape shoot past. Hawthorne had become home, the only one he remembered. It was a place of new beginnings.
Our future looked bright, if only I could let the past go.
Chapter 2
The low hum of the saw cutting through my cast sounded in the otherwise quiet room as Dr. Peters, a doctor I’d worked with frequently in the ER, removed my cast.
He split the plaster open, revealing pale but blissfully cast-free skin underneath.
I sighed with relief.
“Feel good?” He smiled kindly.
I nodded gratefully, holding my wrist gingerly. “How long before I can get back to work?”
I’d been on disability for weeks and desperately needed to get back to work.
